THE EAGLE S EYE. Dear Eagle s Eye Readers, Zelda Hudson Editor Senior Project Officer: Birds of Prey Programme

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1 introduce you to our new intern, Rebotile Rachuene. In his own words below, you can read about Rebotile s experiences thus far as the new BoPP intern: THE EAGLE S EYE Inside This Issue A View from the Programme Manager s Perch 2 African Raptor Databank 4 Cape Vulture Capture at the Umzimkhulu Colony 4 Martial Eagle Projects 6 Even more Oxpeckers for Mokala! 7 Kruger s successful hornbill harvests 8 Workshop to discuss possible solutions for problems caused by Pied Crows 8 Newsletter Information 9 Sponsors 9 Dear Eagle s Eye Readers, The first six months of 2013 denoted an extremely busy period for the Birds of Prey Programme (BoPP), hence our first issue of the Eagle s Eye only being published now. The BoPP s ninth Annual Conference was held at Sefapane Lodge in Phalaborwa during May and an article in this regard will appear in the next, soon to follow, issue of the Eagle s Eye. The conference proceedings will be distributed to delegates in due course. The latest issues of our journals, Vulture News 63 and Gabar Vol 23 No 2, are available and copies have been distributed to subscribers. Vulture News will soon be available electronically on the EWT s website. Relevant articles for Vulture News and for our raptor journal, Gabar, can be submitted to the respective editors, Campbell Murn (Campbell@ hawkconservancy.org) and Craig Symes (Craig.Symes@wits.ac.za). The annual EWT-BoPP Awards ceremony will be held at the Country Club Johannesburg on the 3 rd of September 2013 where three worthy recipients will be receiving the Steven Piper Lifetime Achievement Award, the Raptor Conservationist Award and the Owl Conservationist Award respectively. International Vulture Awareness Day will take place on the 7 th of September 2013 and an event is planned for the general public at Blouberg Nature Reserve in Limpopo. We hope to see you at these two important events in BoPP s calendar. The month of June saw an intake of the Groen Sebenza interns at the EWT. I would like to There is a young toddling man in nature, who dedicates his much time working or doing something around nature, he chose and became a Nature Conservation student past three years and still studying. That young passionate man is me Rachuene Rebotile, and I am a currently Birds of Prey Programme team member at Endangered Wildlife Trust as an intern. Early May 2013 when I joined the team (BoPP) of EWT it was a destination of excitement and breakthrough for where I met very kind and generous individuals like Zelda Hudson who is my mentor, later she introduced me to Matt Pretorious who is my field mentor if I may say so, and not long Rebotile Rachuene after that I met Andre Botha, who gave me a warm welcome. Since then I started to associate myself with a real administration and field duties within the programme, which is now almost seven (7) weeks in this ship. It was and still a very interesting path, where lots have been injected into my capacity of knowledge. Not so long few days after, I found myself in a seat where I have to assist Zelda organizing the Sasol Bird Fair event which was held at Jo burg Zoo, and BoPP Annual General Meeting conference which was held at Sefapane Lodge, Phalaborwa in Limpopo province. Lot of paper works been thrown left and right, but finally both events went successful as planned. Being in the Sasol Bird Fair personally was so extra phenomenal to an extent that I shared and gained the ideas and knowledge with the public and other exhibitors from other organizations there. Not forgetting the BoPP AGM conference, ideally went there to grasp as much as I can as it was my first attendance, and I observed and learnt a lot from dedicated individuals from different Birds of Prey Projects across South Africa, and outside boarders, thumbs up to persons like Dr Peter Mundy and thanks to all participants, I learnt more than I was thinking to. Matt Pretorius, who always guide and assists me, when he and I conduct field work particularly on African Grass Owl (Tyto capensis) project. We have been to Suikerbosrand Nature reserve, and Elandsvlei farms, Gauteng exclusively in wetland areas where a real physical works were done, ideally to check and monitor the status of this majestic owl species. In few days after that, I found myself in Monate Lodge in Waterberg, Limpopo province with other EWT staff to participate in cheetah tracking within the reserve. Surprisingly the staff was mouth-opened when I hit them with my field guiding skills, when driving around the reserve before tracking started. Pel Fishing Owl survey ahead in coming days, in Kruger National Park, it is one of the best moment I am waiting and already ready to tackle in. Welcome to BoPP Rebotile! Kind regards, Zelda Hudson Editor Senior Project Officer: Birds of Prey Programme Page 1

