- Wits Bird Club

2
WITWATERSRAND
BIRD CLUB
ISSUE NO 239 APRIL 2014
P O Box 641
Cresta, 2118
Tel: 011 782 7267
Fax: 086 512 7696
Email: witsbc@mweb.co.za
Web: www.witsbirdclub.org.za
Inside this issue:
30 Rarities and Unusual Sightings Report: December 2013 by André Marx
4
Letter from the Chair
34 BirdLife Matters
5
L. John Bunning by Murrie Slotar
6
Ons Besoek aan Kwa-Zulu Natal
deur Jan en Maryna Bezuidenhout
9
Flight for the Plight of Vultures by
Kerri Wolter
11
2014 Committee:
Honorary President Murrie Slotar
Noah the Ornithologist by Tian Hattingh
14 How much longer will SABAP2 last?
by Les Underhill
15 Across the top of the World: 7th –
21st August 2013 (Part 2) by Lesley
Cornish
18 Birding Trivia - A Cuckoo Letter to
The Times by Peter Greaves
19 Update on EWT Livestock Guardian
Dogs by Derek Van Der Merwe
21 You don’t find Birds on Natal’s South
Coast by Louise Barlow
Chairman
Andy Featherstone
Vice-Chairman
Barbi Forsyth
Treasurer
Leanne Webster
Courses
Murrie Slotar
Conservation
Barbi Forsyth
Evening Meetings
Lia Steen
Programme
Ginny Mes
Club Secretary
Lauraine Leigh
DEADLINE FOR AUGUST 2014
ISSUE - 1st JULY 2014
22 Controversial wind farm in Lesotho
gets the go-ahead by Samantha
Ralston and Hanneline SmitRobinson
Contributions, addressed to the Editor,
can be:
25 A History of Birding and Bird Ringing
E-mailed to: witsbc@mweb.co.za
on Melville Koppies by John Freer
28 Unusual Nesting Site - Calitzdorp by
Posted to: The Editor, Witwatersrand
Bird Club, P O Box 641, Cresta, 2118
Darroll Bent
29 BirdLife South Africa: Birder’s Code
of Ethics
Delivered to: Delta Environmental
Centre, Road No 3, Victory Park
Cover Photo: Eurasian Blackcap by Ivan Motlik
Cover Design: Philip Tarboton
See articles on Page’s 5 and 25 regarding first record of a Eurasian Blackcap for South Africa
3
Letter
From
The
Chair
The AGM on the 22nd February met with a
mixed reception. Whilst it was great to welcome members that we had not seen for
some time many of our regular attendees
were absent. Well done to Alison Hanson
recipient of the Diamond Award and
Etienne Marais worthy recipient of the
Bearded Vulture Award.
Sadly at the meeting we said farewell to
Lance Robinson and Matthew Axelrod who
both decided to stand down from the Committee but we welcomed Ginny Mes who
will be taking over the Planning portfolio.
Lance will continue to act as co-editor for
Bokmakierie and will still be involved in
many of our upcoming events and outings.
Dear Members,
Autumn is upon us and sadly our summer
migrants will be departing for warmer
climes to start their breeding cycle very
shortly. Our resident bishops and widows
are all losing their colourful plumage and
reverting to their drab winter plumage.
There are, however, still plenty of things to
see and do so we shouldn’t despair and go
into hibernation for the winter. Upcoming
trips include the Easter outing to Witsand, a
Kalahari reserve that I have not visited previously and am looking forward to it. For
something different why not try our combined trip and Raptor Course with Geoff
Lockwood at Panata in May. Both excellent ways to avoid the winter blues!
In March I attended the BirdLife South Africa FLOCK in the Berg which proved to be
a well run and enjoyable event incorporating the BirdLife AGM. If only we could get
as many people to attend our AGM!
Maybe a new and more exciting venue is
called for?
Andy Featherstone
It is heartening to see a good number of
new members at the start of the year and
we hope the trend continues. Please encourage people who you know are interested in birds but who are not members to
come and try one of our outings or evening
meetings and to join the club. More members means a stronger club and a bigger
voice when helping with environmental issues.
Sadly we have lost one of the stalwarts of
Wits Bird Club, John Bunning, a member for
many years and past editor of this magazine. Lance and I felt that it was appropriate to dedicate this issue of Bokmakierie to
his memory and we have included an article on his life by Murrie Slotar, as well as an
article relating to Melville Koppies where he
carried out ringing for many years.
Barbi Forysth, husband Alan, Leanne
Webster, Beverley Carstens and Ginny
Mes all listening intently to Lance Robinson’s talk on his planning protfolio—
photo by Andy Featherstone
4
L. John Bunning
02-06-1935 24-01-2014
then trained under John Ledger and became a qualified bird ringer and this became his first love.
John was instrumental in starting the ringing
at Melville Koppies where he trained many
young ringers. Thanks to John the ringing at
Melville Koppies is still in the hands of the
W.B.C. During an extensive study conducted at Melville Koppies from March 1973
to the end of 1994 John and his ringing trainees recorded 164 bird species. Some of these
were just birds flying over. Were it not for
this extensive ringing program a vagrant
Blackcap from Europe, that was caught in
the mist-nets on the 10th of December 1985,
would otherwise have gone unnoticed and
therefore unrecorded. Over the years John
and his trainees ringed some 22,000 birds
and ringed over 118 species at the reserve.
By Murrie Slotar
Honorary President
I first met John when I became Chairman of
the W.B.C and wanted to start up the ringing within the club again. Ringing had
been dormant for a few years. As the
W.B.C was the first club to start ringing in
S.A. I was keen to start this long standing
tradition again, and I also wanted to become a ringer. John and I hit it off right
away and we became the best of friends.
John agreed to become editor again for our
Bokmakarie which he did so while I was in
the Chair. John then retired to Barberton
and, in typical Bunning fashion, it did not
take him long to start the Barberton Bird
Club, he continued his ringing and was our
leader on many wonderful outings to Barberton.
It is with great sadness that I write this as
John was very special not only to me but to
so many who knew him, he will be remembered by members and ringers of the
W.B.C. and all corners of the country. John
died on Friday 24th January after a long
illness.
John was born in the U.K. and started birding at a very young age and had a list of
over 100 birds. When he was sent to Kenya
during his army training a whole new
world of birds opened up to him. John then
went on to work in Nigeria another country rich in birds before coming to S.A. John
worked at Wit’s University for Prof. Phillip
Tobias in the School of Anatomical Sciences.
He joined the W.B.C soon after arriving in
S.A. He became a committee member and
was editor of the Bokmakarie twice, he
John is a great loss to the whole of the birding community and a personal loss to me. I
know he will be sorely missed by all who
knew him.
A memorial service was held for John at
Melville Koppies on Saturday the 12th of
April at 9.00 am
5
Ons Besoek aan KwaZulu Natal
gaan ons om voëls te kyk.
Ons sien die volgende.
Southern Red Bishop
Bronze Mannikin
Southern Masked
Weaver
Sacred Ibis
Hadeda Ibis
Cattle Egret
Common Myna
Speckled Pigeon
Pied Kingfisher
Helmeted Guineafowl
Lesser SwampWarbler
Black-headed Heron
Reed Cormorant
Cape Robin-chat
Laughing Dove
Red-eyed Dove
Deur Jan en Maryna Bezuidenhout
Ons beplan en reël dat ons Donderdag 19
Desember 2013 om 3uur vm sal vertrek. Op
die 18de plus minus 3 uur nm is ons klaar
gelaai met alles wat ons sal nodig hê vir 10
dae se verblyf.
Maryna kyk vir my en ek vir haar en sê
‘Kom ons ry’. Ongeveer 15.30 nm is ons op
pad vanaf Roodepoort. Ons het impulsief
besluit en het nie slaap plek nie. Gelukkig
het Maryna ‘n lodge se naam in Piet Retief.
Sy kontak lekkaslaap en die sal ons laat
weet of daar plek is om te oornag.
Ons vat die pad deur Middelburg , Ermelo ,
Piet Retief. Ons wag en wag vir ‘n antwoord vanaf lekkaslaap maar niks gebeur
nie. Maryna kontak ons dogter en sy kry vir
ons die nommer van die lodge. Ons bel die
lodge direk en hulle sê daar is plek en ons is
welkom om te kom oornag (dankie tog).
Tussen Middelburg en Ermelo kry ons
swaar reën,donderweer en blitse wat skrik
vir niks. Daar is ook baie swaar voertuie op
die pad en die vordering is maar stadig
aangesien daar herstelwerk aan die pad
gedoen word. Ons kom op Piet Retief aan
19.30nm. Moeg gery eet ons ‘n spithoender
wat ons vir die doel gekry het en klim in die
bed.
?
Skoorsteenveër
Hadeda
Veereier
Indiese Spreeu
Kransduif
Bontvisvanger
Gewone Tarentaal
Kaapse Rietsanger
Swartkopreier
Rietduiker
Gewone Janfrederik
Rooiborsduifie
Grootringduif
Ons ry verder en op Pongola eet ons ontbyt by die Wimpy. Daarna is ons op pad
na Ndumo toe en bereik ons bestemming
12.20 nm.
