Bokmakierie - Wits Bird Club

Bokmakierie
Newsletter of the Witwatersrand Bird Club
August 2015
No 243
D
C LU B
ND
RA
BI
R
ITWATERS
W
The
Murrie
Slotar
Tribute
Edition
BirdLife
SOUTH AFRICA
Giving Conservation Wings
The new Jacana Hide at Nylsvley 13 August 2015
WITWATERSRAND
BIRD CLUB
P O Box 641
Cresta 2118
Tel: 011 782 7267
Fax: 086 512 7696
Email: witsbc@mweb.co.za
Web: www.witsbirdclub.org.za
ISSUE NO 243
AUGUST 2015
Inside this issue:
2015 Committee:
2
Letter from the Chair
Honorary President Lance Robinson
3
Report on July 2015 CWAC at
Nylsvley and CAR In Chrissiesmeer by Barbi Forsyth
7
Chairman
Mice Threaten Near-Pristine Island by Ross Wanless
9
Birds In Warfare by Anthony Cavanagh
11 The Bird Runner - He Ran For
Polar Bears And Now To Save
The Flufftails by Kamcilla Pillay
13 Farewell Messages to Murrie
Slotar
20 Cuckoo Encounter by Lesley
Cornish
Vice-Chairman
Andy Featherstone
Lia Steen
Treasurer
Courses
Leanne Webster
Janice Isom
Conservation
Lance Robinson
Evening Meetings
Lia Steen
Website
Programme
Thinie v d
Merwe
Ginny Mes
Club Secretary
Lauraine Leigh
DEADLINE FOR DECEMBER
2015 ISSUE - 1st NOVEMBER
2015
23 Bird Of The Year 2015 Media
Release By Birdlife
24 The Birdman Of Marloth Park
and other tributes to the late
Tony Newey
Contributions, addressed to the
Editor, can be:
29 A Tribute to Jan Bezuidenhoudt
E-mailed to: witsbc@mweb.co.za
30 Botsalano In June by Lesley
Cornish
32 Klipriviersberg Verreaux’s Eagles by Boudewyn Van Der Lecq
Raptor
Posted to: The Editor, Witwatersrand Bird Club, P O Box
641, Cresta, 2118
Cover Photo: African Penguin by
Albert Froneman
Faxed to: 086 512 7696
Delivered to: Delta Environmental Centre, Road No 3,
Victory Park
3
LETTER
FROM
THE
CHAIR
If you would prefer to remain anonymous to the Committee then just ask
Lauraine to withhold your name.
After many months of building work
BirdLife’s new offices in Dunkeld are
complete and they have now moved
in. Part of the new building is a shop
where you can browse books, binoculars and other goodies whilst having
a coffee and cookie. The library is
open to all so you can study or read
the many titles housed there. There
is also an indigenous garden and water feature and once the gardens become established it will be bound to
attract many avian visitors too.
Dear Members,
Spring is approaching fast and already the first inter-African migrants
are starting to trickle in. The weather is warming up nicely although we
hardly seem to have had a winter
this year. September will be a busy
month with the Sasol Bird Fair and
Arbor Day at BirdLife’s new ofices
starting off the spring season nicely.
Wits Bird Club will be having a stand
at the bird fair, which will be on the
5th and 6th September, so please
stop by to say hello if you attend.
Wits Bird Club has entered into an
agreement with BirdLife SA whereby
we will become the Local Conservation Group for the Nylsvley floodplain IBA. As part of this agreement
we will be organising data collection
trips to Nylsvley on a regular basis.
This will include ringing, atlasing
and other ADU data collection programmes such as mammals, butterflies and reptiles. More information
will be forthcoming over the next
few months from the Conservation
sub-committee under the guidance
of Lance Robinson.
August has been a month of change
with Murrie Slotar leaving for her
new home in Durban and the sad
news of Jan Bezuidenhoudt passing
away after a long illness.
In October the Committee will be
having their annual Bosberaad to
discuss the state of the club and
to debate ways and means of making improvements. We also plan
our evening meeting dates and discuss what can be done to improve
our events. If you have any views
that you would like to share with us
please let either Lauraine or any of
the Committee members know. We
really would like to hear your views,
whether positive or negative on any
aspect of the club whether venues,
meeting days and dates or outings.
The club has also formally adopted
the monitoring of the nesting Verreaux’s Eagles at Meyer’s Farm (see
the aricle on page 32). More details
to follow.
Andy Featherstone
4
REPORT ON JULY
2015 CWAC AT
NYLSVLEY AND
CAR IN CHRISSIESMEER
hilarity amongst the volunteers.
Thanks Daphne, Eddie, Jeanne,
Joan, Verna, Jan and Alan for being
such a great team.
Text and Photos By Barbi
Forsyth
11 July 2015 was our designated date
for the Winter CWAC at Nylsvley. For
the first time we had volunteers who
stayed in the chalets at their own
expense. The chalets were lovely
and clean and the 5 volunteers who
occupied them were very happy
and snug. We socialised at the chalets both evenings, so the campers
couldn’t complain, despite getting
locked in, locked out and dealing
with a gushing tap in the campsite.
How farmers deal with rodents
in Chrissiesmeer. There was an
owl in the box on the pole.
Two weeks later we were off to
Chrissiesmeer for our Winter CAR.
Our new accommodation was superb, very clean and I felt again that
Chrissiesmeer was my second home.
My sincere thanks go to Jean Rathbone and her family who couldn’t
have done more for us.
Nylsvley was very dry and the grass
has returned to its moribund state
from before the fire. However, we
had a lovely day and counted 214
birds from 27 species. That did
not include the dead racing pigeon,
which almost forced me into early
birding retirement and caused much
Receding water at Nylsvley.
Each of the routes seemed to come
home with their ‘specials’ for the
day. Despite the cold conditions,
rain and hail, 6 of the 7 routes were
covered. The Helmeted Guineafowl
population appears to be recovering in the precinct. (Continued p6)
At the bridge. Possibly the lowest we have seen it at Nylsvley.
5
CHRISSIESMEER CAR RESULTS
Species
Total MC01
MC02
MC03
MC04
MC05
MC06
MC07
Secretarybird
4
0
0
0
1
3
0
0
Black-headed Heron
5
0
0
0
2
1
0
2
Blue Korhaan
8
2
0
4
0
2
0
0
Northern Black
Korhaan
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
Bald Ibis
12
2
5
0
2
0
0
3
Grey Crowned Crane
51
0
0
5
43
2
0
1
Spur-winged Goose
63
0
2
31
11
0
0
19
644
135
18
176
0
315
0
0
795
139
25
216
59
323
0
33
Helmeted Guineafowl
6
CHRISSIESMEER CAR RESULTS
Species
Total MC01
MC02
MC03
MC04
MC05
MC06
MC07
Steppe Buzzard
2
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
Pied Crow
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
Jackal Buzzard
5
0
0
0
2
3
0
0
71
8
8
15
10
19
11
8
81
8
8
15
12
23
15
33
Black-shouldered Kite
7
NYLSVLEY CWAC RESULTS
Reed Cormorant
12 Yellow-billed Duck
5
Grey Heron
3 African Fish-Eagle
8
Goliath Heron
1 Black Crake
5
Purple Heron
5 Common Moorhen
3
Yellow-billed Egret
5 African Jacana
2
Cattle Egret
2 Three-banded Plover
1
Squacco Heron
4 Blacksmith Lapwing
63
Green-backed Heron
1 African Wattled Lapwing
Hamerkop
African Sacred Ibis
Glossy Ibis
6
12 African Snipe
1
1 Marsh Owl
2
38 Pied Kingfisher
9
African Spoonbill
1 Giant Kingfisher
3
Spur-winged Goose
5 Unidentified Waders
1
Egyptian Goose
Total waterbirds counted:
15
214 Total species observed:
26
Animal
Demography
Unit
8
MICE THREATEN
NEAR-PRISTINE
ISLAND
Sadly the condition of the roads in
the precinct has continued to deteriorate and Alan has challenged me
with some statistical analyses, which
may be beyond me.
