Jakkels Rivier Vlei Traditional Cache
SKATTIE@1: I have to look for a better spot
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Please replace the same way you found it. My original spot (the birds lookout structure) has burnt down.
A lagoon at the mouth of the Jakkals River. Open water, with very little emergent vegetation; shorelines of sand and mud, with some Salicornia; submergent Myriophyllum attracts coot. Waterfowl numbers peak in summer, when birds move to such permanent waterbodies from drying seasonal pans in the region. Nationally significant concentrations of Cape Shoveller were recorded in 1997 and 1998. Redknobbed Coot numbers peak in winter. Good numbers of Whitewinged Tern occurred in summer 1997. Variable numbers of Hartlaub's and Kelp Gulls visit the vlei to bathe in fresh water (K. Shaw). The river mouth should be open periodically but has remained closed for some time, largely due to a weir built by Lamberts Bay Municipality to ensure flooding on a more permanent basis (theoretically to attract birds and hence tourists). Even if the weir were removed, the system might not revert to its natural state because of water abstraction upstream and because a harbour wall extension has caused greater deposition of sand at the river mouth. Severe threats are posed by dam construction in the catchment; gravel pits in the river course, a nearby municipal dump, and alien plant infestation all have important effects.
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