The Eagle s Eye Newsletter Endangered Wildlife Trust Birds of Prey Programme April 2015

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1 The Eagle s Eye Newsletter Endangered Wildlife Trust Birds of Prey Programme April 2015 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

2 Content Editorial A View from the Programme Manager s Perch Eskom helps to power up Kruger s Southern Ground-hornbill Project Aerial survey of White-backed Vulture colonies and large tree-nesting raptors in the Northern Cape and North West Province Tracking Kimberley s Secretary bird chicks The White-backed Vulture of Dronfield Game Reserve Where there is a will, there is a way! Surveying remote Cape Vulture colonies in the Eastern Cape Province Lucas Marima A True Conservation Hero Dear Eagle s Eye Readers, Many birds of prey are susceptible to the threat of illegal use for the capture trade, for food or for traditional medicine. We are very pleased to inform you that an arrest was recently made near Louis Trichardt area in Limpopo by conservation officials when a person attempted to sell a live Cape Griffon for muthi purposes. He was found guilty after a court hearing held in February 2015 and was given a six month jail sentence. Unfortunately, many such illegal activities go undiscovered. The Blouberg Vulture Project received 38 grounded vultures this season. As an annual occurrence, fledglings on their maiden flight sometimes end up in communal areas of rural Limpopo and make easy pickings for the muthi market. Four of the birds had to be put down due to severe injuries but the majority were rehabilitated, fitted with patagial tags and released again. In this issue, there are a variety of articles and snippets from the field which give some insight into the work being carried out by the EWT s Birds of Prey Programme. If you have any news that you would like to share in the Eagle s Eye, please don t hesitate to contact me. The 11th EWT- Birds of Prey Annual Conference will take place from April 2015, at Ithala Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal. Please do not miss this great opportunity to network with researchers and conservationists from elsewhere and exchange thoughts and best practice ideas on the conservation of raptors in the region. Volume 67 of the Birds of Prey Programme s journal, Vulture News is now available and copies were posted to all of the subscribers at the beginning of April. If you have not received your copy or would like to subscribe to receive it, kindly send me an on rebeccam@ewt.org.za Best Regards Rebecca Mabuza 2 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015

3 A View from the Programme Manager s Perch Dear Readers The last two months of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 have passed in a flash and were characterized by a frenzy of activity for many EWT-BoPP fieldworkers, associates and partners. What is often considered to be a quieter period for many vulture- and raptorphiles certainly did not seem to apply this season and I am aware of a lot of work that was in process during this time. I was fortunate to spend a substantial amount of time in the field during this period, most of this being focused on refining our technique to catch the full range of tree-nesting vultures- the focus of our Savanna Vulture Project. Many hours were spent at a number of identified capture sites using a range of baits and carcass sizes to determine what approach works best for which species under varying conditions. More than 20 vultures of various species were captured and processed during this time and our sample of tracked birds was expanded quite successfully. Of course, during such capture exercises in large protected areas such as the Kruger National Park, one always has to consider the fact that the food that you place out for vultures are also an attraction for other scavenging raptors and mammalian predators and extra vigilance is required when setting up a capture site and placing out a potential source of food for a range of species. For instance, I was fortunate to photograph all three species of Aquila-eagles that occur in good numbers in Kruger during summer at one of the capture sites just before the start of the New Year. Photo above: Four scavenging raptors at one of our capture sites in the Kruger National Park. From left to right: Sub-adult female White-headed Vulture, Juvenile Tawny Eagle, juvenile Steppe Eagle and juvenile Lesser Spotted Eagle. There have also been a few occasions when baits were lost to Spotted Hyena. On one occasion, we were quite sure that we had lost our carcass for the day when four young lion sauntered up to our vehicle, had a good smell around it and we waited for baited breath for them to notice and take possession of the free breakfast that was on offer. Fortunately for us, they were more focused on chasing each other around playfully and they did not see the carcass a mere 40m from our vehicle. They eventually walked off in the opposite direction enabling us to continue with the capture later that morning. We are also in the process of initiating a post-doc study focused on the Hooded Vulture in the Lowveld-Kruger National Park and plan to start with fieldwork in this regard during the second quarter of Our partners in this venture are the Hawk Conservancy (UK), Hawk Mountain Sanctuary (USA), University of KwaZulu-Natal and SANParks and partial funding for this project has been obtained in the form of a bursary from the GreenMatter Fellowship. Dr. Keith Bildstein from the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary also visited various project Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

