EAGLE S EYE - SEPTEMBER 2011

Transcription

1 EAGLE S EYE - SEPTEMBER 2011 Newsletter of the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust: September 2011 Pg 1 Pg 4 Pg 4 Pg 5 Pg 6 Pg 6 Pg 7 Pg 8 Pg 9 Pg 12 Pg 12 Inside This Issue A View from the Programme Manager s Perch Farewell to Tanya Fouché BoPP Awards Evening IVAD Migrating Kestrel Project - News and Introduction of new coordinator Fieldworkers Profiles: Rina Pretorius Migrating Kestrel Project Fieldworkers Activities: Ronelle Visagie Platberg Karoo Raptor Project Madel Whittington Kalahari Raptor Project Leigh Potter and Scott Ronaldson KPN Large Bird Project Contact details Sponsors Dear Eagle s Eye Readers, A View from the Programme Manager s Perch The first spring rains fell in Gauteng over the weekend and, with the transformation of the veld and the cleaner skies that comes with it, I look forward to the coming season of fieldwork focused on vultures in Zululand and the Lowveld followed by Southern Ground Hornbill nest surveys in the Kruger Park during November and December. Since the last newsletter appeared in June, all of our staff and volunteers have been very busy with a range of activities as you will see from their contributions elsewhere in this edition of the Eagle s Eye. The EWT-BoPP was also fortunate in securing a sponsorship of optical equipment from Nikon for our staff and the first spotting scopes, binoculars and a camera were received in July. These were issued to staff and have been used to good effect during fieldwork in a number of areas. Securing a sponsorship for such vitally important equipment is an important step in enabling our staff and volunteers to do their work more effectively and I would like to thank Nikon for agreeing to support us. Thanks also to Zai Miller from EWT s Fundraising Department for her perseverance in securing the sponsorship. This is officially my first edition of the Eagle s Eye as the Administrative Coordinator of the Birds of Prey Programme. It is with sadness that we say goodbye to Tanya but I look forward to continue working with the people from EWT-BoPP who show such passion and commitment towards their work. I would like to express my gratitude towards everybody who has welcomed me so warmly and who has made my first five months with BoPP such a pleasant experience. In addition, a special thank you to Tanya who has helped me tremendously during the past months. Fortunately I will be seeing a lot of Tanya in the future as we will be continuing our studies together. December closure for the EWT offices will be on the 15 th of December 2011 until the 2 nd of January As this year is drawing to an end I wish you all a productive two months ahead before a well deserved rest. Kind regards Zelda Hudson The surveys of two of the Lowveld s river systems for Pel s Fishing Owl and other fish-eating birds were completed during between June and August and I would like to thank all who participated in this work or provided their support to the teams. Results for the Luvhuvhu River were particularly encouraging this year and we located no less than four active nesting sites along this river. The Fledgling Pel s Fishing Owl Scotopelia peli roosting on the banks of the Luvhuvhu River Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 1

