Brood parasites – Part 1

PHILIP VAN DEN BERG (U34) writes: Brood parasites are birds which lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species. The latter hatch and rear the young parasites. There are three parasitic groups in Southern Africa, the Cuckoos, the Honeyguides and the Whydahs (which include Indigo-birds).  Members of all three groups occur in our village and will be dealt with in more detail in future issues of this blog.

It is only the Honeyguide family that is exclusively parasitic.

The Lesser Honeyguide (below top) can often be seen if there are nesting activities by either the Black-collared Barbet (below centre) or the Crested Barbet (bottom).

Barbets nest in excavated holes in soft dry wood. The nesting logs made from the base of the inflorescence of the Agave (garingboom) that people fasten to a tree, is ideal for this purpose.

Lesser Honeyguides are solitary and inconspicuous birds, but when Barbets are nesting they often visit the nesting holes looking for an opportunity to lay an egg. Barbets do not meekly accept them and have developed behaviour traits to counter the actions of the honeyguides. The male Honeyguide, on the other hand, tries to lure the Barbets away from the nest to give the female an opportunity to lay her egg. When the young Honeyguide hatches, it will kill the Barbet chicks using a sharp hook at the tip off its bill specifically grown for this purpose. The Honeyguide chick will then receive the undivided attention of the host parents, i.e. the Barbets.

In closing, a strange but true story relates that Honeyguides used to visit churches in Mozambique to feed on the candles! 

Bome het ook name

Die aanplanting en versorging van die inheemse bome in Warmbad Renaissance was van meet af aan vir die bestuurskomitee en die meeste inwoners ʼn saak van erns. Terwyl ons oord in 1989/1990 in aanbou was, het die ontwikkelaar alles moontlik in die werk gestel om nie die inheemse bome op die terrein te beskadig nie.

Net soos ons, het alle bome name, vgl. worsboom,  blompeer, wildepruim, ens. Hulle is pragtige inheemse bome wat ons oord verfraai.

Op 27 Januarie 1993 het Gert Pretorius van die plaaslike dendrologiese vereniging die inheemse bome in ons oord geïdentifiseer en van naamplaatjies voorsien (foto onder).

Die botaniese name is universeel. Die populêre name verskil soms van streek tot streek. Sommige genusname het intussen ook verander, byvoorbeeld die Acacia genus het na Senegalia (foto’s onder) en Vachelia verander Hierbenewens moes die bome wat nog nie van naamplaatjies voorsien is nie, ook aandag kry. Alle inheemse bome, maar ook ’n paar mooi uitheemse bome, is van naamplaatjies voorsien.

Gertie Oosthuizen van die dendrologiese vereniging, het goedgunstiglik kom help om bome te identifiseer. Sy het 72 naamplaatjies teen R10 elk aangebring (foto onder). Gertie het nog ʼn paar plaatjies wat sy ekstra gehad het, aan die oord geskenk. Bome wat nuut aangeplant is, soos byvoorbeeld die wit-stinkhout en  karee wat Piet Combrinck vroeër op die grasperk voor die administrasiekantoor aangeplant het, is eweneens van naamplaatjies voorsien.

Ten slotte: ons het ʼn aantal seldsame bome in ons oord. Die  bosveld-saffraan wat naby E116 groei is een hiervan. Hierdie boom word ernstig in sy natuurlike omgewing bedreig en mag nie beskadig word nie. Die alombekende maroela is nog een, so ook die kremetartboom wat by E123 aangeplant is. Die poerabessie voor E119 is nie alombekend nie, waarskynlik omdat dit eintlik ʼn tropiese plant is wat selde in Suid-Afrika aangetref word. 

Oord verwelkom Steph en Thea Maré

Steph (72) en Thea Maré (69), wat onlangs hul intrek in E78 geneem het, is Bosvelders in hart en niere. Hulle het na 25 jaar vanaf Pretoria teruggekeer na húl wêreld nadat hulle verskeie aftreeopsies in Pretoria, Mookgopong en Modimolle oorweeg het. Hulle is in hul noppies met hulle uiteindelike keuse. Volgens hulle vertoon die oord se terrein pragtig, hul eenheid is gerieflik, ander inwoners is vriendelik en hulle voel veilig. Hulle sien daarna uit om by oordaktiwiteite in te skakel.

Thea is op Mokopane gebore, waar sy grootgeword en in 1971 aan die Hoërskool Piet Potgieter gematrikuleer het. Hierna was sy om die beurt ʼn bankamptenaar, werksaam by haar eie sakeonderneming, ʼn  tuisteskepper en het uiteindelik die boekhouding van Steph en hulle seun se konstruksieonderneming behartig.

Steph is op Tolwe gebore, dog beskou Wonderfontein as sy grootworddorp. Hy het in 1968 aan die Potchefstroom Gimnasium gematrikuleer waarna hy hom aan die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiekollege as ʼn geregsdienaar bekwaam het. Na ses jaar in die polisiediens het hy die sakewêreld betree en sy eie sakeondernemings bedryf totdat hy in 2017 afgetree het as die mede-eienaar van ʼn konstruksieonderneming.

Thea en Steph is 45 jaar gelede op Mokopane getroud. Hulle het twee kinders en vier kleinkinders.

