A Cuckoo in the hand ...

In the hobby (or should I rather call it a sport?) of bird watching we mostly "study" our subjects through a pair of binoculars or even a spotting scope over some distance. Sometimes they are out in the open and you can watch their behaviour at length, jot down notes and even take photos of them. Other times they are just a flash of colour and a call as they are flitting between branches and leaves – obscured mostly from view but for a few splits of a second. When you have the privilege as I have to be not only a bird watcher, but to be training to become a bird ringer it is so much more of a delight to have a bird in hand to study it.

A week ago we netted a Jacobin Cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus – Rob 382) just north of Aliwal North – recorded in pentad 3035_2645. It was a beautiful specimen of the dark form of this bird, which is quite uncommon in our area. This specific bird now carries ring - 4H08114. And after all its measurements had been taken, it even posed gracefully for a photo or two. Strangely enough we did not hear it call (normally they are noisy at the start of the breeding season) – if it had not landed itself in the mist net, it could have gone totally unnoticed.

It was the first record of this species in the southern Free State in our current bird atlas project (SABAP2) and for me the first record for the atlas (and our region) as well. This just shows that bird atlasing and ringing can complement each other.

OUT IN THE VELD - ATLASING AND RINGING

The last few weeks had been very exciting on the atlasing scene. With the return of the summer migrants a whole new dimension started and I could list record numbers of species in the different pentads. And for the first time I "struck" a century – 105 species in a 3 hrs stint in one of the pentads north of the Orange River. Some of the birds that I've observed in that specific pentad for the first time was a flock of 11 Glossy Ibises. I counted no less than 7 Namaqua Sandgrouse at the same dam where I found them a few months ago – compared to SABAP1 data totally out of range. This time around it was not necessary to complete an out of range form to verify my sighting as I had done it already the previous time.

A week later we counted 124 species in another neighbouring pentad – a very special species that was observed for the first time in this area, was the Kurrrichane (Small) Buttonquail (Rob 205). Some other specials for that same area were the Barn Owl that we flushed by accident from its hide in a cliff and the nest of a Rufuos-cheeked Nightjar. African Rock Pipits called throughout the day and even before dawn a plethora of Eastern Clapper Larks were strutting their stuff.

Malachite Kingfisher after it has been ringed (ACvdW)

Dawie de Swardt, ornithologist of the National Museum in Bloemfontein, and I did bird ringing in that same pentad in the southern Free State in the same period – about 15 km from town. Some of the interesting and very special birds in the nets in that particular pentad were African Reed Warblers (Rob 631) and a Malachite Kingfisher (Rob 431). A Lanner Falcon tried to rob us of a Cape Turtle Dove in the nets - so we could add a Lanner to the tally of birds in the pentad.

An African Reed Warbler in the hand (ACvdW)

Other specials in the nets were 2 Rock Martins and 2 Greater Striped Swallows. With the bird in the hand it is so much more interesting to observe the characteristics close up – things one would not normally see through the binoculars with the bird at a distance.

Thank you to Francois and Monique Botha for hosting us on their farm at their lodge – Iniklofie Lodge – contact them at 072 736 0944. The lodge is rustic and just the place to recharge after a full and busy week.

Male Red-billed Quelea with an interesting head colouring (Pic: Deon du Plessis)

A week or so later Deon du Plessis – local birder and ringer – and I did some ringing at a site on the farm Zuiderzee just south of the Orange River. We ringed 17 species and a total of 63 birds on the day. It was interesting to see the different colours of the male Red-billed Quelea (Rob 821). Female Red Billed Quelea (Pic: Deon du Plessis)

At first we captured only males, but later in the morning we had some females (with their yellow bills in contrast to the red bills of the males) in the nets as well. Southern Red Bishops were plentiful and a Lesser Swamp Warbler was amongst the birds ringed.Male Red-billed Quelea (Pic: Deon du Plessis)

The first CAW ever!