By Ross Wanless
Cape Town, 29 April 2015: Getting
rid of a conservation problem, once
and for ever, is something of a rarity. But eradicating invasive species
from islands is one example. BirdLife
South Africa is leading an initiative
that could result in invasive mice being eradicated from Marion Island.
“Would you like me to do that?”
Joan Strugnall showing them
how it’s done.
My thanks must go to Joan, Ginny,
Jeanne, Jasmin, Verna, Hanneline,
Ineke, Rose, Jan, Alan, Lance, Peter
and Kevin who made this one of my
best and happiest CAR Counts ever.
Marion Island is the jewel in the
crown of South Africa’s islands. It is
massive, beautiful, and a sanctuary
for seabirds, seals, killer whales and
more. Cats were eradicated from
Marion Island in the early 1990s,
leaving mice as the only introduced
mammal. Work done at Gough Island demonstrated that predation
by mice can cause extinctions, and
their impacts at Marion Island are
increasing.
Thanks too to the Committee of the
Wits Bird Club for all their support.
Both sets of results have been submitted to the ADU at the University
of Cape Town. We shall be back in
January 2016.
WEBSITE
BirdLife South Africa is leading a collaborative effort to review the feasibility of eradicating mice from Marion Island. The good news is that the
techniques to do this conservation
work exist and are proven effective.
Marion Island remains the largest island ever cleared of cats. Australia’s
Macquarie Island is now clear of rab-
We are pleased to announce that
the Wits Bird Club website has
been rebuilt and is now back up
and running.
9
bits, rats and mice, the largest island
to have a 3-species complex eradicated simultaneously, and one of
very few where rats and mice have
been tackled successfully. South
Georgia is currently being cleared
of rats and mice – which will make
it the biggest island on earth ever
cleared of these invasive rodents.
Serious consideration is also being
given to eradicate mice at Gough Island, the celebrity island for mouse
impacts on seabirds. So initiating
work to consider options at Marion
Island isn’t really pushing the envelope in any meaningful, technical
sense. But it is a massive island, and
will require very significant resources if an eradication programme is to
be tackled. And therefore we really
need to get every aspect looked at,
studied in depth and squared away
comprehensively.
Mouse at nest - Photo by Andrea
Angel.
tact: Ross Wanless, +27 (0)21 419
7347 or email: ross.wanless@birdlife.
org.za
To donate in support of this appeal,
please go to www.birdlife.org.za/
support-us/donate
That’s the good news. The bad news
is that these are fiendishly expensive, risky operations that require
extensive studies, exquisite planning and a lot of time. And time is,
as everyone knows, money. The first
step is to have an expert, and in this
instance it is Dr John Parkes from
New Zealand, inspect the island and
point out where there are significant
risks to other species, logistical constraints and areas requiring more research. BirdLife South Africa is trying to raise R200 000 to cover the
expenses of getting John to Marion
Island, so that he can undertake a
feasibility study and risk assessment.
2016 WITS BIRD
CLUB
CALENDAR
The 2016 WBC Calendar will be
available at the Sasol Bird Fair
and thereater from the office.
The cost is R100. Please place
your order with Lauraine at the
office.
For further information, please con
10
BIRDS IN WARFARE
was attached to the bird’s leg thus
leaving the bird’s flying capability
unhindered. The feral pigeon, common today in urban areas is derived
from the European Rock Dove and
their plumage is very variable. The
bluish grey form with black tail and
wing bars is identical to the ancestral European rock dove.
By Anthony Cavanagh
World War I has the dubious distinction of being the conflict where the
technology to kill was far in advance
of the technology to communicate.
The machine gun, quick firing artillery, flamethrower, aeroplane and
tank, all recent inventions at the
time, were used with devastating
effect, while morse code radio communication was in its infancy and
telephone lines were unreliable as
they were often destroyed during an
enemy artillery barrage. Communication during a battle thus relied
heavily on the use of pigeons to carry a message back to headquarters.
Over 100,000 pigeons were used to
convey messages, with an astonishing 95% able to reach their destination safely with their message.
There are numerous accounts of pigeons delivering essential messages
in wartime thus saving lives. In October 1918 towards the end of the war,
194 American soldiers found themselves completely isolated and surrounded by the Germans. Their only
hope was to send a pigeon with their
co-ordinates in a message attached
to its leg. The name of the pigeon
was Cher Ami and when released, it
flew 25 miles from behind German
lines to its home base in the American sector in just 25 minutes. The
pigeon was wounded by a German
bullet but continued to fly home and
deliver its message. American forces
launched a rescue and the trapped
soldiers were saved. Cher Ami was
awarded the Croix de Guerre medal
for its courageous flight.
The homing pigeon, used by both
sides in the war, had for hundreds
of years, been selectively bred
from the wild European Rock Dove
that has a natural homing ability to
return to its nest. This characteristic made it relatively easy to breed
birds that could repeatedly find their
way home over distances as far as
1800km. Pigeons can only return to
one specific location that they have
identified as home. Pigeon mail will
therefore only work where the sender is releasing pigeons that roost
with the receiver. A message was
written on very light thin paper and
then rolled into a small tube which
Although radio technology had vastly
improved, pigeons were still used
during World War II. Paddy was an
Irish bred homing pigeon that was
awarded the Dickin medal after being the fastest pigeon to arrive back
in England with news of the successful D-Day invasion. Out of hundreds
of pigeons released, Paddy was the
first to arrive home and flew 230
miles from France to his home base
in England in four hours and fifty
11
minutes. The medal citation read
“For the best recorded time with a
message from the Normandy Operations, while serving with the RAF in
June 1944.”
THANK YOU FOR
YOUR DONATION
Paddy’s medal was sold at auction
for almost £7,000 in 1999.
Barbi Forsyth
Andy Featherstone
John Freer
Felicity Kanichowsky
Megan Kew
Chris Lotz
Ginny Mes
Rianna Naven
Howard Rayner
Lance Robinson
Paddy the Homing Pigeon Hero
Gail Schaum
Another pigeon awarded the Dickin
medal during WWII was named William of Orange and his message
saved more than 2000 British soldiers
at the battle of Arnhem in September 1944. The radio sets used by the
British at Arnhem had a very short
range and the surrounded troops
could not communicate with their
headquarters. William of Orange was
released by British soldiers at 10hr30
on 19 September and arrived at his
nest box in England at 14hr55. He
flew over 400km to deliver his message that was instrumental in the
ultimate rescue of the beleaguered
men. It was reported ten years later that William of Orange was “the
grandfather of many outstanding
racing pigeons.”
Koos van Dÿk
Erratum
Bokmakierie
April 2015
Edition
We apologise for the quality of
the April 2015 edition of Bokmakierie which contained a number
of errors and omissions. Unfortunately the wrong version was
inadvertently saved and sent to
the Printers.
12
THE BIRD RUNNER
- HE RAN FOR POLAR BEARS AND
NOW TO SAVE THE
FLUFFTAILS
found nearly 4 000km away in Ethiopia. That’s fascinating,” Chamberlain
told Daily News this week.
The birds have been found in high
altitude wetlands in KZN, including
Franklin Vlei, Penny Park, Hebron
near Kokstad, Ingula and Murphy’s
Rust near Ladysmith, as well as a
single record from Mfabeni in the St
Lucia area.
By Kamcilla Pillay
Photos courtesy BirdLife SA
Note: This article is reproduced by
kind permission of the Daily News
DailyNews
Chamberlain’s new six-day, 281km
adventure starts on February 1, 2015.
He will cover on average about 50km
a day, pulling a trailer containing his
food supplies. He will use the trailer
as a makeshift shelter at night.
Running more than 10 000km for environmental issues close to his heart
- with one journey spanning almost
the full breadth of Canada - was not
enough for Dave Chamberlain.
The Pretoria man said environmental
issues were something he was passionate about, having spent considerable time under water in various
oceans around the world.
The athlete and former scuba-diving
instructor will now be lending his
talents to saving the critically endangered White-winged Flufftail in
a run from Dullstroom to Johannesburg.
“We must look after what we have
and do what we can to protect it.
Think about what goes into a migration. Some animals travel thousands
of kilometres and we take that for
granted,” he said.
“This species is one of those ‘hidden
gems’ with a population found in
Mpumalanga, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal - and the next closest group
Four years ago, he accepted a dare
from his parents and ran the length
of Argentina so that he could catch a
13
boat headed for the Antarctic.