Die plek waar jy parkeer en die chalet is
ver van mekaar af . Ek sien nie kans om ‘n
80 liter koelkas/vrieskas vol kos die ent te
dra nie en kry ‘n kruiwa wat lyk soos ‘n
bankie in die hande en gebruik die toe die
om ons goed aan te karwei.
Die volgende oggend is Maryna vroeg op.
Met haar rond beweeg in die kamer word
ek wakker en staan op, trek aan en daar
FOLLOWER OF
Rooivink
Gewone Fret
Swartkeelgeelvink
WITWATERSRAND BIRD
CLUB HAS ITS OWN
FACEBOOK PAGE!
6
Ons bly 5 dae in Ndumo. Die Chalet het nie
‘n stoof nie en ook nie enige potte en panne
nie, daar is wel breekgoed en eetgerei.
Daar is ‘n gesamentlike kombuis wat ver is
van die Chalet so ook die ablusieblok. Gelukkig het ons van my swart potte saam
gevat en was dus nie afhanklik van die
kamp sin nie. Na ons klaar afgelaai het,
ontspan ons op die stoep. Terwyl ons daar
sit sien ons
as ook ‘n plek waar jy jou skottelgoed kan
was. Die badkamer is binne die tent en die
potte en panne is meer as genoeg, maar
die rooster by die vuur is vodde gebrand.
(Dankie tog ek het my eie saamgevat).
Hier is net ‘n waaier om jou koel te hou
maar dit help nie veel nie en ons kry
WARM. Een nag beleef ons ‘n windstorm
en moet net koes dat die seile van die tent
ons nie van die bed afslaan nie en die slaap
was maar min.
Fork-tailed Drongo Mikstertbyvanger
Yellow-billed Kite
Geelbekwou
Red-chested Cuckoo Piet-my-vrou skreeu
ons mal
Die bly plek op Mkuze is nie van die beste
nie maar die voëls is tops.
Weer sien ons van die gewones as ook van
die minder gewones.
Ons sien 72 spesies waarvan baie die gewone is, maar ook wat minder bekend en
nuut is. Hier is die ongewones.
Rudds Apalis
Gorgeous Bush-shrike
Whiskered Tern
Eursian Hobby
Purple banded Sunbird
Green-backed Comaroptera
Crested Guineafowl
Tambourine Dove
Narina Trogan
Trumpeter Hornbill
Ruddkleinjantjie
Konkoit
Witbaardsterretjie
Europese Boomvalk
Purperband Suikerbekkie
Groenrug Kwêkwêvoël
Kuifkop Tarentaal
Witborsduifie
Bosloerie
Gewone Boskraai
White-eared Barbet
Red-headed Quelea
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Yellow Weaver
Witoorhoutkapper
Rooikopkwelea
Meitjie
Geelwewer
Die 5 dae wat ons daar bly sien ons 120
spesies.
Hier volg weer van die ongewones.
Wahlberg’s Eagle
Pink-backed Pelican
Dwarf Bittern
African Pygmy
Goose
African Cuckoo
Hawk
Black-chested Snake
Eagle
African Jacana
Kittlitz’s Plover
Caspian Plover
Senegal Lapwing
Ons 5 dae is op en ons verhuis na Mkuze.
Op Mkuze bly ons in ‘n safari tent.
Wood Sandpiper
Ruff
Water Thick-knee
Die kombuis is nie in die tent nie, maar ‘n los
staande plekkie met ‘n stoof en ‘n koelkas
7
Bruinarend
Klein Pelikaan
Dwergrietreier
Dwerggans
Koekoekvalk
Swartborsslangarend
Grootlangtoon
Geelbors Strandkiewiet
Asiatiese Strandkiewiet
Kleinswartvlerkkiewiet
Bosruiter
Kemphaan
Water Dikkop
Red-winged Pratincole
Purple-crested
Turaco
Black Cuckoo
(female)
Sabota Lark
Rooivlerk Sprinkaanvoël
Bloukuifloerie
By die kamp het ons dieselfde probleem as
in Ndumo om ons bagasie by die chalet te
kry. Ons maak toe maar die koelkas leeg
en is dan instaat om hom te dra.
Die chalet is netjies met ‘n stort, hande wasbak en toilet. Die koelkas is lieflik groot en
die chalet is toegerus met ‘n 4- plaat gas
stoof. Die potte en panne is van goeie gehalte en niks om oor te kla nie. Buite het
ons ‘n braai plek wat netjies is en weereens
‘n heerlike stoep. Die krag word 22.00 nm
afgesit en weer aan geskakel om 7.00 vm
die rede hiervoor is dat hulle maak gebruik
van ‘n krag opwekker, die water word met
gas verhit.
Swartkoekoek
(wyfie)
Sabota Lewerik
Lemon-breasted Ca- Geelborskanarie
nary
Neergaard’s Sunbird Bloukruis Suikerbekkie
Ons 5 dae is klaar in Mkuze en ons gaan vir
4 dae na Imfolozi Wildreservaat toe.
Daar is zebras, impalas en vlakvarke wat
voor ons wei en moenie die ape vergeet
nie. Terwyl Maryna en ek een aand op die
stoep sit en die rustigheid van die natuur
geniet wei daar ‘n klompie impalas voor
ons. Skielik trek die bokke weg met ‘n dik
spoed. Die volgende oomblik kom daar ‘n
hiёna skaar 3 meter van Maryna verby
agter die bokke aan. Dit is iets wat ons nie
verwag het nie Die voëls is nie so baie soos
in Mkuze nie en jy moet ver uitry voordat
jy afdraai paaie kry en daar is nie veel van
hulle nie.
Op pad na Mpila kamp toe kry ons ‘n
moedswillige olifant wat die pad versper.
Die ou grote laat ons vir ‘n uur in die voertuig sweet. Gelukkig kom daar toe van die
reservaat se werkers aan wat die olifant in
die bos injaag en kon ons verder gaan. Ons
vorder goed tussen die slaggate deur en
kom by die Imfolozi rivier wat besig is om af
te kom na al die reën. Die brug is toe onder
die water en niemand waag dit om deur
te gaan nie en daar is nie ‘n ander pad om
by Mpila kamp uit te kom nie, dus moes
ons maar weer sit en wag tot die rivier in so
mate gesak het dat ons kan deurkom. Terwyl ons wag kom daar ‘n hiёna aan die
oorkant van die brug en loop tot by die
water. Die hiёna sit sy poot in die water en
toets die sterkte van die water of die temperatuur (ons sal nie weet nie). ‘n Tweede
hiёna verskyn uit die bos en albei verdwyn
weer in die bos aan die ander kant.
Ons het 68 spesies gesien. Die tyd is verby
en ons moet huis toe kom. Ons volg die
GPS en die vat ons deur al die klein dorpies,
Daar is baie mis en beeste en boerbokke
wat die pad vol staan DOOD MOEG EN
OPGERY KOM ONS BY DIE HUIS AAN NA
2230KM AGTER VOëLS AAN.
Dit was ‘n baie vindingryke en rustige 10
dae. Kan nie wag vir die volgende bosvakansie nie. Hoekom is Desember so ver?
Weereens kom daar ‘n reservaat werker
aan en hy loop tot in die middel van die
brug en begin om van die goed wat daar
vas gehaak het te verwyder. Dit was nie
lank daarna nie toe kon ons deur die water ry alhoewel die watervlak nog steeds
redelik hoog was.
Totale spesies gesien 260
8
Flight for the Plight of
Vultures
Numbers of vultures killed during 2013 escalated when elephant poachers realized that
after the birds had eaten from the killed
carcasses, they would take to the air in
their hundreds. This "fly off" often alerted
authorities to the incident, and thus began
the start of heavily lacing the dead carcasses with poison after removing the ivory.
Many believe that tens of thousands of vultures have died in this way during 2013
alone. We are now in crisis mode and these
coordinated series of events are one way to
bring this plight to the attention of the general public. Vultures play a vital role as free
sanitary workers and are believed to avert
epidemics of anthrax and botulism in livestock, wildlife and our human populations.
They are also invaluable to farmers, by pinpointing dead or sick livestock, and warning
of the whereabouts of poachers.
By Kerri Wolter
South Africa, Botswana and Namibia are
uniting to join hands in the plight to save
southern Africa’s vultures. A collaborative
effort amongst conservationists and NGOs
have recognised the dire need for a united
conservation awareness campaign across
these three countries to spread the message
about the urgent need to conserve our vulture species on the African continent, before
we are faced with an African Vulture Crisis
which is presently looming.
Background information
Vulture populations are dwindling in southern Africa, and globally, due to a variety of
threats including poisonings and power line
collisions and electrocutions. In the past 20
years: populations of three Asian Vulture
species have collapsed primarily as a result
of consuming livestock carcasses contaminated with the veterinary drug diclofenac.