4 sites with us in December and we were able to fit three satellite tracking units to Hooded Vultures in this time. Our tracking sample for this study now stands at six birds. More details about this project will be shared in the coming months. Photo right: Two young males from the group of four lion that were more intent on playing and missed out on the free breakfast on offer. Having been instrumental in the drafting and approval of the KZN Wildlife Vulture Conservation Plan in 2008, the EWT was again able to contribute to the review and update of this plan during a workshop that was held at the Hilltop Camp in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game Reserve on the 9th and 10th of February The challenge to conserve this province s vultures has never been greater and I am confident that the reviewed plan will make a substantial contribution towards this goal. The EWT will continue to work with and supports its partners in this province in this regard. Photo left: Amur Falcons perched on power-lines near Newcastle shortly after leaving their roost in the early morning. The Annual Migratory Falcon Count again took place on the last Saturday of January 2015 and, based on feedback received to date, the support for this initiative is steadily growing every year. Thanks is due to Rina Pretorius for the hard work she does to raise the profile of this species in its over-wintering range in southern Africa. I was also privileged to visit the Newcastle roost in KwaZulul-Natal during a whistle-stop trip to accompany a producer from Silverback Films in the UK who is working on a documentary about the remarkable migratory route of the Amur Falcon. Due to a huge storm on the night, we were not able to witness the capture and ringing of these falcons, but Rina and her team have enjoyed a lot of success in their capture attempts this year and a good number of falcons have been fitted with rings. This includes a good number of Red-footed Falcons which reflects the apparent greater numbers of this species present in the eastern parts of South Africa during this summer. The migratory falcons are at the moment heading north to return to their breeding range in the Palearctic and we look forward to seeing them back in southern Africa in November/December. As a member of the Technical Advisory Group of the CMS Raptors MoU, I was required to attend the second meeting of this Group at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during the third week of March Four days of intensive discussions resulted in a clear strategy for the CMS Raptors MoU in terms of the conservation of migratory raptors across the Africa-Eurasian flyway which will be submitted to the Meeting of Signatories of this MoU in October We also had an opportunity to participate in a field trip to the mountains near Al Ain in the Arabian Desert and it was great to see no less than six Egyptian Vultures soaring in the skies above us. The poisoning of vultures and other raptors remain a major threat throughout Africa and was the topic of a two day workshop during our Annual Conference week at Etosha in Namibia in It is encouraging to see that a lot of work is currently being done across southern Africa to attempt to combat this threat on a number of levels. The EWT is currently engaging with a number of stakeholders in South Africa to raise awareness and to present training to key staff of law enforcement, conservation and other relevant institutions in the coming months. Training will focus on the management of incidents to ensure that losses are minimised and that proper procedures are followed in the investigation of incidents. Poisoning Workshops have also been held in Namibia (late February) and Zimbabwe (late March) to discuss strategies for addressing this threat in these countries and the EWT were able to participate and provide input in these events. The EWT-BoPP has been fortunate to make use of four Mazda Wildlife Fund vehicles over the last ten years which enabled us to execute the work of various projects. Sadly, the MWF ceased to exist early on 2015 and the manager of the fund, Humphrey le Grice entered a 4 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015

