Ndlopfu farm report: July 2006

Rainfall and climate:

No rainfall was measured for the month of July. The maximum temperature recorded was 33 degrees c and the minimum for the month was 3 degrees c.
We experienced some really cold weather on the farm during July as a number of cold fronts moved through the Lowveld.


Hydrology:

The level of Big Dam is dropping and at this stage the level is at least 2m below the dam wall. The only waterhole being pumped at the moment is the clubhouse pan. No major problems were experienced with the pipeline during July, except an incident of elephant damage at the water tanks which is discussed under problem animals.

Ecology:

Generally the farm is in good condition. Certain areas around Big Dam are still being heavily utilised and the grazing impact, especially from buffalo is very evident. We will be doing a production analysis on the farm during August to determine biomass figures in certain areas to see whether we should implement a controlled burning programme for the forthcoming season.



Ground Hornbill Conservation Project:

There have been numerous reports of ground hornbill sightings on the farm during July. The nest on Baobab as well as the Clubhouse nest has been very active lately. Two separate groups of three birds have been sighted at both nests. With the breeding season not far off, the birds will be exploring all possible nesting sights and cavities for the forthcoming season.

The birds have been very vocal in the early mornings, sometimes starting to call as early as 04h30. They can be seen on most mornings in front of the clubhouse on the open clearings and have even been seen on the clubhouse lawns.

Ground Hornbill sightings data sheets will be made available at the Ndlopfu reception. It would be appreciated if members would take the time to fill in any sightings and/or observations. This is important for research purposes as we are in the process of compiling a comprehensive data base for the project.

The APNR Ground Hornbill Research and Conservation project will be working with a new research candidate from the USA as from next month. Apparently the new researcher has considerable ornithological experience and has done some interesting studies and published various papers on wild turkeys and conservation in the USA. This might renew the interest and motivation within the APNR GH Project.

Game sightings:

Generally game sightings were not very productive during July. There were a number of members that had very quiet game drives during their visits.
Rhino activity has once again picked-up and an adult cow and sub-adult calf have been seen a few times. A single bull has also been seen on the farm. Big herds of buffalo have been seen regularly and there is a resident herd of buffalo bulls that frequent the open area to the north of Big Dam.
Elephant sightings have decreased substantially over the last month. Single bulls are still seen regularly but the breeding groups were not all that active during the July.

Very few lion sightings were reported for the month.

Leopard sightings have been very good with a number of sightings being recorded by members. Eric reported seeing three leopards together on the airstrip. (I presume that it must be a male, female and sub-adult) A big male leopard has been reported often and seems to be very relaxed with vehicles.

Any member upgrading a digital camera please let us know as I would love to give Eric a camera to use. Eric is out in the bush constantly and knows a lot of what is going on in the field.

The hyena den is still active on the road to the airstrip although they seem to be active much later in the evenings than before. It appears that all of the cubs are still alive and doing well.
General game sightings have not been very good. Small groups of zebra have been seen on the farm and a small herd of wildebeest has also been recorded on the airstrip. Giraffe numbers are also down for July.

We now have a resident hippo in Big Dam. I think he must be the old bull that normally stays in the dam on N’tsiri and sometimes Peru Dam. He is a really old bull with one broken tooth/tusk. He is easy to identify as he has a pink spot on the side his face. This could be from an old wound or possibly a pigment defect.
He really puts on a show and it looks like he’s trying to impress with his territorial displays, opening his mouth as wide as possible and snorting. Let’s hope he stays at Ndlopfu for a while.

We now have a new sightings book in the reception area. It’s a really nice leather-bound book (thanks to John Nicholson for organising this). Please record your sightings and observations. We would like to start a data base on Ndlopfu game sightings and find out if there is a general trend or movement of certain species and this information would assist us immensely.



Many thanks and regards from the Ndlopfu McDonald clan,

Kind regards

Bruce.