celebrating 20 years
BIRDLIFE PRESIDENT RIDGE Randburg’s Own Bird Club
affiliated to
April 2015 - No. 60
Long-crested Eagle, Ithala Game Reserve
Tiffany Napier receives her certificate for 300 Southern African Birds seen
(photo by Denise Collie) Taking a break - Ithala Game Reserve
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IN THIS ISSUE Number 60 PAGE From the Editor’s Perch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The Chairman Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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AGM Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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BLSA News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The Sharland’s Travels – Australia, Part 4 . . . . . . . . .
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You Saw What? .. In your Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Outing Reports: Moreleta Kloof by John Human . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cumberland Bird Sanctuary by John Human . . . . Northern Farm by Paul and Gill Hardingham . . . . Bullfrog Pan by John Human . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modderfontein Nature Reserve by Maryke Ewen . Ithala Game Reserve by Paul and Gill Hardingham KZN Trip by Jane Irvine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Segwati Ranch by Errol Kilpatrick . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Naked Birding by Henk Nel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Mike Gardner Reflects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Bird and Conservation Club – Mpumalanga Escarpment
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Club Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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(photograph of Malachite Kingfisher on front cover by Jan Fourie)
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FROM THE EDITOR’S PERCH So……the AGM’s over, a ‘new ‘Committee is in place and we have plans for this special year. You see if you haven’t heard already, BirdLife President Ridge is 20 years old this year. In 1993, Gill Hardingham, while walking her dog down to the Park at the bottom of her road, noticed much activity at the entrance to a track down to a slimes dam and a piece of vacant ground. Being an inquisitive person she asked the first one she saw what was going on and was told the Council was trying make up its mind what to do with the land – public park or Bird Sanctuary. To cut a long story a little shorter, after phone calls to the Council, public and private meetings, the ‘Friends of the President Ridge Bird Sanctuary was formed which later morphed in 1995 into the President Ridge Bird Club with Gill being elected the first Chairperson. The Council stuck to its side of the bargain and maintained the place while the bird club monitored the natural history side of things. It was a sweet deal which got even better when Paul, Gill’s husband, received a call from a Mr Jan Fourie, who happened to be rather senior in SASOL and lived almost overlooking the Bird Sanctuary. He was interested to also know what was going on down the hill and, when told, said he was interested in joining the Club but, more important would assist us with developing the infrastructure at the bird sanctuary. Hence the SASOL brick and thatch bird hide, much of the path network, the reticulation and they contributed to one of the bridges over the water courses. Just recently SASOL sponsored the herbicide we have been using to cut back the encroaching reeds in the dam. We are immensely grateful to Jan Fourie, our honorary president since day one, for all his support and SASOL’s willingness to be involved in our conservation work. We have had some excellent Chairpeople. After Gill came Alec Ryall and following him, Denise Holahan. Now John Human is Chair. He was our treasurer in 2005 when he took over from the late and much lamented Bev’ Pieterse. So we had and still have some excellent folk heading up the Club, which in part explains our success. While many clubs battle to retain their membership, we maintain, either just under or just over, the 100 family units we set as a target from day one. The main event for this special year will be the celebratory lunch in the Chief’s Boma at the Indaba Hotel on Sunday July 26th. Your invitation is included with this issue. Please mark this date down in your diary, year planner, tablet, knot in your hanky as being the most important of the year and RSVP soonest. It would be lovely to have the WHOLE club there. 4
Further on in this issue, we reproduce John’s Chairman’s report to the AGM where he talks about, among other things, our new membership status with BirdLife South Africa and Gill gives us an updated version of her report where she enlarges upon the plan by City Parks to have two labourers at our Bird Sanctuary. So plenty to read. Enjoy and if you feel led to become part of our great team then don’t hold back. Let us know about it and we can certainly use you. PAUL HARDINGHAM EDITOR
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS Membership Change - 2015 Thank you all for your help and in most cases prompt payment of your 2015 membership fees. The change to producing our own invoices and becoming an Affiliated Club of BirdLife South Africa has been relatively painless. The next invoice from BirdLife President Ridge will be sent out in January 2016. A reminder of what happens next follows: You will receive an invoice from BirdLife South Africa for your direct membership to BLSA and your magazine, African Birding (if you are a subscriber). You do one of two things at this stage: 1) Pay the invoice and remain a direct member of BLSA, 2) Respond to BLSA by email stopping your direct membership to BLSA. Note that there will be NO mention of BirdLife President Ridge on this BirdLife South Africa invoice. INTRODUCING NEW MEMBERS
Joy Theron John and Sandy Sully Steve and Patricia Serfontein Don and Wendy Mattison Bill and Liz Anderson Patricia and Dermot Keegan Rob Clifford
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THE CHAIRMAN TWEETS After the AGM held on 10 February 2015 we have had our first committee meeting where I was elected as Chairman for 2015 (you obviously have not learnt your lesson yet). This will be my third year as Chairman and I would like to thank you for the vote of confidence, especially as this is the year that we celebrate having made it to year 20 as BirdLife President Ridge. At a second meeting, where a dedicated group of 19 members discussed the future of the club amidst a very jovial atmosphere (helped along by the odd snack and a glass or two of good cheer, it was so pleasing to know that so many members are really concerned and willing to offer their time to ensure the Club remains healthy. I would like to thank Pierre de Klerk who has come forward to help fill the position of Network boss. And also a huge thank you to Margie de Klerk for offering to assist at our monthly meetings as Minutes Secretary. The ideas from this meeting will be brought into the monthly committee meeting for further action – the focus going forward will be communication via the website, and the feasibility of using WhatsApp to send notices of events to members quickly and effectively, will be evaluated. To ensure that you don’t miss out on your Club’s activities make sure you visit the website often. I predict that the website and WhatsApp will become the main communication means within the Club in years to come – so get with it and don’t be left behind! With the change of invoicing to January, we have had an overwhelming response to the request for donations towards our Bird Sanctuary maintenance. Thank you for this positive response. Look forward to birding with you this year and may you increase your life lists by joining us on the many fabulous outings prepared by the programme committee. JOHN HUMAN CHAIRMAN CERTIFICATE FOR 300 SOUTHERN AFRICAN SPECIES SEEN WAS ISSUED TO: Tiffany Napier
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AGM REPORTS PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS What a celebration the 20 years existence of our Bird Club will be. I recall the starting of the Club by Gill and Paul. I would like again to thank them and all of the members that have contributed to the Club’s activities over the 20 years. I recall the upgrading of the President Ridge Bird Sanctuary to a home for the Bird Club. Thank you also to SASOL for their loyal support over the years. They have erected and maintained the SASOL Bird Hide so well. One of the things I have always remembered, is the effort to make new members feel at home in the Club and the numerous exciting excursions that have been organized over the years. This is something that has made our Bird Club special. I am confident that, with our dedicated Committee and loyal members, our Bird Club will go from strength to strength in the years to come. We can all assist in “belonging” to our club and assist our Committee by contributing to our Kingfisher magazine, promoting our Bird Sanctuary, taking part in the Outings, supporting the Club financially and making our new members feel at home. Wishing you all a happy celebration and a very good and productive 2015. - Jan Fourie
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT Introduction: Yet another eventful year has rushed by and for the second year of my time as chairman the committee and members have proven to be absolutely amazing, especially during the abnormal events of June 2014 that struck Celia and me. We remain a small club with strong involvement and the extended committee shows us having over 25 involved members…and this excludes those important Bird Sanctuary gate keepers. Thank you all for your hard work and congratulations on a successful year.