5 well-earned retirement. We would like to express our appreciation for the donation of two of the MWF project vehicles to the EWT-BoPP and, through the newly established Ford Wildlife Foundation for the two vehicles allocated to the Programme. The new vehicles will be used by the Operation Oxpecker Executant, Leigh Combrink and myself as Programme Manager. Since I took receipt of the vehicle in December 2014, it has certainly been put to good use for on the ground conservation work and has provided excellent service to date. The EWT-BoPP would like to congratulate Leigh and Henri Combrink on the birth of their daughter Kai on the 4th of March We trust that she will bring you much happiness and joy and that she will quickly learn to adapt to your very busy schedule of fieldwork and other commitments! Finally, we look forward to seeing you at the 2015 Annual Conference of the Birds of Prey Programme which will take place at the Ithala Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal from the 20th to the 24th of April If you have not yet registered or booked your accommodation, we suggest that you do so as soon as possible as the available accommodation is limited. We have also received a substantial number of interesting submissions for presentations on a range of raptor-related issues and it will again be a programme reflecting the range of work being done towards the conservation of raptors in the region. Photo above: The Ford Wildlife Fund vehicle has been put to good use since I took receipt of it in December Here it can be seen at the release of one of the Hooded Vultures captured and tagged during fieldwork in January. Warm regards André Botha Manager: Birds of Prey Programme Endangered Wildlife Trust Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

6 Eskom helps to power up Kruger s Southern Ground-hornbill Project The Eskom-EWT Strategic Partnership was initiated in This programme has helped to save the lives of countless birds through the mitigation measures implemented on power lines at hotspots often identified by EWT staff. In addition, Eskom has been supporting research projects such as the Kruger Southern Ground-hornbill Project since Eskom sponsored four satellite tracking devices for Southern Ground-hornbills in Kruger, with the aim of supporting a PhD research project looking at the habitat, nesting and foraging requirements of these birds. As some Southern Ground-hornbills have been found electrocuted, especially around unprotected transformer boxes, it will be interesting to analyse the tracking data to see how wild birds react to and interact with power lines within their territories. Below is a map showing the movement patterns of a bird with a tracking device located near the Ngotso State Vet Camp/Balule campsite in Kruger during the breeding season (purple points) and non-breeding season (blue points). You can see that during the breeding season, Ground-hornbills concentrate in a smaller area (near the nest site) to provide the chick with a constant food supply. As soon as the chick has fledged (usually around March) the group can start using more and more of their territory. This group seems to consist of three birds, an alpha pair and the helper male bird (with the tracking device). The group nests in a huge Fig tree stump near the Balule campsite, but unfortunately, they have not had a successful breeding attempt since the nest was discovered during the last breeding season. The nest opening faces straight up, meaning that when the female leaves the larger chick, it will be completely exposed from any overhead aerial predators essentially a sitting chick. The last two breeding attempts seem to have failed before this stage though, as last season there were two eggs which didn t hatch and we suspect that the same has occurred this season. Map: The movements of the Ngotso/Balule Camp bird since the fitting of the device in December 2013 One of the main aspects of the Southern Ground-hornbill monitoring project in Kruger is the implementation of camera traps at the nests. Some of the birds have no issues with the cameras being there, whereas others have cost the project through their complete destruction of the lenses and sensors. You never know how a group will react! We have tried to counter this by placing a layer of Perspex in front of these lenses to protect them. This has worked in some cases, but not in all. This season, our loss of cameras was not entirely due to aggressive birds, as we had several of the cameras malfunction. Just when we thought that we had lost a season s worth of data collection Eskom again came to the rescue. The Eskom-EWT Strategic Partnership had recently completed their project in Kruger where they were using Cuddeback cameras to monitor animal interactions with the power line poles. On hearing about our struggles with cameras, the project offered to lend us 5 Cuddeback cameras. These have 6 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015

