Sardine run!

There was a mini sardine run in the Kom on Thursday. The run was mini, not the sardines. They appeared to be of normal size. We were first alerted by flocks of gulls whirling overhead at dawn and during the day it became apparent that something unusual was going on. We seldom see gulls in this quantity, especially the large black-backed gull, and soon the throw-net experts were wading in and hauling in nets full of flapping fresh fish. Buckets were brought down to carry the catch home and in many households there are now women faced with sardines for the pan, the braai, the oven and as a last resort, salted and dried - the infamous bokkom! I am rather pleased that I am not one of them, as the prospect of prepariing small bony fish does not excite me. Give me a yellowfin tuna rather that I can carve up with a large knife!

Photos: Garnett Oosthuizen

The water has been unusually warm, which possibly caused the sardines to take a wrong turn somewhere and miss the trip up to Durban. It happened some years ago on a much larger scale and people still talk about it here in Kommetjie.

The birds are still bobbing in the bay, diving for smaller fish and squabbling over the catch, providing ample opportunity for photographers to snap their feeding habits for posterity. I took a picture, but unfortunately the mass of birds seemed to fade into obscurity against the grey sea and you can't get an idea of the scale of their presence, but here it is nonetheless.