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We remain a friendly club with some extremely good birders in our membership. While birding and outings are what the club is about we are proud of our President Ridge Bird Sanctuary where so many of our members have spent much of their valuable time maintaining it for all to enjoy. We are also involved in atlasing, various CWAC counts, Birding Challenges, BBD, we attend the Northern Region Bird Club Forum meetings at BLSA, and have recently assisted in a research project funded by the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute. I would like to thank our Honorary President – Jan Fourie, and our Honorary Auditor – Jack Cunningham for their continued support. 2015 means that this is our 20th AGM and we look forward to even more involvement from our members this year. Membership Our current membership is just short of 100 families and growing. Thank you to Denise Holahan for returning to the committee during the year to continue Peter Mason’s good work after he relocated to Cape Town. December was a busy month for membership as we decided to take up BLSA’s option to change the Club’s relationship with BLSA to become an Affiliate Member Club from January 2015. This change has now been implemented and all admin for the club will occur in January of each year. Membership works closely with our Treasurer Errol Kilpatrick and Dee Cuthbertson – our liaison lady - who strives to contact as many members as possible so as to avoid confusion in membership – thank you Dee for the hard work. Programme 2014 saw the Club follow an energetic outings programme and some amazing lectures – who will forget Johan Marais on reptiles and our very own frog man Danie du Toit, along with the much travelled Peter Sharland, also from our club. Good day outings continued to be well attended and weekend excursions to Barberspan, Aloe Creek, Wolfhuiskraal and Botsalano were successful and fully booked. Add to this the very active M-WIG group and the Club shows a healthy involvement level. Jane who heads up our programme does such a wonderful job and adds such energy to the events. Trina, our programme secretary and organiser of many outings, ably assists Jane. Thank you to both of them and also a big thank you to the extended outing group of Gill, Errol, Maryke and Ian. The lifer lists of many of us increased thanks to these events. The team of Jenny, Lileen and suppliers of eats and refreshments for our lecture nights have done a wonderful job and a big thank you to Shirley and Louise for stepping in to take over from them for 2015. We - the members - are really appreciative of their efforts. 8
Remember to check our very own website for upcoming outings and lectures – especially when the postal system fails. BBD was held at Roodeplaat nature reserve and we raised around R900 and came 7th in the community group section. The Gauteng Challenge was good fun and we ended the year with Henk (382), Celia (381), Jane and me in the top third for the year with just under 380 species recorded. It was such fun and such a good way of learning about birds and visiting new venues. I would suggest you all register for the event – details of how to do this are in the latest Kingfisher mag and if you get stuck just call Celia…..I did. You may also get to bird with 2 of the most able and competent birders in the country, Jane and Henk, they are really special in the field. The SASOL Bird Fair at Walter Sizulu was a huge success for us and increased awareness of both our Club and our Bird Sanctuary. The event also helped us raise funds for the Club. Over 20 members were involved – thank you. Thanks to Celia for all the organising. Sorry we missed the Sunday part of the event! I would also like to thank Pierre, who is becoming quite a pro at our lecture presentations. A big welcome and thank you to Gill Isaacs for coming forward to help us with our lecture nights in 2015. Gill will work closely with Jane in ensuring our lecture nights continue to run smoothly. Publicity Thank you Paul for ably submitting many excellent articles to the local newspapers, which they then decide – frustratingly – not to print. The effort is noted and appreciated. The Kingfisher magazine continues to be both interesting and educational, filled with really excellent articles. Paul and Celia do a wonderful job – well done. Our website is an ongoing task and Celia is always updating something on the site – please make an effort to visit it as it is ever changing and will keep you up to speed with club and member news, especially with the poor postal system. Address is www.blpr.co.za. Thank you to Celia for major effort here.
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Network Diane has really moved this form of communication with members to the next level and does a wonderful, fun and professional job of this “news in brief mail” – thank you Diane. Thank you also to all the networkers for keeping members informed of Club activities. Sadly her work pressure has forced her to give up this position for 2015 and we need to find a new network boss. Remember you can always find the latest network document on the website. Roster Thank you to Peter Sharland and Helen McNally for doing a really top job of keeping our Bird Sanctuary open on weekends and public holidays. We have had the odd miss again and have been reminded by the public to “open up” which is a good thing I guess. Thank you to the regulars who give up their time to open the Bird Sanctuary year in and year out. And thank you to the new volunteers who have come forward to help. You are most welcome and we always need more members to help. Sanctuary Thank you to Gill and her team, you do such a wonderful job and we do appreciate the effort. I will leave the details for Gill to report on. Finance Again a big thank you to Errol for all his effort in running our financial affairs so accurately. Here I would like to mention that we as a committee set ourselves a target for 2014 to reverse the negative financial results that we have experienced over the last few years and, thanks to the members’ book donations, we have managed to correct this and achieve our goal. Errol will show you how well you have done. From 2015 fees are R180 and you have received a pro rata invoice by email. Please note that from March 2015 there will be a once off R50 admin fee for all new members. This fee will also be charged from January 2016 to those who allow their membership to expire and then rejoin. Conclusion I hope that we as a committee have fulfilled the role that was expected of us and thank you for your participation in making 2014 a successful year. All we ask of our members is participation in any form. The strength of a Club is in the depth of involvement. And so ends my report – thank you. - John Human 10
SUMMARY OF TREASURER’S REPORT The BLPR financials for 2014 showed good improvement over the previous 2 years, even though income was slightly lower than 2013. The total income was R 22 630 and was bolstered by sale of books at the annual Sasol Bird Fair. This was due to members donations of books on birds, wild life and travel. We also received a number of back copies of birding magazines which almost sold out on the first day. The success was shown in the expenses where all areas were lower than last year. The amount was R 16 531, amounting to a reduction of R 13 300 compared to 2013. Large savings were in Stationary & postage, Bird Sanctuary maintenance and our Website now up and running well. The net result was a surplus for the year of R 6 099 shown on a strong balance sheet at the end of 2014 with current assets of R 33 650. Our thanks to Jack Cunningham for examining our income and expenditure and preparing the final accounts for the club - Errol Kilpatrick
PRESIDENT RIDGE BIRD SANCTUARY REPORT During the year under review, the Sanctuary has kept many Club members busy. In March, our Chairman and Treasurer, John Human and Errol Kilpatrick arranged a work party with labourers and chain saws; they cut up fallen trees and stacked them neatly in piles ready for City Parks to remove. Also in March, the Shanwood Lake complex replaced their old fence bordering the Sanctuary. Once the old fence supporting the bank was removed they realised the new fence was in danger of slipping into the Bird Sanctuary. They later installed a small supporting wall and we agreed to come to the party by grassing the top of the bank. This we did on clean-up day. It has greatly improved the appearance of the Bird Sanctuary in this area. In April, John borrowed a canoe from member Shirley Tebbutt and removed plastic from the dam and later used his floating board to remove rubbish where the water was too shallow for access by boat.