2 support from the Wilderness Adventures Pafuri Camp guides and the SANParks Field Rangers was vital to the success of the survey along one of the most scenic areas in the Kruger National Park. A highlight of the survey of the Olifants River in the Kruger Park was the special potjiekos supper cooked for both teams by Regional Ranger Louis Olivier at Xilandu on the last evening of the survey. This was the first time that both teams participating in the survey were able to get together and share their thoughts and experiences. The survey of the Olifants River was completed by covering a stretch of about 55km from the western boundary of the Kruger to the Three Bridges site on the R40. Thank you to the Wardens and staff of the various reserves and lodges who allowed access to the river in this area and particular thanks must go to Ian Owtram for making most of the arrangements for this survey. Birders visiting the Colleywobbles Cape Vulture colony in the Eastern Cape in July reported their concerns with regard to housing and road developments in fairly close proximity to the breeding cliffs. This resulted in a team of people from the Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Authority, Durban Natural History Museum, East London Museum, BirdLife South Africa, BirdLife Border and EWT visiting the site in mid-august to assess the status of the site and the possible impact of the said developments. We were also accompanied by Carl Vernon who for many years was responsible for the monitoring of this colony when he was working at the East London Museum. We also engaged with the Department of Economic Development, Environment Affairs and Tourism who suspended the continued construction of the road until guarantees could be given that appropriate measures are put in place to prevent substantial damage to the environment. Left: The spectacular scenery at Colleywobbles. Part of the breeding cliffs can be seen on the left. The Wildlife Energy Programme (WEP) of the EWT conducted an assessment on the potential impact of new power-lines constructed in the area and have made recommendations on how to mitigate against these. Thanks to Kate Webster for completing this task. A team of observers under the leadership of David Allan also conducted a follow-up visit to the site to do a detailed count of the colony and we will attempt to maintain this momentum by establishing a team of volunteers who will be responsible for the future monitoring at the site. This effort is a good example of how a number of organizations can effectively work together to assess and address possible threats to key breeding areas of vultures and other raptors and I would like to thank all concerned for their Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 2

3 involvement in this matter. I was also fortunate to participate in an aerial survey of the Kruger National Park in early September during which we covered a two substantial areas north of the Olifants River and south of Tshokwane to the Crocodile River to locate, identify and assess the activity of vulture and raptor nests in this area. Scott Ronaldson and Leigh Potter from EWT also participated in the survey which was conducted in partnership with Campbell Murn from The Hawk Conservancy Trust and which used one of SANParks helicopters piloted by Charles Thompson. We aim to cover 100% of the Kruger Park with this survey over the next few years and the results from this survey will assist in guiding us with regard to priority species and areas to focus on in terms of future projects in this area. In late September, I was also fortunate to attend a workshop on the future of Vultures in the Middle East that was held at Kibbutz Kfar Blum in the Golan Heights of Israel. The workshop focused on finding solutions to the dwindling vulture populations in this region, an in Israel particularly where the number of breeding pairs of Eurasian Griffon Gyps fulvus have declined from 118 pairs to 39 pairs over the last 10 years. The intense level of monitoring and management by the authorities and organizations involved in this work was quite impressive. The situation here is also a good example of the need for greater international cooperation and support from all the countries in the region to conserve the vultures effectively and we wish our colleagues well in their endeavours. The Workshop also coincided with the commencement of the southerly migration of thousands of raptors and other birds to their wintering grounds in Africa and we were fortunate to witness some of this at first hand. Dr Yossi Leshem accompanied us to the radar observation centre at Latrun to show us how this technology is used to guide air traffic over Israel when large numbers of birds traverse the country s airspace. We also spent an early morning on a hillside near Tel Aviv and witnessed about 500 Lesser Spotted Eagles Aquila pomarina taking off from their overnight roost to circle and then head off to the south. Prof Ara Monadjem and I also visited Eilat in the far south of the country where Itai Shanni showed us some of the raptors and other birds in the Eilat Mountains and the southern Negev. The EWT-BoPP also hosted its annual Awards Evening at the Johannesburg Country Club, Auckland Park in September and I would again like to congratulate Dr Alan Kemp who received the Steven Piper Lifetime Achievement Award in Raptor Conservation and Dr Andrew Jenkins who was awarded the Raptor Conservationist of the Year trophy. Andrew also gave a fascinating talk about his work on Peregrines in the Western Cape to a capacity audience. I would like to thank everyone who contributed to make this a successful evening. Tanya Fouché, who has for the last two years been the Administrative Coordinator of the EWT-BoPP has decided to resign to dedicate her attention and time to her new baby. We are certainly sad to see Tanya leave the EWT and wish her and her family well for the future. Zelda Hudson, who has been standing in for Tanya during her absence, will be taking over this position and we look forward to continue working with her. Warm regards André Botha One of the many Lesser Spotted Eagles seen circling near Tel Aviv before heading south. Manager: Birds of Prey Working Group Endangered Wildlife Trust Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 3