2 A View from the Programme Manager s Perch By the time you read this, the flood of long weekends at the end of the first quarter of 2013 will be something of the past and I trust that many of you had a bit of a break before the winter fieldwork season commences. Although many people consider this time of year as the quiet before the storm of short days and frantic activity related to the breeding season of most vultures and raptors in the region, there has been quite a lot happening over the last few months as you will see from this edition of the Eagle s Eye. As reflected in the article on the plight of migrating Amur Falcons Falco amurensis on their southward migration to over-winter in southern Africa in the previous issue, it was great to see substantial focus on these and other migratory falcons over the last few months. I was very encouraged by the response received from the general public after an article related to these raptors appeared in the Saturday Star towards the end of January 2013 which highlighted the return of the last remaining Amur Falcon female carrying a satellite tracking unit fitted in 2010 at the Newcastle roost in Kwazulu-Natal back there. The article was published after journalist Peter Burroughes visited the Heidelberg Amur Falcon roost with me in early January. It is interesting to note that the birds have moved their roost away from the well-known large Eucalyptus-tree next to the Blesbokspruit to some poplar trees planted in the backyard of a shebeen and a fast-food outlet approximately 300m upstream. It was rather strange doing raptor monitoring in the parking lot of a supermarket overlooking the new site while being accompanied by the deafening sound of more than one boom-box and the partying from the shebeen after the AFCON Cup soccer matches that took place in the afternoon. Clearly most people attending the party were oblivious to the thousands of little raptors congregating above their heads and eventually settling in for the night just after dark! Since this article appeared, we have received in excess of a hundred phone calls from people interested in going to look at the birds coming in to roost. The Heidelberg roost is one of the better known large roosts close to Johannesburg. Dr Craig Symes and I also accompanied a film crew to the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve and the Heidelberg roost on the late afternoon and evening of the 20 th of February 2013 to film the falcons in the field and coming in to roost. It was a pleasant surprise to see more than 20 locals that have come to the roost mid-week to view the spectacle of more Amur Falcon male hovering above the grasslands of the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve than 2000 of the little birds noisily finding their perches for the evening. The flow of information from the public continues and the roost had dwindled to about 300 birds by the end of March with a few people still visiting the roost to observe the birds. It is also encouraging to report a growing interest in monitoring and research focused on the Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres. The latest report from the Cape Vulture Task Force not only indicates the best coverage in terms of monitoring of known breeding sites since its inception, but we have also been involved in supporting two research projects focused on this species in southern KwaZulu- Natal and the Eastern Cape since late The first of these projects was initiated at the Mkambati Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape and Morgan Pfeiffer, a student from, is looking at a range of aspects related to the birds from this colony which include a study of their movements and an assessment of the attitude of local communities towards vultures in general. The second project was initiated at the Mzimkulu colony by Dana Berens from the Marburg University in Germany with the support of colony champion Mike Neethling who has been keeping an eye on this colony for many years working closely with Prof Steven Piper. Teams that included partners from EWT-BoPP, VulPro NPO, KZN Wildlife, African Raptor Rescue Center, and Eastern Cape Parks Board have been involved in the preparations for and the execution of captures at both sites that enabled the fitting of tracking units (15) and wing-tags (70) to Cape Vultures at both sites in November, January and March. Initial data on the movements of birds from these colonies have been quite interesting and we look forward to the final results emanating from this work. Cape Vulture showing wing-tags approaching the Mzimkulu cliffs It is however not only Cape Vultures that will experience a greater degree of attention from EWT- BoPP fieldworkers and partners in the region in the coming months. In addition to the Savanna Vulture Project mentioned in the previous edition of the Eagle s Eye, there are a number of other vulture projects that are being set in motion and which will be fully operational in the near future. These include a project led by Constant Hoogstad of the EWT s Wildlife and Energy Programme that will be looking at the movements of a range of vulture species in the Lowveld and Bushveld in relation to the existing power-line network which will provide information in terms of the development of new networks in future. Lara Jordan is currently conducting a pilot study with a view to registering a PhD-study focused on Hooded Vultures Necrosyrtes monachus in South Africa which will be conducted with the support of the EWT. We have spent the week of the 8 th -12 th of Page 2