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In August John & Errol supervised the cutting of reeds in front of the Sasol Hide prior to re-spraying which was done in October and we hope will eventually be successful. There are now large areas of open water and muddy edges to the dam as a result of the previous year’s spraying. Members enjoyed a breakfast in the Sanctuary in April, which was followed by a bird walk, an Easter egg hunt and then John unveiled the Kingfisher award plaque, which recognises the contributions of specific members to the Club. The Clean- Up Day in September kept 28 members plus two gardeners busy. The laying of the turf organised by Errol and his wife Kay, was the biggest job. Trees were trimmed and Shirley Tebbutt took to the water in her canoe and collected plastic. Aloes were donated and planted by Bruce and Carol Funston and all the other annual tasks completed. Prior to Clean-Up Day, Ian Cuthbertson once again arranged for the bridges and gum poles behind the hide to be creosoted . He also carried out major repairs to several metres of the wheelchair path. Well done and thanks Ian. Towards the end of the year, Hugh Morgan kindly and efficiently arranged and paid for the large black wattle tree trunk to be chopped up and removed. Our grateful thanks, Hugh. After much frustration we gave up using combination locks on the Sanctuary entrance gate. The new padlock is working well to the relief of roster members. In April, Rand Barbets Bird Club visited the Sanctuary and Wits Bird Club came in August. On both occasions Jane and Gill accompanied them. Unika Primary School also enjoyed a nature walk. It is gratifying to see an increasing number of visitors to the Sanctuary. Our roster team has been depleted through the year as several of our members have left Joburg. We have been able to replace some of them but could do with more help. This is a most important job and we value every one of you. I want to thank Peter Sharland for once again drawing up the roster and Helen MacNally, who faithfully reminds you of your duty. Please assist Helen by diarising your week-end and swopping with another member if the date does not suit you and please let Helen know of the changes. The heronry has been taken over by Sacred Ibis, and we think the presence of a water mongoose is also deterring birds from breeding there. Some of the more unusual birds seen this year include Woodland Kingfisher, Glossy Ibis, Little Sparrow Hawk, Purple, Green-backed and Squacco Herons. 12
We have been waiting for over a year for City Parks to remove our ever growing piles of tree cuttings. We have enlisted the help of Councillor David Potter and have had an acknowledgement from Jenny Moodley, Marketing Manager of City Parks that she is aware of the problem, which will be fixed but we are still waiting. We have only had three or four grass cuts this year and John, just before Christmas, kindly cut the grass from the entrance to the Willows and a path along the Ile de Paradis side for the convenience of visitors. We recently renewed our request to City Parks for a toilet in the Bird Sanctuary as we are now getting many visitors, both individually and in groups. We were told that several Reserves have made similar requests, so we may have to wait in the queue – rather like for the toilets at a pop concert! UPDATE - SINCE THE AGM…………..Before the AGM, City Parks came up with a new scheme for Nature Reserves such as ours. We were to have two labourers, who will work, five days a week, in the Sanctuary on contract until the end of June. Another similar contract will start again in October. We have had to find our workers, their names are Shartwell and Luvo, and, after much nagging, they have been supplied by the contractor with suitable clothing and boots but are still waiting for implements and tools. They are currently working with tools loaned by various Club members. Their main job, we were told, was to cut the grass, trim trees and do the chores done by the maintenance team over the years. For this they were to be supervised and paid by the contractor but would need guidance from us. It has turned out that we are doing the managing and supervising and we had to make a fuss before the Contractor visited the Bird Sanctuary and signed up the men. Then we were dismayed when told that our guys would not be cutting the grass as the contractors don’t trust them with their expensive equipment. However with assurances from us that our men were experienced with ‘brush cutters,’ one contractor relented but we first had to reassure her that we had somewhere to lock it up at weekends. And there are still formalities to be completed and the ‘men have to be trained’ etc. We are still waiting but live in hopes. In the meantime your bird sanctuary is looking the best it has for quite some time and you should visit it to see for yourselves. I want to finish by thanking my faithful and patient maintenance team of Celia, Jane, Shirley, June, Trina & Helen and all those already mentioned for their willing assistance over the year. However I want to especially mention John, supported at all times by Celia, who have devoted so much time to the Bird Sanctuary this year. - Gill Hardingham 13
BIRD OF THE YEAR 2015 Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus
Habitat and Distribution The Blue Crane has the most restricted range of any member of its family. It is virtually endemic to South Africa, with a remote population surrounding Etosha Pan in northern Namibia. Blue Cranes inhabit the South African highveld grasslands and the moister eastern, grassy Karoo. In the last 60 or so years, however, they have colonised the wheatfields and pastures of the south-western Cape to such an extent that this region is now the national stronghold of the species. Breeding pairs frequently vacate their nesting territories in winter and join roving flocks, populated year-round by non-breeding (most likely young, unmated) birds that travel widely over the local landscape. Breeding The spring breeding period is heralded by the spectacular dancing displays by mating pairs for which cranes are renowned. Pairs are monogamous, and solitary, territorial nesters. Blue Cranes often nest close to water. But, just as frequently, when circumstances dictate they are happy to breed at a distance from any wetlands.
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The richly coloured eggs are laid directly on the ground, typically on a small ‘pad’ made of vegetation, stones or dung, and the usual clutch size is two. After an incubation period of 29 to 30 days, the newly hatched chicks are little more than fawn-coloured bundles of fluff and are fiercely protected by their parents during the long and perilous 12-week period before they can fly. Food Blue Cranes are omnivores, but the bulk of their diet probably comprises vegetable matter such as bulbs, seeds, roots and leaves. They are often found foraging in cultivated fields of maize, wheat and lucerne, typically being attracted to germinating crops early in the planting cycle and then fallen grain after harvesting. In the Western Cape, they have been seen foraging at livestock feedlots. The less prominent, animal component of the diet includes insects, termites, worms, crabs, fish, frogs, reptiles and small mammals. Threats and Challenges The Blue Crane is most vulnerable in flight to collisions with the increasing network of overhead powerlines criss-crossing the South African countryside, this is currently the most significant threat facing this species. The Blue Crane’s penchant for feeding in crop fields can also bring it into conflict with farmers as a result of real or perceived damage caused to crops. In the past, this conflict may have resulted in some farmers desperately trying to protect their crops through the use of poison. Accidental or deliberate poisioning does still occur, but this is less common. The threat remains however, as many birds can be killed in a single or few incidents. In addition, the Blue Crane has lost extensive areas of its ancestral habitat to other, less compatible forms of land-use, such as commercial afforestation, as well as to urbanisation and dense rural settlement, especially in the grassland biome. Until recently the Blue Crane was thought to be on an ongoing slide to extinction. The remarkable colonisation of large parts of the south-western Cape, together with recent information suggesting a stabilisation, even an increase, in some other regions, now paint a more positive outlook and the species is categorised as Near-Threatened in the 2015 edition of the South African Red Data Book. There can be little doubt that tireless local conservation efforts, and especially those focusing on the threat of poisoning, have helped turn this corner for the crane.
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THE SHARLAND’S TRAVELS - AUSTRALIA - Part 4 (FINAL) Peter & Jenny Sharland
SUMMARY: Number of days in Eastern Australia: 6 Number of lifers seen in this area: 67
Day 12: Thursday, 18 December (2 lifers) Sanctuary Retreat, which is in Bingil Bay just north of Mission Beach. Today was our lazy day – supposedly. We stayed in bed until 07:00 before getting up and heading down to the beach. This entailed a long down-hill hike through the forest to the beach, which was totally deserted except for Beach Stone-curlew. Many trip reports we had read had suggested that this is not an easy bird to find, and we hadn’t even been trying! We did venture into the water but with extreme caution as this was the height of ‘Stinger’ season, i.e. the Box Jellyfish whose sting can be, and quite often is, lethal. But both of us felt that it would be crazy to come all this way and not swim in the Pacific! While sitting on the beach we picked up a few more birds – Wandering Tattler, Varied Triller, Eastern Reef Egret, and Pied Imperial Pigeon. The rest of the day was spent indulging in some retail therapy in Mission Beach town, together with a gentle mid-day amble through the forest to the north, looking for butterflies. Back at Sanctuary Retreat we hiked back up to our room through the rain forest, hoping to see Southern Cassowary on the way, but without any joy. We went onto the deck at the lodge for a pre-dinner drink and there, flying at nose height right in front of us was a different type of “bird” - a Birdwing butterfly! We made it a very early night as we had to leave at 04:30 the next morning in order to get to Cairns by 08:00 to get onto our Great Barrier Reef cruise. 16
Day 13: Friday, 19 December (10 Lifers) We left our room at 04:30 in the morning (our luggage had been taken down the previous day) and made our way down the extremely steep road to our car in the pitch dark. On our way out of Bingil Beach we decided to detour down a side road and there right next to the car was a male Southern Cassowary. These birds are now so endangered that it was an absolute joy to see one so close by.