While in Africa the numbers of 11 species of
vulture continue to decline with the ever
present danger of a widespread African
Vulture Crisis. There are fewer than 4000
breeding pairs of Cape Vultures left in
southern Africa, having already gone extinct in Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Namibia
as a breeding species. The once ambiguous
African White-backed vulture has recently
been uplisted to ‘Endangered’ by the IUCN
2013 and the remaining vulture species all
have question marks as to their population
numbers with some estimates of fewer than
100 breeding pairs of Lappet-faced vultures
left in South Africa and the species being
uplisted to ‘Endangered’ in Botswana.
Without a unified African conservation approach, vulture species are in grave danger
The project, a first on this scale and to be
undertaken during the first week in April
2014, will seek to strengthen vulture conservation efforts across southern Africa. It will
also facilitate the bringing together, education and capacity building of various interest groups including government officials,
farmers, local community members and nature conservation officials across the three
countries by creating greater awareness
and educating on the plight of vultures,
their unnecessary poisoning and their importance to the ecosystem and communities. It will also allow for engagement on
how to strengthen vulture conservation efforts across and not restricted by political
boundaries.
Initial monitoring in 2013 reflected a massive
decline of vulture numbers throughout
southern Africa and Africa in its entirety.
9
of becoming critically endangered.
Maria Diekmann
Founder and Director
Rare and Endangered Species Trust
rest@iway.na
http://www.restafrica.org/
For more information and to support this
initiative, contact:
Kerri Wolter
VulPro
Founder and CEO
Kerri.wolter@gmail.com
Mobile: +27-82-808-5113
www.vulpro.com
Dr Kabelo Senyatso
Director
BirdLife Botswana
blb@birdlifebotswana.org.bw
http://www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw/
+267-3190540
Zelda Hudson
The Bateleurs – Flying for the Environment
in Africa
Manager
info@bateleurs.org
http://www.bateleurs.org
Kevin Grant
BirdLife Botswana representative, Ghanzi
Co-ordinator/Cattle Rancher
Ghanzi
tiisakalahari@gmail.com
+267-72112297.
Phil Zappala
BirdLife Botswana representative, Kasane
Co-ordinator
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR
WEBSITE
ADDRESS IS:
BEWARE!
Please pay your membership fees by
Electronic Transfer, or at the local branch
of your bank, as posted cheques are being intercepted in the post and used for
Cheque Fraud. If this happens to you
your membership payment is lost!
www.witsbirdclub.org.za
AND THE EMAIL
ADDRESS IS:
witsbc@mweb.co.za
10
leased a dove, a swallow and a raven.[3]
Noah the Ornithologist
Atra-Hasis is the protagonist of an 18th century BC Akkadian epic recorded in various
versions on clay tablets. The Atra-Hasis
tablets include both a creation myth and a
flood account. In this version the flood is depicted as a river flood.
By Tian Hattingh, Director of IELTS
Studies, Jiahua Language Center,
Shenzhen, China
In light of the newly released motion picture
NOAH, I have written an article about
Noah the Ornithologist.
What is unknown to date is which one of
the following possible sequences actually
occurred:
1. A historic perspective
Descriptions of the creation of the world
and of a great flood were well known in
neighboring as well as far-off countries at
the time when the Biblical versions were
formed in and around Palestine. For example, the three Mesopotamian flood stories
namely the epics of Ziusudra, Gilgamesh
and Atra-Hasis.
the Hebrew version was copied from an
earlier Mesopotamian story,
the Mesopotamian stories were copied
from an earlier Hebrew story, or
both the Mesopotamian and Hebrew
versions were fully, or in part, copied
from a common source that predates
them both.
In a Sumerian flood myth the tale of
Ziusudra is known from a single fragmentary tablet written in Sumerian, datable by
its script to the 17th century BC. The first
part deals with the creation of man and
the animals. After a missing section in the
tablet, we learn that the gods have decided to send a flood to destroy mankind.
The god Enki warns Ziusudra, the ruler of
Shuruppak, to build a large boat. The passage describing the directions for the boat is
also lost. When the tablet resumes, it is describing the flood itself.
The third possibility mentioned above is of
particular interest when it is kept in mind
that the flood myth motif is widespread
among many other cultures as well. For
example:
in the ancient Hindu texts called the
Puranas,
in the story of Deucalion in Greek mythology,
in the folklore of the K'iche and Maya
peoples of Central America,
The Epic of Gilgamesh is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature. This first
combined epic, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates to the 18th century BC.
Andrew R. George is of the opinion that the
flood myth in Genesis 6–9 matches that in
Gilgamesh so closely that "few doubt" that it
derives from a Mesopotamian account.[1]
According to Rendsburg, the way the
Genesis flood story follows the Gilgamesh
flood tale "point by point and in the same
order", even when the story permits other
alternatives is particularly noticeable.[2] This
view, however, should be questioned, as the
epic states that the hero, Utnapishtim, re-
in the folklore of Native Americans in
North America,
in the folklore of the Muisca people in
South America.
in the folklore of Australian aborigines
we find the story of a large flood resulting from the cruel treatment of Dumbi,
the sacred owl, by some taunting children.
2. A theological perspective
According to the original biblical narration,
which was eventually recorded in the book
11
of Genesis chapters 6-9, Noah faithfully
complied with the instructions he received
from a higher power. He subsequently built
the ark according to the specifications
given, and took his family, seven pairs of the
ritually ‘clean’ animals and birds, and one
pair of the ‘unclean’ animals and birds into
a watertight vessel. Here the author’s intentions were twofold, namely: a) to describe
the first attempt by a human being to not
only ensure the survival of himself and his
kind but to, at the same time, prevent the
eminent extinction of all, or at least a number of species, in the face of catastrophic
circumstances, and b) to, even more importantly, utilize the above incident to convey
the message that obedience to a divine
command is in the best interest of man and
beast. At that time, and in those circumstances, it meant engaging in completely
irrational behavior. In other words: acting in
faith was the right thing to do. The author’s
target population did not need any further
details in order to get the message, and
therefore it was never the intent of the author to describe the incident in scientifically
discernible terms.
onomy 14:14. The Hebrew word ‘orev’ is the
generic term used to describe the ravens
and crows (Corvidae). Elsewhere in our Bibles in 1Kings 17:4,6 ravens are said to supply
Elijah with food. Ravens are known to be
more shy and vigilant than crows. They
prefer mountainous terrain or solitary
wooded areas suitable for nesting, and
would therefore fit well into the context of
Elijah’s story. In addition, Song of Songs 5:11
takes note of the raven’s plumage, and in
Isaiah 34:11 of its preference to live in solitary
areas.[4]
Regarding the crows, it is said their boldness
and sagacity, coupled with their extensive
dietary range and exceptional intelligence,
have enabled them to adapt completely to
a lifestyle co-existent with man, even as the
latter has radically altered the particular
habitat involved. The ease by which they
survive and even prosper in modern day
concrete jungles, densely populated by humans, serves as an example. In the case of
Noah, a radical change in precipitation
patterns in a specific location would result in
the habitat being significantly altered, albeit
temporarily.
However, two of the most famous birds in
our Bibles are found where the story tells us
about Noah trying to determine to what
extent the floodwaters have receded.
Firstly, he released a crow, which did not
return. Then, because he wanted to confirm
that some land was actually bare, he released a dove.
Because of the differences in personalities, I
would like to believe that it actually in fact
was one of the crow species that were released by Noah. Elsewhere in our Bibles,
both Job 38:41 and Psalm 147:9 suggest that
parents in this family have their hands full
with ravenous chicks. Proverbs 30:17 refers
to the practice by crows to peck at the
eyes of a fresh carcass.[5]
This incident provides us with the first ever
mention in writing to specific zoological
families and it is no other than two bird
families namely the Columbidae and Corvidae. They are known in English as the pigeons and doves, and the ravens and
crows, respectively.
4. Pigeons and Doves
The Rock Dove (Columba livia), the Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), the
Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur), and the
Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis),
are all common birds in the Middle East. In
this region the latter is often known as the
Palm Dove. The Common Woodpigeon
(Columba palumbus) is a rare wintering
species, and the Namaqua Dove (Oena
3. Ravens and Crows
Because of their extensive dietary range,
ravens and crows are included in the lists of
“unclean” birds in Leviticus 11:15 and Deuter12
capensis) may occur accidentally from Africa and/or Arabia.
suitable for human habitation yet. Thus the
main character of this story was depicted
by the author/ narrator as having extraordinary ornithological insights in the species
that he chose.
[6]
The Hebrew word ‘yonah’ is a generic term
usually translated in English as “dove.” It is
derived from the stem ‘anah’ which means
“to mourn” and is probably applied to the
dove because of the calls of some species
like the Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis), for example. The Rock Dove was
later renamed the Rock Pigeon. Simply because the pigeons are known for their homing skills, would I suggest that it was in fact
a Rock Pigeon that Noah had released.[7]
As in neighboring cultures, this Hebrew
word also has a love connotation, with the
noun being used as a term of endearment
for a beloved girl on three occasions in the
Song of Songs namely in 2:14, 5:2 and 6:9. In
the sacrificial passages of Leviticus 5:7, 5:11,
12:6, 12:8, 14:22, 14:30, 15:14, 15:29 and Numbers
6:10 it is usually translated into English as a
“young pigeon.”[8]
6. Aristotle and the biblical authors
Aristotle (384-322 BC) is widely regarded as
the first ornithologist. The value of the story
of Noah should be seen in light of the fact
that it was eventually preserved in writing
about one thousand years before Aristotle.