3 April 2013 catching, tagging and fitting tracking devices to nine vultures of three species at the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre with the assistance of Kerri Wolter and Walter Neser from VulPro NPO. Initial movement data has been very interesting to follow with one bird currently spending time in the Hlane and Mlawula National Parks in Swaziland. We have also been approached to work in partnership on a study looking at the role of vultures as possible vectors of certain diseases in the Kruger National Park over the next three years. More details in this regard will be shared once the project has been confirmed and registered. All of the projects mentioned above will involve both the tracking and tagging of vultures and we would like to encourage readers who see any of these tagged birds to report sightings to us at andreb@ewt.org.za. Information required of sightings include the date, time, species, location, GPS coordinates, tag number and condition of the bird. If you are able to photograph the tagged bird, please forward the relevant images to us with your report, but reduce their size to not larger than 100kb, please. Several sites have also started making use of camera-traps to collect data on tagged vultures, especially at feeding sites. A good example of this is the work done by Beryl Wilson at the Dronfield vulture feeding site near Kimberley who has collected more than 500 re-sighting records of tagged vultures since January 2012 in this manner. If you are aware of people making use of this technology at carcasses, please encourage them to submit such records to the re-sightings database. Worrying news in terms of vultures is the apparent increase in poisoning incidents in the region which has resulted in the loss of a substantial number of birds since the middle of last year. Congratulations are also due to Dennis Kelly and his Field Rangers who apprehended 3 suspects found with vulture carcasses in their possession in the Mkuze Game Reserve in Zululand in January. The suspects are likely responsible for three incidents of poisoning in the vicinity of the Reserve where almost 40 vultures and at least one Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax have been killed. Readers are reminded that the EWT-BoPP is still responsible for maintaining a poisoning database of all raptors and owls and would like to encourage you to report such incidents to us. In addition to the work focused on South Africa s vultures, we are also involved in a number of new initiatives focused on other raptors. An example of this is the Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus study which will be conducted by UCT student Rowen van Eeden in the Kruger National Park which is awaiting approval from SANParks. Read more about this and other projects focused on this species elsewhere in this newsletter. More details on other projects will be shared in due course once these are confirmed. Google map reflecting initial movements of the fledged Secretarybird chick. We were also able to fit a tracking device to a Secretarybird nestling in the Polokwane Game Reserve on the 9 th of April 2013 as part of the joint project with BirdLife South Africa focused on this species. Thank you to Ernst Retief, Derek Engelbrecht and Chris Campbell for their support in locating the nest and fitting the device. The bird fledged within days and has spent the first two weeks after fledging doing short foraging forays away from the nest, but sleeping on it every night as can be seen on the map above. I have also been privileged to spend most of December in the Kruger National Park participating in fieldwork focused on Southern Ground Hornbills Bucorvus leadbeateri. The harvest of second chicks from nests went very smoothly this season and we had reached the quota set by SANParks by the second week of December. All the hatched chicks were collected by the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project for hand-rearing at facilities such as the Johannesburg Zoo, Montecasino Bird Gardens, Loskop Dam and Boscia. In addition to the harvest of chicks, we were able to monitor nests and record breeding success at more than 40 sites across the Park. From a personal perspective, I was very happy to record and monitor breeding activity at Shikumbukoppie, approximately 13km from the Phalaborwa Gate. This is the first time in four seasons that the group frequenting this area Female Southern Ground Hornbill perched at the decided to breed here and they were able cliff nest entrance, Shikumbu, Kruger National Park to successfully rear a chick in one of very few known cliff nests in the Kruger National Park. Thanks to the reports received from a volunteer group of interested enthusiasts based in Phalaborwa, I was informed minutes after the chick at this nest fledged from the nest. Read more about this work in Leigh Combrink s article elsewhere in this issue. We also received excellent news in terms of the recent relocation of Red-billed Oxpeckers Buphagus erythrohunchus as part of the activities of Operation Oxpecker to the Mokala National Park in August Please read the article by Leigh Combrink in this regard elsewhere in this issue. Warm regards André Botha: andreb@ewt.org.za Manager: Birds of Prey Programme Endangered Wildlife Trust Page 3