We made it to Cairns and booked in and boarded the Ocean Spirit for a trip out to Michaelmas Cay. The trip was extremely well organized to the extent that they even had prescription lens diving goggles for Pete to use. The snorkeling was truly wonderful and although there was some dead coral, there was still an enormous amount to be seen and to wonder at. The birds weren’t bad either – Black-naped Tern, Sooty Tern, Common Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird, Brown Booby, Lesser Crested Tern & Little Tern (these last two new for the Australian List), Crested Tern and Silver Gull. It was so good to see how strict the Australian authorities are about not letting people near the nesting birds on Michaelmas Cay with an instant fine of AUS$100 just for swimming ashore outside of the marked area! Back in Cairns we had booked to stay at the Sangri-La Marina in Cairns, mainly because it is right next to the Great Barrier Reef Terminal and the start of the Esplanade. After booking in and dropping off our luggage we headed straight out for the Esplanade. This time we had better luck as the tide was out and the birds were very close to the shore. We added a few more lifers to our growing list – Striated Heron, Eastern Curlew, Great Knot and Rednecked Stint. 17
Day 14: Saturday, 20 December (4 lifers) On our way to Cairns Airport in the morning for our flight to Melbourne, we stopped off briefly at the Esplanade but didn’t have time to identify any lifers (the problem with living inland and not knowing waders very well!). Jenny was agitating to get on to the airport and with reason – the flight had been brought forward (which we knew), but we both thought that the time had been changed by only 5 minutes or so. WRONG! The flight had been brought forward by half-an-hour and when we got to the book-in desk, the queue was around the corner. Ten minutes before book-in closed they called all the people for the Melbourne flight to the front of the queue. We were next in line to check in, when Peter realized that he didn’t have his passport! The man whose motto is “Rule Number 1 – don’t panic” was panicking! Where was the dratted thing? In the hire car? Back in the hotel? Of course, it was Jenny who found the passport in his jeans pocket, packed away in his suitcase. Ha ha! Once on the motorway we discovered that the tolled highways do not accept cash or credit cards, you have to use a token that can be purchased at machines in the airport. Unfortunately our lady at the book-in desk didn’t tell us that the freeways are tolled and that we needed to buy this token (future travelers beware!). So we had to exit the freeway and find our way right across Melbourne (which would appear to have at least one traffic light per resident) as we had booked to stay at a B&B, (Katrina Lodge) in the Dandenong Ranges about 35Km east of Melbourne. The Dandenong area is gorgeous in a very English sort of way and we had come here specifically to look for Superb Lyrebird. Unfortunately the trip from the airport took us much, much longer than it would have done on the freeway so we just didn’t have sufficient time to search for it. If we had seen a Lyrebird it would have been by pure chance. What we did see though were Australian King Parrot, Crimson Rosella, Striated Thornbill and Eastern Yellow Robin. Day 15: Sunday, 21 December (1 lifer) Another very early start to this, our last day in Australia. Driving to the airport at 05:30 in the morning we got our last lifer of the trip, Common Blackbird. Other birds seen while driving to the airport were Australian White Ibis and Indian Mynah! We didn’t get a chance to do any more birding as we had a long flight to Perth, a 4 hour stopover spent having lunch with friends at the airport and then the long, long flight back to Johannesburg
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YOU SAW WHAT? ….. IN YOUR GARDEN Lights out….. for a while by Shirley Tebbutt I was sitting on the veranda at home when I saw this sad looking sparrow with its beak propped on the ground. I went closer and it didn’t move, I picked it up and it was alive; so thinking it was going to expire soon I put it under a bush in the shade. I sat and watched it and to my surprise about an hour later it shook itself and flew up into the tree and was soon lost among the other sparrows. Very odd – I wonder what was wrong with it for that hour or so? The Editor comments: My feeling is that the bird collided with something and was concussed. It just took time to recover. They often break their necks or a wing in which case that’s curtains. If he didn’t come right straight away, I would have suggested you put water down close to it. When in shock that’s the one thing they seem to need. Report by a friend of Shirley Tebbutt We watch a wagtail that has learned to open a sliding door into our centre near the dining room. It flies up to the sensor until it gets the door to open, flies in, looks around for crumbs and insects and then goes out the same way. Nobody goes to help it; it has found this out on its own. Nature is wonderful Cricket Stumps at dusk by Mike Gardener It was the first week of December and one evening I heard what I can only describe as someone knocking two cricket stumps together, not loudly, but a sound that carried over the evening air. The next time I heard it I thought it might be coming from newcomers to the property, putting something up. Then it moved. Suddenly it started to come from the tree outside my cottage. By that time my cat had joined me. Then I saw a bokmakiere. I was close enough to see its throat move as it made the sound. Later it was joined by its mate with beak full of insects who also started to make the same call. I am pretty sure that they had a nest next to our carports and I can only presume that this was a combined warning and reassurance call to their youngsters. “Shut up, there’s danger around, but don’t worry Mum and Dad are here.”
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OUTING REPORTS Moreleta Kloof Nature Reserve – Sunday 18 January 2015 by John Human Another well attended outing with 18 members arriving to walk approximately 5km under the leadership of Andy Featherstone – Chairman of Wits Bird Club. Being such a large group we were fortunate to have Henk Nel and a few other senior (nothing to do with age) birders with us. Good start for us after queuing for the loo (only one) we found a pair of African Black Duck in the fountain pond near the restaurant. 64 species were identified on the day and it was good to spend some time actually looking at Little Rush Warblers when they positioned themselves very favourably in the open for us and then called….aaahhh identification is so easy with calls. Again the song of the Cape Grassbird made identification easy and the bird showed itself close by. Various grassveld and bushveld species were recorded. There is a very comfortable bird hide and some time was spent in this – partly for a rest and partly for birding. During the second half of the walk two incidents occurred that I would like to mention. The first was a very good sighting of a Black Cuckooshrike which Henk, Celia, myself and Eric (Craig Napier’s brother from the USA) enjoyed. This would have being a lifer for Craig so it looked bad when he missed the bird. It was as though we waited for Craig to move off and then we had a look and purposely chased it away before he could run back to get a lifer. It did cause a laugh or two and I happen to know that to date he is still searching for this bird! Oops – you must always stay with the right group – which is generally the one you are not with – Murphy’s law!! The second one was the quick identification of a brown bird as a sparrow or flycatcher which my enquiring-minded wife questioned – and hey presto it turned out to be a Brown-backed Honeybird, which is a very good bird to find. A chat and a cup of coffee and we all headed home – a few via Bullfrog Pan – the others followed the direct route. Moreleta is nearby and is a good birding reserve – one you could visit on your own safely.