Birdlife said in a press release that
ornithologists were of the opinion
that there were fewer than 250 adult
White-winged Flufftails remaining in
the wild and that the South African
population was estimated to number
less than 50 birds.
He made it, and the run cemented
his love of the activity.
Since then he has completed two
further projects in aid of nature
conservation: a 2 700km run from
Walvis Bay to Port Elizabeth in aid
of the African Penguin, as well as a 7
800km, five-month epic covering the
breadth of Canada to raise awareness for the plight of the polar bear,
all while pushing his food supplies
and personal belongings in a pram.
From coast to coast, the country
spans over 9 000km, much of it inaccessible.
Vladivostok
His next project, a year-long attempt
to run from Vladivostok to Reykjavik
across Russia and Europe, will aim to
raise awareness of wetlands and migratory birds.
The birds are threatened by habitat
degradation and destruction including pollution from industrial and
mining effluent, domestic and commercial sewage, agricultural run-off
and litter.
Birdlife South Africa, Eskom, Rand
Water, Sandton City and other partners banded together to sponsor
the inaugural Flufftail Festival, from
February 3-8, which included the
run.
MYSTERY BIRD
CONUNDRUM
Both Karen Dixon and Ron Searle wrote in regarding Desmond
Cole’s article in the April 2015
edition of Bokmakierie relating
John Campbell’s observations
on Birds in 1820. Both agreed
that the mysterious bird that
barked like a dog on page 19
would in all probability have
been a Freckled Nightjar.
White-winged Flufftail
14
FAREWELL MESSAGES TO MURRIE SLOTAR
Nature Reserve I think it was called.
Ken Logan was the leader that day
(as well as chairman of the club) and
Murrie‘s car was stuck in the mud on
the shores of the dam. I don’t remember how the car was freed or
Murrie Slotar, after many years service to the Witwatersrand Bird Club,
is relocationg to Durban to be near
her family. We dedicate this edition
of Bokamierie to Murrie and the following are a series of messages and
photos sent in by her friends and colleagues.
Taken at the Committee Bosberaad at Bosveld Paradys in 2004
anything but not long after that we
both joined the Wits Bird Club Committee and she took over organising
the evening meetings from Sandy
de Witt. She kept this portfolio for
quite a few years and, as she knew
so many people in the birding fraternity, we certainly had a lot of
excellent speakers – some of whom
have since become legends if they
weren’t already by then.
Murrie was voted Chairman of the
Club on 13 February 1997, taking over
from Rob Leigh, a position she held
until Lance Robinson took over from
her in February 2005. During this
time she really went all out devoting herself to the club and its members and getting involved in so many
different activities such as 50th Anniversary Conservation Trust, bird
ringing, CWAC Counts, Soweto Bird
Club, etc.
MURRIE SLOTAR, WE
SHALL MISS YOU
By Laurine Leigh
Murrie and I joined the Wits Bird
Club around the end of 1991, beginning of 1992, and I first met her at
an outing in the Free State, Kloof
15
16
bring in the crowds, even today.
Shortly after becoming chairman,
Murrie organised the biggest event
that the club had ever had. She
managed to raise a crowd of over
300 members for the evening meeting in June 1997 to celebrate the
50th anniversary of the Wits Bird
Club. The auditorium at the Delta
Environmental Centre was full to
more than capacity. The auditorium
can take as many as 180 people officially, so people were sitting in the
aisles on the floor, etc. According to
Joan Wolhuter, who wrote out the
name tags for the evening, she made
out more than 300 labels. This was
truly a big event and the talk of Wits
Bird Club for many years thereafter.
Geoff Lockwood was the speaker for
the evening, which always helps to
In his letter to members in the WBC
Newsletter of September 1997, John
Freer stated what a wonderful evening was had with snacks, cheese and
WBC label wines. “The spread was
magnificent. The trouble was to get
to it with members standing shoulder to shoulder in the foyer, happily
discussing the events of the evening
or reminiscing about the activities
of yore.” Murrie bestowed Honorary
Life membership on John that evening, as well as a number of other
stalwarts of the club.
We have had many happy outings
and weekends away over the years,
one that comes to mind is celebrating Murrie’s 60th birthday at an out-
17
. . . . and rain – lots of rain!!
ing to Blesbokspruit at which we had
a lot of fun and a very good turnout.
Funnily enough however, my earliest
memory of a shared Punda trip with
Murrie does not involve monumental
storms, flash floods, and drowned
campers huddling miserably together in the ablution blocks. It wasn’t
even a WBC club weekend, but rather an annual birding event organised
by Monty Brett at the end of January
each year. Cynthia and I were in one
of the rooms – right next door to the
Slotar sisters, Murrie and Sue.
When one thinks of the Wits Bird
Club, one thinks immediately of
Murrie. Understandably enough, she
has decided to move to Durban to
be near her new grandchild but I am
sure that she will come up to Gauteng quite often and of course, we
can always look her up when in Durban. She is, after all, an Honorary
Life Member of the Witwatersrand
Bird Club.
The Club is going to miss her terribly.
I wish her happiness, good friends
and good birding in Durban. The opportunities there will be rather different with a number of professionals to assist.
Monty had arranged for an early gate
opening (I believe it was for 02:30)
and at about 1 am we awoke to
the sounds of the loo flushing next
door, followed by the shower going
flat out – all this after a very pleasant and convivial evening around
the braai fires that had gone on till
very late! Any thought of snatching
a few more precious moments of
sleep were dashed when a nuclearpowered hairdryer was turned on.
Through the thin wattle-and-daub
walls, the noise was deafening and it
felt as though we were in an aircraft
hanger! (of course Murrie still claims
that all the noise was caused by Sue)
With best wishes to you all, John
After Monty stopped his regular Jan-
LETTER FROM JOHN
FREER
I remember Murrie as a happy, loving, hard-working and outgoing person. Also that she took over from
me as President. Whereas I had remained rather aloof, she would have
involved herself where she could assist.
FOND MEMORIES OF
MURRIE – HAIL TO
MODJADJI
In a birding association with Murrie
going back over twenty five years,
it is definitely the numerous trips to
Punda Maria in the north of the Kruger Park that stand out in my memory - for great birds, good company . .
18
uary trips, I was asked to lead these
weekends for Wits Bird Club – and so
started a memorable period where
the January rainfall figures for Punda Maria region showed a major
spike. Over the next four years we
had some exceptional birds – I can
remember rushing back to camp to
round up stragglers to see a beautiful adult Sooty Falcon perched in a
tree next to the road. Most of Murrie’s party were still in sleepwear
(another great evening around the
braai fires) but Janice Isom jumped
into the car and minutes later she
was enjoying great views of a lifer!
The others joined us soon after and
most of the group managed to see
this bird. On another occasion Murrie and I went out on an early drive
(Cynthia had decided to sleep in). We
were on the tar road in the Mopane
woodland between the two Cabora
Bassa powerlines when I noticed a
bird walking towards us down the
edge of the road. We stopped – and
a Corn Crake stepped out into full
view just in front of us.
that had headed south towards
Shingwedzi found the way back to
camp cut off by a raging river flowing knee-deep over the tar road. An
official vehicle was sent out guide
the group back into camp in the dark
via a very muddy back road. On the
Saturday, we sat in the picnic site at
Pafuri watching as the Levuvhu River
steadily rose until it broke its banks
and flooded the picnic site. It was
on this trip that some of the regular Punda die-hards dubbed Murrie
– “Modjadji”, the rain queen, in recognition of her efforts.
The next year the club decided not
to risk another Punda Maria weekend in January . . . .and so we all
headed to Witsand Nature Reserve in
the Northern Cape in May instead.
Definitely no chance of rain!
If the weekends were good for birds,
hey were really great for rain, more
rain, and still more rain, and Murrie and I earned a reputation for
being highly proficient and reliable
rain-makers. Our finest(?) hour came
at the start of one weekend when
169mm of rain was recorded in camp
on our first evening. The next morning the fuel tanks at the garage at
the gate were flooded with water;
there was water bubbling up through
the tar on the road up to reception,
and the campsite looked like a disaster area. Later that day, a group
19
I woke very early and starting driving through to meet the group - a
light rain was falling. By the time I
reached Kimberly, the rain was still
falling, and ominous clouds were
building ahead. At the turn-off up to
the reserve – a cloudburst accompanied by violent winds struck and the
roof of the filling station went sailing
off into the veld like a giant frisbee.