7 been put up at Ground-hornbill nest sites around Kruger and we have already had some great results. We have been able to monitor the movements of some of our birds with tracking devices. It is always great to get photographic evidence of the birds continuing as normal with their activities. Photo above: An image showing one of our tracked Southern Ground-hornbills (Vectronic device) visiting the nest at Jock Safari Lodge in the south of Kruger. Photo above: Camera trap images from one of the Eskom provided cameras showing the device bird from the Ngotso/Balule camp group visiting the nest site. This tracking device was sponsored by Eskom. Another exciting image is of the male with the tracking device from the Ngotso/ Balule nest removing one of the infertile eggs from the nest. As far as we know, this has not been captured on camera before! Eskom has really helped to support the Ground-hornbill research in the park and the project would like to acknowledge their significant contribution to our research. Photo right: The Ngotso/Balule camp male with the tracking device removing an infertile egg from the nest. Leigh Combrink Project Co-ordinator: Operation Oxpecker Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

8 Aerial survey of White-backed Vulture colonies and large tree-nesting raptors in the Northern Cape and North West Province. A survey of the White-backed Vulture nesting colonies and large tree-nesting raptors in North West and Northern Cape was conducted to determine the number of active and inactive nests. The breeding sites had not been surveyed from the air before and we believe that many nests are currently not known due to this poorly known area, which is difficult to survey from the ground because of accessibility issues. Data collected from this survey will contribute to our knowledge of the national breeding population of species and to assess the population status in the Northern Cape and North West provinces. The aerial survey was conducted from 24th October 2014, to 1st November 2014 and it was the first of its kind in these areas. Ground surveys have been conducted in the North West province recently as well as in the Northern Cape by the late Abrie Maritz some years ago. The survey covered the area from Askham in the west, moving east to STS, Van Zylsrus, McCarthysrus, Molopo Nature Reserve, Vergeleë and up to Setlagole. This area consist of arid savanna habitat with mainly Camel thorn (Acacia erioloba) in the west, changing to moist savannah thornveld with predominantly Camel thorn (Acacia erioloba) trees and False umbrella thorn (Acacia luederitzii) in the east with large game farms, cultivated farmland and livestock farms. The 2014 survey was carried out using a Bushbaby, owned and piloted by Donovan Barton-Hobbs, and a Foxbat, owned and piloted by Brett Hill, both members of The Bateleurs flying for conservation organisation. The crew consisted of Matt Pretorius from the EWT-Wildlife & Energy Programme (WEP) who handled all the logistical arrangements, Karen van Stuyvenberg, Michael Bartlett and myself who observed and captured electronic data. Observations were captured electronically by means of smartphones and the CyberTracker application. Flying along the pre-planned flight paths spaced out at approximately 900m intervals and at a height of between 300ft. and 600ft. above the ground, all active and inactive nests were recorded. At this time of the breeding season most of the chicks were well-feathered and easy to spot from above, but a number of eggs of late breeders or possible failed attempts were also observed and recorded. Nests of the following species were observed: White-backed Vultures (Gyps africanus), Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus) of which most were located in the Acacia species and, African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) and a number of Secretary birds (Sagittarius serpentarius). Left to Right: Brett Hill (Pilot), Blackie (Security), Dirk & Karen van Stuyvenberg (Stellaland Raptor Project), Matt Pretorius (EWT-WEP), Richard (Security), Donovan Barton-Hobbs (Pilot). The number of nests recorded during the aerial survey of the Northern Cape and North West province includes African Fish Eagle (1); White-backed Vulture (342); Lappet-faced Vulture( 17) and Secretary Birds (5) 8 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015