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Outing Reports (continued) Cumberland Bird Sanctuary – Sunday 1st February 2015 by John (Red-Eyed),(but should be ring-necked) Human This was a pleasant enough outing with 14 members and 2 visitors joining us for a few hours of birding. The Reserve is larger than you think and if one spends time accessing the whole area, I am sure the species count would have been a lot more than the 35 odd counted on the day. The volunteers of this sanctuary are facing the same problems that we experience at President Ridge Bird Sanctuary so it was nice to support them. Should we visit here again in summer we must start closer to 07h00 and not after 08h00 as we did on this day. We managed to spot the target bird of the day – the Black Sparrowhawk – and we believe that the raptor flying in the distance was the African HarrierHawk, which was a bit too far away to identify positively. The hide is good for viewing and photography. Our stop at the hide produced good photo opportunities of Thick-billed Weavers especially as they were feeding their young. A picture of this can be seen on the website and was taken by Pierre de Klerk. There was some serious debate regarding what a Red-eyed Dove actually looks like amid much confusion on one of the easiest birds to identify – so from now on ALL Laughing, Red-eyed and Ring-necked, (Cape Turtle) Doves have become Red Eyed Doves to avoid any further confusion in the club! Particularly among the 700 plus birders, as us (yours truly included) mere mortals are never assumed to be right and will always be beaten into submission! The Cumberland Bird Sanctuary is open on the first Sunday of the month to the public and there is a guard at the entrance to spy on your car. You should pop in – it is well worth it.
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Outing Reports (continued) Northern Farm – February 4 by Gill and Paul Hardingham A small, somewhat exclusive, group of us met at Northern Farm at about 05h50 on a Wednesday morning. We were exclusive in as much as several of us were ‘challenged’ and the rest just liked being there without those wretched cyclists. The challenged ones were not, necessarily, mentally challenged, (although it’s possible), but were and still are, entries in the Gauteng 100km challenge. For them getting up at 04h00 to go birding was not so much to miss the traffic but rather to cram as much birding as possible into the available daylight hours. Having said that, one whole car load was actually late but the least said about that the better because those who were just there for the ride, managed, in the meantime, to get some breakfast inside them. The target bird could have been the Yellow Wagtail, which we have seen there before but this particular day it was conspicuous by its absence. Also a Red-footed Falcon, a western bird, has been reported there so that was actually the number one target. While up in the kraals we saw several Pied Starlings and a Willow Warbler was testing his vocals prior to flying north and getting his leg-over. The morning was good for raptors. We saw 2 Long-crested Eagles, an Ovambo Sparrowhawk, a Black-shouldered Kite, Steppe Buzzard, and a pair of Amur Falcons; et le piéce de resistance, a European Honey Buzzard – a lifer for two of us. Visiting the ponds in the picnic area, we saw a Black-crowned Night Heron, a Cape Grassbird, an Orange Waxbill, a Malachite Kingfisher and Herons various. Altogether just over 80 species and well worth the effort and thank you Jane, a Northern Farm Trustee, for getting us in Mid-Week.
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Outing Reports (continued) Bullfrog Pan - Saturday 21 February 2015 by John Human This outing was a late addition to the programme based on current reports of good waders and water birds. It was also rather different in that it was set as an afternoon event – mainly to help the photographers as the sun would be behind us later in the day (so I was told) – and in the poor ducks’ eyes. Didn’t matter in the end as it was overcast and cold anyway. It is thus meant for lazy birders who do not enjoy early morning alarm calls and long walks. The venue is wonderful for these lazy folk, as you fall out of your car onto manicured lawns and tick water birds and collect lifers. The event was also used as a method to up my beer supply – the rule was 1 lifer = 1 Amstel! Now called the Duckworth Amstel System (DAS), for those avid cricketers or duck watchers out there. The afternoon proved very productive for me and I ended up with 5 beers and 2 IOU’s (I know who you are and where you live). I think the next outing will be linked to burgers and the next on chocolates and so on…..thus by the end of the year, I will ONLY be able to fall out of the car and bird due to alcohol poisoning and a weight problem. So 13 of us arrived on a cold and blustery afternoon to check out “The Padda Pan” of the East – good number of members for a short notice event. The bird list for the day was impressive at 43 species and this included mainly waterfowl and waders. Favourites were there including all ages of Maccoa Duck, White-backed Duck, Hottentot Teal, Southern Pochard, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Red-billed Teal, White-faced Duck, Lesser Flamingo, Cape Shoveler, Fulvous Duck, Yellow-billed Duck, Black Crake, White-winged Terns, African (Purple) Swamphen…….and so on. The one that earned me the most beers – and needless to say my favourite bird of the day - was of course the Black-necked Grebe and they were in various stages of breeding and various ages of juveniles, which was very interesting – check your book out and you will see what you missed. A month earlier Celia and I had seen the chicks riding on Mom’s back – so a good breeding spot for this species.
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Members at Bullfrog Pan Modderfontein Nature Reserve – 2nd March 2015 by Maryke Ewen On a very misty Saturday morning 10 birders gathered at the Fish Eagle Dam in the Modderfontein Reserve. The only one really excited about the mist was Celia who rushed down to the water’s edge with her camera muttering “Pierre should have been here.” After a quick cup of coffee the group set off. Soon the mist lifted and the birds could be seen as well as heard. The group all managed to safely cross the Modder Spruit on a concrete wall and headed to the Grebe Dam, unfortunately no Grebes or any other birds, but we were rewarded when we went to the Flamingo Dam where we saw Darter, Cormorants, African Sacred Ibis, 3 banded Plover, Little Grebe and a totally white bird with the Blacksmith Lapwings. This little bird caused a lot of excitement and after a lot of e-mails once we were home it was identified as a leucistic/albino Blacksmith Lapwing. We saw 68 birds which included a Long-crested Eagle, Steppe Buzzard, Hammerkop, Brown-throated Martin, African Reed, Marsh, Lesser Swamp and Little Rush Warblers, White-rumped and African Palm Swifts and Common and Orange-breasted Waxbills.
