A big word of thanks needs to go out to quite a number of members who decided together to create a Covid-19 disaster fund for Paarl Golf Club. These funds will be used to ensure that people who were reliant on the golf club to be fully functional can have some “income” during the lock down period. These are the caddies, the waiters and barmen at Golfing Goat. Should any other member wish to contribute to this fund please feel free to use the following bank account with the reference Covid-19 and your name
Banking details
Bank: Nedbank
Branch code: 198765
Account number: 1470120097
Reference: Covid-19 and name
A quick feedback on this initiative is that we have secured close to R100 000 in this fund that will help a lot of people functioning at the club without an income during this period. Should the lockdown be extended we now have some funds to work with to ensure some income to those that were reliant on golfers on the course.
We are going to celebrate Louis Oosthuizen’s Open win from 10 years ago by auctioning some very special Louis Oosthuizen memorabilia. The best part is that you can bid for the auction electronically. The link to use is https://forms.gle/zQs6sLXwWYoiAtzR9
There are three different auction items and they will also have a reserve price connected to them. The first item is The Duke Handmade in St. Andrews Scotland Hickory Putter all the way from the course where Louis won the 2010 Open.
The second item is a very special bottle of wine. The label is signed by Louis himself and has a picture of him kissing the famous Claret Jug.
This bottle, together with a photograph of Louis taken during that particular Open, is framed in a once-in-a-lifetime memory of this momentous occasion.
The third item is a magnum bottle of Roodeberg Collector's Edition wine. You may ask "What does that have to do with Louis who has his own brand of wine?" It is actually very simple. It is the one wine that has got two 'o's in its name, as in Oosthuizen.
Make a bid >
Thanks to Anton Bezuidenhout who identified the gentleman on the left as Dan du Plessis (long standing member at Durbanville and according to Anton always dressed in jacket and tie for the prizegiving ceremony). Now we just need the man to the right of Allistair. Still unknown.
Thanks to Anville van Wyk who helped with the man on the left to be our own Peter Dryer who was a previous captain of PGC and did a lot for PGC over the years. The man on the right was Boland Golf Union President at that point in time, but we still need his name.
The photograph this week from the treasure chest is the one below. I sincerely hope that I would receive some feedback on who the gentlemen on the photograph are. Please e-mail me at manager@paarlgc.co.za if you recognise the gentlemen on the photo.
Again Anville van Wyk identified the man in the middle to be Edwin Grobbelaar, who was a member at PGC for many years. We still need the two gentlemen on the side of Edwin so I wil run with the same photo this week.
Know your birdies from your eagles |
Fiery Necked Nightjar (Afrikaanse Naguil)
Description
It is at this time that the ever present and humble Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) drums out its distinctive and characteristic call described by birders as “good Lord deliver us”. The call is particularly audible through the full moon phase, less so on darker nights.
Many of you will have encountered the Fiery-necked Nightjar on your evening game drives. It is the most common Nightjar, about 23cms in size, and is nocturnal by habit, feeding on insects which fly about after dark. Although this Nightjar may choose to hunt its dinner from arboreal posts, it is very often found sitting on road surfaces. They are often blinded by oncoming vehicle headlights, “sitting tight” until the very last second, before flying off in a disorientated manner. They are very well camouflaged. No wonder we unfortunately see so many of them succumb as road kills.
The Fiery-necked Nightjar was first described by Cuvier around 1816. Other common names for this bird are South African Nightjar, Pectoral Nightjar, Cuvier’s Nightjar and African Dusky Nightjar. In Afrikaans, it is called Afrikaanse naguil. Fiery-necked Nightjars have a very large range, estimated at over 4 500 000 square kilometers, and therefore exceeds the thresholds for vulnerable range sizes. Its population is considered to be stable. It occurs widely in Africa, ranging from South Africa as far north as Kenya. It enjoys the lower elevations in southern Africa and is scarce in the dry regions.
Behaviour and feeding
They are primary nocturnal birds, and is usually spotted during night time game drives. They are usually difficult to spot during day time with their camouflage type patterns which resembles bark and leaves.
The Fiery Necked Nightjar is primarily a solitary bird, which is very agile in flight. This enables them to catch insects without much effort. Their large eyes enable them to hunt effectively in the dark. They can open their mouths extremely large, which enables them to catch insects much more efficient during flight.
The Fiery Necked Nightjar has as well a special middle claw (pectern) which enables them to groom themselves, and get rid of parasites and dust.
The Fiery Necked Nightjar is Insectivorous and feeds primarily on: Beetles, butterflies and moths, cockroaches, termites and mantis, lacewings and antlions, grasshopper’s bee’s wasps and ants and flies.
They usually forage at dusk up until the middle of the night, or longer if the moon provides a bit of light. They like to hunt from a branch, and when catching a juicy insect then it will usually return to the same perch to feed.
Breeding
Breeding occurs during the months from August to January, the hens laying their eggs on bare ground. Both sexes take turn to incubate the eggs (18 days) and look after the chicks. The chicks are able to fly when they are about 18 to 20 days old. Fiery-necked Nightjars are monogamous and mate for life. Both sexes have almost similar plumage.