4 African Raptor Databank Raptors are highly territorial and thus ideal as habitat indicators. Although they may be challenging to identify, they are more noticeable than other possible indicator species, often perching boldly on the tops of trees or bushes. We also hope to harness their popularity with birders and promote wider awareness of their special qualities to the general public. Furthermore, we are making use of the latest developments in GPS and mobile technologies so that the public can send in records directly from smart phones and tablets. In the future we plan to couple these recording applications with identification guides to help teach users how to identify tricky species. Full details at: We love observing our raptors. Please help us get more out of your valuable observations by sending in data. Rob Davies Cape Vulture Capture at the Umzimkhulu Colony The Birds of Prey Programme is acting as the regional coordinator across southern Africa for a new initiative to collate and analyse information across the whole of the African continent. Launched at the Pan African Ornithological Congress in Arusha last October, and with significant contributions from atlas projects, and particularly André Botha, the database already contains almost records! The database is designed to accommodate all different types of raptor observations, from road count, foot transect and static count data through to satellite tracks, mortality incidents and museum data. We welcome any additional data you may be able to contribute. The main purpose of the databank project is to improve conservation assessments for our raptors, across the whole of their distributional range through accurate measurement of the state of their habitats, through the use of remote sensing data and GIS modelling. A full complement of raptors invariably signals healthy and intact ecosystems. We are using the indicator qualities of these apex predators to assess the health of habitats for all wildlife. Because they occur at such low densities, conservation measures for raptors can act as an umbrella of protection for other wildlife. Habitat loss is considered to be the greatest threat to wildlife today, and with the drastic declines of scavenging raptors we are seeing in regions of Africa, this community-based monitoring programme is needed urgently. The project is being coordinated through the African Raptor Listserver and, at the moment, co-funded by The Peregrine Fund and Habitat Info. The late Professor Steven Piper and I have been monitoring breeding activity and nest failure as well as operating a vulture restaurant at the cliffs overlooking the Umzimkhulu River since In that time we spent many hours together on the cliffs and a subject that came up for debate very often was the fate of the juveniles once they had fledged. I was therefore very receptive to a project proposal from Dana Berens, a post-doctorate fellow from the University of Marburg in Germany, to capture some birds and fit them with transmitters to monitor their movements. Preparations for the project quickly became a multidisciplinary effort. My job became chief trap builder. Ably guided by Kerry Wolter, I built a walk-in trap 6m long, 4m wide and 3m high. The sides were enclosed with 50mm non-welded mesh and the top with 30% shade cloth. The open end had a 4m by 2m sliding gate to close the trap and an access door on the side to retrieve the captured birds. Construction of the trap took three months and was done in stages. To familiarise the birds with the trap I placed fresh carcasses inside whenever I did any construction. Over the construction phase, thirteen Zebra were supplied by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, whenever more than my normal supply of one a week from other sources was required. By the end of the three month period, the birds were fully familiar with the trap and walked right to the back of the enclosure to feed. Dana joined the proceedings from Germany at the end of November, put the team together and put the strategy and objectives in place. It was essential to the study that the birds were to be stressed as Page 4

