Rocher Pan, birds by the sea

By Diana Studer

- gardening for biodiversity

in Cape Town, South Africa

From Porterville when we yearned for sea air, our nearest beach was Eland’s Bay, a small town, good for surfing. We prefer walking at RocherPan. Cape Nature Conservation reserve is a wetland which sweeps down to the sea, beyond the dunes. 930 hectares, the reserve, established in 1966, is a seasonal vlei, dry between March and June. The Atlantic Ocean stretch of marine reserve was declared in 1988. The hours we spent there in March 2011, we had the whole place to ourselves. Just had to share with three ostriches, who disappeared in affronted horror, at Intruders, on Our Patch!! Who, why Rocher? Perde-kaf-en-koffers-a-story-from-the-West-Coast.

Illusion of 'Mountain with stormy clouds?' Right the bigger picture
Rocher Pan

There was still some water in the pan, near the thru road, the ranger’s house and the first bird hide. At the second hide the pan was dry.

A group of avocets in the distance, their upturned bills make them unmistakable. A few blacksmith lap-wings. Couple of little stints. Vivid contrast to a photo of proud Victorian hunters with a mountain of dead ducks We Just Shot.

Blacksmith lap-wing
Avocets
To the right, little stint

He sees birds, I see flowers. Almost Euphorbia green daisy was highlighting the vegetation on the shore of the pan.

Pteronia uncinata Asteraceae March 2011

We drove the track up the sand dune. While we had a quick picnic lunch, I discovered a mistletoe. Red berries just like a Christmas card, tho there is another species with Northern style white berries.

Maurocenia
with Viscum rotundifolium, red mistletoe
and an Asparagus fern
March 2011

We wandered quietly along a sweep of beach. To the South in the far distance a haze of white houses at Laaiplek. To the North a deeper band of sky blue, the mountain ridge of Eland’s Bay at the sea end of Verlorenvlei.

Sea at Rocher Pan

There must have been a recent, fairly gentle high tide. The beach was strewn with jellyfish.

Jellyfish

That retreating tide left riffles of sand, and pavements of meticulously level and carefully spaced shell mosaic. (Sea and sand colours that inspired me for the False Bay blog, then our house)

Sea textures at Rocher Pan

One of our most endangered birds is the African black oystercatchers. (They have played a vital role in reducing and controlling the population of the alien invasive Mediterranean mussel). Endangered because they nest on the shore, where the brain damaged roar up and down on quad bikes and bakkies to go fishing, just because they can. In 2000 recreational vehicles were banned from South Africa's beaches. This pair of birds flew up and circled round, settling again as we walked on.

African black oystercatchers at Rocher Pan

The Ungardener found a sleeping seal. As he tried to get closer for a better picture, the seal woke up, yelled at him, and returned to the sea. There were dolphins, and flocks of birds gathered above a shoal of fish.

Seal - I was asleep!

Sitting alone, gazing out to sea. I see nothing but the sea. I hear nothing but the waves. Looking back at that image, I see False Bay calling us!

The sea and I

We returned on a grey winter day inAugust 2013 with low cloud and heavy sea fog.

I must down go to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
                                                                                --John Masefield

Poetry left as a comment on the original post by Adrian Ayres Fisher - whose current thoughtful post is  On Pretending That What’s Happening Isn’t Actually Happening

I invite you to join us at Elephant's Eye on False Bay. Please subscribe as you prefer

Via Feedly,

Or Bloglovin,

Email with Feedburner,

Or Facebook

Pictures by Diana and Jurg Studer

of Elephant's Eye on False Bay

(If you mouse over teal blue text, it turns seaweed red.

Those are my links.

To read or leave comments, either click the word Comments below,

or click this post's title)