Upper part of the main pond |
|
A large variety of waterfowl on the pond
|
Focus on Shiela
Rothschild
Waterfowl
at Wing Haven
Bird Gardens submitted
by Sheila Rothschild
First
avid Gardeners ...
For many years we were avid gardeners, and
won the Transvaal Horticultural Society’s annual gardening competition
for threeconsecutive years. However, due to the shady, temperate
environment we had created, we had generated a huge slug and snail
problem as well. They flourished to such an extent that we were feeding
them slug bait in 50kg amounts, rather than poisoning them!
...then
our first pair of ducks
We were really unhappy about all this
poison, though, and believed that there should be a more natural cure
for our problem. On discussion, we decided to try a pair of ducks to eat
these slugs and snails - thereby solving the difficulty and providing us
with "living ornaments" for our beautiful gardens.
After several enquiries, we were directed to a bird dealer in Pretoria.
Despite his advice, however, we decided on two male Cayuga domestic
ducks. We chose males, so as not to have a noise problem with our
already cantankerous neighbours. Big mistake! Their bulk and appetite
for the greenery had us back at the dealer within a week, where we
swapped them (with a huge cash difference) for a pair of Carolina wood
ducks, since they were so colourful and also relatively cheap. This was
11 years ago, and they cost R350,00 for the pair.
So
we started ...
The bug bit. Two months later
we decided that it would be nice to add another variety (predictably,
they were Mandarins), and so the collection started to grow. . .
After seven years and with a collection of over 100 birds on a
quarter-acre stand in suburbia, we had no alternative but to move to a
larger property. This triggered a two-year house-hunt, where we looked
at homes, plots, land and farms from Springs to Magaliesburg, and from
Klip River to Pretoria. Our search eventually yielded a property of 61/2
acres with unpolluted river frontage (Klein Jukskei) which was close to
tar, schools and a shopping centre.
...
At the banks of Klein Jukskei River
The
house itself was in serious disrepair. The stand consisted mainly of a
huge donga and plenty of veld, so in addition to massive renovations, we
also had to install security, build aviaries and camps for the water
birds. This took us 18 months of seriously hard work and unbelievable
expense, before we were able to start moving over a collection which had
grown to over 200 birds.
(Continue next column)
|
|
The
floods of 2000
Remember
the floods of February 2000? The first 50 water birds had come across,
we had just had R17,000 instant lawns laid in the camps, when the floods
hit. We had over R250,000 flood
damages to the camps - the repairs took us more than a year to get back
to where we were, but the emotional and financial strain took a toll
that will still take much longer to heal.
Now we
are settled
at Wing Haven
So where are we
now with Wing Haven? The water bird population makes up 60% of our
overall collection, and consists of:
Moving
from a residential property to a small holding in the country brought
with it many unforeseen problems. Instead of the cats and dog problems
which we had managed to overcome before, we now had to deal with
mongoose, genets, leguaans, rats and birds of prey. Sadly, we lost many
birds, although all the camps were enclosed in 1,8 metre high weld mesh
wire topped with an electric fence.
Our first breeding season was certainly not exceptional, yet we have now
recovered and had a bumper 200-plus birds born this season. To ensure
that we can maintain breeding pairs, we try to keep two pairs of each
species, as losses will occur, no matter how careful we are and what
measures we take. At this time, we are only looking for partners for
three species.
Monies received from bird sales go towards feeds, medicines, upgrading
the facilities and extending the collection ever further. The ultimate
aim is to have developed the entire property as gardens, streams and
bird life. Another key objective is the development of an effective Bird
Hospital - for which we have the buildings, but not the funds for
renovation.
In the relatively near future, we plan to open a tea garden, with
picnics along the river front and guided tours through the camps.
|
