Xigera Camp - July 2008
07 Aug 2008
Temperature
July had a maximum average of 22° Celsius and a mean minimum of 11° Celsius. The month has been one of relatively clear weather. There has still been a steady drop in flood levels measured at the bridge in front of camp.
Wildlife Sightings
Early one morning, the first guide out found drag marks zigzagging down the road. In the soft sand they could clearly make out the tracks of an African wild cat, its paws straddling the prey that it was dragging. A little further on they found the remains of a scrub hare that was left after being consumed by the small cat. This is sizeable kill for the wild cat that is only the size of an average domestic cat.
From the boat, guests have seen groups of warthog feeding on the grass in the shallow floodplains along with troops of baboons and zebra. Giraffe were found browsing on the acacias while hyper-active vervet monkeys played in the tree tops. This is a typical scene here in the Delta, where different species of prey animals feed together, numerous watchful eyes looking out for predators. They all benefit from the increased eyes and ears able to detect dangerous predators.
Interestingly, a small python was seen in the shallow waters where guests got out of the boat onto an island to enjoy their evening sundowner. Not many snakes are seen this time of year, where the cold forces them to slow their metabolism through the winter months. The python is completely at home in water and will often ambush water birds from below.
A big, black-maned lion was spotted from the boat one afternoon on an island. On closer inspection, the guide noticed a lioness close by, both resting at the time. Suspecting what might be going on here, the guide waited for a while and sure enough they eventually started mating. The big cats will mate almost continuously for several days. If the mating is successful the lioness should give birth by November to a small litter of cubs.
Our bridge across the channel onto the island on which the camp is situated was productive once again this month. There is a small sandpit at the camp end of the bridge which allows us to determine, from tracks left in the sand, what has crossed onto the island during the month. Since the bridge is visible from the campfire and dining room table we also often see these creatures sneaking across after dark. This month we had several spotted hyaena sightings, as a well as one of a male leopard and no less than three of the same female leopard. The guests were obviously blown away by these sightings enjoyed while having dinner.
Birds & Birding
African Skimmers were sighted at Xigera Lagoon on the 14th of July which is very early for them to be seen here; perhaps a sign that the flood was a small one and water levels are dropping fast, exposing sandbanks. The skimmers arrive in this part of the world after the flood to nest on the sandbanks, but unfortunately their nests are often robbed by Nile Monitors and crocodiles that eat the eggs and even chicks. Last year they were seen in large flocks at the lagoon, but sadly none managed to successfully breed here. We hold our thumbs that this year we will witness greater success.
Aside from sightings of Western Banded Snake-eagle there were a couple other birding highlights this month:
Two African Fish-eagles were seen locked in aerial combat, tumbling from the air and then flying back up to resume the fight. Fish-eagles are known to be highly territorial (especially here where the productive habitat is able to sustain a very large population) and this particular altercation was no different. The pairs can often be seen perched on tall trees on the ring islands near the water and by doing this they are clearly advertising their presence to any other fish-eagles that might be in the area, eyeing out the territory.
Marleen, one of our camp managers, was sitting on her porch one evening overlooking the water channel that runs past the front of camp and under the bridge. She suddenly noticed a Pel's Fishing-owl dive down with talon's stretching into the water. The big owl successfully grabbed a fish and then flew off to a big sycamore fig tree where it perched and started eating its catch. This is a rare sight by any standard and a very lucky and happy Marleen got a goods night's sleep after all that excitement.
Other News
Other news this month was an extremely interesting presentation by Poster on the Wilderness Safaris Rhino Relocation and Reintroduction Project. We had the pleasure of hosting this large (in height and character) man at Xigera for two nights, and he had guests, staff, guides and managers alike all mesmorized by his work. He was also able to join Marleen, Glynis and John on an all day bird transect where they recorded all the species of birds identified on the trip as well as the number of each species. This is part of a monitoring project that is continually looking for data to add to their database. Through regular monitoring and bird counts such as this, the experts are able to keep track of species diversity, any changes that may occur as well as seasonal fluctuations in bird species.
We look forward to seeing you out here.
Anton, Marleen, Kgabiso, Question, Teko, KD, Ndebo, Diye, Shadreck and the rest of the Xigera team
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