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As we all know, spring is upon us and with spring arriving, it brings many changes to the African bush. In a recent blog, Patrick Grealy touches on a few of those changes, but there’s a more intricate chain reaction that occurs that I find particularly fascinating. This is the chain reaction that occurs after the first spring rains.
The air shifts before the first raindrop falls. Clouds roll in over the horizon, heavy with promise. The smell of the damp earth is carried across the landscape by the breeze. And then “tap,” the first raindrop falls, and the bushveld stirs. Very recently, we have just had the first bit of rain for the season.
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The Earth Drinks
Within minutes, the parched soil darkens, soaking up the moisture it has waited months to receive. Small rivulets flow down old animal tracks, and seeds that have lain dormant for months swell and split, sending delicate green shoots towards the sky. Knobthorns and marula trees push out tender new leaves almost overnight, transforming the dull winter landscape into a sudden, luminous green. A process that seems to start off slow, steps into a higher gear when the first rains arrive.
Every year at the end of winter, knobthorn trees break out into a dazzle of yellow as their flowers blossom. The flowers emerge before the leaves.
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The insects swarm
The soft patter on the ground masks another sound, the flutter of tiny wings in the thousands. Termites erupt from their mounds in synchronised flights. Dragonflies skim the surface of newly formed puddles. Mosquitoes begin their whiny patrols and dung beetles tumble clumsily through the air. The air starts to hum with life, and for every insect, a predator is waiting to eat it. Although this is one part of the changing seasons that many people do not look forward to, the increase in insect activity plays an incredibly important role.
Winged ants swarming on a hot spring day
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Birds Converge
The buzz of insects brings out the best in the bird life at Londolozi. The arriving migrants swarm to the skies in search of their next meal. Bee-eaters swoop, rollers flash their flying colours, and swallows descend on the erupting termites. Francolins and spurfowls forage along the damp roadsides, seizing every insect and grub that has been stirred by the rain. The bush is suddenly loud with songs and calls, every species taking advantage of the feast while it lasts.
After a few minutes watching this Lilac-breasted Roller peck at the Bushveld Rainfrog, it finally speared the frog with its beak.
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Reptiles and Amphibians awaken
For myself, this is my favourite part of the newly dampened bushveld. The puddles are barely a few centimetres deep before the chorus begins. Bullfrogs, reed frogs and tree frogs call in unison, each male trying to be heard above the others. From their hidden burrows, leopard tortoises emerge to drink. At this point, the chain reaction is really starting to gather momentum.
A leopard tortoise takes to the streets to quench its thirst after a long winter tucked away in a burrow.
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Mammals Shift
Grazers start to spread out, no longer tied to the few remaining waterholes. Impala, wildebeest and zebra gather on open crests where the grass is now rich and fresh. This dispersal changes the game for predators as well. Lions begin to patrol further afield, and leopards shift their movements to shadow that of the prey animals. Wild dogs take to the open crests to take advantage of the soft, quiet ground to hunt at speed.
The calm before the storm. 5 members of a wild dog pack scan their surroundings from an open crest in search of their next meal.
The rains, though they begin as a single drop, ripple all the way to the top of the food chain. A leopard’s belly, full from an impala kill, is the final link in a cascade that began with rain drenching the thirsty ground. In a few weeks, the pans will shrink and the insects will fade, but in the meantime, the first rains are welcomed with open arms by each and every organism in our ecosystem. From the dormant grass seeds to the apex predators, the rains will be greeted with open arms.
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Bryce Trodd
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