4 Farewell to Tanya Fouché Farewell to Tanya Fouché On the 16th of June (Youth day) I welcomed my precious little boy, Christiaan, into the world. While I was pregnant the doctors told me I was going to have such a big baby but on his arrival I could not believe how tiny he was, only 2. 7 kg. Having a newborn during the coldest time of the year was not very easy. It was also a big adjustment from being a full time employee and a part time student the past nine years, to being at home with a small baby. I think after three months I have adjusted rather well and this is why I was able to make a difficult but necessary decision to resign from the Endangered Wildlife Trust. I have decided to stay at home with my baby for a year while continuing with my Masters degree. Although my time at EWT was short, I have learnt and experienced a lot, good and bad. I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be involved in Birds of Prey conservation and I hope to still be involved on a voluntary basis. I honestly think people who work in conservation sometimes forget how lucky they are to do this great work. Birds and especially raptors have a very special place in my heart and I will miss it. I am however convinced that Zelda will continue to do such an excellent job as she has been doing for the past five months. Thank you very much Zelda! I would also like to thank André for giving me the opportunity to learn so much while working there and I wish him and the rest of the Birds of Prey team all the best for what the future in conservation may bring. Tanya Fouché Birds of Prey Programme Awards Evening The BoPP Awards Evening took place at the Country Club, Johannesburg on the 13 th of September Dr Alan Kemp was the recipient of the prestigious Steven Piper Lifetime Achievement Award for his invaluable dedication and contribution towards raptor conservation and research spanning many years. Dr Andrew Jenkins received the Raptor Conservationist Award for his contribution towards raptor conservation. Dr Jenkins also presented on the Private Life of Peregrines on the Cape Peninsula a presentation that captivated the audience of 150 people. Congratulations to both on these well-deserved recognitions of years of hard work and dedication. Dr Alan Kemp and André Botha Dr Andrew Jenkins and André Botha Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 4

5 IVAD International Vulture Awareness Day 2011 IVAD International Vulture Awareness Day 2011 The Birds of Prey Programme in collaboration with The Vulture Programme of the Rhino & Lion Wildlife Conservation NPO (Vulpro) and BirdLife South Africa hosted the 2011 IVAD on the 3 rd of September at Vulpro s rehabilitation centre near Hartbeespoort Dam. This year s event saw an increase in the number of visitors as between 500 and 600 people attended the event. Staff members from BoPP, WEP and Fundraising assisted with the arrangements and the stand and vulture educational talks were given by André Botha, Constant Hoogstad and Kerri Wolter. Amongst the visitors were 50 children from disadvantaged school who each received a colour-in book from BoPP. The outing to Mogale s Gate Vulture restaurant proved to be very popular as the bookings far exceeded the number of people that the restaurant could accommodate. Visits to the vulture restaurant can be arranged through Zelda Hudson for those interested. Zelda Hudson zeldah@ewt.org.za Zelda Hudson and Zai Miller manning the BoPP stand at IVAD Zelda Hudson with the winners of the IVAD colour-in competition Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 5

