A very special bird on my doorstep

We currently experience an irruption of African Openbills (Anastomus lamelligerus) all over South Africa – the latest report being a rather bedraggled figure at Shelley Point on the West Coast. Birds had been observed at Durbanville in the Western Cape, along the southern coast (Arabella, Gansbaai, between Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn, Plettenberg Bay, near PE and Gonubie), a whole lot of spots in KwaZulu-Natal. Even in the interior birds were reported – in the Karoo, near Barkly East and Elliot in the Eastern Cape, in Lesotho and the Free State. The first signs of the irruption had been a small flock of this species observed in Potchefstroom.

Early this morning a local birding friend stopped me in the street to inform me of a single Openbill at dam at our local golf course in Aliwal North. I had been on leave and missed out on the other sightings at the spots near my holiday places. After my return home I had been looking around in the district at the different farm dams and wetland areas to which I have access but to no avail. I just had the feeling one (or a couple) of these birds should be around if it had been spotted all over the country. Great was my surprise to discover one less than 500m (as the stork flies) from my home.

Unfortunately the lawn mowers were cutting grass at the golf course and the bird did not afford me decent pics – the only proper ones I got were of a soaring bird. Fortunately Hugo Brewis, who alerted me, sent me the photo below – I place it on the blog gratefully. Thanks, Hugo, and thanks for allowing us to share in the view of this magnificent bird.

African Openbill at Aliwal North (Photo: Hugo Brewis)

A few other interesting sightings the past week or two while out atlasing for SABAP2 in the district were: a single Black Stork (Ciconia nigra), two sightings of European Rollers (Coracias garrulus) to the north and south of town, a single Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus). We also spotted two Blue Cranes (Anthropoides paradiseus) in a pentad where they were a new addition to the species list of the pentad. In the same pentad a walk in the veld produced a Black Harrier (Circus maurus) flushed from the grass and a Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk (Accipiter rufiventris) that flew from a high tree – two more new species to a species list that counted more than 140 species already.

Local birding can certainly be just as exhilarating as travels to exotic destinations and bird atlasing certainly increases the awareness towards new species in the area that is being atlased.

Atlasing milestone

I've reached a personal milestone while taking part in SABAP2 - the second Southern African Bird Atlasing Project. On Tuesday this week, I've submitted my 350th full protocol card. That translates to an average of 29.17 cards per month and 19 124 individual records submitted. The average number of species per card is 54.6. The submissions cover 140 different pentads all around the country.

December is the month with the highest number of cards - 43. And February has the lowest number - only 21.

I have submitted 191 ad hoc protocol cards with observations in 180 pentads as well. Each of these contributions add valuable bits of data in the bigger picture of the bird atlas for our region.

With the first signs of spring in the air (daylength increasing) atlasing will become easier and with the first reports of migrant birds returning to our southern climate, I'm looking forward to go out atlasing. Some of the first birds appear with breeding colours as well - at my bird feeder in the garden I have a Southern Masked Weaver male in full breeding plumage as well as a very cocky Cape Weaver male.

Birding on the Border

After a few hectic weeks at work, I had a very welcome break yesterday, and what better way to start a few days of leave with a day out atlasing for SABAP2. I mapped out 4 pentads just north of Zastron and to the west of the Lesotho border. The weather was not very favourable for birding … we started out with a temperature of just around 3°C and a chilly wind blowing. The temperature rose throughout the day, but the chilly wind did not subside. Eventually the day turned out quite a few interesting surprises.

Neels – a long-time non-birding friend – and myself set out early to start the first pentad just after sunrise. 3005_2705 was the first pentad of the day with rolling grass hills, a few farm dams and dotted with bare poplar groves. Common Fiscals were abundant and the fences were dotted with both male and female African Stonechats as well as Anteating Chats. The colourful Cape Longclaws were also regularly seen. The first special of the day was the Barn Owls in the rafters of an old abandoned farmhouse. Another regular sight was the small groups of Blue Korhaan – adults with two or three young birds. At one of the farm dams we had a great sighting of a juvenile African Fish-Eagle with its blotched moult and shortly thereafter we were entertained by 3 Ludwig's Bustards. Through the binoculars we had wonderful sightings – unfortunately just too far off to take photos. A single White-breasted Cormorant sat on guard on the wall of a cement reservoir and we spotted two Cape Crows – a sight not regularly seen in this parts of the country.

We moved through a part of the 2nd pentad – 3005_2710 – where we had a single Swainson's Spurfowl, and again the Common Fiscals and Stonechats amongst the sightings along the road. Later the day when we did the second trip through this pentad we had a single Lanner Falcon just before sunset. We saw a surprising variety of water birds throughout the day. Red-billed Teal were spotted on a dam near the wedding venue Onder-die-Akker. It had been the only sighting of these ducks for the day. Troups of Helmeted Guineafowl were spotted throughout the day as well.

View from the mountains towards Zastron

Boesmanskop – 3000_2705 – was next in turn. A Hamerkop patrolling a very dry Witspruit (stream) had been a special in this pentad. We saw both the variations (grey and black) of the Mountain Wheatear and had good sightings of the Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk. The sole sighting of a Familiar Chat for the day was in this pentad. One of the very specials of the day had been the Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk in a poplar grove near the farm Trianon.

Now we moved to the mountains towards the border of Lesotho. The first sighting was a real treat – 2 Black-shouldered Kites were mobbing a Jackal Buzzard … and they gave the bigger raptor all their best. Eventually the buzzard flew off into the distance, annoyed by the look of it. We met the wife of the owner of the farm Geheeltevrede along the road and she gave is permission to go up the mountain on their farm. And this was the highlight of the day.

Neels - with one foot in Lesotho - birding on the border

The road took us up to the Lesotho border and we could see far into Lesotho and the south-eastern Free State. Although it was overcast, it was clear enough to see in the distance. We were entertained by a Verreaux's Eagle soaring just about 30m off, but in the strong gusts of wind it was blown away towards the east quickly. In one of the sheltered kloofs we spotted a female Drakenberg Siskin and Karoo Prinia responded ferociously to my pishing. They were displaying and calling over the Ouhout and Broom Karree (Rhus lancea) and had been quite annoyed by the intruder. Back down from the mountain, we hit the grassveld again and soon spotted a Black Harrier – it permitted us good view, but once again out of reach of my camera lens.

As we were returning after sunset, Neels (remember, he is a non-birder) remarked: "Even I can now recognise a Common Fiscal in the dark." We really saw them in abundance all day. And the African Stonechats with their bright chestnut chests had been an entertainment as well.

Although cold and windy ... a special day with 4 new pentads done for SABAP2 and two souls revived.

FEASTING FURORE

On 23 January a friend phoned me to report an exceptional occurrence in our area. On the farm Rooipoort in the Burgersdorp district a swarm of locusts had been sprayed on 7 January. The dead insects were spread over an area of about 250m wide and 1km long. This source of easy delicatessen was just what some of the birds of the area – and even some rare visitors – came to enjoy. More than 850 White Storks were counted – the photo shows only a small portion of this macnificent sight. Other species that came to gorge themselves on the dead locusts were amongst others: Blue Cranes, 3 Marabou Storks, Ludwig's Bustards, Pied Crows and even a Martial Eagle had been seen early the morning. By the time the pictures were taken, the birds had been feasting for more than a week on this specialty. Apparently the insecticide had no obvious detrimental effect on the feasting birds. I atlased the pentad for SABAP2 while visiting the site and added a new pentad to the Eastern Cape tally of atlased pentads.

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.

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).

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.

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.