5 twenty six. The two well organised teams were very proficient and all birds were processed and released within two hours. Once captured, the birds were sexed, weighed, ringed, measured, had faecal swabs and blood samples taken, inspected for parasites and juveniles were fitted with transmitters. Patagial wing tags in yellow with black numbering were fitted to both wings on all birds before release. This was done to get additional information on movement via reports of tagged birds sighted by the public. All agreed that the exercise had been hugely successful. Dana s division of helpers into two teams with dedicated jobs and effective training contributed largely to a quick turn around and minimised the stress on the birds. The birds themselves endured the experience of the capture well with only a few birds receiving slight abrasions on the sides of the beaks from attempts to push their heads through the mesh. Vultures inside the walk-in trap: Photo courtesy Shannon Hoffman little as possible. The key objectives of the project included catching five juveniles and fitting them with transmitters that enabled us to track their movements, and then to catch as many others as possible to fit them with wing tags. The team assembled during the third week of January when eighteen people arrived to spend the Mike Neethling releasing a vulture: Photo courtesy Shannon Hoffman An interesting observation was how little trauma the birds appeared to experience during the process. This was evidenced by birds returning to the trap the following day in spite of being captured the day before. The final day s capture also saw many birds standing around outside the trap even though others were trapped inside. A juvenile being fitted with a transmitter: Photo courtesy Franziska Peter Fully kitted out: Photo courtesy Shannon Hoffman week with us on the farm. One juvenile vulture was captured on the first day to use as a training exercise for all involved. The second day saw nine birds captured including juveniles, which met our requirement for five transmitters on five juveniles. After allowing the birds and the team to rest for one day, we set out to capture as many birds as possible and succeeded in capturing a further Three months after the release of the birds, all continues to go well with the data collection. The juveniles seem to have very different behavioural traits with one bird now near Bedford in the Eastern Cape, two in the Southern KwaZulu Natal Midlands, one in Lesotho at Sehlabatebi Nature Reserve and one still on the home cliffs. My task has been reassigned and I have the privilege of being the local data access manager and lookout for tagged birds, a non-onerous job with the most wonderful working conditions imaginable. I get to sit on the cliffs with the data logger and watch these most gracious and capable creatures in their natural habitat. Page 5

6 This project is going to supply vital information to deepen our understanding of these magnificent creatures. Martial Eagle Projects Mike Neethling The following is a list of the capture details and personnel involved Capture dates: 13 th -18 th of January 2013 Statistics: 36 birds caught (11 first-year birds, 4 sub-adults, 21 adults) Transmitters deployed: 5 Participants (total of 18 people): Name: André Botha Kerri Wolter Walter Neser Sonja Kruger Rickert Van Der Westhuizen Frik Lemmer Roger Uys Pieter Massyn Graham Grieve Morgan Pfeiffer Alex Canning Wandile Nkayitshan Max Mboyi Glen Mclean Sonja Heuner Franzi Peter Mike Neethling Dana Berens Institution/Organization EWT-BoPP VulPro VulPro University of Marburg University of Marburg University of Marburg The Martial Eagle is the largest eagle species in Africa and in its Savanna habitat represents an apex predator. The species has recently undergone dramatic declines across Africa and, as a result, is now listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Within South Africa it was previously listed at Vulnerable but will likely be uplisted in the near future to Endangered, based on the declines that have been revealed in the comparison of the two South African Bird Atlas Projects (SABAP 1 and SABAP 2). Within the Raptor Research Programme at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute (University of Cape Town), we currently have three student projects which are all focussing on the conservation of Martial Eagles. One student, Daniël Cloete, is currently finishing his Masters in Conservation Biology; his dissertation is focused on quantifying and investigating the decline of the Martial Eagle using the SABAP datasets. Data for the first SABAP was collected between 1987 and 1993 and the second SABAP started in 2007 and is ongoing. He has been comparing reporting rates between these two surveys at the quarter degree square level (about 25km x 25km squares). Results from this project suggest a national decline in reporting rates of nearly 60%. Daniël has explored whether changes in reporting rates are related to a range of environmental variables and from the preliminary results it appears that declines have been greatest in areas with a higher density of power lines, suggesting that collisions or electrocutions might be relevant. He has also found larger declines in Martial Eagle populations in natural grassland areas utilized for stock farming, which is often associated with direct and indirect human persecution. Population declines also appear to be worse in areas where large bird prey species have declined. As with the rest of Africa, National Parks, especially Kruger and Kgalagadi, have long been seen as strongholds for the Martial Eagle in South Africa, but comparison of the SABAP data also now suggests that declines have been Page 6