The Hebrew Canon containing these narratives had fully developed by the time of Aristotle, and the accuracy of the ornithological facts contained in this narrative and
other Scriptures were never questioned by
him or anyone else to this day. Although
they never intended their books to be scientifically correct, many other biblical authors (most notably the author of the book
of Job) display magnificent ornithological
insight in their work. Therefore, in my humble opinion, the time has come for the ornithological world to take note and give the
biblical authors the credit that they deserve.
The Laughing Dove is also common in the
Middle East, and would certainly be acceptable as a sacrifice. However, the Hebrew word ‘tor’ is a sound-imitating word,
based on the call of the Turtle Dove
(Streptopelia turtur), as is the case with its
scientific name. It is referred to in all the sacrificial passages of Leviticus 5:7, 5:11, 12:6, 12:8,
14:22, 14:30, 15:14, 15:29 and in Numbers 6:10,
making the sacrificial prescription unmistakable. [9]
References:
1) George, A. R. 2003. The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition
and Cuneiform Texts. Oxford University
Press. pp. 70–. ISBN 978-0-19-927841-1.
2) Rendsburg, Gary. 2007."The Biblical flood
story in the light of the Gilgamesh flood
account," in Gilgamesh and the world of
Assyria. Eds: Azize, J & Weeks, N. Peters.
p. 117.
3) Mellor, Enid B. 1972. The making of the
Old Testament. Cambridge University
Press. p. 8.
4) Hattingh, Tian. Birds and Bibles in History. 2012. London. The London Press
Ltd. p. 127. ISBN: 798-1-907313-70-7.
5) ibid. p.
6) ibid. p.
7) ibid. p.
8) ibid. p.
9) ibid. p
5. Noah the Ornithologist
It is clear that the biblical narrator/author
was an ornithologist to the extent that he
realized that if there was one species that
would immediately be able to adapt to
the circumstances outside the ark and survive, it would be a crow. He had obviously
studied bird behavior to the extent that he
knew that doves and pigeons
(Columbiformes) are generally terrestrial
(ground-living) birds, and with this in mind
he decided on a dove. As long as the dove
returned to its perch it would be an indication that the ecosystem had not become
13
How much longer will
SABAP2 last?
which we would like to have comparable
numbers of checklists this year, next year,
and the following years. These are the areas where it is going to be easiest to detect
changes in species composition, and to detect trends in abundance. I did a preliminary analysis with Geoff Lockwood of
changes in reporting rates in the pentad
that includes Sandton (and Delta Park). I
was in awe of the number of species for
which the reporting rates were trending
either upwards or downwards.
By Les Underhill
And that is why I believe there should
NEVER be a SABAP3. We need to keep
SABAP2 running in perpetuity, because bird
distributions are changing so rapidly that
we cannot afford to stop monitoring for
even a few years.
If I have my way, SABAP2 will run for ever.
Before I get to the end of this article I will
explain why.
The immediate answer is that SABAP2 will
continue for at least a few more years. The
Animal Demography Unit and SANBI have
just set up a new three-year contract. The
ADU has a measure of financial stability
that it has not had for years. As awful as
retrenching key members of staff was last
year, we are now living within our means.
We have been through a major strategy
planning initiative, and a new Advisory
Board is in place and meeting within the
next month. So the ADU is no longer living
from hand to mouth.
There are two take home messages: (1) If
you are an atlaser, please maintain
“sustainable atlasing.” We cannot afford for
you to suffer “burn-out.” Please keep on
atlasing at the pace you enjoy doing it. (2)
If you are not an atlaser, please learn the
protocol and get involved. We are NOT
near the END of the project, we are near
the BEGINNING. We need you on board.
Gauteng 4DY and 3456 Challenge in 2014
Get all 576 pentads in the four degrees of
'Greater Gauteng' to YELLOW in 2014
Get 3456 checklists in total (average of 6 lists
per pentad!)
I often criticized for so enthusiastically promoting atlasing in the “Greater Gauteng”
region, the four one-degree grid cells centred on Johannesburg and Pretoria. “Surely,
there is more than enough data for this region, and you ought to be encouraging the
Gautengers to be atlasing out in the poorly
covered areas?” say the critics.
Pentad with 0 cards
297
Pentad with 1 or more
279
cards
Pentad with 2 or more
135
cards
Pentad with 3 or more
83
cards
Pentad with 4 or more
60
cards
Total cards submitted in 2014
Total percentage submitted in 2014
The reality is that about 30% of the population of South Africa lives within this
Greater Gauteng region, and this proportion is steadily increasing. This is a key area
where we ought to be doing our monitoring intensively, and on a continuous basis.
Firstly we need to cover the region as comprehensively as we can each year. Secondly,
it is precisely the pentads with the largest
numbers of checklists in earlier years for
14
51.56%
48.44%
23.44%
14.41%
10.42%
993
28.73%
Across the top of the
World : 7th – 21st
August 2013 (Part 2)
lecture in instalments (while we rested) on
Snow Geese, which come to nest on
Wrangel. There is a continual battle between the geese and Arctic Foxes, which
eat their eggs and small chicks.
Text and Photos by Lesley Cornish
Back on board, the ship backtracked north
and east, and we listened to Nikita’s lecture
on safety in the land of Polar Bears. He
and his team have developed a unique approach to ensure the safety of people and
bears on Wrangel Island. They have no
rifles, just six feet long, thick poles! There is a
three-part code for dealing with Polar
Bears: 1) keep away (and walk around obstacles to ensure there is no bear behind), 2)
Be aggressive if one comes close, and 3) Be
really aggressive if one comes really close
(poke it hard with your pole). We also saw
a video demonstrating the approach. After
hearing this, I understood why we were
keeping away from the bears, which is
good considering that their numbers are
decreasing rapidly due to less ice (global
warming), hunting and poaching (yes, bits
of Polar Bear are also apparently used
“medically”).
Continuation of Lesley’s article included in December 2013 edition of
Bokmakierie
15th August
There was heavy fog, which kept the ship’s
cruising speed to a minimum, and finally we
reached Dreamhead Mountain. We took
the Zodiacs, and after landing split into two
groups. One was Mark’s, looking for more
birds, and the other was Rodney’s routemarch to get to a potential place for
Snowy Owl. I chose the latter, but first
checked out the lagoon to see what was
about: Dunlin and Red Knot, then had to
run after Rodney’s group. We were about
to give up on a Snowy Owl, (we had
walked quite far and fast in the tundra,
which is hard work), when a white blob
was seen on a small rocky outcrop. Was it
a plastic bag? We walked in fifty pace intervals, stopping to check it out. Eventually,
we could see it was turning its head, and it
had eyes! It was a magnificent male
Snowy Owl (males are whiter than the females), and to confirm its identity, if flew a
short distance away. To keep us going on
the march back, Olga gave the group a
Later and in thick fog, we took the Zodiacs
to explore Nahodka Island just north of
Wrangel Island, and this was our most
northerly landing. The name of the island
means “a finding” in Russian, and we really
battled to find a decent landing spot, because the beaches were steeply shelving,
and thus unsafe. This gave us the best
sightings of Sabine’s Gulls, as well as our
closet sightings of Common Eiders. When
we eventually did land, it was on a mud
bank, with nearby Dunlins. Keeping the
Zodiacs together in the thick fog was a
challenge, even with the radios, and this
was when we found (to our relief) that all
the Zodiac pilots had GPSs.
16th August
There was too much fog, so we could not
take a Zodiac cruise in the river mouth. We
had to collect the “Overlanders” from
Snowy Owl (male)
15
Ushakovskaya, which is a former Soviet village founded by Georgy Ushakov in 1926,
and is now the main base camp for the
Wrangel Reserve.
Another Georgy, a
Chukchi who has lived there for many
years, welcomed us on the beach dressed in
a traditional reindeer fur coat (a
“kukhlyanka”), accompanied by a black
Labrador. We were given a tour around
the settlement, and even went into one of
the houses – it was really cosy! Whilst we
were looking at the houses, the flowers, and
the pile of bones brought in by the rangers
(Polar Bear skulls, and mammoth tusks), at
least three small flocks of Snow Geese flew
overhead – the closets we had got to them!
Immature Arctic Fox (in summer coat)
cific and Red-billed Divers, as well as Tundra Swans. The sun was setting as we left –
we had run out of time!
18th August
The good weather continued, and a lecture
was interrupted, because someone saw
many whale spouts. The Captain sailed in
a large loop in the bay near Uelen village,
and there were well over a hundred
Humpback Whales, with some Gray
Whales. One Bowhead Whale came very
17th August
It was still slightly foggy first thing, but it did
clear, but not before photographs were
taken of the “white rainbows”. In the night,
we had reached the northern coast of Chukotka, and then arrived at Kaluchin Island.