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Outing Reports (continued) M+WIG STAY-AWAY March 2015 - Ithala Game Reserve by Paul and Gill Hardingham 12 of us have just spent a most pleasant 4 nights in the Ithala Game Reserve, which is near Paulpietersberg in northern KZN. It’s an ‘Ezemvelo’ run game reserve and is superb in both game and birds and scenery. The Ntshondwe main camp is excellently run and is immaculate and the staff most helpful and willing. For example, one morning we came back for ‘breakfast’, (which was part of the tariff), at 11.35 but the staff said, ‘no trouble, sit down, what would you like?’ Comfortable chalets are scattered along the foot of the mountain along which raptors glide looking for dassies and bigger prey. The camp is unfenced so there is a possibility of sitting on your stoep and looking up to find a zebra or a wildebeest looking at you. They have a wide variety of game from buffalo to giraffe to rhinos – black, (hook-lipped) and white, (square-lipped). Also we were told that the area has the biggest concentration of leopards in the whole of South Africa. Although in fact, we didn’t see one, we saw the effects as there was a small young zebra in the camp, which had been attacked and could be seen stretched out in the sun trying to recover. Later note: it never did and had to be euthanized. Shame! But it made an excellent meal for White-backed and Cape vultures at their restaurant! There are elephants there now but despite much fresh evidence we didn’t see any. We were there mainly for the birds, and these were spectacular. At one viewpoint we put the scope on a Crowned Eagle, one of a pair, and looked at it for 15 minutes in all its glory. There’s some debate about which SA eagle is the most impressive and it’s a toss-up between the Fish Eagle, the Martial Eagle and the Crowned Eagle. For us the Crowned Eagle takes the prize. It is the most powerful eagle on the Continent, (Roberts) and weighs 3.6kgs, which is heavy for any bird. It preys on dassies, monkeys, antelope, (we saw a pair trying to catch a young Mountain Reed Buck), hares, mongooses and genets. Larger prey, which is too heavy to fly with, gets dissected and taken, portion by portion, to the nest. ‘Roberts’ classifies them as ‘near threatened’. Other raptors included, Jackal Buzzard, Long-crested Eagle and dozens of Steppe Buzzards and Black-shouldered Kites and a very handsome Brown Snake Eagle. The camp manager told us that there is a large, (4 metres long), resident Black Mamba behind the camp that comes down every so often to drink from the swimming pool – irrespective of how many swimmers and sun-bathers there are. He just wends, or should we say ‘winds’, his way between them, 25
has a drink, looks around and then turns and makes his way back to his hole in the rocks. All very relaxed. It was felt that, for the safety of the guests he should be caught and relocated but when the snake catcher saw him he jumped back saying, ”Whoa! This one is too big for me. I will have to get some help and a much larger cage.” But he never did and the snake is still there not harming anyone. We saw a pair of Secretary Birds on their nest. They always make their nest on the TOP of an acacia tree and you see these tall majestic birds standing out from the top of the tree and the chicks’ heads popping up every so often. They have Blue Cranes in the Reserve, which are also a threatened species. In the camp there were: African Paradise Fly Catchers, sunbirds overhead, Bar-throated and Yellow-breasted Apalis, Barn Owls and Wood Owls, which we heard at night while sitting on our stoep, Black-headed Orioles, Cardinal, Bearded and Bennett’s Woodpeckers and both Gorgeous and Orangebreasted Bush Shrikes. Bird Count: 105 species. Altogether a wonderful trip and one to be repeated in a couple of years. It’s a 6 to 7 hour drive but once you’re there it seems worth it. M+WIG in 2015 STAY-AWAYS, (Monday to Friday): April 20 to 24 Sediba Lodge October 26 to 30 Karoo National Park DAY OUTINGS: Tuesday February 3 Wed/Thurs, now postponed Tues’ or Wed’ 25 or 26 August Wed’ 30 September Wed’ December 2
(now full - 14 beds only) SANParks reserve
Walter Sizulu Botanical Gardens. Visit to TV studios Multichoice– M Net Tour of the SA Mint Guided Jukskei River Walk Christmas lunch Irwins, Parkmore,
Also in the melting pot: Mid-Year/mid-week Show at Monte Casino Mid-Year/mid-week Concert or rehearsal at the Linder It is recommended that, if you are interested, even in the day outings, you let us know so that we can include you in any bookings we will make. PAUL HARDINGHAM 011 462 9682 / 082 445 5413 RON TIMM 011 802 3687 / 082 979 9252 26
KZN BIRDING TRIP OF FOOLS (VOËLS) by Jane Irvine Twelve Members of our Bird club booked for 8 days of birding in KwaZulu Natal – 7 to 15 March Celia & John Human, Dee & Ian Cuthbertson, Carol & Bruce Funston, Pierre & Margie de Klerk, Jane and Trina McGregor. Unfortunately Di & Jeremy Lovell had to cancel at the last minute. TWO NIGHTS: Pongola Nature Reserve at the Sondaba Camp opposite the Pongola Dam. A delightful well equipped camp with a swimming pool. We had good birding around the camp with plenty of Kingfishers calling and a very elusive Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike that called so nearby it felt as though it was in the living area but proved to be a call only for most of us over the 8 days. Grey-headed Bush-Shrike was found near the camp along with Natal Spurfowl and Blue Waxbills who were only too thankful for the water we put down for them. A popular bird over the whole trip was the Tambourine Dove and proved to be very common this year along with many Emerald Spotted Doves. White-backed Vultures soared overhead with a Bateleur and a single African-Hawk Eagle perched on the ridge. An African Scops Owl had some of us running around at night in our PJs calling and eventually seeing this beautiful little owl.
Huts at Sondaba Camp 27
The following day we spent the afternoon on a boat travelling around the Pongola Dam after Bruce and John had some exercise changing a flat tyre on the Prado. Celia and Carol struggled with heavy rocks to help lift the vehicle to get the jack in the right position. More of a challenge as this had to be done at 33 degrees on a thorn-covered gravel roadside. Once we arrived at the boat things returned to normal and we saw many water birds along the bank including Purple and Goliath Herons, African Fish Eagles and really special to see Water Thick-knees again and all this amongst some really good sightings of Hippos, Crocodiles and White Rhinos. The level of the river that we were on was extremely low and this feeds the Jozini Dam which per Captain Maxwell (cruise boat skipper) is at its lowest for many years and had just been lowered by 10% to allow for the rains still to come – and now that the rains have not arrived there is serious concern about a long dry winter. FOUR NIGHTS at Ndumo. Arriving at the gate after much confusion, driving through the village crisscrossed with road works! Our first bird was a Grey-headed Kingfisher. The camp was very clean, up graded cottages with a small kitchenette added to the cottage, air conditioner and nets over the beds and gauze on windows and door. The ablutions are communal and in need of an upgrade but working. There is a super lapa where we all gathered each evening. The swimming pool was most appreciated. The birding was excellent especially at the new hide on the Nyamithi Pan. There were good numbers of waders and water birds. There was also a huge breeding colony of Pink-backed Pelicans and Yellow-billed Storks. Driving around we saw very few ground birds. Celia and John on the last morning got a lifer, a Rufous-bellied Heron flying past the hide. One morning we walked to the Fig forest but unfortunately the locals were cutting the trees down on the opposite bank, so the birding was disappointing. A few of us saw the African Finfoot, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and a Narina Trogan. We added some good birds for those first timers to the area but no Pels! We did however have a close encounter with an African Rock Python when our guide suddenly jumped to one side, he was one pace away from standing on it. It was so well camouflaged that it took quite a long time for all of us to get a visual, even standing back a bit and looking through our binos. The guide estimated it was about 4 metres.
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Trina celebrated a very special birthday (we will not say which one) on the last day at Ndumo. In true Girl Guide fashion we produced a delicious freshly baked chocolate cake which we all enjoyed. The staff filled the numerous bird baths around the camp each morning and the Purplecrested Turacos showed their raucous approval. We were lucky to spot a group of Retz’s Helmet-Shrike with the ever present White-crested Helmet-Shrikes. A full day was spent at Tembe. A wonderful reserve with excellent birding plus animals with Elephants at the hide. There was a shortage of Sunbirds with very few flowers. You really need a 4x4 as the tracks are very sandy in some areas. Special birds: Rudd’s Apalis, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Lemonbreasted Canary, Pink-throated Twinspot TWO NIGHTS at uMkhuze. Arrived on the hottest day of all – 40 degrees in the shade! The staff were very efficient and helpful. We stayed in the tented Camp with a beautiful private area around each tent. The swimming pool was used by most of us. There are new hides with loo’s in each parking area.
Pierre and Margie outside their tent 29
The Nyala were so tame around the camp and came to drink out of the cement water troughs at the taps that are at each tent. Thick-tailed Bushbabies paid us a visit each evening while we were braaing. We had to keep a careful watch on them as they were keen to share in our evening meal.