It was if someone had turned a firehose on the windscreen and I could
not see a thing. I pulled over to the
a bird dropped from the leaden skies
and landed on the shoreline in front
of us. Through rain-streaked binoculars, I searched the area where it had
landed – and a male Striped Crake
stepped out into view. Pandemonium as almost everyone in the group
jostled for their first sighting of this
rare skulker. . . . , and the bird disappeared. Eventually however the
rising water flushed the bird – first
into a small Ana Tree sapling just in
front of the deck, and later, into one
of the larger trees across the river.
I set up the scope, and the entire
camp - guests and personnel, enjoyed fantastic views of this stunning
rarity. Our historic run of fantastic
birding . . . and even more spectacular rain ended on a high note.
side, headlights on bright and hazard
lights flashing, and waited for the
storm to pass. Slipping and sliding
through a sea of mud I drove the 60
km to the reserve entrance. “Modjadji” had done it again . . . . and I
could only laugh.
My last trip to northern Kruger with
Murrie and the club was during our
60th anniversary celebrations. This
time we were based at Wilderness
Safaris’ Pafuri Camp and on our last
night the familiar sound of rain on
canvass broke through my sleep.
An early morning drive across into
the Limpopo valley brought great
sightings of a pair of Cuckoo Hawks
perched right next to our vehicle but
Murrie, we in the club will miss you
but who knows? If your powers are
still intact, the recent drought in
KZN could soon be over . . . . . with
a vengeance!
Geoff Lockwood
African Cuckoo-Hawk - photo by
Warwick Tarboton
Murrie spread her warm friendship
and infectious enthusiasm around
the country, and we have many
fond memories of time spent with
her from the mountains around
Cape Town in search of Cape Rockjumpers, to the forests of Mozambique chasing “Gunning’s Robins”
(now East Coast Akalat).
on our way back to camp we stopped
on the Levuvhu bridge to check on
the state of the river. Where two
nights earlier we had enjoyed the
sight of a Pels’ Fishing-Owl feeding
on a bream, now was a rapidly-rising
torrent of muddy, orange-coloured
water. Back in camp, our group
stood around on the deck watching
the steadily-rising river and camp
staff pointed out a mark on the opposite bank which, when the water
reached it, would signal the time for
everyone to to evacuate. Suddenly,
Callan Cohen and Claire Spottiswoode
20
admit that I was expecting the leader, Murrie Slotar, to be a man. It certainly didn’t occur to Marion that she
should have advised me of anything
to the contrary and en route she
spoke so highly of Murrie the chairman – hence my initial confusion.
After the outing the club participants met under some poplars, near
the one dam, and that Sue Brandt;
Janice Isom and Gisela Ortner were
also there. There was a lot of laughter and an overall sense of comradery. You could have been a ‘newbie’
like myself or a longstanding club
member, it didn’t matter, we were
all birders and from then on I felt a
strong affinity to the club. My lasting impression of Murrie, as Marion
had correctly a lluded to, was that of
the great skills and knowledge of our
venerable leader.
Murrie celebrating Arbor Day
FAREWELL MESSAGE
TO MURRIE SLOTAR
By Lance Robinson
When I first started going on club
outings, it was the late Marion
Wittstock who first introduced me to
Murrie. We went along to an outing
at Northern Farm, I think it was still
called Diepsloot then, and I have to
Our ensuing friendship is some-
21
thing that has been nurtured over
the years, over many trips together
and, admittedly, over a mutual admiration of great food and good red
wine. One of the trips included the
time Janice and Murrie convinced
me to go on the pelagic, on the
Agulhus, back in 2001. On board I
soon discovered that Murrie doesn’t
have sea legs, nor any appreciation
for any wind that exceeds a gentle
sea breeze. However, all was forgotten when the call came for a Darkmantled Sooty Albatross, a bird on
very few birders lists at the time. All
I can say is I remember thinking at
the time: heaven help the soul that
stands in the way of Murrie and a potential Lifer! Fortunately I never did
and I was always so very pleased for
her on the rare occasion when I was
there when Murrie got a new bird for
her life list. Not the least because it
was invariably a new bird for me too.
always remember Murrie saying they
were getting a little bit of jewelry.
Murrie could be a bit of a Kugel at
times.
Years later, Murrie took me to her
son Greg’s restaurant and asked if
I would consider taking over from
her as club chairman. I was both
honoured and completely terrified
at the thought. Murrie had almost
become an institution in birding circles. Who could possibly even think
they could match Murrie’s omnipresence and unequivocal dedication to
the club? Somehow I was convinced
to follow in her very big footsteps
and, if I ever thought to comment to
her on something a little challenging, Murrie would quite rightly say:
well, when did you ever hear of a
free lunch?! I’m so pleased I heeded your advice Murrie, I went on to
have five of the most enriching years
of my adult life in the role as club
chairman.
Another favourite venue for the
club, back in the day, was the rather
ethereal forest of the Feather River
Camp down in Sabie. The nights
were purely magical, especially
when the glow worms littered the
forest floor and the fireflies danced
above. The birding was excellent
too and one would fall asleep to the
hooting of Buff-spotted Flufftails and
dream all night of actually seeing
one. I clearly remember Murrie and
her Land Cruiser and all that ringing equipment and those little bags
filled with recently netted birds, all
strung out along on the forest path. I
watched in admiration as birds such
as White-starred Robin and Yellowstreaked Greenbul were banded. I
Ultimately I am fundamentally grateful that I can count Murrie as one of
my good friends and I will be forever
grateful to have had Murrie as a mentor too. While I will certainly miss
her on the outings and trips away, I
know I will be reminded of her presence in countless ways as, undoubtedly, so many of us will. Durban is
not that far away and there’s such
good birding to be had down there
anyway that it only means we will
have to visit more often.
22
CUCKOO
ENCOUNTER
By Lesley Cornish
We were on the track to the entrance to leave Marievale in the New
Year at about 10.00am, congratulating ourselves for seeing four Little
Bitterns, when we noticed a group
of birds on the fence, and amongst
the Southern Red Bishops was a female Diederick Cuckoo with a pale
pink egg in her bill. We did not want
to get any closer, in case we scared
off all the birds, and unfortunately
were too far away to hear anything.
We were surprised because we had
never seen this before, and the egg
was not the usual blue colour of the
Southern Red Bishop, which is the
same colour that the cuckoo is supposed to lay for that host, according to various sources. There were
three male bishops and one female.
male remained. Once on the road,
the female bishop approached the
cuckoo very closely.
The cuckoo put the egg down twice,
and immediately picked it up again.
After a short while, the cuckoo flew
back to the fence, and so did the
bishops, but this time they kept their
distance. Again, it seemed to be
stalemate, until the cuckoo dropped
the egg, and then the male bishop
flew in really close.
There seemed to be stalemate for a
few minutes, then one of the male
bishops flew down to the track and
the cuckoo followed.
Two of the other male bishops disappeared, but the female and the one
23
host’s eggs from the nest, flies away
and eats it. One source stated that
sometimes the host’s egg is removed
earlier, but this would necessitate
two visits to the hosts nest and double the chance of being caught. But
why was the egg pink and not the
usual blue color?
The male bishop was nearly on top
of the cuckoo, and appeared to be
harassing her. At this stage, the
male bishop was most “fluffed up”.
The following letter was received
from the Friends of Marievale in acknowledgement of Wits Bird Club’s
donation.
Dear Andy,
After a short while, he flew up to
join the female who had moved,
but was still close.
On behalf of the Friends of Marievale, please convey our sincere
thanks to your members for the
kind purchase of 3 bricks which
will be included in our Wall of
Friendship.
The monies we raise are used for
upgrading and maintaining the facilities at Marievale and it is only
through folk like yourselves that
we are able to do so.