We were quite close to some Humpback
Whales. After an early lunch, the ship anchored not far from Kaluchin Island, and we
realised that a landing was not possible because the beach was covered by hundreds
of Walruses. We approached them very
slowly and carefully in the Zodiacs, trying
not to disturb them, and a few came out to
see us! They are hunted by the locals, and
so are fairly wary. This was one of the
highlights of the trip, because we had very
close sightings.
We were now making up for those postponed landings on the way out. In the evening we landed the Zodiacs on Belyak Spit
in Kolyuchin Inlet. This place is known to be
home for breeding migrants, including
Spoon-billed Sandpiper – alas, a pair had
nested about 4 km away and already migrated south. We walked though the tundra, checking out the many lakes, and got
close to three White-billed Divers (Yellowbilled Loons), Buff-breasted Sandpiper and
a small flock of Emperor Geese. There was
also an Arctic Fox lurking behind them.
Birds seen by the others included both Pa-
Humpback Whale
close to the ship, and the distinctive depression behind the blowhole was clearly seen.
There must have been a very rich food
source, because there were also thousands
of seabirds, including huge flocks of Crested
Auklets. Some of the photographers managed to capture a Sabine’s Gull flying just in
front of the disappearing tail of a Grey
Whale!
In the early afternoon, we landed at Uelen
16
village, and in the swell was a single Whiskered Auklet. We were taken on a tour of
the village, including the School and Cultural Centre, and Museum, but we had to
keep away from the border post, as well as
not take any photographs of the military.
The School also hosts about 50 scholars
from other villages, and School Principal
and Deputy talked to us about their activities. Here, the Chukchi language and culture are taught. We also went to a Walrus
tusk carving workshop. Lastly, we had a
concert of traditional songs and dances, on
the beach, with the participants wearing
traditional costumes. As the Zodiacs started
to come back to the ship, a pod of Orca
went hurriedly by, and it was thought that
were hunting a whale, but the fog descended and we did not see the outcome.
We sailed past Cape Dezhnev, but it was
too foggy for a cruise.
graphs of the site, and then the Pikas and
Arctic Ground Squirrels. By the time we got
to the Zodiacs, the wind had risen, and getting back in them was challenging. “Handson” Rodney was up to his shoulders in the
water, holding the boats steady for us to
scramble aboard. Sailing back towards
Anadyr, we came across small flocks of King
Eider on the water, as well as the other
more usual seabirds.
20th - 21st August
The last full day was spent at sea, heading
back to Anadyr. I was still trying to take
photographs, but there was some fog. The
guides had made a presentation of the trip,
and it was made available to us all.
The port had closed on the night of the
2oth, due to bad weather, and we were
worried how we would disembark. Eventually, we used the more upmarket ferry –
this one looked like an overgrown tug.
Getting on was quite scary, because of the
swell, but Rodney was there passing the
cases, and helping us board. Soon we were
whittled down to just those staying the
night in Anadyr, because those returning
home via Nome in Alaska were taken directly to the airport. After a traumatic
time trying to book in, I did the town sights
– many were closed when we arrived, and
we all met up for dinner.
19th August
By much effort, we managed to see Forktailed Petrels, which are a ghostly grey and
almost ephemeral! On our way back, the
weather did allow us to land on Yttygran
Island. The object was Whale Bone Alley,
which is an old hunting ritual centre with
meat pits. There are Bowhead Whale jawbones nearer the beach, and ribs placed
together in arches to form an avenue,
which is nearly half a kilometre long
(although some of the bones have fallen).
Some hiked to the top of the hills for the
view, but most settled down to take photo-
22nd August
I had a few hours before being collected for
transport to the airport, so I went to find
the birds I had missed before. Searching
around town and in a park, I found Willow
and Arctic Warblers, as well as Common
Redpoll, and the ubiquitous House Sparrows. Catching the ferry across the river
was scary, because there were too many
people trying to get on, but by now the
group had bonded, and somehow everyone was dragged/pushed on board, even if
not via the gangplank! What a trip: it
might not have had the highest species
numbers, but some amazing animals and
birds were seen!
Whalebone Alley, with our ship behind
17
Birding Trivia - A
Cuckoo Letter to The
Times
Lydekker drew another line to the west of
Wallace’s and then named the area between the two lines as Wallacea. But on
looking up Lydekker (because his line does
not cleanly line up with glacial Maximum
coast lines when Papua New Guinea was
joined to Australia and marsupials could
move between the two land masses); I
found the Trivia.
By Peter Greaves
Now here is a piece of absolute TRIVIA of
no concern to anybody except an idiot Bird
Nerd who researches stupid stuff on the
internet.
On 6th February 1913 Lydekker wrote to
“The Times” of London and claimed to
have heard a cuckoo. This was contrary to
Yarell’s “History of British Birds”
which doubted that the cuckoo arrived
before April. Six days later, on 12th February
Lydekker again wrote to “The Times” and
confessed that the comment was that
of “A Bricklayer’s Labourer” and withdrew
his claim of 6th February. This little incident is
the origin of the tradition of the paper publishing letters regarding the first cuckoo
every year.
Discovering a small conflict in geographic
regional boundaries in my Birding database
in the area of the Wallace Line and thinking about where does Indonesia STOP and
Australasia START I decided to look up the
Wallace Line.
For the record: Alfred Russel Wallace proposed, in 1859, a line from between Bali and
Lombok going on between Borneo and
Sulawesi (Celebes) and south of the Philippines which extends across the entire region
between South East Asia and Australia. His
reasoning was based on personal observation and noted that the species of birds and
animals on each side of the line differed
most dramatically in their type and evolutionary origins. Although he did not conclude the theory of continental drift this was
an early indication that it may be true and
he supported earlier comments on the
topic. Worthy of note is that in his “Origin of
Species” Darwin completely and openly
considered the concept of “Continental
Drift” to be ludicrous! Remember also that
Wallace was ready to publish his own theory of evolution and steal the limelight from
Darwin but encouraged Darwin to publish
before him. Darwin thus “rushed through”
his Origin book and promised to expand
with a fuller tome and evidence later
(something he never got around to)
Now if you can find ANYTHING more trivial than that I will be amazed!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
DONATION
Matthew Axelrod
John Bradshaw
Andy Featherstone
Sean Glynn
Christel Hengst
Ginny Mes
Paul Netscher
Val Odendaal
Brian Phillips
Howard & Magui Rayner
Gail Schaum
What Wallace did was delineate the
boundary between two zoogeographic regions and later authors refined his work.
Billy van Eck
Elsabe Vorster
18
Update on EWT
Livestock Guardian
Dogs
something interesting, whether it is people
passing through the farm or baboons in the
area. The herder has an extra pair of eyes
which always lets him know what is going
on.
By Derek Van Der Merwe
Carnivore Conservation Programme:
Senior Field Officer
Endangered Wildlife Trust
There was huge amount of rain experienced in the Waterberg over the last
month (March 2014) and major floods have
occurred in Lephalale and surrounding
area. It has been a challenging month to
visit and see all of the dogs. However I
managed to visit and see all but one which
was just impossible to visit. I did however
arrange to get her some food as soon as
the water subsided and the roads became
manageable. Other than that all of our
dogs are doing well.
I could unfortunately not go past Catriena
this month. The roads were completely
washed away. The farmer assured me that
she is doing very well. He has still not
moved her to the farm where he is experiencing livestock losses, he will however do so
after the rains. I did however manage to
drop off her dog food for the month in
Vaalwater for the farmer to collect.
As for out Malut’s in the field. Poppie is doing really well. Her wound from the warthog has healed nicely. One of the cows in
the herd however stood on her tail and she
now has another wound, it should heal
nicely though. She has been working very
well and even goes out in the field when it
is pouring with rain. She is now chasing off
the baboons that tormented her as a
young puppy.
Our Anatolians are doing very well. Almost
90 percent of the farm where Hughie has
been placed was flooded in the recent rains.
The farm borders the Mogol river which
overflowed its banks. I was fortunate
enough to be there when the farmer was
caching all of his goats out of a temporary
pen he made at the highest point of his
farm in order to move the goats to higher
ground. Hughie was not very impressed
As for our Anatolians in the field, Alex is
working extremely well. She continues to
protect her goats from all intruders including humans. Whenever she barks the
herder checks on the goats always to find
19
with people handling his goats. The two
dogs that look after this particular herd
have been moved with the goats. The
farmer has assured me that the move to
another property went very well and that
the two dogs have settled down nicely.
Hughie’s stable fly infection has healed completely and is not scratching anymore.
See some of the photos of the floods
(below).
Alex has been very frustrated over the very
rainy days as the goats are fed in the kraal
and do not venture out. The feed has attracted some baboons and she has managed to chase them off. Alex is soon to be
signed off to her farmer and really has been
a star dog. She started working in the field
from a very young age and continues to
impress me every time I visit. I hope that she
continues to protect her goats as well as she
does for many years. While visiting Alex I
managed to get my work bakkie (4x4)
stuck and in the process two tractors stuck
after trying to get me out. After 5 hours we
eventually got the bakkie out by dragging
it out with a block and tackle. Many thanks
to the farm workers who helped me out.
Robby is very happy at his new home, he
has settled in nicely and has a huge yard to
play in. The owners are lovely people and I
hope Robby will make them very happy.