The Fig Forest area has been upgraded with two new swing bridges and a wooden walkway and viewing tower in the forest. Ian, Dee, John, Celia, Trina and Carol did the guided walk. The birding was good but difficult in the very dry and thick bush. Carol was chuffed to get the Blue-mantled CrestedFlycatcher as a lifer. While the group was in the forest, Bruce and I went for a morning drive and were very lucky to see the Gorgeous Bush-Shrike, much to the others’ disgust! Later the Pink-throated Twinspots showed themselves for everyone to see. Celia, John and I decided to do the Zululand 150km Challenge to see each bird, we ended with John on 213, myself 210 and Celia 206. The total list for the trip, seeing and heard, was 233. A very good count. This is certainly an area to visit again, perhaps at a cooler time. If you are wondering why I titled this article “Trip of Fools” ask me over for a cup of coffee and I’ll explain. 30
Outing Reports (continued) Slip Sliding Away – Segwati Ranch 22 March by Errol Kilpatrick It had rained heavily the night before our outing and with the sky thick with clouds and driving there in a slight drizzle, we (Trina, Slade and myself) arrived at the gate of Segwati Ranch at 06:45 wondering if we would get any birding done. While waiting for all members to arrive and the gates to be opened we started our birding with quick success, the notable sighting being a Hammerkop. The convoy of 4 cars set off for the picnic area, where we parked our cars and got the morning tea/coffee going. During this time regular additions to the bird list happened including a pair of Groundscraper Thrushes. Celia was atlasing so we were set the task of trying to identify as many species as possible. Also, Craig, Celia and John were not happy with just hearing the bird they needed to see it for the Gauteng 100km Challenge, so the pressure was on. We decided to set off toward the Bush Camp with me in the lead and would stop and walk to the dam on the way. Lapwings and doves added to the list, but we noticed we were missing two vehicles. When Craig arrived with Celia, John and Sophie as passengers we were told that John’s car was stuck in parking area! The wet muddy conditions made us give up the idea of walking to the dam as we had already had some good water bird viewing at a dam opposite the gate. Instead we headed off to the grassland plateau picking up good views of a Black-chested Snake Eagle and Lesser Kestrel. There were large numbers of Amur Falcons on the power lines and Craig’s comment that there must be a Red-footed Falcon amongst them turned out to be true when Celia started scanning the power lines. The scope came out to confirm this and a good view of a female Red-Footed Falcon was enjoyed by all. This was a lifer for most of us. We were also surrounded by Barn Swallows and Palm and White-rumped Swifts. On the move again and the road started getting more muddy until I ended up wheel spinning. Used reverse gear to get back onto firmer ground and with John and Craig pushing my car to the right, got into the long grass and away from the mud. Sorry Craig for the mud splattering your car took. I think that Gill Isaac was secretly enjoying testing her newly acquired 4x4 skills.
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(John and Craig to the rescue) Next stop was the Kudu Hut, where we parked and headed into a thicket. A lot of time was spent chasing Yellow-fronted Tinkerbirds and Acacia Pied Barbets around (you remember my comment re ‘we have to see the bird’). John and Cheryl saw the male and female Black Cuckooshrike but unfortunately we could not relocate them for Craig. He needed it as a lifer. The next stop was off the road leading to the Bush Camp (finally) for snack and drink break. A bird party came through and we picked up Blue Waxbill, Fiscal Flycatcher, Chinspot Batis, Spotted Flycatcher and Red-backed Shrike. After refreshments we went on to the Bush Camp, more birds spotted including an energetic Bar-throated Apalis. We then headed back to the picnic site via the road along the boundary fence which was not as muddy and made for a more relaxing return drive. The owners had set out tea/coffee for us under the thatched lapa and while we enjoyed our brunch a White-fronted Bee-eater, Kurrichane Thrush and Cardinal Woodpecker were added to our list. The net result was a total of 71 species to which can be added the African Hoopoe seen from my car as we left in the rain! Segwati Ranch is a lovely venue and is well worth a visit. Entrance fee is R50-00 and the gates normally open at 08:00. They do not allow cars to drive around the farm (we had obtained special permission). Website: www.segwatiranch.co.za
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NAKED BIRDING by Henk Nel I’ve never truly realised how dependent I’ve become on all my birding accessories – binoculars, camera, scope, books and smart-phone. When I find myself in the veld without any of these, I feel naked. And that’s when it hit me… I was introduced to naked birding by Etienne Marais about a year ago. My initial thought was ‘you’re crazy – I’m not good enough to bird without (at the very least) my binos’. He was very casual about it – just said ‘try it, and you’ll see’. It took me a while before I was comfortable enough going naked. I started in my garden – sitting on the stoep, enjoying a cup of coffee while the dawn chorus serenades me. It wasn’t too daunting – I know most of the garden bird calls, so identification was quick and seamless. The swallows/swifts were a bit more of a challenge – they had to get a lot closer before I was comfortable locking in my ID. All in all, naked birding was possible and enjoyable. I then started experimenting while out on bird-outings. I forced myself not to grab at my binos every time I saw a bird – I stood still and observed. Listened. If I couldn’t get a clear view, I would study the environment and the silhouette’s behaviour. Also taking in consideration the season, and more specifically, the weather. Identifying what other birds are nearby and the interaction the unknown species has with other birds. It was as if a whole new world of birding opened up – it was taking birding to the next level. Needless to say, I was starting to really enjoy naked birding. I would find myself driving slowly along farm/gravel roads (almost) never stopping, just driving and flushing birds from the road. That initial, raw instinctive, sudden movement when a bird decides to take off is so characteristic of a species. In no time I could tell if it was the “dog-fighting, zig-zagging” Red-capped Lark, or the “straight as an arrow, dipping as it climbs”, African Pipit that tried to get away. Then, when close to waterbodies where all those bishops and weavers hang out, their behaviour (and calls) quickly helps bagging their IDs: the small flocks flying very high, then suddenly dip down into the reeds - Thick-billed Weavers. The weavers that fly from reeds to trees, and vice versa: Southern Masked-Weavers and the weavers that never seem to leave the reeds, just occasionally perch on a fence, but never in a tree: Southern Red Bishop. More than anything else, naked birding made me think about habitats. Work into that the seasons, weather and altitude and you start ‘sensing’ what next to expect. This has now become a sort of game, a challenge if you like – once I approach a new habitat, I first compile a mental list of what I expect to get, then try and get them. That’s how I figured that disturbed habitat is one of the 33
most productive environments to bird in – it doesn’t make sense, but it never fails to deliver the goods. Case in point: Zaagkuildrift road has long been a favourite birding destination for Gauteng birders – the hotspots are well known, so are the dead-spots. An example of the latter is the stretch of road leading up to Wolfhuiskraal farm’s entrance. Birders very seldom stop here – it’s difficult to see anything and it seldom delivers anything out of the ordinary. Not anymore. Eskom cleared the verge on the Southern side of the road to erect new power lines. This disturbed habitat looks very uninviting, but it all changes when you take the time to stop and observe. My first ten minute stop saw me clocking 25 species, with some goodies like Gabar Goshawk, Marsh and Icterine Warbler, Southern Pied Babbler, Ashy Tit and Burnt-necked Eremomela. Move along to the Kgomo-kgomo floodplain, but don’t rush off to the bridge, rather spend some time scanning the Northern side of the road – there where the unattractive quarries are (the Pectoral Sandpiper hung out here two years ago), and the overgrazed patches and gravel roads between the first houses (expect Great Sparrow, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark, Greater Spotted Cuckoo and Temminck’s Courser). You will be amazed how often you get exactly the latter group of species when driving through these informal villages. The Dusky Larks also prefer this type of habitat – at the Tjunction to the bridge. Passing a kraal? Expect Cape Wagtail and Spotted Flycatcher, maybe even a flock of Black-winged Pratincoles and Yellow Wagtails. Apart from habitat, I picked up what birds flock together. If I see/hear a Wailing Cisticola, I know the Cinnamon-breasted Bunting is nearby, and vice versa. Depending on the habitat, add Striped Pipit and Mocking Cliff Chat to the flock. So do Long-billed Pipit and Eastern Long-billed Lark hang out together; Amur Falcons and Red-footed Falcons; Egyptian Geese, Common Moorhens and Red-knobbed Coots. Looking back at the past year’s naked birding, I can see why Etienne introduced me to it – it was like he was trying to tell me, this guy that thinks he’s good because he has a sharp eye and knows a few calls, that there’s still a lot more to learn about birds. And he was spot-on. When we start, we compare what we see to the picture in the book – trying our best to match colours. Naked birding teaches you to look at patterns, rather than colours, look at GISS (general impression of size and shape), rather than exact size (you quickly pick up relative sizing). Then move on to the calls, that is until we realise that calls are often mimicked – so what you hear is not necessarily what you think, and the calls change as the seasons change – lots of birds even stop calling altogether, and the calls differ between the age groups, and the calls differ between regional populations, etc., etc.