Today – 09.08.2008 – was the first day of the first Communal Atlas Week (CAW) challenge. This small challenge is to encourage the bird atlasing community taking part in SABAP2 to see how many atlasers can submit a data card in one week – the previous most was 74 in one week.
We – Elsabé and I – set out early to atlas in the Free State in pentad 3035_2645. We recorded 52 species in just over three hours of atlasing. The first hour had been relatively quiet in the winter grassveld of the southern Free State. The first species listed for the day was the Common Fiscal. Most lists in the Aliwal district have the fiscal in the first five species on the list. Other regulars were Anteating Chat, African Pipit and Hadeda Ibis. A list in our area is not complete without the Acacia Pied Barbet – and we could tick it as #44 today. Pied Starlings are regular customers as well.
The owner of the farm Geneva phoned on Thursday to report Grey Crowned Cranes foraging near the centre pivot on his farm and asked me to come and record them for the atlas. He passed us on the way to his farm while we were still in the very early parts of the pentad. A few minutes later the cell phone rang – he called to report the cranes were there on the field and that we must hurry to record them before they fly off. The first bird we saw when entering the field was quite a bonus – a Secretary bird – as it is not normally so close to human activity. The centre pivot is just next to the farm yard. And a few hundred meters off were the three Crowned Cranes lazily foraging in the late winter sun. We could study them properly through our binoculars. Eventually we moved closer to take photos. Unfortunately they flew off and away into the distance.

We went on further to atlas the rest of the pentad and added quite a few species – Levaillant's Cisticola and Blue Korhaan amongst them. Our penultimate area to visit was the thicket on the banks of the Orange River. Here we encountered amongst other species - Speckled Mousebirds sunning themselves and Cape White-eyes gleaning insects from the budding branches and twigs of the trees on the river bank. Namaqua Warblers – 2 of them – were quite vocal and on the mud banks in the river a solitary African Pied Wagtail was spotted where it searched for titbits. The first signs of spring are visible – the willows on the river banks are starting to bud, fruit trees in the farm yards are in bloom and the poplar groves along the road display a bright green hue as the leaves start sprouting out. Today was an excellent day for atlasing the beautiful parts of our region and the sighting of a few special species made it worthwhile.

Reason to celebrate!

The atlasers for SABAP2 did a sterling job by submitting the first quarter million records by 18:00 tonight (27 July 2008). Below is a screenprint of this milestone - read previous post as well... it tells more of the milestones.

100 000 visits

On Tuesday 22 July 2008 just after 14:00 the SABAP2 website (http://sabap2.adu.org.za/index.php) had received a 100 000 hits. It was in the 13th month of the bird atlas project that this milestone had been reached.

After the 21:00 update tonight (25 July 2008) the project needed a mere 1 088 records of sightings to reach a quarter million records. If it is considered that the average number of records per day is just over 1 000, the quarter million mark should be reached by 21:00 on Saturday 26 July. Once again in the 13th month of the project.

Why don't you join us in the fun and start submitting your atlas records. Visit the SABAP2 website to find out more and how you can contribute to the research on the distribution and conservation of birds in Southern Africa.

Smaller, smallest!

Atlasing in July had been rather slow … and there had been little new experiences to share while out atlasing. Therefore I want to share some of the real special moments while out ringing birds.

Training is done under supervision of a qualified ringer and I am still in training. At the last ringing session at Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein I ringed two of the smaller endemic species in Southern Africa. I've observed both of these species in the district of Aliwal North - and in my own garden at home.

The larger of the two is the Orange River White-eye (Zosterops pallidus). These small birds weigh in at an average of 9,3g and are a mere 10-13 cm long from tip of bill to tip of tail. The Orange River White-eye is distinguished from the Cape White-eye by the peach-buff wash along its flanks. They feed on "insects, spiders, spider eggs, nectar, fruit, fleshy flower petals and sepals, honeydew from aphids; also orange pulp, sugar and jam from table or feeding tray" (Roberts' Multimedia V3). These busy little birds are regularly seen in our own garden, but much more difficult to photograph as they barely sit still long enough to focus the camera. When you have one in the hand, when ringing it, you realise how very small these little creatures really are. They are real little gems to watch while flitting around in the branches of shrubs and trees to glean their food from the plants.

The smaller one of the two, is the

Fairy Fly-catcher (Steno-stira scita).

It lives on small insects and has a very conspicuous call – many times you hear the bird calling before spotting it. This particular bird in the pic weighed only 5g – the average being 5,9g – they may reach a weight of 8g. Their total length can be 11-12 cm. The Fairy Flycatcher is just as difficult to photograph as it too never sits still for a moment and once again having it in hand gives you the rare opportunity to study it carefully and see the beautiful salmon pink spot under the belly and the white mascara on the bottom eyelid.