7 occurring in these protected areas with an average drop of 42% in protected areas. As a direct result of our concerns over these declines, and specifically the declines detected in the Kruger National Park, we have recently commenced a PhD study aimed at determining the driving forces behind dropping numbers of Martial Eagles. The Kruger National Park is a known stronghold for this species and contains around 100 of the 600 pairs believed to be breeding in South Africa. The PhD study is being carried out by Rowen van Eeden, who has recently completed his Masters degree in the movement ecology of African Penguins. Rowen s project will test two potential reasons for these declines. Firstly, we will explore whether declines are due to factors within the boundaries of the park, exploring whether breeding success and survival of adults is sustainable. Secondly, we will explore whether factors outside of the park may be the ultimate cause of population declines. Although adults are highly territorial, juvenile and sub-adult birds are believed to travel impressive distances before settling down to breed, however we know almost nothing about the nature of these movements. These types of behaviour may expose these young birds to considerable unnatural threats. Unnatural mortalities beyond the parks boundaries will eventually lead to reduced recruitment back into the park: the picture can be thought of as a one-way flow of birds out with little return back into the park. To determine the nature of these movements, and to examine levels of mortality beyond the borders of the protected areas, we will be fitting juveniles with state-of-the-art GPS tracking devices. Using this double-pronged approach we will be able to identify the cause of the decline in this species in this and other protected areas. Even more Oxpeckers for Mokala! The success of the release of 21 Red-billed Oxpeckers has been documented in a number of local media publications including the Kruger Park Times, Wild & Jag Magazine and Country Life Magazine. Ronelle Visagie, Field Officer of the EWT-BoPP s Karoo Raptor Project, has been keeping a watchful eye on Mokala s Oxpeckers and recently reported that one of the nest boxes erected specifically for the Red-billed Oxpeckers was in fact, being used by them! The adult birds had been seen flying out of the nest box and the sounds of the nestlings were heard. On the 12 th of February 2013, we received even better news when Dries Engelbrecht took the photograph below of an adult and juvenile Red-billed Oxpecker sitting on a buffalo. The juvenile is easily distinguishable as it is lacking the bright red bill and characteristic yellow wattle on the eye. The third project is being carried out as a Masters degree by research dissertation by Jessie Berndt. This research will focus on a particular population of Martial Eagles, those which breed on the high voltage power lines within the commercial ranch-lands of the Karoo, an area which generally received little survey coverage during the national SABAP surveys. These birds have adapted to breeding in this largely treeless environment by building their nests on electric pylons. To date, only ten percent of the total number of transmission lines has been surveyed, yet this survey revealed nearly 60 breeding pairs, which leads us to believe that the total number of pylon-nesting pairs in this biome may be quite substantial. This project will attempt to establish the true size of this population and will also investigate the diet of birds in the area. A key objective is to determine whether we might be underestimating the species population size, as well as the potential national importance of the population. The study will also look at the extent to which the population of Martial Eagles may be subsidised, rather than threatened, in the area by the development of electrical infrastructure. The combined scientific ground covered by these three separate projects will hopefully shed some light on the problems facing this charismatic species which, despite being so iconic and emblematic of the African wilderness, remains poorly understood. Arjun Amar Dries Engelbrecht photographed this adult and juvenile Red-billed Oxpecker on a buffalo in Mokala National Park on the 12th of February Leigh Combrink: oxpecker@ewt.org.za Page 7