9 The aerial survey was a huge success in terms of areas covered and results obtained. The data collected from this survey provide a valuable comparison with data already collected from ground surveys as well as for future planned aerial surveys. Long term monitoring will enable us to determine vulture colony density, breeding success rate and dispersal of young fledglings. It will also highlight population growth and the threats that vultures and other birds of prey are facing. The 2014 aerial survey team would like to express their deepest gratitude to the local landowners for allowing and supporting this survey; Mr JP van den Berg for the logistical arrangements at Tosca airstrip; Pieter du Plessis for hosting the flight crew at Barrange; Matt Pretorius for the logistical arrangements; The Bateleurs and Eskom for supporting this operation, and especially to the two pilots Donovan Barton-Hobbs and Brett Hill for making themselves and their aircraft available for the survey. Dirk van Stuyvenberg Project Coordinator: Stellaland Raptor Tracking Kimberley s Secretary bird chicks Secretary birds, which are featured on the South African coat of arms, are in trouble because their numbers have declined drastically in the past 10 years and no-one is quite sure why. The only ground species of eagle; they were once widespread throughout southern Africa but now, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature s (IUCN) Red Data List, facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. Internationally the species is now globally vulnerable. Regrettably, the Northern Cape has been indicated as one of the major areas in which their numbers have declined dramatically outside protected areas in recent history. But this situation is similar throughout the species distribution in Africa. Fig. 2. Dronfield SB chick movement Fig. 3. Rooifontein SB movement In light of this, there is a national project underway to fit young birds with tracking devices (either satellite or GSM models) to monitor their movements. These devices are small backpack types which are fitted to the bird with Teflon straps that are designed to perish in the sun and drop off eventually. The devices track and monitor daily movements and provide life history information about post-fledging dispersal, spatial use and the impact of land-use changes on the species for as long as the device remains operation and attached to the bird. This exercise will form part of a much broader study of the species in the Kalahari and Savannah biome that will later enable researchers to consider effective and workable conservation measures to benefit the species, and also to identify key potential threats to this species in South Africa. From October 2014, the monitoring of the first of three Secretary Bird nests close to Kimberley began intensively. On a weekly basis, visits to each of the nests on Alexandersfontein Game Farm (adjacent to the Kimberley Airport), Dronfield Nature Reserve and Rooifontein Game Farm were undertaken and with the use of an iphone mounted on a telescopic pole, remote-release photographs were discretely taken so Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

10 as to minimise the disturbance to the chicks. Later, access to the nests was provided by ACSA using their cherry-picker, and Eskom using a truck-mounted ladder. Photo above: Accessing the nest using an ACSA cherry picker. Photo above: The team The first chick to be big enough at 3 kg (8 weeks old) to receive its device was Bix, at the Kimberley Airport bird on Alexandersfontein Game Farm in mid-december. Bix is named after a colleague that recently and unexpectedly passed away, and the chick was to receive an Airport Company SA-sponsored satellite tracking device fitted by BirdLifeSA. Unfortunately, in the testing phase leading up to the fitting, the device, failed to download data and the decision was made not to fit a potentially faulty instrument. Since the window period in which the device can be fitted is small, there was no time to obtain another device and instead Bix received a unique metal leg ring and yellow wing tags. A tiny drop of blood was also taken to carry out DNA sexing. However, during the monitoring phase, there was an opportunity to place a camera trap in the nest, and some of the resulting images captured were astonishing. Food items were discernible, and Bix s grooming and stretching were amusing to see. Both of the other nests initially had 2 chicks present, but in both cases there were significant size differences between the chicks. Whilst Secretary Birds do not exhibit Cane-and-Abel syndrome like many other raptors resulting in the oldest chick killing and eating the smaller one, the larger chick in this case inevitably outcompetes the smaller chick for food and water. At about 6 weeks, both younger chicks died, but this allowed the remaining chicks the opportunity to thrive. Photo above: Dronfield - a room with a view Photo right: Dronfield Secretary Bird with Beryl Wilson and Andre Botha In mid-january, at roughly 60-days old, both chicks (Pip on Dronfield and Squeak on Rooifontein) were fitted with GSM devices sponsored by the Andre Botha, Birds of Prey Programme Manager of the Endangered Wildlife Trust. These devices make use of cellular technology. Data is transmitted via the cellphone networks. If the bird is not in range of cellphone reception at any time then the data will be stored on the device and downloaded the next time the bird is in a reception area. By logging onto a dedicated webpage it is possible to track the birds in real-time. On the 7th and 9th of February respectively, the Dronfield and Rooifontein chicks fledged from their nests. Meanwhile, Bix, the Alexandersfontein chick has been spotted striding in and 10 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015