6 Migrating Kestrel Project - News and Introduction of new coordinator Hello All On Friday Brian van der Walt phoned me with the first Lesser Kestrel sightings at the Ceres roost in the Western Cape which means that many of the birds must have arrived at the roosts around the country. Thanks to all the efforts of the volunteers, last season was another successful count, with a total of 136,000 migrating kestrels counted across the country. While this is down on the numbers counted in the previous two years (172,000 in each), the number of roosts counted were also down (29 roosts vs. 38 roosts in the previous season) and when looking at average roost size, the average appears to be increasing compared to the previous two years (4,600 per roost vs. 4,500 and 2,700 in 2009/10 and 2008/9). Looking at the last five years of data, it appears that the numbers may be increasing in our region. This important information on the population trend is thanks to the massive effort that the volunteers have put in. Thank you once again for your support and the hard work you have done towards the conservation of these birds. You will have noticed that the number of roosts that are counted are dropping because I have not been able to put enough time into making sure that there are volunteers to count all the roosts. Thus, I have decided it is best for the project that I hand over the co-ordination to someone that will make sure that all the roosts are counted, plus more. I would like to introduce Rina Pretorius as the new coordinator of the Migrating Kestrel Project. Rina is based in Newcastle, Kwazulu-Natal and has been involved with the Amur Falcon roost there for several years. With ZephnéBernitz, Rina was instrumental in the first Amur Falcon satellite tracking project with Bernd Meyburg. Rina is also a very keen bird ringer and is active in Birdlife Kwazulu-Natal. I welcome Rina to co-ordinate this project and know that you will support Rina as much, if not even more, than you supported me. I would like to thank all of those who I have worked with over the last years on this project, it was a very special time for me. I will continue to actively count my local roost, the Wellington roost, to provide the data to Rina for the conservation of these fantastic falcons. I would also like to thank André Botha of the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust for his support with the project, and hope that it grows from strength to strength. Good luck with your counts this season and enjoy watching these magnificent falcons. Kind regards Anthony van Zyl AZyl@slb.com Field Workers Profiles: Migrating Kestrel Project Rina Pretorius Rina Pretorius from Newcastle, KZN, has been a bird ringer since 2005 but never dreamt that whilst she was ringing weavers, bishops and red-billed queleas at the Newcastle Sewage Works, that she would one day be involved in such an awesome project as the Amur Falcon Tracking Project. Newcastle has the largest roost of Amur Falcons in South Africa and Rina is involved with the annual National Kestrel Counting Day in the area. Rina, who is also secretary for BirdLife Northern Natal, first met Prof BU Meyburg, Chairman of the World Working Group on Birds of Prey and Owls (WWGBP), through Dr Zephné Bernitz. During Prof Meyburg s visit in January 2010, Rina, Dr Zephné Bernitz, Dr Herman Bernitz and Sylva Francis successfully fitted 10 transmitters to adult Amur Falcons (eight females and two males). To date, the club has also successfully mist-netted some 105 Amur Falcons and six Red-footed Falcons at the Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 6

7 roosting site during two migrating seasons. As of 6 October 2011, one female is still transmitting in China and everyone involved is anxiously waiting to see whether she will successfully complete the km journey back to Newcastle. Currently this is the only bird still transmitting. The following sponsors and supporters made the catching, ringing and tracking of these amazing birds possible, to name a few: Prof, BU Meyburg, Paul Howey, BirdLife Northern Natal, Amajuba District Municipality, EWT, Eskom and Newcastle Municipality. André Botha of the EWT Birds of Prey Programme contacted Rina during April 2011 to enquire whether she would be willing to extend her work to include the Migrating Kestrel Project as Anthony van Zyl was unable to continue due to his increased workload. Rina immediately agreed. She will be responsible for monitoring the arrival of Amur Falcons, Red-footed Falcons and Lesser Kestrels, together with the roost sites of these species across South Africa, and will be coordinating the Lesser Kestrel Bird Count in January She will work with Dr Craig T. Symes, of Wits University s School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Science, who will assist Rina and be responsible for the scientific side of her work. Rina says: I believe with the support of EWT, the general public and various bird clubs we will be on the road to success! I am very proud to be part of the EWT family. From left to right: Rina Pretorius, Prof Bernd Meyburg, Sylva Francis, Dr Herman Bernitz, David Maphisa, Dr Zephné Bernitz, Achim Germany Rina Pretorius amurfalconringer@gmail.com Field Workers Activities: Platberg Karoo Raptor Project Ronelle Visagie Ronelle Visagie and Madel Whittington (Kalahari Raptor Project) ringed two Verreaux s Eagle chicks for Vodacom with the assistance of Vodacom s subcontractor, Ro-Al, at Kameelpoort and Gifkloof respectively. A very proud moment for Madel as it was her first chick to ring. Coenie Farmer removes chick from nest Kobus Beukes, Coenie Farmer, Ronelle Visagie and Jan Cuperus Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 7

