Water-Wise Gardening
Situated in North West Province, Madikwe is a magnificent game re-serve where visitors have the opportunity to observe the Big Five and many other animal species, as well as numerous reptiles, insects and birds (the reserve’s bird list stands at more than 350 species). The temperature year-round is moderate to hot and the average annual rainfall is 500 millimetres, although this has been decreasing over the past few years. It was with this in mind that the owners of a four-star lodge in the western section of the reserve contacted us to assist with their garden. Their primary goal was to redesign it in order to reduce the amount of water it guzzled.
The original lawn covered an area of 1600 square metres and consisted of a mix of kikuyu and LM grasses. It was (and still is) a magnificent sweeping lawn, but the extensive watering cycles it needed to keep it looking green and healthy were having a severe impact on the lodge’s water consumption.
Water is a scarce commodity in the region and, with the recent drought and uncertainty over the changing climate, efficient water usage is always going to be a concern. So the transition to a more water-efficient – and wildlife-friendly – garden was important for the lodge. There were other notable problems to resolve too: the lawn’s thirst was having a negative impact on some of the trees, specifically the beautiful row of coral trees Erythrina lysistemon that frame the outer edge of the garden. Generally, coral trees go dormant in winter and should not be watered during the dry season, but because of their proximity to the lawn they had received year-round watering.
Denne historien er fra March/April 2018-utgaven av African Birdlife.
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Denne historien er fra March/April 2018-utgaven av African Birdlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