11 around the Airport areas. All three birds are still only making tentative forays away from home base, but as they their confidence grows, so too hopefully will their daily adventures. Beryl Wilson Zoologist, McGregor Museum, Kimberley The White-backed Vultures of Dronfield Game Reserve African White-backed Vultures have been breeding on the De Beers Consolidated Mines owned ha Dronfield Game Reserve, just North of Kimberley, for at least 50 years. The first documented breeding was by Keith Forrester in 1965, and then Dr. Mundy studied them from 1974 to We have been monitoring the breeding of these vultures from Since 2010 we have conducted a nesting survey in August to record the total number of breeding attempts for that year. During August and September the Camel Thorn trees (Acacia erioloba) (which the vultures nest in) lose all their leaves and this makes nest spotting very easy. Then in October we revisit the active nests to ring and tag the chicks or record any nest failures. Photo left: Retrieving a chick from the nest. During last year s August nesting survey we recorded the highest number of active nests during the 22 year study, with some 99 pairs breeding. So it was with great anticipation when we arrived at Dronfield in October to ring and tag the chicks. The ringing and tagging of the vulture chicks is a team effort. The regular Kimberley members over the last few years have been Beryl Wilson, Eddie MacFarlane (my trusty wingman), Julius Koen, and Mark and Tania Anderson. From England the Hawk Conservancy Trust team led by Andy Hilton with Adam Rose and Graham were accompanied by Thierry Bouchet and Marco Billaud from the Puy du Fou in France and Dave Warren from the Blair Drummond Safari Park in Scotland. Corne Anderson and Charles Hall from De Beers were not able to join us this year due to veld fires over the ringing weekend. Photo right: Large chick being tagged. We split into three teams to check the active nests, which meant each team had 33 nests to monitor, so there wasn t much time for game viewing. By Sunday lunch time we had visited all the active nests giving us a record 68 nests with chicks. Of these we were able to ring and tag 61, while six were too small to ring and one was in an Eskom pylon. This resulted in a success rate of 69% compared to the 22 year average of 59%. This still resulted in a 25% failure at the egg stage. Mortality during the early part of the breeding season remains a concern. Crows are still on top of the suspect list, although this year we found an active Pied Crow s nest (with six eggs in it) almost under an active White-backed vulture s nest. Vervet Monkeys and possible Leguaans are also on the suspect list. Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

12 Interestingly this year we had no addled eggs or dead chicks. Over the last five years we have recorded an average of two addled eggs and five dead chicks a year. The Giant Eagle Owls were back breeding this year with a single small chick in an old vultures nest. We also found a pair of Secretary Birds with two eggs in their nest. Photo above: The 2014 survey team. We would like to thank De Beers Consolidated Mines for their continued support for this project as well as Sasol for financial support. Angus Anthony Where there is a will, there is a way! Early in November Lourens de Lange and Friedrich Krantz of the Game Capture Unit of Sanparks in Kimberley helped Ronelle Visagie of the Endangered Wildlife Trust on the farm Eureka of Mr Albert Vorster to mark a White-backed Vulture chick. This was a very difficult task, because the nest is about 10 m high in a camel thorn tree and above all, there are also 3 Sociable Weaver nests on the way to the vulture nest and the vulture nest is on top of the highest weaver nest. Photo right: The tree with the vulture nest Lourens and Friedrich looked at the tree from all sides and started working on plans to reach the nest, because they were determined to mark the vulture chick. First they cut off all the thorn branches that were in the way to prevent it from scratching them. Then they lifted a 6 m iron ladder into the tree, rested it against one of the thick branches and tied it securely 12 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015

