Spying On The Bathing Birds

I'm starting to get a feel for when to use my new SecaCam HomeVista, and when to use a different camera trap instead. I had a feeling that the SecaCam HomeVista will be amazing when used at a birdbath, and I was right! The wide field of view is excellent for covering the entire area. The camera is also pretty good at handling close-ups and the final images have very little motion blur.

SecaCam HomeVista monitoring the birdbath 24/7

I had the camera monitoring the birdbath for 12 days. In total the camera recorded 140 observations. In total 20 bird species, one mammal species, one unknown reptile species and the local Clicking Stream Frogs showed up. I suspect that many bats also came to drink, on the wing, but I didn't get a clear enough photograph to be sure.

 

On the one hand I feel OK about the 20 bird species. My personal bird count for the property is currently at 66 species, so camera trapping about a third of the species at the birdbath sounds like a pretty good start.

However, I don't feel good about the only mammal species, especially considering the species in question: The bringer of destruction, the Domestic Cat...

Southern Boubou (Suidelike Waterfiskaal - Laniarius ferrugineus) on the left, and Laughing Dove (Rooiborsduifie - Streptopelia senegalensis) in the back

There were at least two different cats frequenting the birdbath. These cats are new on the scene. As a result I've noticed a major decrease in animal activity on the property. I heard talk that one of the cats a few houses down the road recently spawned new young and that there are now something like 9 cats roaming around, destroying everything in the area...

In the past Small Grey Mongoose and Large-Spotted Genet would frequent the property but this time around they stayed away. I don't think they avoid the cats directly, but instead the cats have likely killed to many of the small prey animals in the area. As a result the wild predators likely prefer to hunt in areas with more prey, and thus with less cats... (As proof of the decrease in the amount of prey available I've noticed a drastic decrease in the number of Clicking Stream Frogs at the birdbath.)

Sombre Greenbul (Gewone Willie - Andropadus importunes) coming for a bath

The Sombre Greenbul are common in the area, but they are secretive and like to hide in the thick vegetation. Seeing one out in the open like this is a nice treat.

I don't often see the African Firefinch, and this one below visited the birdbath only once.

African Firefinch (Kaapse Vuurvinkie - Lagonosticta rubricate) coming for a drink

Interestingly some species, like the sunbirds, are very common on the property, but almost never seem to visit the birdbath.

Some time after I bought the birdbath a Brown-Hooded Kingfisher started frequenting our property. I think it happened shortly after I installed the pipe to redirected the rain water from the roof into the birdbath, to help keep the water fresh and maintain the water level better.

Brown-Hooded Kingfisher (Bruinkopvisvanger - Halcyon albiventris) bathing on the wing

I'm fairly sure the kingfisher wasn't trying to catch anything, but was rather bathing - by diving into the water repeatedly. Like many other Kingfisher species this one is not restricted to catching fish for a living. Instead they catch all sorts of insects and other small critters, not just fish.

The Unknown Reptile waving us farewell...

Slimy Surprises

I have been fortunate enough to enjoy some holiday time at the coast in the Eastern Cape. One of the things I wanted to make time for on my trip was to visit the rock pools during low tide.

A Triton snail (maybe Ranella Australasia gemmifera) at the Woody Cape

My exploration started off with a bang! One of the very first creatures I saw was this amazing Four-Tone Nudibranch.

Four-Tone Nudibranch (Godiva quadricolor) gliding along the edge of a small rock pool

From what I understand the nudibranch is basically a kind of predatory sea slug-like animal. It feeds on sea anemones and other nudibranch-like animals.

This encounter inspired me to try and return to the rocks at low tide on subsequent days in search of more interesting sea slug-like-things.

Blue-Speckled Dorid (Dendrodoris caesia) hiding under a rock

I turned over many rocks in search of interesting creatures. At first I didn't notice the Blue-Speckled Dorid under the rock, but when I dropped it back into the water it magically transformed.

The Blue-Speckled Dorid unfolded in the water

The little dorid feeds on sponges. I believe the fluffy bits at the rear of the animal is are the external gills.

Another, even smaller, sponge feeder is the Lemon Pleurobranch.



Lemon Pleurobranch (Berthellina granulate) hiding under a boulder

The animal below might seem artificially similar to the sea slug-like animals above, but this beautiful little critter below is actually a tipe of Flatworm.

A species of Carpet Flatworm (Thysanozoon sp.) found along the intertidal shoreline at Cannon Rocks

I was fortunate enough to be able to view one of these flatworms under a field microscope on a recent visit to De Hoop and my breath was taken away by just how beautiful they are.

I found another tipe of flatworm on the rocks, but this one looked a bit like a living blob of slime...

Gilchrist's Booger ergmm I mean Gilchrist's Flatworm (Planocera gilchristi) under a boulder

The Gilchrist's Flatworm feeds on tiny animals found in the tidal pools, such as worms and crustaceans.

Video: Flatworms moving about at Cannon Rocks

My attempt at filming a flatworm swimming failed, but trust me that it is something to behold. Luckily there is always next time. I'm already looking forward to visit the rock pools again and again, in the years to come.

Turban Shell (Turbo cidaris) heading back to the water

There is still plenty more to share from the Cannon Rocks coastline, even some camera trapping, so stay tuned.

The Goose Mysteries

Back in November I placed my old Cuddeback camera trap amongst some boulders at Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve.

Camera trap at Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve

When I first came across the boulders it really struck me as an atmospheric place. Naturally I wanted to see what animals visited this place.

Common Duiker (Duiker - Sylvicapra grimmia) checking out the camera trap

It turns out that boulders can be tricky places to camera trap.