8 Kruger s successful hornbill harvests The EWT-BoPP s Lowveld Large Bird Project has been responsible for the harvesting of the redundant second-hatched hornbill chicks from the Kruger National Park for the last five years. SANParks s Scientific Services insisted that before they would allow harvesting to occur, a study to determine the impacts of the removal of the second-hatched chick on the first chick and the group as a whole must be conducted. Southern Ground Hornbills typically lay two eggs, with the first hatching about five days before the second. The second-hatched chick is generally neglected by the adults and dies of starvation after a couple of days. In footage captured in the artificial drum nest used by the Phalaborwa Mining Company group, the female actually ate the second-hatched chick when it was about four days old. Seeing as the second chick is redundant, it was thought that harvesting these from wild populations would be a useful way of augmenting the captive breeding population and supplementing the birds ear-marked for future releases. And so the EWT-BoPP s project in Kruger began. In order to harvest the second-hatched chicks within the four to five day window-period (where they are still alive), we need to have an accurate idea of when the chicks will hatch. Typically this is determined with a method known as candling, where a bright light is placed underneath the egg and the age of the embryo is estimated. This is a very subjective method, which provides no guarantee that the estimations are correct. During the breeding season, camera traps were placed at a number of natural nests in Kruger to monitor prey provisioning to the female and chick. These cameras revealed the laying dates of the eggs, which in the end ensured that we were able to harvest the second-hatched chicks within the short window-period. Had we gone with the candling estimates, we would have been about ten days too late! The camera at the Mangake Nest revealed the date that the eggs were first laid, allowing us to accurately determine the hatching date, which resulted in a successful harvest. Seven chicks were harvested from the Kruger National Park population during the season and joined the 22 that had been harvested from the park since Colour-ringing of chicks has been included as part of the Kruger Southern Ground Hornbill Project to gain an indication of the long-term survival of the birds, as well as movements of the groups and movements between the various groups. As ringing is done when the chicks are about 70 days old, which is about ten days before fledging age, we assume that birds that have survived to ringing age, will leave the nest and join the rest of the group. To determine whether there has been any impact on the first-hatched chicks and the group, we compared the survival of first-hatched chicks to fledgling age between nests that were harvested and those that were not. Using a simple χ2 test, we found no significant difference (p = 0.65, χ2 = 0.177) between the survival of first-hatched chicks to fledging age, which indicates that harvesting has no detrimental effects of the group and first-hatched chicks. Table 1. The table showing the observed frequencies between harvested nests and nests not harvested for the survival of first-hatched chicks. Observed Harvested Not Harvested Total Survived Died Total Leigh Combrink presented these results at the Savanna Science Network Meeting held in Skukuza in March and will be submitting these for publication shortly. Leigh Combrink: oxpecker@ewt.org.za Scott Ronaldson: scottr@ewt.org.za Workshop to discuss possible solutions for problems caused by Pied Crows The Northern Cape Raptor Conservation Forum will be holding a workshop on the 30 th of July 2013 in Kimberley with the aim to find solutions for problems being caused by Pied Crows in agricultural and environmental areas. It is suspected that Pied Crows are contributing to cattle losses and have a negative impact on biodiversity because they eat small turtles and possibly cause a decrease in raptor numbers. Pied Crows numbers have increased drastically in the Northern Cape during the past few years and the impact that these birds have had on cattle has resulted in the use of poison with dire consequences to wildlife. Several organisations will partake in this workshop including conservation organisations, universities and agricultural organisations. For further enquiries please contact Ronelle Visagie. Ronelle Visagie: ronellev@ewt.org.za Pied crows at a Warthog carcass Page 8

9 NEWSLETTER INFORMATION The Eagle s Eye is the quarterly newsletter of the Endangered Wildlife Trust s Birds of Prey Programme and is compiled and edited by Zelda Hudson. For enquiries, to submit an article or to unsubscribe, zeldah@ewt.org.za The articles in this newsletter represent various projects and individuals involved with the Birds of Prey Programme and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Endangered Wildlife Trust or the editor of this newsletter. For further information visit: The Birds of Prey Programme would like to thank all our sponsors for their ongoing support of the work done by our various Projects. CHARL VAN DER MERWE CHARITABLE TRUST Page 9