8 Coenie Farmer, Kobus Beukes, Madel Whittington, Jan Cuperus Gifkloof chick - 4 weeks old Ronelle also ringed two chicks on a farm in the De Aar district with the help of the De Aar absailing team and researchers from the University of Cape Town. The assistance of absailers was required as the nests were on cliffs and therefore very difficult to reach. Ronelle successfully rehabilitated an injured Spotted Eagle Owl. The owl was released after a month of rehabilitation on a farm in the De Aar district and flew directly to a telephone pole before taking off. Ronelle Visagie ronellev@ewt.org.za Madel Whittington with 8 week old Kameelpoort chick The Kalahari Raptor Project (April-October 2011) Madel Whittington What a season it has been. The park had an above average rainfall this year and therefore the vegetation mammals and birds flourished. White-backed Vultures decided that the Mata Mata section is the ideal nesting area for this year. A total of 10 nests were observed. A total of 23 Tawny Eagle nests were found with a possibility of another five territories. Six Martial Eagle nests were found with a possibility of another two territories. Bateleur nests on the other hand were not so easy to find. A total of four nests were found but with a possibility of 10 other territories. According to J.J. Herholdt (1995), if an influx of Tawny Eagles is observed then, the opposite for the Bateleur happens. It is not possible to draw conclusions with six months worth of data though. Other interesting sightings were four nests of Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 8

9 Verreaux s Eagle-Owl, with the last one found to have just hatched. A couple of Secretarybird nests were also observed with one pair to have raised 2 chicks successfully and to my delight this week I discovered that another nest that occupied also 2 chicks revealed to have 3 chicks. A Marsh Owl has also been reported to be seen in the Mata Mata section. Unfortunately, the breeding season is ending. Most of the Tawny Eagles have fledged and the first Southern Pale-Chanting Goshawks are starting to spread their wings. Now we are awaiting the rainy season to see which migrants will visit the park this season. Madel Whittington mdlwilkens@yahoo.com Southern Ground Hornbill Real Estate - Leigh Potter and Scott Ronaldson The EWT-BoPP Lowveld Large Bird Project has been monitoring Southern Ground Hornbills Bucorvus leadbeateri in the Kruger National Park for a number of years including both recording all sightings of birds and checking the activity of nesting sites. In the near future, this project hopes to include additional projects focusing on the habitat and nesting requirements of Southern Ground Hornbills using the Kruger population as the ideal population to mimic. In the past, Dr Alan Kemp noted the dimensions of the nesting sites that he monitored where possible. We are looking to repeat this exercise, with additional measurements and data collection to be used to compare the natural nesting birds nest site choices in the Kruger National Park with those nesting in other areas and with artificial nesting site dimensions. This will hopefully provide us with detailed information on the nesting site requirements of Southern Ground Hornbills. With this in mind a small team, being Leigh Potter, Scott Ronaldson and Dr Alan and Meg Kemp visited known nesting sites as well as nests Dr Kemp had monitored during his research on hornbills in the Kruger National Park from the 1960 s to the 1990 s. Dr Kemp has a wealth of knowledge on hornbills and was quite entertaining with his stories of his past research. He was also able to provide useful information on Southern Ground Hornbills, such as when certain nesting sites were successful in the past and how the breeding success of the groups changed over the years. One such story was about the Shimuweni nest in a Baobab tree that was first discovered in the early 1960 s and is still in use today. In fact, this nest was where we observed the first known record of double clutching in Southern Ground Hornbills in nature. This group of 5 birds fledged a chick in May 2010 and hatched a further chick by November of the same year. This might explain why at times you can find juveniles of a similar age within a group. Dr Alan Kemp measuring the dimensions of the Letababa nest Normally, nest visits are conducted during the later part of November to determine activity with a follow-up visit in December to those nests that were deemed active. Activity is noted as having the presence of fresh leaves lining the base of the cavity and in some cases, through the presence of eggs (and rarely, chicks). This season, owing to the nest disturbance factor, it was decided to visit and measure the nests outside of the breeding season so that no undue stress would be placed on incubating or brooding females. As some nest site measurements are collected each season, Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 9