To ring the birds they are caught in a mist net which is set up amongst the vegetation in a suitable area. The nets are checked very regularly and birds are removed and ringed as quickly as possible to cause them minimum stress. Measurements are taken carefully, birds are weighed and the details of ringed birds are recorded carefully and logged against the unique ring number.

SAFRING is the body governing bird ringing in South Africa – more info: http://safring.adu.org.za/safring_about.php If it happens that you find a ringed bird (injured or dead) please contact SAFRING with the details of your find.

Invitation to the barbets

Acacia Pied Barbets (Tricho-laema leucomelas) are quite abundant in the gardens in our home town - Aliwal North. Unfortu-nately they have never set up home in our own garden. So we (the kids and myself) decided to put up a sisal log and see if we could invite them to come and nest in a tree in our backyard. The log was put up about 3 m from the ground in a leafless White Stinkwood (Celtis africana). The log is quite visible from far off and we hope the birds will spot it and excavate a nest before the onset of spring when the leaves of the stinkwood will sprout out again. According to literature these birds breed from August to April so we trust that the new site was put up just in time for the new season.

We'll keep you posted if the Barbets pick our log for their new nesting site – so come back and make sure you keep yourself updated.

Yes, you can help!!

(Photo by Mark Anderson - Courtesy: www.savetheflamingo.co.za)

The Lesser Flamingos breeding for a first season (one of only six localities left in the world) on an artificial island in Kamfers Dam near Kimberley need all the help they can get. Kamfer's Dam is one of the very few places remaining in the world where this exceptional birds are breeding ... and the success story behind their survival is one of the most amazing conservation stories of the last few years. BUT ... now this species is threatened by a town development on the shores of the Kamfer's Dam, as well as the deteriorating water quality in the dam due to raw sewerage flowing into the dam. There are other localities for the property development - which will worsen the scenario of the raw sewage in the dam if it is permitted to go ahead.

For more information on this whole story and the threats to the survival of the birds in Kamfer's Dam follow this links: http://www.savetheflamingo.co.za/ On this site you will also find ways to support the campaign to save the flamingos.

A transscript of the expose of the bungling of the Sol Plaatje Municipality by the Carte Blanche-team (29.06.2008) can be found here - the Executive Mayor gave all but satisfactory answers: http://www.mnet.co.za/Mnet/Shows/carteblanche/story.asp?Id=3530

See ... and be seen!

I have won the wonderful support of the many farm owners in our district for SABAP2 and after asking their permission they allow me to roam their farms freely. The only problem is the ever present possibility of a criminal element. Most of the farmers in our area are stockfarmers and stock theft is a great problem. Some of the farmers asked me to find a way to make myself more visible to themselves, their workers and the SAPS patrolling the farm roads as any vehicle moving slowly along in the farming areas is treated with suspicion. The outcome was to have these door magnets made by a local signage firm. When I am out atlasing in the district I always have them on my car doors. The effect is that some of the farm workers now know the reason for my visit and they point out interesting observations they have made since my last visit to me. It helps me to get them involved in SABAP2 by reporting sightings to me and I have a way to engage with them about conservation in general and birds in particular. Even in town people stop and ask me about the magnets and I have a nice point of contact to get them interested. Now I can go out to see the birds ... and I am seen for who I am.

Swainson's Spurfowl trekking south

The first year of SABAP2 is nearly finished and I have observed the following range expansion of the Swainson's Spurfowl (Pternistis swainsonii) in my surveys. After Deon du Plessis commented (see post of 25.05.2008) on his observations of this species through the 1990's, I started to look out particulartly for them. On 16.06.2008 I observed 5 birds in a small family covey along the Melkspruit at S30.76249 E26.65912 (in pentad 3045_2635 and QDGC 3026DC). The birds were foraging near the edge of a fallow land – nearer to the taller growth where there were enough protection should the need to hide arise.

This is the most southerly of my own observations thus far – 16,5km more southwest than the spots Deon had mentioned in his comment. It corresponds with Deon's suggestion that the birds expand their range along the rivers and streams – especially with the abundance of food in cultivated lands and where other agricultural activity suiting them occur. Interestingly enough my observations of these birds here on the southwestern border of their range were always in the vicinity of generous water supply – larger farm dams that would have water through the dry season and perennial streams. According to the literature, they normally drink very regularly - in the morning and evening.