Lastly due to the rains and flooding in Limpopo, as well as a severe shortage of Livestock Guardian dog puppies, we have not
placed any new dogs. We intend to place a
few in the near future.
20
You don’t find Birds on
Natal’s South Coast
at the coast.
Many Greater Flamingos, hundreds (but
not thousands) in various pans and dams in
the Free State on the road to the Cape on
a coach tour, a big thrill, fleetingly so I
couldn't study them, or what was amongst
them. Another definite lifer for me was a
White-backed Mousebird in Matjiesfontein. Amongst all the various birds seen on
the trip many White Storks in various
places, the country was very green, even
the Karoo, which had rain before Christmas,
was quite pleasant to drive through. Blue
Cranes in fallow grounds, quite a few African Black Oystercatchers together with
Cape Cormorants on the rocks at Sea
Point, the many gulls are just too difficult for
me to identify: just when you think you get
it right, you get it wrong! Red-winged Starlings everywhere. The Wilderness gave
many surprises, but again too many too
difficult to identify. That makes it two more
lifers which makes it 200!
By Louise Barlow
You don’t find birds on KwaZulu-Natal’s
south coast, rather, they find you! Early one
morning I heard this dreadful squawking
in the huge wild fig tree at the back of the
garden, on closer inspection was a large
bird hopping around in the heavy
branches venturing closer I saw a purple
crest and greenish bird looking a lot like a
more familiar go –away-bird when I
looked it up it was a Purple-crested Turaco
- man I was out of my tree! From then on I
heard it more times than I saw it. In the
front garden in the giant wild stretilzia there
was an Olive Sunbird suckling from the giant white and purple flowers, others that
also enjoyed it were the Cape Weaver,
Spectacled Weaver and Common Myna.
I was delighted to secretly spy on a pair
of Greater Striped Swallows building their
nest against a light fixture on the ceiling
outside. I had to stand dead still while they
graced me with their presence, prettiest little birds, if I sat on the deck they would almost skim the top of my head as they
swooped and dived.
There were a few Bronze manikins at the
bird feeder but not as many as in the
month of June in previous years: doves,
other LBJ's I couldn’t identify. I also saw a
Black-collared Barbet, Red-winged Starlings, a Black-shouldered Kite and both
Forked-tailed and Square-tailed Drongos. A Black-headed Oriole I heard before
I saw it, it then came and perched itself on
a branch just above our heads. This was in
Pennington near a nature reserve and
they were quite confiding, also an Olive
Thrush with a dragonfly in its beak, a
Brown-hooded Kingfisher honing down on
the goggos in the garden.
The Sasol Bird Fair will be held at the
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort, Gauteng on 7 and
8 June 2014. This year’s theme is Going
Inland to Save our Seabirds. This year's
message is around all seabirds, the
threats and challenges they face and
the conservation of these ocean wanderers.
FLAMINGOS IN THE FREE STATE and gulls
WBC will have a stand at the Fair.
21
Controversial wind
farm in Lesotho gets
the go-ahead
pending update of The Eskom Red Data
Book of birds of South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland.
The Cape Vulture, which is only found in
southern Africa, is currently listed as Vulnerable in the Red Data Book. It will be listed
as Endangered in the updated Red Data
Book. The southern node of the Cape Vulture population is centred on the Drakensberg Mountains and comprises 44% of the
South African and Lesotho population, and
41% of the global population (which includes
the colonies in Botswana). The Lesotho
Highlands is of global significance for the
Cape Vulture as the area is used for breeding, roosting and foraging.
By Samantha Ralston and
Hanneline Smit-Robinson
The controversial wind farm proposed for
Lesotho’s Maluti-Drakensberg received the
go-ahead from the Lesotho Government in
October 2013. Conservationists are concerned that this decision does not bode well
for the future of vultures in the region or for
the reputation of the fledging wind energy
industry in southern Africa.
The specialist report, compiled by wellrespected ornithologist Dr Andrew Jenkins
as part of the Environmental Impact Statement, indicated the anticipated impacts of
the project on highly unique and sensitive
birds will be of high to very high negative
significance, rendering the project unsustainable.
“Approval of the Letseng project is a source
of great concern to BirdLife”, said Ken
Mwathe, BirdLife International’s Africa Policy Programme Coordinator. “African governments must tread carefully on renewable energy projects by ensuring they do
not threaten birds and biodiversity”.
In response to these concerns, the developer
has proposed mitigation measures, including
the use of radar linked to a system that
would automatically shut turbines down
when birds are at risk of colliding. “The
problem is that at this stage we simply do
not have enough information to be sure
that these mitigation measures will be effective in substantially reducing the risk to the
vultures” said Samantha Ralston, Birds and
Renewable Energy Manager at BirdLife
South Africa. It is also not clear if the project
would be feasible should these measures be
implemented as wind turbines do not generate electricity when they are not turning.
PowerNET Developments (Pty) Ltd applied for permission to erect 42 wind turbines (each with a capacity of 850 kW)
near Letšeng-La-Terae in north-eastern
Lesotho. This site falls within the breeding,
roosting and foraging grounds of important
populations of both the Bearded Vulture
and the Cape Vulture. It is well known from
international studies that vultures are prone
to colliding with wind turbines and BirdLife
South Africa is therefore concerned that this
wind farm development could have severe
impacts on these two threatened vultures.
In order to determine if mitigation will be
effective and feasible, more research is
needed to understand how often, at what
height and under what conditions the birds
move through the site. The Department of
Environment in Lesotho recognised this and
Bearded Vultures are currently listed as Endangered in South Africa but, as their
population has been declining, it will be
uplisted to Critically Endangered in the
22
issued the environmental clearance for an
initial period of one year in order to assess
the bird mortality risks associated with the
project. The Department also reserves the
right to revoke the authorisation if there
are environmental concerns caused by the
project that are beyond mitigation.
and cautious approach to environmental
impacts).
“The additional studies required by the Record of Decision should have been completed prior to the approval as this information should have informed the decision”,
she said. There is also no assurance that
stakeholders will continue to have the opportunity to provide input on the additional reports or seek recourse should they
be dissatisfied with the outcome. BirdLife
South Africa and its conservation partners
have therefore requested the decision to be
reviewed.
“We are really pleased that the Director of
Environment, Mr Damane, recognises that
this project potentially poses a severe risk to
vultures and we understand that the decision was an attempt to find a compromise
between the needs of the developer and
the concerns of conservationists” said Ms
Ralston.
“We are extremely concerned that the project could have severe impacts on both
Cape Vultures and Bearded Vultures” said
Dr Tim Stowe Director of International Operations at the RSPB, BirdLife’s Partner in
the UK. “These magnificent birds are one of
the key reasons that the Maloti-
BirdLife South Africa is however concerned
that the decision of the Lesotho Government to issue the environmental clearance
is procedurally flawed and is not in line with
the internationally-recognised precautionary principle (which prescribes a risk-averse
WBC QUIZ EVENING
Lester Niss has agreed to host
another quiz evening for the
Club on Thursday 17th July
2014. These evenings are a lot
of fun and you don’t need to
be a bird boffin to join in.
Please join us for a lighthearted
evening which we will enhance
with a warming soup and glass
of sherry!
RAPTOR COURSE
Join Geoff Lockwood at
Panata bush camp for an
enrapturing Raptor Course!
9th—11th May 2014
R300 Course
R375 Chalet Accommodation
R250 Camping
23
Drakensberg Park has been identified as a
transboundary World Heritage Site – an
area of global importance for which both
Lesotho and South Africa have responsibility”. While the proposed wind farm does not
fall within the Maloti-Drakensberg Park
World Heritage Site, vultures move great
distances,
transcending
geographical
boundaries to forage and conservationists
are concerned that the wind farm will pose
a threat to the overall vulture population in
the region.
and its turbines. Unfortunately much of Lesotho is not ideally located for wind farms
given the importance of the MalotiDrakensberg area for vultures. “This makes
it all the more important to set a precedent
for rigorous assessment of wind energy in
Lesotho”, said Mark D. Anderson, CEO of
BirdLife South Africa. “Poorly planned wind
farms give wind energy a bad name” he
added, and “That is not good for nature or
for our efforts to combat climate change.”
BirdLife South Africa does not believe that
we need to choose between renewable energy and birds. By working with wind energy developers, environmental consultants,
and government and bird specialists,
BirdLife South Africa’s aim is to ensure that
renewable energy is developed in a way
that is truly sustainable.