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I admire the pros that can identify a big brown job (raptor) or little brown job (e.g. lark, pipit, cisticola) by looking at a single photo. I have too often stepped into the trap of relying only on visuals of the species in question, rather than the whole picture, just to be proven wrong because so many other species have that same look under different circumstances, depending on age or photo quality. I’m definitely not there yet, and probably will never be there, simply because the bigger picture limits doubts and that’s what I’m comfortable with. So, get out there – naked! Move from identifying birds by colour and call, to habitats and behaviour. Our lovely sanctuary is the perfect place to start: when approaching the picnic area, listen out for a commotion – when I hear the Black-capped Bulbuls and Southern Masked Weavers go crazy, I know the Little Sparrowhawk is near. At the hide, when I get there at the rise of dawn, I expect to see the African Olive Pigeons at the top of the Willow trees (also late afternoons), and the Green-backed Heron out in the open to catch the first sun rays. I also expect to hear the Lesser Swamp Warbler, and in summer, the African Reed Warbler. When I walk along the dam wall under the Bluegums, I expect to hear the Lesser Honeyguide (strangely absent the last couple of months). Then when in the open, when the Gypos suddenly start flapping their wings and making that awful noise, I know another Gypo(s) is approaching. By honing your skills in a familiar location will help you when you find yourself in a similar habitat away from home. And while you are out there naked, remember the sunscreen. The SASOL Bird Fair is in September. Our aim is to once again sell ‘pre-owned’ natural history (birds, mammals, trees, flowers etc), coffee table travel books, photographic books etc. Please check your book shelves and contact Celia Human on 011 704 3196 or email: chuman@pitta.co.za .
Collection will be arranged
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Mike Gardener reflects……………. How did the Cape birds get their name – ‘CAPE’? A visit to my bird feeder by a Cape Weaver got me thinking. How did the birds with the prefix Cape, get their name? Is it that they are supposed to be only seen in Cape or was it a useful way of adding another subspecies to the list without having to resort to explorers’ names, e.g. Burchell, Levaillant, Verreaux? When you come to think of it the Cape Sparrow is pretty ubiquitous, and there are several other sparrow sub species. Whilst the Cape Weaver appears to be more restricted to the coastal regions. Ethnic Cleansing In mid December I was having my bi-weekly constitutional walk with 3 friends in the Klipriviersberg Reserve, when suddenly a Myna bird literally flew across our feet and dumped something in the verge. Almost it appeared to saying “Here, I can’t deal with this; you stupid humans must take over.” On examination the something turned out to be a fledgling, just hatched. There was no way of telling what species the bird was. The fledgling was rescued and finally ended up at Free Me. On asking around I was told that Mynas are targeting indigenous birds and in some areas have successfully wiped them out. Is the time coming when we need a concerted campaign against them? I understand glossy starlings are a natural enemy – they compete for the same nesting sites. As it seems housing seems the Myna’s natural nesting area, shouldn’t householders be encouraged to make sure that Mynas are not allowed to nest, (and infest), on their properties? I successfully chivvied off a pair with newspaper stuffed under the eaves last year. GAUTENG 100KM CHALLENGE – 2015 Our club certainly has taken to this challenge with Henk lying second at an amazing 354 species seen in only 3 months! Craig and John around 270. Jane and Celia at 245 and 231 respectively. Chris and Jean on 163. Peter Sharland and Shirley Glover are also well on their way. Join now as there is still a lot of birding opportunity left in 2015. How to join? Contact Celia. 36
NEWS – by Heather Rasmussen
Our newly formed EBC had its first outing on Saturday 21st Feb. Chairman George Skinner, his son-in-law Nick and myself met Ben Wielligh at 05h30 at what I have to call a “secret location” in the greater Belfast area. Driving down to the vlei and wetlands we saw a few African Swamphens to get the ball rolling. Weather was perfect - the sun was just coming up and mist was rising off the water – absolutely beautiful. The vlei had patches of water lilies where Whiskered Terns were nesting and they skimmed past us, low over the water where Yellow-billed Ducks, Little Grebes, a Great Crested Grebe, Purple Heron and Moorhens were starting their day. We flushed an African Snipe and then saw an African Harrier-Hawk lazily flying by on the horizon in contrast to the two Shelducks which zoomed overhead. We crossed a recently-mown patch of pasture and Cape Longclaws surveyed their domain from the tops of the bales. The Amur Falcons and Longtailed Widows preferred to sit on the fence poles and we saw lots of Yellowcrowned Bishops. Getting closer to the vlei area we got a White Stork and Great Egret and then heard and saw numerous pairs of Crowned Cranes in the surrounding grassland. Then the big one (well, two…) Wattled Cranes. Magnificent to see them in their natural setting and the highlight of a good morning’s birding with 48 species recorded, plus two Rhebuck and an Oribi. Unfortunately we didn’t see Blue Cranes although Ben says they are often in the same area. Thank you, Ben for sharing your expert knowledge with us and for a great outing. The owner of the farm has recently passed away and the heirs are selling – anyone got quite a few spare millions lying around? This area must be preserved – it is of such vital importance to so many endangered species. For further info about the EBC please contact George: georges@shopzgroup.co.za
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CLUB COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT CHAIRPERSON VICE CHAIR TREASURER MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY NETWORK SANCTUARY ROSTER MINUTES SECRETARY PUBLICITY/KINGFISHER PROGRAMME SUBCOMMITTEE Co-ordinator Programme Secretary Outing Organisers
MEMBERSHIP LIAISON
Jan Fourie John Human Paul Hardingham Errol Kilpatrick Denise Holahan Pierre de Klerk Gill Hardingham Peter Sharland Margie de Klerk Paul Hardingham
044 384-0295 011 704-3196 011 462-9682 082 326-9278 011 791-7154 011 465-2478 011 462-9682 011 782-8600 011 465-2478 011 462-9682
Jane Irvine Trina MacGregor Errol Kilpatrick Ian Cuthbertson Chris & Jean Dell Maryke Ewen Dee Cuthbertson
011 782-9923 082 587-4863 082 326-9278 011 447-8602 012 807-0226 011 608-4043 011 447-8602
JUNIOR CERTIFICATES BirdLife President Ridge has set in place a scheme to award pupils and scholars, ages 0 to 18 years, JUNIOR CERTIFICATES for sighting a minimum of 150 Southern African bird species. Further certificates will be awarded (increments of 50) as the young peoples’ life lists increase. Encourage your children to start their life lists now! Apply to Celia Human for more details: 011 704 3196
FOR MORE PICTURES AND OTHER NEWS PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE: www.blpr.co.za 38
shade
European Roller, uMkhuzi
Crested Guineafowl, uMkhuze
(photo by Celia Human)
(photo by Jane Irvine)
Enjoying the shade at Tembe Elephant Park
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