For the most up to date distribution map of the species, follow this link: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/species_maps.php?Spp=185

To the NORTH and the SOUTH...

Yesterday was a very nice day out in the field – the weather was fine and sunny and the light good to have clear sightings. I atlased two pentads – the one just to the north of my home pentad, and later in the morning the one just to the south of my home pentad. The surveys were return visits to both the pentads and each has been covered for a third time.

3035_2640 is the pentad just to the north of the town of Aliwal North. Despite the fact that it is winter at the moment, I've added 10 new species to the tally of species already observed in the pentad in the previous surveys. The Hamerkop nest (reports in earlier posts) is one of the features of this pentad – and yesterday I observed the pair of birds on a boulder just above the new nest. Interestingly two Hadeda Ibises were sharing the same boulder with the Hamerkops– the birds sunning themselves in the early morning. Among the new additions was a Malachite Kingfisher (Alcedo cristata). We could watch it for quite a long time where it was actively hunting for water insects from it’s perch at a farm dam. The first hour of the survey added 36 species, in the second another 9 was added and the third only added 4 new species to the survey list. A single Greater Kestrel and three Black-shouldered Kites hunting together over a stretch of grassveld were the only raptors seen.

The second pentad for the day was 3045_2640 – just to the south of town. The first tick was a pair of Anteating Chats on the fence – they are quite abundant in our area. The second sighting of the survey was a Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus) which is quite rare in our region. Unfortunately it only gave me a few seconds to take a picture before it flew off. It nevertheless was a great sighting. The tally for the pentad grew from 63 to 75 unique species – again despite the fact that is winter and activity amongst birds are generally lower in winter. I counted 45 species in total in the 2 hours of surveying the pentad. Except for the Lanner Falcon, I saw a Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk on two separate occasions and a single Black-headed Heron (the only one for the day).

The drought has been broken!

Today, while atlasing pentad 3045_2650, towards the south east of Aliwal North, I had been very lucky to spot a new species for my year list - taking the total to 281. The last new addition to the year list had been a little more than a month ago on 08.05.2008. This new addition is somewhat of a rarity in our part of the country and unfortunately it had been too far off to take a photo.

A Black-chested Snake Eagle was the reason for my heart to skip a beat or two. It was sitting in a large willow tree near the edge of a farm dam near the farmstead of Braamspruit. It was strange to observe this raptor here near a dam - but Roberts VII states that they sometimes take water monitors as prey. The sun was baking on the little rocky outcrop bordering the eastern side of the dam - and it may well have been that the eagle was looking around for a titbit seeking the warmth of the winter sun and letting down its guard for a second too long.

Two other "specials" for the afternoon were a pair of Grey Crowned Cranes and a Yellow-bellied Eremomela. The cranes were wading in the shallow, marshy end of a farm dam (with a lot of growth in the water) on the farm Lucerne. I spotted the eremomela flitting from low bush to low bush while I had been looking at a pair of Yellow Canaries through my binoculars. The eremomela showed so well and it was easy to positively identify it.

The total count for the afternoon was 44 species. Strangely enough - the eagle was the only raptor of the day. The area is normally frequented by Black-shouldered Kite, Greater and Rock Kestrel and Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk. I have observed an African Harrier-Hawk as well on previous surveys of the pentad. Some of the regulars were: Common Fiscal, Pied and Cape Glossy Starling, Cape and Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, Southern Masked and Cape Weaver, Helmeted Guineafowl and the Egyptian Geese that are nearly always present in the largest part of the district. A flock of Red-billed Quealea (about 60-80 birds) were seen as well.

My total score of species for this specific pentad is 107. Today's count is till to be added. I'll update the score as soon as I get back the results of today's survey from the ADU by early tomorrow. (After the update on 14.06.2008, the score is 111 species with one unvetted record.)

Thin blue lines

(Click to enlarge)

The thin blue lines on the image are the different tracks that I have driven to survey the area for the 2nd Southern African Bird Atlas Project in the larger Aliwal North area. The squares are the pentads (see earlier post for description) in which the surveys are done according to the research protocol. The tracks are recorded with a Garmin GPSmap76 CS receiver with an external aerial. These are only the tracks that I have driven - the GPSr is mounted in the car and is just too much trouble to remove and refit it every time I get out to walk to a ridge, a dam or an outcrop to scan the area for bird activity. On average the distance traveled within a pentad is between 35 and 40km - excluding the distances walked away from the stationary vehicle.