Sincerely,
Soon after, the cuckoo flew off, flying to some far distant trees across
the other side of the water, closely
followed by the male bishop. We
did not see where the female bishop had flown. For us, the whole encounter took about four minutes,
although we did not know when it
started.
Justin Donaldson
Chairman
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!
According to most sources, after the female cuckoo enters the
nest of the host, she takes one of
the eggs already there, then lays
were own egg. She removes the
24
European Honey
Buzzards
on
migration
over Eilat in
Israel.
This
year’s European
spring count of
250,000 birds
in one day and
450,000
over
two days was
u n p r e c i d e n ted. - photos by
Itai Shanni and
obtained with
the kind assistance of Trevor
Hardaker
25
BIRD OF THE YEAR
2015
conserve wetlands and grasslands.
The Blue Crane, other crane species
and many other less charismatic, but
equally important species, depend
on these habitats.
Media Release by BirdLife
The Bird of the Year for 2015 is the
famous five cent bird, South Africa’s
national bird, the Blue Crane.
“Selecting this Crane will help everyone realise the need to conserve the
country’s wetlands and grasslands,”
BirdLife South Africa’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Anderson said.
This decade has seen Tristan Albatross, White-winged Flufftail, Barn
Swallow, African Fish Eagle and Lesser Flamingo all getting the honour,
but this year it is the iconic Blue
Crane.
Blue Cranes - photo by Albert
Froneman
‘Bird of the Year’ is BirdLife South
Africa’s annual initiative for awareness about birds and bird habitat
conservation. The Bird of the Year
2015 initiative is proudly sponsored
by Waltons. “Each year choosing the
bird is highly contested, with nominations and furious voting and support for various species, but this
year the Blue Crane won,” said Nikki
McCartney, events manager of BirdLife South Africa.
The Blue Crane is endemic (only
found in a certain region) to southern Africa, with more than 99% of
the population occurring within
South Africa. A small breeding population occurs in northern Namibia, in
and around Etosha Pan.
“As the five cent bird, the Blue Crane
is generally well-known to South Africans,” said Anderson. “This, and
its attractive and charismatic life
style, account for its popularity. It
is a good choice for Bird of the Year
2015,” he added.
Educating people is a key component
of BirdLife South Africa’s conservation work. The bird conservation
NGO is developing learning materials using the Blue Crane as a flagship
species. This will be an incentive to
Poisoning, habitat alteration, and
26
THE BIRDMAN OF
MARLOTH PARK
power line collisions are all significant threats to Blue Cranes. Poisoning occurs both intentionally and
inadvertently. Loss of South Africa’s
natural grasslands threatens Blue
Crane habitat.
The following article was sent by
Jeanette Newey widow of Tony Newey who passed away in December
2014. Tony was a member of Wits
Bird Club for many years and later
in life moved to Marloth Park. Jeanette Newey sent in the article below
with the following note: “For your
interest I include an article from our
local “Bos News “ publication dated
November 2011. From this you will
see that he continued his passion for
birding right up until he became too
ill to continue”
Mainly found on privately owned
farms, a key to their conservation
is good relationships between landowners and conservation agencies to
ensure appropriate management of
these environments.
The African Crane Conservation Programme of the Endangered Wildlife
Trust (EWT) works on awareness and
environmental education for landowners, local communities and other
stakeholders; reducing crane/farmer
conflicts, community involvement in
sustainable use and conservation of
wetlands and grasslands, monitoring
of crane populations, the trade in
captive cranes, and works with Eskom to reduce power-line collisions.
For further information, please contact:
Nikki McCartney at events@birdlife.
org.za or 083 636 1060
PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR
WEBSITE ADDRESS IS:
The man who qualifies for the title
Birdman, is Mr Tony Newey, enthu­
siastic birder of Marloth Park. If you
wish to know more about birds, do
your­self the favour and join him on
his bird­watching expeditions on certain mornings, anywhere among the
trees of Marloth Park. Just make sure
you are fitted out with a good pair
of binoculars and your bird book.
www.witsbirdclub.org.za
AND THE EMAIL ADDRESS
IS:
witsbc@mweb.co.za
27
at Howick. His next position was in
Port Elizabeth with Goodyear. During a visit by Americans from the
Goodyear headquarters he was required to accompany the group to
Phalaborwa. As host he introduced
the Yankees to the Kruger National
Park over weekends. Well, he suffered a barrage of questions that
he was mostly unable to answer. He
could have shrugged it off as being
from Britain, yet it bothered him.
Tony, a true Britisher, was brought
up on the island of fog and rain. His
first encounter with Africa was while
working on a new project for Dunlop
in Nigeria. His employers must have
been impressed with what he had
achieved and he was sent to India to
promote the interests of these wellknown rubber products in today’s
Chennai and Kolkata.
Next his skills would have been harnessed in the West Indies, but the
project was cancelled and he duly
arrived in Benoni, South Africa. Tony
thought this would also be a temporary sojourn but he fell in love with
our sunshine and his wife, Jeanette. At that stage the English sun started
looking rather feeble, sad and far
away. After Benoni he worked for
a local rubber company, SARMCOL,
At that stage a bird was for Tony,
well, a bird. A black bird with a
forked tail made him wonder, but he
didn’t know what it was. But the variety and beauty of our birds stirred
his soul and he wanted to KNOW.
The magic world of birds opened its
doors to him when his two daughters each gave him a book on birds
28
country, Tony has seen 855. He is
in possession of an 800-badge. Only
two bird watchers have reached the
900-mark - Ian Sinclair, a well-known
writer on the subject and Trevor
Hardaker, an architect from Cape
Town.
for his birthday and Jeanette followed up with a pair of binoculars
for Christmas. While playing with his
new toys in Settlers Park in the heart
of Port Elizabeth, he soon bumped
into members of the Eastern Cape
Bird Watchers Society, also playing
in the park.
Tony keeps three bird lists, one for
his garden, one for Marloth Park and
one for the whole country. Ever enthusiastic, Tony loves sharing his
knowledge with anyone keen to discover the world of feathered wings.
Of course, he joined and was off in
a flash when the twitchers* spotted
a rare species. Tony thinks nothing
of it to take off to Cape Town over
a weekend or spend two nights in a
town such as Pofadder in search of a
rare species, or one unseen outside
its normal habitat From a position
he later held in Boksburg he travelled all the way to Harare to watch
a Northern Pintail swimming on a
dam. These birds are rarely seen this
far south in Africa.
* Twitchers are birders who notify
other birders when a rare bird is
spotted. The species, time and place
are carefully noted and persons who
have not seen this specific bird will
race off to admire and tick it off on
their list.
Tony and Jeanette decided that their
future home would be Marloth Park
and they bought their own bird paradise in 1995 and settled permanently
after retirement in 2002.
Of the more or less 930 birds in our
29
The following letters were received relating fond memories of
Tony Newey:
this side of the Great Rift Valley”
as well as an array of mutilated
“rail cars lying in what an art critic
or interior designer would term interesting angles.”
Dear Lauraine,
The Weekly Reminder 16- 2015
reports the passing away of Tony
Newey over the Christmas period.
Maureen and I convey our sincerest
condolences to Jeanette and family on their loss.
It was against this background
that, having successfully climbed
Mt. Gorongosa and found the
Green-headed Oriole, a small population of which occur there and
nowhere else in Southern Africa,
we commenced our heavily laden
three vehicle return trip to the
Machipanda border post.
As you may recall Maureen and
I, accompanied Tony, Jeanette, Alf
and Lauraine Mauff on numerous
birding trips to Namibia, Zimbabwe
and Mozambique in the mid to late
1990s.
At 7.30 we were stopped at the
bridge over the Pungwe River by a
number of heavily armed “police”
clothed in rags exhibiting no satisfactory identification of any sort.
For all we knew they could have
been the bandits we had heard
about. They were extremely aggressive, brandishing AK47 rifles
and hand guns and then searched
each of our vehicles in turn in
minute detail. Our passports were
confiscated and we were then instructed that each vehicle return
40km to the police station in the
town of Gorongosa for “registration”. We were further instructed
to transport three of the police
officers (one per vehicle) as passengers with us which meant we
would have to leave our wives at
the bridge as hostages pending our
return. The thought which crossed
each of our minds on our drive
back to Gorongosa was “would we
be driven to some remote location
and shot and our vehicles and other possessions taken” whilst our
wives were simultaneously won-
Well do I remember, in particular, two trips we made to see the
specials of Mozambique in December 1996 and again in October
1998. The 1996 visit included one
of the most traumatic incidents
any of us had ever experienced.
