004 Letter to the Blaauwberg Conservation Department

The following letter was sent to some conservation personnel in the area.   Perhaps it is already too late to do something this year.
We had one of the hottest days, in Cape Town, that I can remember.
As I write this; people must be storming the beach to cool down.

THE LETTER

Would you kindly pass this email on to the person concerned?

Last Saturday I noticed that the Oystercatchers are breeding again, halfway between Big Bay and Horse Trails.

There is only one pair that uses this beach for breeding.  They have been breeding there for a very long time. (I guess over 10 years).

Last year their nest got trampled by walkers and dogs.   They got chased by dogs and people picnicked near their nest.

Is there not something you can do to protect their nests over weekends and high tide times?

When a foreign boat goes aground we are flooded by people standing around to protect it.

The least we can do is to try and help these birds to get their chicks hatched and raised.

We should be proud of them.

I hope someone can find a solution as last year their attempt to nest failed.  They only have one attempt to breed per season.

I do not know if they are still around, because I tried to phone BCA on several occasions but could not get through.

 Yours faithfully,

R W