I prepare the outlines of the pentads beforehand and then upload it from computer to the GPSr before I go out on the field surveys. This way I know the borders of the different pentads clearly - ask permission from land-owners - and go out in the field and enjoy myself while atlasing. I like to use the available technology to help me enjoy the atlasing project and birding in general. When scarcer species and larger raptors are observed, I record a GPS waypoint and these are fed into my database of sightings and nesting spots.

Hamerkop has a new apartment

A few days ago a friend who had read the previous post (see archive) about the nest of the Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta), alerted me about another nest in the same vicinity. I went out today to have a look at the site and here is what I found.

Previously I have observed that the old nest was damaged and that a large part of the material had been lost down the cliff - either blown off the cliff by wind or some other form of "disaster" like the dassies sharing the cliffs bumping it off.

Great was my surprise today to see that the nesting material had not been lost, but was used to lay the foundations of a new apartment merely 40m from the original site.

New material was brought in as well and a brand new nest built. Some of the material carried in for the new apartment on the cliff is still green and apart from grass and sticks I could recognise the dry flowering parts of aloes.

I cannot confirm for sure that it is the same pair of birds that built the new nest - but I suspect that they have chosen this spot to stay. The cliffs guarantee safety and with the large dams in the area food is in good supply.

The birds normally breed from July to January - so they are most probably preparing for the new season ahead.

Winter is here ... finally!

Winter has finally arrived in our part of the country. Except for a very cold spell over one week-end in April, we had a very mild winter and birding went quite well. Since last Friday (30 May) we had 42 mm of rain - and the rainy weather lasted till Tuesday. It was cloudy and overcast and the rain was falling softly and intermittently like in the Western Cape - quite exceptional for our part of the country where we are used to thunderstorms in summer.

With the onset of the cold I've made a few interesting observations. Suddenly the birdfeeder in the garden is visited by more species and with greater urgency - the Cape Weaver just try and to occupy the feeder for itself. Species seen around the feeder are: Cape Weaver, Cape Sparrow, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, House Sparrow and only once this week a Cape Canary. Other regular visitors to the birdbath where they drink, are: African Red-Eyed Bulbul, Cape Glossy Starling, Common Starling, Laughing Dove and Cape Turtle Dove. Two others that are quite at home are the Common Fiscal (raised quite a few chicks from their nest in the lemon tree in the past few seasons) and the little flock of Red-Faced Mousebirds doing their rounds in the neighbourhood.

The Karoo Thrush, which is a regular visitor to the garden, suddenly "disappeared" with the colder conditions. I assume they move to the well wooded kloofs around town - especially those fronting eastward. These kloofs are a lot warmer than in the open in town. The other regular to the garden - the Cape Robin-Chat - is a lot quiter as well and is not heard calling that regularly in the morning anymore.

Another regular that is conspiciously absent the last few days is the Bokmakierie. A pair of these birds called their duet early every morning from the bare branches of the trees in the garden - but it seems as if winter has eventually got them as well. It is quite strange not to hear them from their perch.

At least the sun is shining again and I look forward to a weekend of birding and atlasing in the district. There are a few pentads just waiting to be done!

(Photo: Johan vd Westhuizen)

Emerging trends #1

A first interesting trend is emerging from the data that I have collected for SABAP2 - the second bird atlasing project in Southern Africa.

(Click on graph to enlarge)

The accompanying graph shows the averages of species observed in different months after the first 11 months of the project.

A difference of 16.8 species is seen between the highest (summer) and lowest (winter) averages. The migratory birds had left and the change in weather conditions as well as seasonal migration can all be possible explanations for the development of this trend.

The data of 103 field sheets is included in the calculation of the averages - no surveys had been done at the very beginning (July 2007) and June 2008 will be the last month of the first year.

The surveys were done in 57 different pentads - from the Western Cape (including the West Coast, Swartland and Karoo), Eastern Cape (from the sea towards Aliwal North on the Orange River), North West Province and different parts of the Free State.

The project is still in the very early stages and this trend is by no means a picture of the whole project. What is reflected here, are my own observations from data in my personal database.

Please return to the blog to witness the moves and trends developing over time or visit http://sabap2.adu.org.za/index.php for up to date information on SABAP2.

