Oystercatchers on Ploverbeach

030 Nowhere to hide.

2010-02-21T12:41:00.000-08:00

The safety of the dunes or high-water mark does not exist on this beach.
There is nowhere for the Oystercatchers who have been visiting this beach long before people became interested in it.
Long before the decision was made to change the face of Big Bay 'The people's beach'

If these birds are to breed here in the future, we will need volunteers who will protect them during the summer months of November - February.
We need someone, over the weekends and public holidays, which will make sure the public does not disturb them while they are breeding.

Perhaps a fund can be created for this.

We should be proud of our last two Big Bay Oystercatchers.
There are no other breeding Oystercatchers between BCA and Blouberg strand.

029 The birds leave their hiding place

2010-02-21T12:25:00.000-08:00

The birds are on the move with their chicks. This must make the bird watchers happy when the Oystercatchers leave their place of safety, and their natural habitat and dash for the only clear road, the bush but how long before they are disturbed there too.

What happens when that person with the five dogs comes along now hat their scent is easily to follow?

Last year the birds did not manage to rear any chicks and the year before they only managed to rear one of their two chicks.

029 Then all hell breaks loose

2010-02-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

All hell breaks loose when everyone seem to jump onto the bandwaggon and want to view the birds.

028 Fluched out by bird-watcher

2010-02-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

A bird lover watcher comes over the dunes. He knows about birds.

He knows how to flush them out so he can have a better look.

The birds have to find another hiding place, but they are sandwiched between the approaching perceived danger and the filming couple on the big dune.

027 Leaving hiding place.

2010-02-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

It is time to go and the female urges her chicks to leave the cover as a new threat approaching.

A family decided to settle nearby, unaware of the birds.

026 Feeling uneasy

2010-02-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

The female is on alert. She senses danger ahead.

It is a lovely warm beach day. And with the (foreign film company?) taking up the main dune, the people are choosing the smaller dunes where the birds hide.

She decided that she no longer feels safe where she has been hiding her chicks.

o25 took flight

2010-02-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2010

The people are totally unaware of the Oystercatchers and started running over the dunes where the birds were sitting.

The birds took to the air.

I went to ask them to please not go any closer, but they were already heading back towards Big Bay.

The Oystercatcher landed again and faced towards the bush, indicating that it was interested, not in the beach but in what it is protecting something in the bushes.

024 - More disturbance

2010-02-20T11:29:00.000-08:00

February 20, 2010

Apart from the people filming, the footprints on the dunes testify of constant dune traffic.

Both Oystercatchers on the dune together when they have chicks usually mean disturbance.

I noticed two people and a dog on the one side of them, and the people still filming on the other side.

023 Don't care attetude

2010-02-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

2.20.2010

I went to the people on the hill and asked them if they were aware that there is a notice asking people to stay clear of this site because the birds are breeding.

They were foreign European visitors.
They indicated that they did know but did not care.

I saw no point in continuing the conversation as I was by that time convinced that the birds must have chicks or lost their eggs again.

022 The nesting area is deserted.

2010-02-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

2.20.2010

We noticed that the nesting area is deserted.
There are people filming nearby so even if the birds were still on the nest, they would not be occupied.

They can possibly tolerate quiet human activity but they could not be happy with people hoisting a sail above their nest.
I also noticed that they are very scared of dogs.

021 Busy Beach

2010-02-20T10:22:00.001-08:00

2.20.2010

The beach will be busy this weekend.

It is hot and windless on Big Bay this morning. We expect more people to arrive later.

Many of the sunbathers come after their morning shopping spree.

I was hoping that it would be windy to give the birds a break.

020 20-02-2010 Approach to Ploverbeach

2010-02-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

20-02-2010

We saw one Oystercatcher from a distance as we approached Ploverbeach from the Horsetrails. It is a good sign. It may mean that at least the nest or one of the chicks survived

019

2010-02-19T13:44:00.000-08:00

13-02-2010

The birds wait in the distance for peace to return.
I was happy to see the male joining the alarmed female. I do not know where he came from, but as soon as the female returned to the nest, he flew away over the sea towards distant rocks.

This is not the way the birds behaved in the past. The male used to run away from the nest to draw people away.

The terrain does not make this an option.

It is as if these birds are breaking all rules to try and hatch their chicks.

We should all be ashamed if they do not succeed.

018

2010-02-19T13:30:00.000-08:00

13-02-2010

Children playing right next to the nest

017

2010-02-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

13-02-2010

We only noticed the female on the nest. We could not see the male anywhere.