10 conducting The Shimuweni Baobab nest collected each season, conducting the nest checks earlier in the season means that less time can be spent at the nests during the active breeding period. We did have some interesting experiences with Dr Kemp climbing up a +/-12m high tree to measure a nest hole and with Scott waking a sleeping Large-spotted genet that almost landed on Leigh s head as is sprung to safety out of a nest! All in all, it was a very successful visit and we are hoping that these measurements and comparisons to other natural and artificial nests will provide us with detailed information on what the nest site requirements are of Southern Ground Hornbills and that artificial nest box designs can incorporate these dimensions to ensure that optimal nesting sites are made available for these charismatic birds. A bird s eye view on Kruger - Leigh Potter and Scott Ronaldson In Africa, there seems to be a trend where raptor and vulture numbers are continuously declining outside of protected areas and as a result, protected areas are fast becoming the stronghold for populations of these birds. In South Africa, the Kruger National Park can be viewed as one of these protected areas. But can we really assume that bird populations within protected areas are in fact safe? The Endangered Wildlife Trust s Birds of Prey Programme (EWT-BoPP) monitors vultures and raptors throughout South Africa, but this monitoring is based mainly on ground surveys. These surveys have shown a marked decrease in the numbers of vulture and raptor nests and sightings recorded outside of protected areas, which only emphasises the need to monitor the populations within protected areas. The annual large mammal aerial surveys of the Kruger National Park have reported vulture nest sites in the past and the numbers seem far lower than initially recorded. In order to get a better idea of where the vulture and raptor nests are situated within the KNP and how many nest sites there are, the EWT-BoPP in Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 10

11 collaboration with the Hawk Conservancy Trust conducted the first aerial surveys for vultures and raptors in KNP in September Although only a portion (around 30%) of the Kruger National Park was surveyed, the results confirmed suspicions that numbers are indeed lower than expected for both vultures and raptors. The routes flown can be seen in detail in Figure 1. Campbell Murn, from the Hawk Conservancy Trust and currently working on his PhD on White-headed Vultures, was part of the survey mainly to determine the number of White-headed Vulture nests in relation to other large tree-nesting birds. A number of other species were included in this survey, such as Martial Eagle, Tawny Eagle and Verreaux s Eagle-Owl. Andre Botha was able to snap some fantastic images whilst hanging out the side of the open helicopter! For interest, the Timbavati River was included in the survey and revealed an unusually high density of vulture nesting sites. We would like to conduct further aerial surveys over the remaining extent of the Kruger National Park as well as initial surveys along the section of the Limpopo River stretching from the Kruger National Park until Mapungubwe. This information is extremely valuable in terms of establishing reliable baseline data and creating awareness around the predicament that vultures and raptors face in South Africa and seemingly throughout Africa. Scott Ronaldson scottr@ewt.org.za Figure 1. A map of the Kruger National Park (South Africa; with Skukuza S, E) showing the routes flown during the 2011 aerial census for vultures and raptors. Leigh Potter leighp@ewt.org.za A White-headed Vulture Nest (left) and a Tawny Eagle nest (right). Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 11

12 Contact details Contact details: Birds of Prey Programme: Zelda Hudson Administrative Coordinator André Botha Programme Manager For information on the EWT and Birds of Prey Programme: EWT Website: Please call the Birds of Prey Helpline for any raptor-specific queries or reports about injured raptors: If you have any queries or news articles that you would like us to publish, please do not hesitate to Zelda Hudson on If you wish to unsubscribe to this newsletter, please send an to the same address. SPONSORS 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 LOMAS WILDLIFE PROTECTION TRUST Eagle s Eye - September 2011 Page 12