Voorsitter se boodskap – Oktober 2022

Die Voorsitter van die Bestuurskomitee, WESSIE VAN DER WESTHUIZEN skryf soos volg: Ons betuig graag ons innige meegevoel teenoor die De Villiers-, Bester- en Cornelius-families wat geliefdes aan die dood afgestaan het.

Recently there was talk of clique forming in our village, perhaps justifiably so. However, when residents were recently invited to a meet-and-greet function, only 22 turned up. I wondered what the reason for the poor turnout could be.

Eerstens was daar inwoners wat met vakansie, siek, hartseer was en mobiliteitsprobleme gehad het. Tweedens het die uitnodiging sommige inwoners nie bereik nie omdat hulle hulle aan die oord se WhatsApp-groep onttrek het. Derdens is daar sorgwekkende apatie by sommige inwoners te bespeur omdat hulle redeneer dat daar wel ander sal wees wat die wa deur die drif sal trek.

An invitation to attend a gathering with the purpose of getting to know each other, will soon be sent out to residents once again. I hope that you will be able to accept it.

Ek wil ten slotte sê dat ek dit as my plig en voorreg beskou om soms hulp aan my medemens te verleen. Indien ʼn inwoner se gesondheidstoestand egter dermate verswak dat hy/sy ʼn risiko, verleentheid of oorlas vir ander inwoners skep, is die bestuurskomitee ingevolge par. 2.2 van ons gedragsreëls geregtig om te vereis dat hy/sy na ʼn gepaste fasiliteit gaan waar hy/sy die nodige sorg kan ontvang.

Helping good people do good things

The concept of law has its origins in Ancient Greece between 500 and 300 BC. Simply stated, it refers to a set of rules created and enforced by social or governmental institutions to regulate behaviour thus helping good people do good things. Similarly, our Rules of Conduct are a set of rules to regulate much of what happens in our village.Our Rules of Conduct are underpinned by specific laws of our country, i.e. the Sectional Titles Act, the Act on Elderly Persons, the Act determining the Nature of Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons, and the Constitution.

There can be little doubt, therefore, that they (our Rules of Conduct) are obligations imposed by law and put into effect by a legal entity, i.e. the Management Committee, under the auspices of the Management Association.

However, as in the case of the laws of the country, our Rules of Conduct may appear somewhat inflexible. Hence, the Management Committee exercises a reasonable degree of empathy when putting them into effect.

Perhaps it is time to remind residents that our Rules of Conduct are fundamental to the peaceful coexistence and good order in our village. Consequently, the next few postings on this blog will briefly focus on some of them.

This month residents are advised to take note of Par. 2, which determines that our village is meant for people who are self-supporting and can live independently without causing a risk, embarrassment or nuisance to other residents.

Super Constellation Starliner lands in Warmbaths/Bela-Bela

Super Constellation Starliner

The story below recounts the sensational arrival in Warmbaths/Bela-Bela of a Super Constellation Starliner, nicknamed Connie, which, in its operational lifetime, was able to convey a maximum of 44 passengers in  pressurised comfort on international routes. Although this blog is unable to confirm the source of the information and photographs, the name of Erik Eriksen crops up frequently.

Connie was withdrawn from service by Trek Airways in April 1969 and stored in Johannesburg until it was bought for the sum of R2 000 in July 1971 by a local businessman named Willem Pelser who planned to convert the aircraft into a restaurant. At the time, Pelser was the owner of the Klein-Kariba holiday resort, 7 km north of Warmbaths/Bela-Bela.

The aircraft’s last flight was to Warmbaths/Bela-Bela on 9 October 1971. Captain Retief approached from the direction of Nylstroom and skilfully landed Connie on a primitive landing strip in the bush. See photograph below.

There were no runway lights nor (perhaps) even a windsock. It was, in fact, little more than a glorified plaaspad!

The plans for a restaurant did not materialize. When Klein-Kariba was taken over by the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging in 1973, the aircraft was converted into a boardroom.

A glorified boardroom!

In 1978 the South African Airways bought the aircraft to restore it to its former glory. It was dismantled, loaded on trucks (see photograph below) and transported to Johannesburg in 1979 where the restoration was completed in 1988.

Today she is on display at the South African Airways Museum, Rand Airport in Germiston (see photograph below).

Oord verwelkom Gudrun Smith

 

Gudrun Smith (E26) is in 1948 in Amsterdam, Nederland, gebore. In 1958 het sy en haar ouers na Suid-Afrika geëmigreer. Hulle hul mettertyd in Germiston gevestig. Hier het sy haar skoolloopbaan aan die Hoërskool Vryburger voltooi. Sy het met Francois Marais in die huwelik getree en die edel roeping van voltydse tuisteskepper aanvaar. Nadat Francois oorlede is, is sy met Raymond Smith getroud. Hy het haar egter ook later ontval.

Gudrun het haar voorheen intensief met onder andere tapesserie-, pottebak-, kers- en houtsneewerk besig gehou.

Sy vertel dat sy verskeie aftreeopsies oorweeg het voordat sy besluit het om vanaf Kemptonpark na ons oord te verhuis. Sy is in haar noppies met haar gerieflike wooneenheid en die vriendelike inwoners wat sy tot dusver ontmoet het. Sy het reeds by die sosiale funksiesgroep ingeskakel.