The Aliwal Quarter Degree Cell after 11 months

SABAP2 is the second project of it's kind and builds on the successful completion of SABAP1 - The Southern African Bird Atlas Project. I would like to report on my participation in the atlas project in my home area - so to find out more about SABAP2 as a project follow this link: http://sabap2.adu.org.za/index.php Click to enlarge map

Each of the squares represents 5'X5' on the map. Such a "pentad" is roughly 9 km long (North-south) and 7 km wide - 63 square km. The pentads are counted from left to right - top to bottom. The pentads are identified by the pentad code in the NW-corner (top left) and each have a "common name" indicated by the little green flag in the centre of the square. The code is derived from the map grid and the common name is given by the atlaser in the area - so different atlasers can give different common names to the same pentad. I have used the name of the farm more or less in the centre of the pentad as the common name for that specific pentad. The research protocol requires of the atlaser to count at least 2 hours in the specific pentad trying to cover all habitats - eg vleis and wetlands, cultivated fields, riverine bush, koppies, grassveld, plantations, dams, etc. A data period does not exceed five days for the same pentad - after 5 days a new data card is started with the prescribed 2 hour minimum.

After 11 months (since July 2007) of counting the different bird species in the squares demarcated by the lines on the map, I can report the following "findings" - these are merely my own observations:

• For all the pentads in the Quarter Degree Cell 2 data cards were completed - except 9 (11 cards - this pentad is counted daily as I move around town).
• In the full QDGC 176 different species were counted in the previous atlas project (then the QDGC was counted as a whole and 68 data cards were submitted over the period 1987-1991). Up to now I've counted 172 unique species with a few out of range species that still have to be vetted. 27 data cards were submitted for SABAP2.
• For each of the different pentads the count is: Zuurplaat - 88 unique species, Strydpoort-Winplaats - 75, Jakkalsfontein - 76, Badfontein - 107, Betjeskraal - 88, Waaiplaats - 89, Gryskoppan - 63, Ackermanskraal - 92, Aliwal-Dorp - 119.
• In the last round of counts (the last month) the migratory birds had already left for winter - counts were remarkably lower than in summer counts.
• Some of the interesting species (not necessarily "new" species) observed in these 9 pentads are the following: Goliath Heron, Southern Pochard, African Marsh Harrier, Swainson's Spurfowl, Crested Barbet, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Fairy Flycatcher, Kimberley Pipit, Red-backed Shrike, Red-billed Firefinch, Brimstone Canary (Unvetted records are not included in this list).

One of the aims of SABAP2 is to research the influence of climate changes over the past 20 years on the distribution of different bird species. After the first 11 months some species were found in this area that were not previously found here - the Swainson's Spurfowl is an example. It is too early in the research yet to make an unqualified deduction that this species has expanded it's range in a southwesterly direction. Early indications are that a range expansion may have occured as these species were not previously observed this far south. (It was observed more than once in the Smithfield area as well).

The project is not yet under way for a full year, and a lot of counting must still be done in the next few years. To participate in the atlas project is really satisfying for me as birder. I also want to thank the many farmers in the area that allow me to enter their properties and roam about freely to participate in this project of the Animal Demographic Unit (ADU at UCT), BirdLife South Africa (BLSA) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Together with these organisations and hundreds of other atlasers countrywide, we make a contribution to the conservation of birdlife and their habitat.

Fiscal's pantry

The last few weeks I've been monitoring the nesting site of Secretarybirds in our district. A week or three ago when I visited the site, I saw a Common Fiscal on the fence - working on one of the barbs. On closer inspection I saw this poor locust impaled on the barb - definitely a little snack for Mr Fiscal for another day. I marked the spot near the fence post to follow up on this find.

The very next visit the kids ran up front to inspect the pantry - the barb was empty - the snack removed. Though on a barb on a lower strand was small dried frog - a delicatessen for another day. To watch birds and their habits are really fascinating and we can learn such a lot from them - about birds and about ourselves and our interaction with nature around us.

Birding in the cold

Extrrrreme Birrrrding

Over the weekend of 18-20 April a few members of BirdLife Free State visited the Aliwal North district on an outing.

The Friday night started with a lifer or two for some of the members - they had their first look at a Barn Owl and Spotted Eagle Owl.