13 in place with a rope. Lourens went up to the nest after removing more thorny branches and placed the vulture chick safely in a container and lowered it to the ground where Ronelle fetched it. The chick was about 7 weeks old and weighed 4.5 kg. Lourens and Friedrich helped to weigh, measure and ring the chick and put patagial tags on the wings. The number on the tags is T156 and if you ever come across a tagged vulture, please report the tag number to andreb@ewt.org.za. The EWT keeps the database of the tagged vultures which reported sightings are added to. We also collect a small blood sample for DNA sexing. This will enable us to in future, determine whether it is the males or females that travel the longest distances from their breeding area to search for food. Vultures are marked to track their movements. The White-backed Vulture is listed as Endangered in the Red Data Book for Birds. Their numbers are decreasing fast, because of poisoning, electrocution or collisions with power lines, drowning in dams and they are popular items on the muthi markets. Photo above: Lourens and Friedrich tied the ladder to the tree Ronelle Visagie Co-ordinator: Platberg Karoo Project Photo above: Friedrich Krantz and Lourens de Lange with the vulture chick Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

14 Surveying remote Cape Vultures colonies in the Eastern Cape Province What do the places Vumenjani, Castle B, Mbenge, Ntlonze, Dudumashe, Liwalimdaka, Kugquebenya, Maxalanga Peak all have in common? They all have breeding Cape Vultures! From May to July 2014, these remote colonies were re-surveyed for the first time since According to Boshoff(2011) these colonies are ranked as lower priorities for conservation because of the small number of breeding vulture pairs (5-25 pairs). However, because of ideal wind conditions in this area of the Eastern Cape there are a number of wind turbines developments planned. The colonies mentioned above would be within 100 kms of one of the large scale wind development areas, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) 15. To mitigate possible threats of wind turbines to Cape Vultures in this area, the Avian Wind Farm Sensitivity Map for South Africa was drafted (Retief et al. 2013). In this management plan, 40 km circular buffers were placed around each Cape Vulture colony to prevent wind turbines, or other infrastructure harmful to vultures, from developing within the predicted daily foraging areas of adult vultures from the respected colonies. However, Cape Vultures are known to be far-ranging foragers and 40 km buffers are not sufficient to protect all of their foraging areas, even in the breeding season. Hence, detailed knowledge of how Cape Vultures use the air space between roost and colony buffers is essential to prevent large scale mortalities of this threatened vulture species in regards to wind turbine developments. In order to determine the vulture s use between roosts and colonies, it is crucial to identify sites where the Cape Vulture is still breeding. Therefore, as part of Morgan Pfeiffer s PhD research, in association with the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, these colonies were checked on the ground at least once during the 2014 breeding season. With a spotting scope, GPS, and a good 4x4 bakkie Morgan and her assistants successfully found all of these colonies. Some colonies took more than two days to locate, while others where literally in people s back yards. As these cliffs were off the beaten path, our presence was not unnoticed. Most local people were excited to show where the vultures lived and a few acted as guides. At least one person in each village we visited had a profound interest in the birds and knew their habits in the local area. They would state that vultures have always lived on these cliffs and began listing other cliffs where they live (most which still need to be confirmed). Despite the high human population density, the view from some Cape Vulture colonies in this area was remarkably untouched. Cycads were observed growing underneath the cliffs; there were a number of observations of Secretary Birds and Lanner Falcons. It was a once in a lifetime surveying trip that will aid in the conservation of this vulture. At all sites surveyed, incubating vultures were observed. The total number of incubating vultures from this surveying trip was submitted to the Cape Vulture Task Force to be compiled with the totals from across Southern Africa. Hopefully with breeding details like this, scientifically sound management recommendations can be made for this species in the Eastern Cape Province and elsewhere. References: Boshoff, A. & Minnie, J., 2011, On the role of the shape and size of foraging area, and colony size, in selecting critical areas for Cape Griffon Gyps coprotheres conservation action, Vulture News 61(1), 4-15, viewed 11 November 2014, from vulnew/article/view/ Retief, E. F., Diamond, M., Anderson, M. D., Smit, H. A., Jenkins, A., Brooks, M. & Simmons, R. 2013, Avian Wind Farm Sensitivity Map for South Africa: Criteria and Procedures Used. BirdLife South Africa, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Avisense Consulting, Animal Demography Unit, and the FitzPatrick Institute. Morgan Pfeiffer PhD candidate in Zoology School of Life Sciences University of KwaZulu-Natal 14 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015