It is hard to find a good spot that does the landscape justice. Then the next problem is that the animals can come from any direction, because there isn't really a clear path in and out of the boulders.

As a result I got rather few photographs at this location. There was however two photographs that made it worth the effort.

Large Grey Mongoose (Grootgrysmuishond - Herpestes ichneumon) sneaking past the camera trap

The Large Grey Mongoose visited the boulders at 10:31 am. I don't camera trap these guys often, so it is always a pleasant surprise when one shows up. It is also a valuable addition to the reserve's species list. I saw one in person a few weeks before this photograph was taken, but having a camera trap photo is much beter for record keeping.

Precisely 24 hours later, on the dot, I got another unexpected photograph.

Spur-Winged Goose (Wildemakou - Plectropterus gambensis) mother with chicks well in line

Those chicks look awfully young to me. They must have recently hatched, very close by. This makes me wonder about two things.

Firstly, was the mongoose in the area because it knew the chicks where busy hatching?

Secondly, what are they doing so far away from water? These boulders are almost 1.5 km away from the nearest farm dam, and even further from the larger catchment dams. I did some reading and apparently the Spur-Winged Goose is know to breed up to 1 km away from water, so 1.5 km sounds plausible.

They will have a long walk down to the water and some might not make it if that mongoose is still in the area.

Rolling With The Golden Mole

I'm still busy forming my opinion about my new SecaCam HomeVista camera trap. I believe in finding the strengths and weaknesses of each camera trap I own. For the HomeVista the wide field of view and dynamically adjusting flash intensity sets it apart from other camera traps.

This is the first camera trap I've seen that is capable of adjusting the intensity of the flash based on the distance between the camera and the animal. This helps to reduce the amount of overexposure in the photographs.

The following sequence of a Porcupine family at Paarl Mountain illustrates the dynamically adjusting flash very well.

Porcupine (Ystervark - Hystrix africaeaustralis) with full flash - showing the bushes in the background

Porcupine with medium flash - note that the bushes are no longer visible

Porcupine with low flash - notice that the Porcupine in the background is barely visible

The combination of the wide field of view and the dynamically adjusting flash felt like the perfect combination to test on my resident Golden Mole.

Cape Golden Mole (Kaapse Gouemol - Chrysochloris asiatica) showing his shovel like hindfeet

I usually have to physically dim the IR flash and set the camera trap to use the lowest flash setting available, but with the HomeVista I didn't need to change anything. It works great in a confined space.

I find that videos usually work best when dealing with very small mammals, but I wanted to test both the photo and video settings. I had the camera trap take 5 photos and then a short video clip, but I think only 1 photo and then a video would have been be better.

The video clip below turned out rather comical, albeit a little bit distressing to watch.

Video: Cape Golden Mole slipping and rolling down a slope

I'm also trying out new ways of creating the holes I use when camera trapping underground. I want to make the holes a bit larger and more sturdy so that they will last for longer. I'm now covering the hole with wooden planks, for easier access to the camera trap. The wooden poles, which are used to support the planks, can be seen in the video.

This hole is fairly deep, much deeper than my previous attempts, and as a result the tiny Golden Mole struggled a bit to climb up the slope. The bottom half of the soil is rather hard, so the subterranean traveler wanted to get back to the softer top soil. Once he makes it to the top you can see him quickly tunneling away.

Golden Moles are completely blind with no external eyes at all (their eyes are non-functional and covered by skin and fur). It really is a marvel that the critter is still clearly able to know where it is and where it wants to be going.

It has been hot and windy here in Cape Town and I've been having trouble using this camera trap in more conventional locations. It seems to trigger very easily from warm wind and vegetation.

Luckily it seems to work well for Golden Moles and I'm excited to try this camera trap out in more areas where very small mammals might be scurrying around.

The Grey Buck Of Paarl

Dense vegetation is an important requirement for Cape Grysbok, and Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve overs plenty of very dense vegetation. It is no wonder that these secretive antelope like to call the reserve their home.

Cape Grysbok (Kaapse Grysbok - Raphicerus melanotis) at Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve

Cape Grysbok can be hard to see in person because of their secretive and nocturnal nature. They tend to hide in the dense vegetation and can go unnoticed, even when you get very close.

Luckily they are still fairly common around the greater Cape Town area and can even be found living close to human development. If you are lucky you can spot one crossing a road or darting for cover as you come around a bend.

Sneaking past the camera trap

Last year I was approached by a company that manufactures camera traps to test one of their new models. I received the camera trap late December and have been using it since then. The camera is the SecaCam HomeVista and the photograph below was take by it.

Young male Cape Grysbok with a very grey coat

I'm planning on doing a longer review of the camera trap at a later stage, but one of the things that stand out for me is the incredibly wide field of view. I'm sure it will be a blessing and a curse in the future.

I had the camera set to take a combination of photos and videos. The video clip below shows the restless youngster on a very windy summers day.

Video: Cape Grysbok walking through the boulders on a windy day

Only the rams have horns and this individual above seems to be still a fairly young male.

The Cape Grysbok is mostly active at night and about 65% of my camera trap observations have thus far been at night.

The white hair is much less visible in this wet female

They are solitary animals and scent mark their territory using the pre-orbital gland (in front of the eye). One of the cameras was lucky enough to catch a Cape Grysbok in the act of scent marking.

Cape Grysbok scent marking on the slopes at Paarl Mountain

The Cape Grysbok is endemic to South Africa and an iconic species of the dense vegetation along the coast and mountain ranges of the south and south-east.