BirdLife South Africa recognises the importance of clean energy generation, particularly in light of global climate change, and
supports the responsible development of
wind energy. Impacts on birds can be minimised or even avoided with careful planning and assessment. One of the most effective ways of reducing the impacts is the
considered location of both the wind farm
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Diana Bent
Northwold
Deborah Jenkins
Meyersdal
Keith Bent
Northwold
Keren Jenkins
Meyersdal
Brian Berry
Randburg
Meyersdal
Valerie Berry
Randburg
Sarah Jenkins
Michael Raum
Elsie Kritzinger
Carla Droppelman
Kensington
Johann Kritzinger
Northcliff
Klaus Droppelman
Kensington
Wynand Malan
Norwood
Monika du Plessis
Atlas Park
Dorothy Marsden
Magaliesburg
Vickus du Plessis
Atlas Park
Colin Meddows-Taylor
Craighall Park
Janet Ebedes
Fourways
Christa Moller
Fontainebleau
Neil Ebedes
Fourways
Grant Morrison
Eden Glen
Marlina Elburg
Aukland Park
Lizanne Roxburgh
Kensington
Peter Hamming
Allen’s Nek
Leintjie Swart
Roosevelt Park
Marion Hofmeyr
Highlands North
Martin Swart
Roosevelt Park
Robert Hofmeyr
Highlands North
Jan van Heerden
Edleen
David Jenkins
Meyersdal
24
Northcliff
A History of Birding
and Bird Ringing on
Melville Koppies
humerous and conscientious guy” who
regularly cycled from Florida to help
with the ringing over a period of perhaps three years before moving on to
Rhodes University to complete his studies. Shockingly, Peter was later shot by
robbers while tending his father’s general
hardware business in Honeydew.
By John Freer
It was in the early 1960s that the then
Chairman of the Johannesburg Council
of Natural History, Irene Sturgess, asked
John Freer for notes on some birds to be
seen at Melville Koppies.
Next John took on twins Roger and
Trevor Ellis. Trevor dropped out but
Roger completed the course and got his
ringing permit, then left to become a
tour guide. While sleeping under the
stars in the Okavanga he was grabbed
by the face by a hyena but managed
to scare the animal away at the cost of
the loss of one ear!
Ten years later, John Bunning and his
friend Michael Fagan, both from the UK
and both members of the Witwatersrand Bird Club (WBC) went to Melville
Koppies intent on bird watching and
preparing a check-list of the birds to be
found there. On their second visit they
were met by the late Ken Newman and
were disappointed to learn that Ken
had already started such a list.
Soon after this the WBC appointed John
as their official training officer for their
ringing programme and chose Melville
Koppies as their training ground. Youngsters were turning up thick and fast. At
the height of this activity, John had some
13 trainees between 13 and 17 years old.
Things continued this way with many
dropping out and others coming in until
a year before John was due to retire
(1994). Then he decided to disband the
group which he found he could no
longer control.
Ken in his friendly and encouraging
manner asked John and Michael to help
with the survey and after a year asked
John to assist with the list which was
published as “Supplement A of WBC
News No 82”. In it were some 84 species.
In the following year John met John
Ledger when both were serving on the
WBC Committee. Ledger, a qualified
bird ringer, agreed to continue training
Bunning for his permit. They chose Melville Koppies as their ringing site. The first
birds they caught were a pair of Crested
Barbets.
After a year, John got his ringing permit
and was on his own. A bit apprehensive
at first, things soon fell into place. He in
turn took on his first trainee - Peter
Rohloff from the WBC - a “delightful,
Melville Koppies looking towards Johannesburg
25
Among the highlights of his experiences,
John records:-
Lastly, mention must be made of Markus Hofmeyr, the son of George and
Heike Hofmeyr—long time friends of
Melville Koppies. John remembers spotting a young boy watching his activities
through binoculars from the top of the
Koppie. That was the start of an association with the most serious and devoted bird ringer he had ever had in the
group. Markus went on to obtain a degree in veterinary science at Onderstepoort. He successfully introduced Wild
Dogs at Madikwe Game Reserve, mapping the life history and behaviour of the
pack and committing it to film for TV
publication. He now has the position of
Head: Veterinary Wildlife Services, SANParks.
One of the more senior boys coming
back and reporting a Grey Cuckooshrike. Sceptical, the bird had to prove
its existence to John by coming to the
Lecture Hut as has been the case so often with other vagrants such as White-
crested Helmet-shrikes, Crimsonbreasted Shrike and Chinspot Batis.
On 16th December 1985, Eric Forsyth, an
immigrant from Scotland, came back
from the nets with a bird he thought to
be a Eurasian Blackcap. It had a rufous
cap not a black one, defining it as a female. Within hours, Clive Hopcroft, also
from the UK and a member of the SA
Rarities Committee was able to confirm
the identification making this the first record of the species in South Africa.
Very recently John was pleasantly surprised to unexpectedly meet one of his
past trainees. Professor Ara Monadjem,
a well known ornithologist and professor
of Zoology at the University of Swaziland when he walked in to a meeting at
Nelspruit. It took John time to realize
that he had trained him at Melville Koppies many years earlier. This was another success story for John and Melville
Koppies of setting a youngster on the
right track.
Extract from SACS Rarities Committee's
Annual Report 1987 - Edition 39 Bokmakierie
Blackcap Sylvia.atricapilla
One trapped at Melville Koppies,
Transvaal on 16 December 1985
(E. Forsyth, C. Hopcroft and L.
Bunning). Can you imagine the surprise
when E. Forsyth saw this bird
hanging in a net! The second record
for the region, the first being a
collected specimen from Zimbabwe
of which details will be published in
the next report.
Bird ringing is not John’s sole contribution
to birding at Melville Koppies. In 1998 he
published his delightful booklet on the
Birds of the Botanical Gardens, Emmarentia Dam and the Melville Koppies,
Johannesburg. In the Introduction he
states that by the end of 1994 the list of
birds recorded in this complex totalled
198 plus 12 which required confirmation.
Of the boys trained by John, one is a director of the Durban Museum and
Dawid de Swardt, having obtained his
doctorate is now in charge of the bird
section of the Bloemfontein Museum.
Another, Kim Wolhuter, the son of the
WBC’s Joan Wolhuter is a well known
wildlife film maker.
Since his departure to Barberton, bird
ringing continued on a regular albeit less
frequent basis under the aegis of the
WBC, first under Jumbo Williams of St
26
Stiithians College, then Murrie Slotar and
presently Gail Schaum.
Birding at Melville Koppies remains a
stimulating past-time and this within a
few kilometres of the centre of the city.
Measuring the culmen of a Karoo Thrush
- photo by Wendy Carstens
BirdLife South Africa’s Bird of
the Year for 2014 is the Tristan
Albatross, one of only two globally Critically Endangered species that occur in South Africa.
27
Unusual Nesting Site Calitzdorp
Text and Photos by Darroll Bent
We were basking in the sun at the pool
side, when we noticed a bird disappear into
the pool housing, on inspection found that a
Lesser-striped Swallow, had built their nest
inside the closed room, on the inside of the
roof, and they gained access through the
diamond holes in the door, see attached
pictures, incredible!
Entrance hole used by Swallow
Pool Pump Housing
Swallow entering nest site
28
BirdLife South Africa:
Birder’s Code of Ethics

Leave all habitats as we find them.
Birders respect the rights of others. We will:

Respect the privacy and property of
others by observing “No Trespassing”
signs, and by asking permission to enter private or posted lands.

Practice courtesy in our contacts with
others. For example, limit requests for
information, and make them at reasonable hours.

Always behave in a manner that will
enhance the image of the birding
communities in the eyes of the public.
(Lia Steen has requested that we again include the Birder’s Code of Ethics after recent complaints about behaviour at a
number of rare bird sighting sites.)
Birders have an obligation at all times to
protect wildlife, the natural environment
and the rights of others. We provide leadership by adhering to guidelines of good birding behaviour.
Birders in groups have special responsibilities.
We will:

Take special care to alleviate problems and disturbances multiplied
when more people are present. Act in
consideration of the group’s interest,
as well as our own.

Support, by our actions, the responsibility of the group leader(s) for the
conduct of the group. As group leaders we will:
Assume responsibility for the conduct of the group
Learn and inform the group of
any special rules, regulations or conduct applicable to the area or habitat being visited
Limit groups to a size that does
not threaten the environment or the
peace and tranquillity of others
Teach others birding ethics
through words and example
Birders do not endanger the welfare of
birds or other wildlife. We will:

Observe and photograph birds without knowingly disturbing them in any
significant way.

Avoid chasing and repeatedly flushing
birds

Sparingly use recordings and similar
methods of attracting birds and not in
heavily birded areas or during breeding seasons.

Keep appropriate distances from nests
and nesting colonies, not disturb them
or expose them to danger.

Refrain from handling birds and eggs
unless in recognised research activities.
Birders do not harm the natural environment. We will:

Stay in existing roads, trails and pathways to avoid trampling or disturbing
fragile habitat.
NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
Bokmakierie is published three times annually. Contributions may be in Afrikaans
or English. English names of birds should be those used in Roberts VII. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor, Club, the Committee, Members or
those of BirdLife South Africa. The Editors reserve the right to edit articles as necessary.
This issue of Bokmakierie has been produced and edited by Andy Featherstone
and Lance Robinson.
29
Rarities and Unusual
Sightings Report:
December 2013
By André Marx
The early summer period from Sep-Nov
2013 saw many good wader records for the
region, with many of them coming from
Mkhombo Dam where a large shoreline
provided habitat for good numbers of birds
for several weeks. Excellent finds were
Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whitefronted and Chestnut-banded Plover as
well Ruddy Turnstone and Caspian Plover,
all at this locality which is located at the
very edge of the 100km zone from Pretoria.
