PELICAN COUNT FOR THE AVIAN DEMOGRAPHY UNIT AT UCT

Once again we are pleased to report a successful mission to count pelicans for the Avian Demography Unit at the University of Cape Town. Here is the comment we received from pilot Harold Bloch:
"As discussed, we had a very successful flight with Marta and Pierre on the 28th. The pelicans have apparently left the islands and moved inland. We counted hundreds of pelicans, many more than we have ever seen before. They are mostly concentrated around small dams in the area between Stellenbosch and Malmesbury, the pig farm and Verlorenvlei. Marta will give you the details and her thoughts on their movements. What I found interesting was that they often congregate in large flocks around small muddy dams where you least expect them. Fog prevented us exploring the Langebaan lagoon but fortunately Marta had ground teams there, as well as at many other points in the area."
And, as Harold promised, here is the detailed report from Marta de Ponte Machado:
"Thanks once more to The Bateleurs, on Sunday 28th January, pilot Harold Bloch, spotter Pierre Nel and I, took off from the Stellenbosch airstrip to carry out our quarterly pelican survey.
At 6:15 in the morning the air was still and very clear, which helped us enormously to spot the bright big white blobs down below, which corresponds to our searching image of the pelicans from the air.
As always we checked the first few dams while still gaining height but only when we reached the farming areas around Tyger Valley did we begin to see any pelicans. Then it was madness. Every single dam had a fair number of these fascinating birds, so we spent a few hours flying in circles over the Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Malmesbury areas, counting and taking GPS co-ordinates and digital photographs.
Pelicans were already actively feeding on the farms at that time of the morning. At one of their favourite sites we saw about 800 pelicans! At most other sites they were still in their roosting places and were not moving around much, they were waiting for the thermals that allow them to fly with ease between roosting and feeding sites.
After zigzagging over the drier farming areas south of Malmesbury and over Atlantis and Mamre, we headed to the west coast. To our disappointment it was covered by a thick coastal fog that completely obscured our view of the ground. Realising that it was too thick to dissipate in a short while, Harold headed north towards Verlorenvlei. Miraculously it was completely clear and we photographed large numbers of pelicans there.
We headed back south hoping that the fog had gone away, but no luck. Fortunately there were people counting on the ground in some of the key sites - the Berg River and Rocher Pan. Other important sites, in particular Langebaan Lagoon, were covered by road after we landed. From vantage points overlooking the southern parts of the lagoon we spotted 26 pelicans, but we are aware that we may have missed some among the reeds or deep in the marshes.
We landed back at the Stellenbosch air strip after 4 hours and 15 minutes, hot and exhausted, but with the satisfaction of having done a good job. And feeling as privileged as ever for having spent our morning gazing at this beautiful landscape with a bird's eye view.
Our total count for the region is not available yet - we are still adding up the reports sent by our pelican counters on the ground. Our impression thus far is that the pelicans were more dispersed in the farming areas, and maybe there are, again, more pelicans in the region."