At the time of our visit, not long
after the termination of the civil
war, travelling in Mozambique
was, to say the least, an adventure of note. The countryside was
heavily mined as evidenced by the
number of one-armed, one legged
people to be seen as well as overrun by marauding armed bandits,
ex military personnel at a loss of
what to do following demobilisation of the armed forces, pillaging
remote villages in search of food,
clothing, etc. The dirt road which
we travelled north of Dondo which
parallels the railway-line to Sena
on the Zambezi exhibited “ one
of the largest collections of nonfunctioning Soviet war machinery
30
dering whether they would ever
see us alive again.
At the police station each of
us was interrogated separately on
the purpose of our visit and after the preparation of a detailed
statement we were told that we
were free to go but on the condition that we transport the three
police officers back to the bridge.
Well after noon we were finally
re-united with our very relieved
wives and recommenced our journey. But the drama continued –
half an hour later we were stopped
at a second road block at Inchope,
searched, our passports and car
keys confiscated and advised that
our fate was in the hands of the
police authorities in Chamoio. At
15.00 we were finally advised that
we were free to make our way to
the border.
On reflection we can only conclude that these police officers
were intimidating us in the hope
that we would offer them a bribe
but so convincing was their harassment and our fear of landing up in
a remote Mozambican jail that we
made no offers and because our
travel documents were all in order,
they released us.
Tony Newey
It was with great sadness that we
learnt recently that Tony Newey
passed away last December. He
and Jeanette moved to Marloth
Park some years ago with the result that Tony had not been an active member of the Wits Bird Club
for some time.
And who says that birding is boring!!
Tony was an excellent outing leader and of a very jovial temperament, one of the really colourful
characters of the Wits Bird Club.
Tony was one of Wits Bird Club’s
best leaders and we had many
wonderful week-ends away with
him leading in the 1990s. I certainly owe a lot of my knowledge
on birds to Tony. He led at many
Kind regards,
Ron Searle
31
out to see what is going on. Then
there would be a mad ticking of lifers amongst us all. I know it’s not
the “done thing” to do anymore
but it sure was such fun.
The Wits Bird Club sends their belated condolences to Tony’s wife,
Jeanette, who accompanied him
on most of our trips.
Lauraine Leigh
Sadly we have also lost another
member of our club as Jan Bezuidenhoudt passed away on the 24th August 2015.
of our favourite camping weekends
such as Borakalalo, Doorndraaidam
and Nylsvley (before the days of
CWACing).
My favourite walk,
which he always led, was at Nylsvley from the campsite to Stemmer’s Hide where we always
stopped and ate our breakfast before going into the hide.
A Tribute to Jan Bezuidenhoudt
In the early-morning hours of 24
August 2015 our dear friend and
fellow-birder, Jan Bezuidenhoudt,
loving husband and father to Maryna and their children, faced the
last enemy. His passing will be
keenly felt not only by his family,
but by all who knew him.
He was always full of fun and liked
to party, especially at the Saturday night braai when we were all
camping. But, no matter how late
we turned in on a Saturday; Tony
was always up bright and early for
the nice long morning walk on the
Sunday, except for one very cold
weekend at Doorndraaidam when
we went at the usual time the one
morning only to find the birds only
coming out to sun themselves well
after 8. We left quite a bit later
each morning over the rest of the
weekend.
We in the West Rand Bird Club
came to know Jan and Maryna after they joined the Witwatersrand
Bird Club and our West Rand satellite in 2009. They immediately
took an active role in club activities and Maryna served as Secretary of WRBC from 2010 to 2014,
when she stepped down due to
Jan’s deteriorating health. Over
the years they played a key role in
our club and became well-known
also in the main club, regularly
attending meetings, outings and
weekend camps. Both were enthusiastic outdoor people and they
thoroughly enjoyed being out in
the bush. While Maryna is perhaps
Tony was very good at imitating the Pearl-spotted Owlet’s call
which got all the birds in the region rather rattled and popping
32
mitment and quiet courage as he
faced these challenges was an inspiration to us all.
Rest in peace Jan. Your memory
will live on in our hearts.
Johan de Jager
BOTSALANO IN
JUNE
Text and Photos by Lesley
Cornish
a more avid birder, Jan just loved
being “out there”, immersed in
the wonders of nature.
Botsalano is a gem, and it is only
about four hour’s driving from Johannesburg. We were there for four
days for other business in June, but
in between that, we managed to do
some birding (as you do). The Park
is on the borderline of the arid west,
so the vegetation is arid, and when
we were there it was dry. There is a
beautiful camp in the centre of the
park, which overlooks a waterhole,
and there is also a public campsite
on the western side. Of course, we
had been sent to one of the rustic
campsites, which is in the bush, and
comprised: a lapa, a shower and a
toilet. Luxury, one might say, ex-
One of Jan’s defining characteristics was his quiet, steadfast, supportive presence. Never one to
put himself in the foreground, he
was always there to help when
there was work to be done, whether assisting with CAR or CWAC, arranging a venue before a meeting, taking charge of the fires at
a braai, or tackling any other job
that needed doing. One did not
have to ask – if Jan saw a need, he
stepped in and helped, often anticipating a need and volunteering
his services before an event, gently offering suggestions on the best
way to get things done where necessary. He was a true friend and
comrade, a mainstay of our club.
Afflicted by cancer, compounded
by serious respiratory problems,
he faced several debilitating bouts
of treatment. Despite the toll of
illness he was soon, sometimes
still visibly affected, back and involved in club activities. His com-
White-backed Mousebird
33
cept that neither of the latter had
any doors, and they faced into the
campsite. We could spot the toilet
from over a kilometre way, unless
someone was brave enough to sit on
it. But the staff were very helpful,
and left us loads of firewood, which
helped us keep warm, because it
was rather chilly at night.
cies of waxbills, Lark-like Buntings,
an African Quailfinch, Cape Glossy
Starlings, Acacia Pied Barbet, Scalyfeathered Finch, Specked Pigeons,
Red-headed Finch, and Burchell’s
Starlings, there were Warthogs,
a Kudu (complete with Red-billed
Oxpeckers), Impala and Springbok.
Near the western entrance is a large
waterhole, which still had water,
with a hide. This gave us good views
of Chestnut-backed and Grey-backed
Sparrow-larks, as well as the Fairy
Flycatcher.
The park is mainly dry woodland,
and is relatively flat. The birds are
typical of the arid west, and we saw
a reasonable selection, including
Red-eyed Bulbuls, Namaqua Doves,
Fairy Flycatcher, Marico Flycatcher,
Tinkling Cisticola, Black-chested
Prinia and Short-clawed Lark. We
had a spectacular sighting of a Spotted Eagle Owl, as well as a young
Pale Chanting Goshawk, and a pair of
South African Shelduck. One evening, we found three White-backed
Vultures roosting on a tree.
We found one huge Social Weavers’ next (could not miss it, really),
and the weavers were busy bringing
in grass stems, but what surprised
me were the Scaly-feathered Finch
which were around, and also going into some of the nests. Driving
around, we saw both Northern Black
and Red-crested Korhaans.
Despite the park being so dry, the
game was in stunning condition, and
we were also amazed at how big and
chunky the Blesbok were. There
were also Gemsbok, Zebra, Black
Wildebeest, Waterbuck (yes, near
the water), White Rhino, Steenbok,
Scrub Hare, Slender Mongoose and
Yellow Mongoose.
Double-banded Courser
Our final list was 85, and if could have
spent more time birding, it would
have probably been higher. It is a
good destination, even if a bit chilly
at night! I cannot wait to go back
in summer, not working, and plan to
stay in the centre of the park.
Most of the waterholes were dry,
but we spent one lunchtime just sitting at one of the few which still had
water, watching the birds and the
game that came down to drink. This
was magic, because we sat in front
of a bush and under it, so we were
fairly hidden, and kept quiet and
still. As well as the birds: three spe34
KLIPRIVIERSBERG
VERREAUX’S
EAGLES
of approximately 15 km spanning
from the R59 (Sybrand van Niekerk
Highway) bordering Alberton in the
East up to and including the N12/
N1 South in the vicinity of Meredale.