The period also saw some outstanding finds
with two birds being especially noteworthy.
The first was relocating the female Whitebreasted Cuckooshrike at Groenkloof Nature Reserve on the southern edge of Pretoria, and the other was finding first one
and then two Bush Blackcaps in Gisela
Ortner's garden in Randburg. Both localities
were visited by numbers of birders over a
few weeks and many people were able to
see and photograph these gems! My thanks
to all for reporting records either through
atlasing or via Facebook and through reports from club outings - there are so many
ways to report records these days!
Green Sandpiper / Witgat Ruiter – Jan de
Wet
Regional Rarities / Streeksrariteite
Corncrake. Kwartelkoning: a single individual was reported from the wetlands
to the south of the Pienaars River in Buffelsdrift, north east of Pretoria, (RG).
Crane, Grey Crowned. Mahem: a single
bird was seen at the Weltevrede Resort
on the Vaal River, near Parys in the Free
State, 27 Oct 2013 (BE).
Cuckooshrike, White-breasted. Katakoeroe, Witbors: the bird first reported
on 7 July 2013 at Groenkloof NR was relocated at the same locality on 14 Oct 2013
and confirmed to be a female from the
National Rarities / Nasionalerariteite
Sandpiper, Green. Ruiter, Witgat: a
single bird was at Rietvlei NR, 6 Oct 2013
(JdW), with two birds reported at this site
on 10 Nov 2013. One bird was reported
from Mkhombo Dam, 5 Oct
2013. Another bird was present at Waterfall Estate in Midrand and was first reported 26 Oct 2013 (RS). The Rietvlei bird
proved to be popular and was reported
by several birders in the following weeks
leading up to mid-November 2013.
White-breasted Cuckooshrike /
Witbors Katakoeroe – Ian Grant
30
many photographs taken (RJ, NPa). This
2013 (EM), with several more birds reported from this general area in the days
following by other birders. This is a highly
species is approximately 350-400km from
the nearest known locality and probably
represents a wandering bird. Hundreds of
birders were able to twitch this bird in the
following weeks when it was present until
at least mid-November 2013.
localised and difficult to find species that
may occur in small numbers at certain
higher altitude grassland localities in the
region.
Curlew, Eurasian. Wulp, Groot: one
bird was at Mkhombo Dam together
with a number of other waders, 5 Oct
2013, where it was present for a few
weeks (JB, MAx et al).
Godwit, Bar-tailed. Griet, Bandstert:
one bird was found at a wetland near
Rust de Winter Dam 26 Oct 2013 (RGd),
with one bird also present at Mkhombo
Dam in the following days.
Plover, Chestnut-banded. Strandkiewiet, Rooiband: two birds were at
Mkhombo Dam during the braai and
get together there for the Wider Gauteng Challenge group, 14 Sep 2013
(GBird).
Plover, Grey. Strandkiewiet, Grys: one
bird was at Borakalalo NR, 2 Nov 2013
(JA, LvD).
Plover, White-fronted. Strandkiewiet,
Vaal: one bird was at Mkhombo Dam, 7
Sep 2013 (JB, FdP, MAx). This is a very un-
common bird at inland localities.
Sanderling. Strandloper, Drietoon: one
bird was at Mkhombo Dam, 5 Oct 2013
(RGd), with several birds present at this
locality on 3 Nov 2013. A single bird was
at Kgomo-Kgomo, 2 Nov 2013 (NPe).
Bar-tailed Godwit / Bandstert Griet –
Niall Perrins
Harrier, Pallid. Vleivalk, Witbors: a juvenile bird was photographed at Rietvlei
NR, (JdT).
Honey-Buzzard, European. Wespedief:
a single bird was reported north of
Bronkhorstspruit, 23 Nov 2013 (EM). Another bird was at the entrance to Rietvlei
NR, 23 Nov 2013 (SC).
Ibis, Southern Bald. Ibis, Kalkoen: two
birds were a surprising find at Mkhombo
Dam, 4 Oct 2013, (JB, MAx et al). A solitary bird was in pentad 2535_2830 north
of Cullinan, 1 Nov 2013 (SM).
Pipit, Short-tailed. Koester, Kortstert:
one bird was initially seen in pentad
2525_2900 in the Verena area, 30 Nov
Sanderling / Strandloper – Warren In-
gram
Wagtail, Mountain. Kwikkie, Berg: a
solitary bird was again found at Groenkloof NR at the same time that the Whitebreasted Cuckooshrike was at this site, 15
Oct 2013 (MK).
Whimbrel, Common. Wulp, Klein-: one
bird was present at Mkhombo Dam
where it was reported by a number of
birders, 27 Oct 2013 (GBird).
31
sequently of two birds, came from a garden with superb indigenous trees in Robin
Hills, Randburg, 7 Oct 2013 (GO); this bird
was observed by many birders in the following days. A very uncommon bird in
Gauteng, this is only the fourth known
record in the province since it was confirmed as occurring in 1999.
Common Whimbrel / Klein-Wulp – War-
ren Ingram
Other Interesting Observations / Ander
Interessante Waarnemings
Bush Blackcap / Rooibek Tiptol – Dylan
Vasapolli
Blackcap, Bush. Tiptol, Rooibek: An
exciting record, first of one bird and sub-
32
Bunting, Lark-like. Streepkoppie,
Vaal: one bird was in pentad 2625_2725
near Fochville, 19 Nov 2013 (RGe).
Cuckoo, Great Spotted. Koekoek,
Gevlekte: a juvenile bird was photographed in pentad 2545_2710 in the Oli
fantsnek area just south of the Magaliesberg, 25 Oct 2013 (GF).
Cuckoo, Jacobin. Nuwejaarsvoël, Bont:
one bird was at the Klipriviersberg NR in
southern Johannesburg, a first record for
the reserve, 23 Nov 2013 (LR).
Eagle, Long-crested. Arend, Langkuif:
one bird was in pentad 2550_2835 southwest of Bronkhorstspruit, 27 Oct 2013,
with another bird found in nearby pentad 2545_2840, 4 Nov 2013, (RF & PT).
Falcon, Red-footed. Valk, Westelike
Rooipoot: one bird was observed near
Rust De Winter NR, 2 Nov 2013 (DV).
Francolin, Orange River. Patrys, Kalahari: a first record of one bird in pentad
2605_2755 at Alberts Farm in Johannesburg, just south of Northcliff Hill, is an unusual record for the city, 27 Oct 2013 (SC).
Hawk Eagle, Ayres. Arend, Kleinjag: a
bird in heavy moult was photographed
flying over Groenkloof NR, 29 Oct 2013
(KR).
Plover, Caspian. Strandkiewiet, Asiatiese: one bird was at Mkhombo Dam
during the braai and get together there
for the Wider Gauteng Challenge group,
14 Sep 2013 (GBird), with as many as 6
being reported on 13 Oct 2013.
Sandgrouse, Namaqua. Kelkiewyn:
one bird, a male, was found at Rietvlei
NR in Centurion, 18 Sep 2013 (MAt). The
(JB, JdP, MAx), with up to 3 birds being
reported in the ensuing weeks.
Observers/ Waarnemers
Barend Esterhuizen (BE)
Dylan Vasapolli (DV)
Etienne Marais (EM)
Francoise du Plessis (FdP)
Gauteng Birders (GBird)
Geoff Finney (GF)
Jan de Wet (JdW)
Jan du Toit (JdT)
Jason Boyce (JB)
Jerome Ainsley (JA)
Kevin Ravno (KR)
Lance Robinson (LR)
Lisl van Deventer (LvD)
Marj Atkins (MAt)
Mark Kirk (MK)
Matthew Axelrod (MAx)
Niall Perrins (NPe)
Nicholas Pattinson (NPa)
Pat Tattersall (PT)
Rihann Geyser (RGe)
Rob Geddes (RGd)
Roger Fieldwick (RF)
Rowan Jordaan (RJ)
Ron Searle (RS)
Shaun Chamberlain (SC)
Stuart McKernan (SM)
This column is mainly concerned with observations of rarities and interesting sightings
made in the greater Gauteng region, defined as 100km from the centre of both Johannesburg and Pretoria, however observations made further afield are also welcome. While the majority of records are included it is sometimes necessary to exclude
some depending on whether the subject
matter has already been well reported. Occasionally records are sourced from the
Internet. Members are invited to submit details of sightings to André Marx at e-mail
turaco@telkomsa.net or 083 4117674.
only known locality in the Greater Gauteng area for this species is in the south
west of the region, some distance from
Centurion.
Starling, Common. Spreeu, Europese:
one bird was found at Northern Farm in
pentad 2555_2755, 6 Nov 2013 (RS).
Turnstone, Ruddy. Steenloper: a solitary bird was at Mkhombo Dam
amongst many other waders, 7 Sep 2013
33
BIRDLIFE MATTERS
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your intentions are honoured after your lifetime. It can help protect the people closest to
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There are many ways to give in memory. For example, you could make a donation to
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Give a BirdLife South Africa Membership as a gift that will last a year and make a
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