016 - The dead bird

2010-02-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

13-02-2010

We did not see the Oystercatcher as we approached the beach from Horsetrails

My heart sank, especially when I saw a dead black bird next to the path.
We saw the female on the nest and I went to the man in the nearby dune and asked him if he saw the male.
He said he did. It comes out when the nest is threatened.

He said a woman with five dogs walked over the nest earlier. People just do not seem to care.

015

2010-02-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

31-01-2010

It is not just the people and dogs that disturbs the peace on the beach

014

2010-02-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

31-01-2010

Birds look on from a distance when people approach the nest.

After the disturbance the female returns to the nest.

The footprints in the sand indicates how close people walk to the nest.

013

2010-02-19T12:57:00.000-08:00

31-01-2010

Disturbance around the Oystercatcher nest site. The mound in the photographs is the site of the nest. The bird leaves the nest when people approach.

012

2010-02-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

31-01-2010

011

2010-02-19T12:37:00.000-08:00

31-01-2010

010

2010-02-19T12:33:00.000-08:00

31-01-2010

009

2010-02-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

31-01 2010

008 LONELY ON THE DUNE

2010-02-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

31-01-2009
Our hearts sank;
As we approached the beach along the Horse-Trails, towards Ploverbeach we noticed a lonely Oystercatcher on the dune, but not in the vicinity of his last nesting site.

As Oystercatchers only breed once per season could mean that their attempt was unsuccessful

007 Disturbing the breeding pair.

2010-02-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

9-1-2010

People on the dunes behind the Oystercatchers and Plovers; If they manage to breed this summer, it will be a miracle

Can you imagine these people unknowingly walking over the nests.

006 Photograph by Lorinda

2010-01-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

005 Photograph by Lorinda

2010-01-13T12:21:00.000-08:00

004 Letter to the Blaauwberg Conservation Department

2010-01-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

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

003 Oystercatcher on the nest - Summer of 2010

2010-01-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

Another attempt to breed at Ploverbeach - Near Big Bay, Cape.

She is not in a good condition. She seem to have bold patches where she lost feathers.

002 Bird Breeding time 2010

2010-01-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

It is the summer of 2009-10 and the Oystercatchers of Ploverbeach (between The Horse trails and Blouberg Strand) are trying to breed again.

The year before last they hatched two chicks of which one survived.
Last year dogs and people trampled over their nest and they lost their eggs.
They remained on the beach for a long time afterward but they never attempted to breed again. I do not think they got the opportunity.

I fear that it will be the same this year.
The strip where they can hatch their chick is becoming very narrow.

If only the conservation department can value the few birds still breading along this nature strip like they value the cargo of foreign vessels.

If a boat goes to ground on the beach, they will have people watching it day and night.

It is sad that they can not stop people walking over the nest during weekends and high tide times when the Oystercatcher is breeding and their nest is in the way of the beach traffic.

It is not only dogs and people who are a threat to these birds breading, on this beach, but beach cleaners who like to scratch through the flotsam and jetsam above the high tide level and the beach patrol who rides unperturbed wherever they want. (I have not seen them in action, but I know human nature.   Very little education and attention is given to the beach birds)

It is difficult, but not impossible, to protect these birds during the breeding season.
One can not even put a sign out that these birds are breeding because it may just attract the attention of some hungry person looking for bush meat for the pot or some foreigner who would consider Oystercatcher meat as a delicacy.   The world is so sick, nothing is sacred anymore.

Their only protection is:
That most of the people using this beach do not even notice the birds.
The South Easter wind (The Cape Doctor).   Here at Blouberg, one can give the wind the name of the ‘beach-breeding-bird midwife’.    It is only bad weather that keeps people away from the beach.

001 ABOUT

2010-01-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

We decided to separate our Oystercatcher posts from our Plover posts. They both share the same beaches and the same fate; that of facing extinction on the stretch of beach between Cape Town and Melkbosstrand.

We can not stop progress, but we can record their last fight for survival in Cape Town.

Years ago I picked up an Oystercatcher egg on the beach. I took it home, never thinking how precious that egg was to the bird. I never even saw the Oystercatchers; neither would I have recognized them. In those days my classification of birds was: large white, small black, little gray........

Most people using our beaches today are still ignorant about our precious feathered beach dwellers. They do not even notice them when they picnic on the bird nests.

We shall search our photo database for photographs of Oystercatchers and post the old photographs alongside newer ones.