Sporadic observations by a colleague
that resided against the ridge slopes
of Mondeor date back to 1997 when
he alerted us of their sightings. Increased and more frequent observations by a resident who resided in
Linmeyer were reported to BirdLife
South Africa in early 2003 and we
were requested to investigate this
occurrence. One month later it was
confirmed that this was a separate
pair to that of the Roodekrans Verreaux’s eagles that nests within the
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort, a mere 30 km
northwest from the new pair and
only our second known urban Verreaux’s eagles on the outskirts of
greater Johannesburg! Undoubtely,
the eagles’ main attraction to this
ridge system is the extremely dense
populations of Rock hyrax (dassie),
and to our knowledge possibly the
largest natural resource within the
Gauteng province.
Text and Photos by Boudewyn van der Lecq Raptor Conservation Projects
Introduction
Not a new concept, the Artificial
Nesting Platform (ANP) for large raptors has been in existence for approximately 30 years and extensively
used in many European countries,
the America’s and Canada, to accommodate highly threatened birds
of prey such as Osprey and the Bald
Eagle with great success.
In South Africa, however, ANPs are
still very much in their fledgling
stage and as less than a handful
have been erected over the years,
these appear to not be too successful. What has now been constructed
specifically for the Klipriviersberg
Verreaux’s Eagle pair is the first concerted effort and, in raptor circles,
all eyes are focused on this ANP to
determine if it can become a successful tool to divert large raptors
that would otherwise resort to occupying power pylons.
Impossible to determine their exact
age, in 1997 both had been reported
as being in adult plumage.
Unlike most pairs of Verreaux’s eagles that mostly construct their
nests against sheer and inaccessible
rock faces, the lack thereof along
the entire Klipriviersberg ridge system, forced this pair to construct
their nest within a 210 kV power
pylon, much to Eskom’s displeasure,
situated 110 m from the extremely
Klipriviersberg Verreaux’s Eagle
History
This is not a recent occurrence of
Verreaux’s eagles frequenting the
Klipriviersberg ridge system, that
encompasses a linear ridge distance
35
busy and excessively noisy Reading
Interchange. We are uncertain how
long this pair has nested within this
pylon structure as it is not an obvious nesting site and for all we know,
it may have been in use for a number of years. We commenced observation from 2007 when a chick was
successfully raised to juvenile and
fledgling stages.
the incident and found no trace of
the youngster whatsoever, which
was quite unusual because if it were
there, its parents would have revealed the bird’s position to us as
they had to feed it. Juveniles are
always quite vocal when they are
hungry and this is a dead give-away
to determine where it might be, but
to no avail and we assumed it to be
missing.
During 2008 they commenced breeding again in the same pylon nest,
but for some unknown reason, two
weeks prior to the juveniles’ estimated fledging date; the nest was
destroyed in its entirety during the
week of 28th September to 4th October. Impossible to understand the
logistics of this inconsiderate act,
the juvenile was forced to fledge
prematurely and to this day we remain uncertain who instigated this
assault upon the youngster and its
parents. The following reasons did
come to mind in that:
Nearby Siyavaya Highway Construction JV (SHCJV) on-site personnel
was notified of the juvenile’s predicament and we requested them
to be on the lookout should they notice anything extraordinary that may
lead us to the juvenile. Three weeks
after the youngster’s disappearance,
and by sheer chance, land surveyor
Wayne Jacobs saw the juvenile flutter on the rocks directly above the
M38/R59 slipway, and he notified
SHCJV environmental officer Colleen
Clark who called me and I requested
that Philip accompany her to locate
and flush the young eagle out to determine if it was injured and/or able
to fly. After an intensive ‘bundubash-recce’, their rewards paid off
as upon their approach the juvenile
took fright and flew… fortunately inland and away from the extremely
busy interchange.
• Did someone want the eagle
as a pet?
• Did a vagrant take it for the
muti trade?
• Did a unscrupulous falconer
take it as a show bird?
We will never know who the perpetrators were and despite the fact
that the assistance of the Green
Scorpions was recruited, no concrete
information was forthcoming.
After this observation, Philip and
I did another ‘recce’ the following
weekend and suffice to mention, it
was missing… again! We walked the
large tract of ridge system once
more and could not find anything
let alone the adults and it was like
looking for a needle in a haystack.
The Search Continues
Urban Raptor Conservation Project
associate Philip Tarboton and I finely
combed the pylon ridge area after
36
For one month thereafter nothing
materialized and we were prospecting on the assumption that the adult
pair must have hidden their offspring
from inevitable persecution. They
must have concealed the youngster
very well as it was neither on Meyer’s Farm south of the very busy N12
Southern bypass, nor was it on the
pylon side of the ridge.
juvenile to be relocated to some
unknown destiny, the idea had then
immediately sprung to mind that in
order for us to safeguard the pair
from such a drastic intervention, a
new site had to be established for
them where the pair and their offspring would be safe from such inconsiderate actions.
The unfortunate fact being that the
pylon site will always remain an insecure and unprotected area, with numerous vagrant presence noted, and
short of spending millions of rand to
fence it in, it will yet remain what
it is today…unprotected and remote.
Never giving up hope though, especially knowing that it was seen
and appeared to be in good health
a while ago, it was only when Philip
phoned me one early Sunday morning telling me that as he drove by
on the Southern bypass, had he
seen the juvenile perched on top
of the nest pylon in the company of
its parents - I choked on my coffee
with excitement! Two months had
now gone by and there were only as
many sightings of it…strange indeed
but we were delighted knowing that
it was alive and perfectly well.
Almost a month after the juvenile
disappeared last year and whilst still
at the office one Friday afternoon
(we close shop at 14h00) , I received
a call from SHCJV contracts director Toni Niemand at 15h15, who informed me (very casually and ultra
laid back) that they will donate the
ANP that we have longed for - and
yes, I was in a state of shock and recall that I did fall off my office perch!
The enormity of such an incredible
and generous gesture was immense
and all we had to do was to provide
the detail of such a ‘thing’ of which
(admittedly), even I had had little
knowledge of.
By the end of December 2008, the
juvenile was chased from its natal
home range by his parents and we
strongly believe that this youngster
will be a survivor as it managed to
withstand the rigors of premature
flight, nest destruction and being
pursued by others and us whom it
managed to elude with sheer cunning… you go feathered friend!
The Contractors
Spending long hours on the internet, I found numerous sites pertaining to Osprey and Bald Eagle ANPs
and adapted the best of all to suit
our conditions and about 10 days
later faxed ‘my vision’ to Toni who
in turn handed it to SHCJV construc-
The Birth of an ANP
During the eagles’ first breeding
season in 2007, and especially after
Eskom threatened to have the eagles’ power line pylon nest removed
inclusive of an approx. 60-day old
37
tion manager Peter Schoonbee, who
handed it over to company technical director Vic Wilson-Taylor, who
handed it down to structural engineer Kuda Mujaji both of UWP Consulting Engineers and commenced
working on the design… the ball was
rolling.
With that out of the way, the expanded metal clad 1500 x 1500 x 200
millimetre deep platform was fabricated and welded onto one end of
a tube, then all sprayed with a red
oxide primer and delivered to site in
three individual sections.
SHCJV in the interim excavated the
large foundation and with a conglomeration of interwoven reinforcing steel, the first tube was cast into
the 2000 x 2000 x 1500 millimeter
deep concrete base, leaving it to
cure for about 12 days.
It was a most difficult task to source
the right material for the 15 metre (above ground) high mast as my
initial thoughts were that a treated
timber pole aught to be readily available (a felled eucalyptus tree also
came to mind) but how does one get
an 18 metre long timber pole to site
- especially our recommended site quite impossible!
SHCJV, with the assistance of sales
representative Conrad Caldwell of
Sarens South Africa (Pty) Ltd., appointed a 30 ton rough terrain mobile crane to assist with the erection
and hoisting of the two remaining
tube sections of which one had the
platform attached.
