Disheartening days

Alan Lee, a researcher from Percy FitzPatrick Institute working in Baviaanskloof joined the NVT team for a fynbos ringing session in Natures Valley. Keen to show him all the bird associated activities we undertake, I invited him to join me while I did some disturbance work with the African Black Oystercatchers and ringed one of the season’s chicks that was big enough. I was excited to show off the amazing area that I call home, but instead of a beautiful pristine beach the shocking reality of an urbanised coastal ecosystem was revealed. We saw a gull with a plastic bag wrapped around its wing, a juvenile oystercatcher with terrible avian pox (suspected cause) on its legs as well as an adult oystercatcher that appeared to have fishing line wrapped around its wing and/or leg with a length trailing behind. It was a disheartening experience.

Plastic bag wrapped Kelp Gull. Photo by Alan Lee.

Poxy juvenile African Black Oystercatcher. Photo by Alan Lee.

Oystercatcher trailing fishing line. Photo by Alan Lee.

A few days later I decided to go ‘dazzling’. Kellyn Whitehead, a new volunteer at NVT, joined me at Lookout beach one night with the intention of catching the juvenile oystercatcher with pox on its legs; I wanted to take it to the rehab centre at Tenikwa. Armed with headlamps and a spotlight we stalked the beach looking for our bird. Over an hour of traipsing through the colony yielded no oystercatcher and a few failed attempts at catching Crowned Lapwings. Then came a horrific discovery. Kellyn and I came across two dead oystercatchers. A pair. Wrapped together by fishing line. It was most likely the bird that we had seen earlier that week. The trailing fishing line had become entangled with its mate and the two had either starved or drowned, most likely the latter. It was utterly depressing. The death of two individuals of a Near Threatened species due to the negligence of our 'superior' race. This has reinforced my conviction to educate beach-goers, emphasising the care of our beaches to aid in the conservation of all the species that breed in this area.