“It was a trip well worth the wait – sunny and warm. The veld is looking so good after all the rain, with some rare species and plenty of interesting recoveries after the drought and controlled burns.”
This comment by one of the members of the Southern Overberg Branch of the South African Botanical Society summarises the experience of all the members who participated in the end of the year outing.
On Saturday 11 December members met at the Sandberg Fynbos Reserve situated halfway between the towns of Franskraal and Elim. The last outing of the year was originally scheduled for the previous Saturday but, as the weather forecast for the best part of the Overberg region included heavy showers and foul weather, the decision was taken to postpone the outing.
An added bonus this time around was the sighting of the minute Disa venusta – a delicate blue flower which is on the Red Data List. The participants were also alerted to the presence of the rare button quail, an endangered bird species that frequents this particular reserve.
According to host and owner of the reserve, Gerhard van Deventer, birders from as far afield as Johannesburg regularly visit the reserve in order to tick off “button quail” on their “have seen” birding lists. A few members confirmed they could hear but not see these elusive members of the quail species.