Toni and Peter were going all out to
have it erected by 12th December
but because of the lack of suitable
material availability this period was
extended and when it was ultimately
decided upon that the mast would
have to be constructed from a steel
tube, it had to withstand wind load
tolerances and a magnitude of other issues that ‘went right over my
head’ that only structural engineers
could calculate. Thirty-five pages of
in depth “rocket scientist theories”
later… is what stands erected today
- awesome!
Nest Construction
Our first stop was to collect bundles of old nesting material from the
destroyed pylon site and transport
these to the new site. At the new site
we collected numerous additional
bundles of sticks of various lengths
and thicknesses and stockpiled these
for later use. Philip, Teresa Moore
and I then revisited the site on the
Sunday morning prior to the Tuesday
24th February, erection date to construct the eagles’ nest inclusive of
the nest cup with leafy sprays whilst
the platform section was still on the
ground. It usually takes an eagle pair
4 to 6 weeks to build a new nest
from scratch, and we managed it in
2 hours - a fraction of the time. To
Three 6.10 metre long 324 dia x 4.5
wall thickness steel tubes were delivered to Butch Bouwer director of
Vital Steel Projects cc and overseen
by Rui Pina and Chris Garside who
commenced with the fabrication of
each tube that is flanged and stiffened at both ends to facilitate easier
bolt-fastening and erection on site.
38
prevent the nest from falling apart
and disintegrating upon hoisting, the
base sticks and leafy cup was tied to
the platform with cable ties, which
once in its erected and stabilized position, I would be lifted to the platform to cut the ties and ‘puff-up’ the
manmade nest.
able surface beneath, it was amazing to see that little (by comparison
to the crane) machine in action as
it quickly removed layer after layer
of the soft gooey turf. Having attempted to drive the crane through,
it bogged down again and this little
TLB hooked it up and in reverse gear
managed to tow the mighty crane
through 70 metres of turf.
Mast Erection
We were on site at 06h15 and as it
was heavily overcast, we were hoping that the rain would hold off until at least after the mast had been
erected. It rained during the night
and the only access that could take
us to the site was an absolute mud
bath and by the time the erection
team arrived at 07h00 with their
Vital Steel Project 8 ton truck carrying scaffolding and crane basket,
they managed to really churn up
what was once deemed a roadway!
When the Sarens South Africa mobile
crane arrived shortly after 07h00 the
road was virtually non existent and
despite the fact that its dead-weight
was 50 ton and four-wheel drive
equipped, it managed to get itself
bogged down solid in the mud. From
their nearby site, SHCJV called for a
TLB to assist with removing the muddy top layers to find some hard driv-
By the time the crane arrived at the
ANP erection site almost two hours
had already elapsed and after the
establishment of the crane was completed, the real work commenced.
The two flanged sections of the
tubes inclusive of the platform were
bolted together on the ground and
as the scaffolding was already erected to the height of the cast-in base
tube, the crane started to slowly
hoist the 12 metre long tube skywards and Vital Steel Project riggers
were ready to receive it and to bolt
this extra long section to the base
tube.
Whilst work continued, the curious
Verreaux’s Eagle pair flew overhead
and settled in a dead tree approx.
150 metres northwest of the ANP
where they mated - in full view of
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.
39
about 25 onlookers - disgusting!!
The pair remained in the tree for at
least an hour as they too witnessed
the proceedings with much interest.
er lines, isolators and high voltage
jumper cables that protrude from
each pylon tower…this site is free of
all such hazards. The cherry on top
for this particular site is that it is situated in a natural bowl area where
the eagles can obtain an immediate
lift-off on the prevailing thermals…
something that is desperately lacking at the pylon site.
As fate would have it, it started to
drizzle and with the 15 metre mast
securely bolted and stabilized, the
last of the work was to hoist Phillip Lennon, producer of Coral Tree
Films and I to the platform so that
the cable ties could be snipped off
that held the nest intact during the
hoisting operation. Complete with
safety gear and loaned hard hats we
were in the basket and the Sarens
South Africa crane lifted us towards
the platform.
Last but not least to mention is that
within the immediate surrounds of
the ANP site there are at least 10
natural Rock hyrax populations scattered amongst the granite outcrops,
which should serve as an ideal ‘pick
and choose meals menu’ from the
comfort of their high nesting perch
– what more could any eagle desire?
The view from the 15 metre high
platform is absolutely stunning and
looking out over the vast 300 hectare bushveld ridges and grassveld
plains of Hans Meyer’s Farm, I could
only surmise that this is as an incredibly suited site. Despite the fact that
it was not a natural sheer rock face,
made little difference as we know in
our hearts that this platform will be
inaccessible. Any Verreaux’s Eagle
would be complemented with a site
like this, especially one that has a
full 360 degree surround view…there
is really nothing quite like it and the
associated teams made a difference!
Project Sponsors and Donors
The Urban Raptor Conservation Project (in association with the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey
Working Group) wish to thank Hans
Meyer owner of Meyer’s Boerdery for
affording us the opportunity to erect
the ANP within the safety of his
farm, Toni Niemand, Peter Schoonbee and Colleen Clark of Siyavaya
Highway Construction Joint Venture
for their generous donation of the
aptly renamed “Siyavaya Nest” as
without your vision and execution,
this nest would have remained just
a dream.
One kilometre northeast of the ANP
we could see the moving traffic but
the ‘noise’ thereof was hardly audible, which is a far cry from the
pylon nest site that is situated only
150 metres from the extremely busy
Reading Interchange. Another bonus
at this site is that there weren’t any
obstacles to negotiate such as pow-
We equally thank the development
team for their donated time and undivided attention during the design,
fabrication and construction process
to make this long awaited platform
become a reality:
40
• UWP Consulting Engineers
• Vital Steel Projects cc
• Sarens South Africa (Pty)
Ltd.
Footnote: On Sunday morning 1st
March and only 5 days after erection,
both Verreaux’s eagles landed twice
on the platform and spent 22 and 27
minutes respectively on the Siyavaya
Artificial Nesting Platform. On the
second landing both brought sticks
to the nest and the female arranged
these. Whilst the female was testing
the nest cup, both appeared to hold
a ‘meeting’ of sorts with the touching of beaks. We are holding thumbs
that they will adapt to their new site
and breed on it this year.
Family Portrait
Breeding seasons
Juvenile approaching nest
Pylon Nest 2007 – incubation commenced between 2nd – 9th June –
raised a chick to juvenile and fledging stages.
Pylon Nest 2008 – incubation commenced between 1st – 7th May –
raised a chick to juvenile and fledging stages.
SANP 2009 – incubation commenced
between 19th – 26th April- breeding
failure, both eggs addled.
Juvenile on the nest
disappeared and was last seen by
myself on 26th September 2010. The
adult female successfully reared and
cared for her young on her own. With
an absent adult male eagle, it was
noted that the adult female did not
deem it a necessity to chase Hansa
from her territory and the immature
spent six months plus within the nest
site vicinity caring for itself and oc-
SANP 2010 – incubation commenced
between 1st – 4th April.
Hatching of eggs was on 16th and
19th May respectively, cainism
was complete by 22nd May. Hansa
fledged on 16th August having spent
92 days on the nest.
The male adult eagle mysteriously
41
casionally aided by the adult female.
Hansa came and went as the wind
blew, occasionally visiting mother
at home and occasionally observed
elsewhere within their vast home
range. The last time we saw Hansa
was at the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve during February 2013.
ster to the SANP. His plumage was
not entirely adult as his stovepipes
(leggings) were pale feathered as
were some pale feathers on his upper wing coverts and the white V on
his back was erratic and hardly visible whilst perched.
SANP 2013 – successful breeding,
raising a chick to eaglet, juvenile
and fledging stages.
SANP 2011 – no breeding
SANP 2012 – no breeding
SANP 2014 – ditto.
It took the adult female 21 months
and 13 days to attract a new male to
her home range at Meyer’s Farm. On
9th July 2012, the female brought a
young approx. three-year-old young-
SANP 2015 – breeding season in progress, juvenile fledging expected between 24th August – 5th September.
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42
Henley Bird of a Feather’s braai fund raiser
at Henley Retirement Village earlier this year.
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