15 Lucas Marima A True Conservation Hero Concerned Citizen Saves Iconic Secretary Bird From Abuse By Local Crowd. Rebotile Rachuene and Lucas Marima the true Eco-hero Matt Pretorius holding the saved Secretary Bird Lucas Marima, an unemployed father, courageously rescued and saved a vulnerable (Sagittarius Serpentarius), commonly known as a Secretary Bird, from a crowd of people in Winterveldt, north of Pretoria. The Secretary Bird, which is listed as vulnerable according to the 2014 edition of the Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, is typically found in savannahs and grassland areas. A range of human-induced threats such as habitat-loss, collisions with power-lines and fences, and poisoning have an impact on this species. On Tuesday, 24 March 2015, Lucas Marima, contacted André Botha, manager of the Endangered Wildlife Trust Birds of Prey Programme to inform André that he had witnessed a crowd of Winterveldt residents chasing after a bird which had subsequently landed in his small mealie field, in an attempt to escape the crowd who were not only chasing it but also throwing sticks and stones at it. Lucas turned the crowd away from his property and was able to save the bird without it suffering any further injuries or stress. Once the rescued Secretary Bird had been secured in a safe place, Lucas was able to take a closer look at it and discovered a contact number for the EWT on the tracking unit that the bird had on its back. Although Lucas initially identified the bird as a vulture, the details he provided the EWT with made it clear that bird he had saved was a recently fledged Secretary Bird, which was fitted with a tracking unit on the Springbok Flats, north of where it was rescued, on 1 December Rebotile Rachuene and Matt Pretorius from the EWT volunteered to go and collect the rescued Secretary Bird from Lucas in Winterveldt. Upon collection Matt, Rebotile and Lucas struck up a conversation and it soon became clear that Lucas intervened and saved the bird due to an understanding of the value of wildlife and the need to conserve it, which Lucas attributes to his daughter, who is currently undertaking an MSc degree at the University of Stellenbosch. Upon collection, the bird was so weak it could not stand up, but thankfully there were no obvious signs of external injury. It appears that the bird, after fledging (first stage of a young bird attempting to fly) and leaving the nest, wandered the veld in search of food where it was attacked by the crowd at Winterveld. Recently fledged birds often struggle to find food and many do not survive their first year of life. Data retrieved from the rescued Secretary Birds tracking unit indicated that it had walked more than 90km from its nest before it was rescued. The rescued Secretary Bird was then taken to the FreeMe Rehabilitation Center where Nicki Wright conducted a full assessment of, and administered liquids to re-hydrate, the bird. Her assessment revealed that the bird had suffered an injury to its left eye and was very thin. The eye injury could possibly have contributed to its inability to locate and catch prey. By the next morning, the bird was able to stand up and move around on its own. The rescued Secretary Bird was taken to the Fourways Animal Clinic where a detailed examination was carried out. Happily the eye injury is treatable and it is likely that the rescued Secretary Bird will be released once its treatment is completed and its condition has improved to point where it is able to hunt. The release will likely take place in the vicinity where the bird fledged. Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April

16 The EWT would like to thank and congratulate Lucas Marima for intervening and saving the Secretary Bird from severe injury and possibly even death and for further ensuring that the bird was collected to receive proper treatment. Lucas Marima you are a conservation hero and your actions are a wonderful example of what a concerned citizen can do to contribute to the conservation of threatened species. This incident also confirms the need for continued education and awareness campaigns focused on the plight of these iconic birds and the need to conserve them. André Botha and Rebotile Rachuene Birds of Prey Programme Endangered Wildlife Trust 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 Rebeccca Mabuza For enquiries, to submit an article or to unsubscribe, rebeccam@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. 16 Eagle s Eye Newsletter - April 2015