The Saturday produced good birding and a few specials were spotted throughout the day. Ludwig's Bustard (unfortunately too far off to take proper photo's), Lesser Honeyguide, Red-throated Wryneck, Black Stork and Pale-winged Starlings were amongst the good finds of the day. Two real specials for the day had been the two Kimberley Pipits spotted at an empty farm dam. Riette Griessel of Garingboom had been part of the group and she confirmed the sighting of the Kimberley's. More than 80 species were ticked on the Saturday, the last one being Red-winged Francolin at dusk.

The group experienced the first taste of winter on the Sunday morning when they visited Kramberg - the highest point in the area - 2018m asl. Sleet pelted down and snow started to accumulate in the crevices and at the bases of the plants. Someone remarked: "Now, that is extreme birding!", after a reading of the temperature in the car indicated a sub-zero outside temperature. It was -2 deg C. Two very distraught Verreaux's Eagles were spotted on the mountain - the wind buffeted them to and fro.

Who said birding could not be an extreme sport?

The Hamerkop nest

The Hamerkop nest

In Oct 2006 I saw first saw the beginnings of this nest of a Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) next to the road to Goedemoed in Aliwal district. It was interesting to observe this nest being built next to the road - quite a busy road in the countryside. I saw it grow from a few sticks balanced precariously on the rocky ledge to its current size. But I never saw the birds near the nest - sometimes saw a bird flying over a dam a little way off with nesting material, but never near or towards this particular spot.

The birds normally nest in suitable trees, but nests (like this one) are found on cliffs as well. The opening of the nest is well over the overhang of the cliff to prevent predators entering the nesting chamber. In his book, A guide to nests and eggs of Southern African Birds (Struik 2001), Warwick Tarboton mentions that a single nest can consist of up to 8000 individual pieces of material and can weigh anything from 25-50 kg. The nest may be used only for one season and occasionally a second season.

A few weeks ago (March 2008) while atlasing the pentad for SABAP2, I saw this Hamerkop perched on the rock just above the nest. The very first time I observed a bird near the nest. At closer inspection I realised the nest could be "active" as there were fresh droppings at the entrance and on the rocks below the entrance.

I visit the site at regular intervals, but cannot confirm any breeding activity, although fresh droppings are observed around the nesting area. A clutch is normally 4-5 eggs and takes between 28 and 32 days to incubate. I do not want to disturb any breeding activity that may occur, and the spot is quite inaccessible. I'll keep an eye open and report any findings on successful breeding. Since I first observed activity around the site and taking the time of incubation and nestling/fledging (44-50 days) into account, we may have a few young birds around (if any!).

What was of interest to me, was the fact that the site was still "active". Usually a nest is used only once, occasionally for a second season - this one seems to be active for a longer period. It even seems that fresh material was added to the dome. Apparently this type of nest "ranks as the largest domed nest built by a pair of birds" (Tarboton, 2001:32).

Red-billed Oxpecker

My first for the Eastern Cape

We saw our very first Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) in Addo Elephant NP on 30.03.2008. There were three of the birds on the Buffaloes at the Carol's Rest waterhole.

We were quite delighted to see them, as these birds were re-introduced to the area after an absence of many years.

This was our first sighting after many visits to Addo over the past four years - and the first for the Eastern Cape as well.

A small colony of the birds were re-introduced to the Somerset East district as well. Planning is in the pipe-line to re-introduce the species to Mountain Zebra National Park as well - this is a project of the local region of the Sanparks Honorary Rangers.

JACKAL BUZZARD near ALIWAL NORTH

JACKAL BUZZARD near ALIWAL NORTH

This Buzzard was seen for a few weeks near Aliwal North, NE Cape, SA. It had a conspicuous white breastband instead of the normal russet pattern.

It stayed in the same area near a farmhouse for a period of time, before moving on to an area a little more remote where there is not so much activity. It's new area is about 2 km from the area it was spotted at first.

It seems to be moulting as all the primaries are not fully grown.

Marabou Stork in Southern Free State

Marabou Stork in Smithfield

This bird was spotted in Smithfield at the town dumps by a farmer, Willie Swanepoel, when passing by. He contacted Carmel Rickard, a local resident. The lines were set on fire and I went out to have a look.

The tag identifies the bird as S64 - it frequented the area of Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape a few months ago and was apparently ringed in Swaziland.

It was a first for the area as far as could be established at present.