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Results: Western
Cape; Karoo; General In an International Crane Foundation Newsletter I read recently that the year 2001 has been declared International Year of the Volunteer by the United Nations General Assembly. As I have worked with the database for the seven-year CAR report, I have been acutely aware of the enormous contribution which volunteers like you make. This project began with 15 routes seven years ago in the Overberg, but in this last summer count on 27 January, 338 routes were counted by 780 volunteers, covering 18 200 km! Without you this project would have no data and could not function. Thank you for giving of your time, birding skills and petrol in collecting this important information – for rising early to brave hot or cold temperatures, muddy roads, and for waiting patiently for mist to lift! I am sure you will have a greater appreciation of the value of this information when you finally see the CAR report. I greatly appreciate the important role which the 31 Precinct Organisers play in ensuring that routes are counted and forms are sent in to me. I did appreciate the very prompt return of most roadcount forms – this certainly helps me. I have enclosed the CAR 8 roadcount form with one slight change. We have shaded the right hand column to make it more obvious that these columns only need to be filled in for the cranes and bustards. Your Precinct Organiser will contact you to confirm whether you are able to count your route on Saturday, 28 July 2001. Do check that you still have your 1:250 000 route map and Information Sheet No. 4. Thank you for rating your count conditions. If your count conditions are poor, please remember to indicate the reason(s) for this, e.g. long grass. One of the major problems which we have encountered during preparation for the report has been the variation in route length. It would appear that not only do odometers vary between cars but also, in the past, backtracks or detours were not always recorded. If you have to backtrack or make a detour for any reason, please indicate this clearly. Also ensure that you start and end your route at the same spot for each count. If someone else does your route for you, do give them clear instructions and landmarks for this. It is also very important that you always travel your route in the direction indicated on your route map. I have noticed that a few of you are forgetting to fill in farm numbers for cranes or bustards. Please try to find these on your 1:250000 map, as this does make our task simpler. Do refer to the diagram on Information Sheet No. 4 if you are having difficulty with this. The route description forms which most of you have completed are incredibly useful. If you have not already completed one for your route, please obtain one from your Precinct Organiser and fill it in during your July 2001 count. An article about CAR results for White Stork, and an update on the travels of the South African-born White Storks, can be found in the next issue of Bird Numbers, which will follow in the post shortly. Key instructions for the count appear on the back page. Date of winter CAR count The date set for the winter count is Saturday, 28 July 2001. As usual make every effort to do the count on the specified date, starting 1–2 hours after sunrise. If for some last-minute, unavoidable reason you are unable to do the count on the specified date, please let your Precinct Organiser know and do it on the next possible day. The next summer count will be on Saturday, 26 January 2002. Species to be counted No new species have been added to the list of species to be counted, but do check your regional section of the newsletter for further details. Please do not record any other species on the roadcount form because these make data capture difficult and confusing. Interesting sightings can be noted in the section ‘Interesting Information’ and are recorded in the database. Remember that Korhaans should be counted both when seen and when heard. All other species should be recorded only when seen. CAR Support This project’s future continues to be tenuous as it is still has no specific sponsor. Therefore, if you know of any potential individual or corporate sponsor, do please contact us at the ADU. We acknowledge, with thanks, support from BirdLife South Africa, the Tony & Lisette Lewis Foundation South Africa, and Mazda Wildlife Fund. The Sandton Bird Club has also made a very generous donation of R10 000 to the ADU in support of CAR. The shortfall on budget for the financial year 2001/02 is now down to R40 000. You will notice the logos of the Northern Cape Nature Conservation Service and the Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. This is in acknowledgement of the enormous contributions made by Mark Anderson (NCNCS) and Brian Colahan (FSDEAT), as well as others in their respective organisations. I would like to thank the following people for publishing articles about the project in local newspapers or Bird Club magazines in the last few months: David Jolliffe (Somerset East), Yvonne Craig (Humansdorp), Maureen Turner (Kenton), Adrian Craig, Lorraine Mullins and Dotty Mantzel (Grahamstown), Graham Winch (Border), Shirley Bennett (KZN Midlands), David Gaynor (Steenkampsberg), Alison Richardson (Wakkerstroom) and Elsabe Barlow (Overberg). I do appreciate the way in which you increase awareness of these birds on farm lands. If there are other articles which I am unaware of, please send me copies for our Annual Report. CAR Report Progress on the report has continued to be slower than anticipated. However, the huge task of checking and editing the database and GIS routes is now complete. I would like to acknowledge Lindy Tomalin and René Navarro’s exceptional patience in this process, as well as Precinct Organisers for responding to queries. René has almost completed preparing the complicated programming which enables us to give each sighting a GIS coordinate. This will make it possible for us to produce distribution maps for each species. James and I are looking forward to seeing the summarised results which will soon be available. CAR stories for CAR Report I have received very few stories about interesting sightings or experiences while counting and I know there are many more out there! There is still time to submit your best CAR story for publication in the report. Preferably email or post a disk (as this saves re-typing) as soon as possible, but by the end of August at the latest. Ringed cranes During this last breeding season 61 Blue Crane chicks were ringed in the Overberg, 49 in the Karoo and 12 in the Swartland. Please continue to keep a sharp lookout for colour-ringed cranes at all times of the year as well as during the CAR count. Please note the following: the colour of the tall ring, the leg on which the tall ring is attached, the combination of short ring colours (what colour over what colour), and the leg on which these short rings are attached. NB: the right and left legs of the crane are decided as if you were the crane. Please record any sightings in the section provided and put an asterisk beside the relevant line on the form. Reminders Please do enter your ADU Observer Number, and that of other regular CAR observers who assist you, on your roadcount form. Your ADU number appears in the tables in this newsletter. Check that everything is complete and make a copy of your roadcount and route description forms before entrusting them to the postal system! Results In the tables three numbers may appear, e.g. 15/5/2 = 15 adults, 5 juveniles and 2 chicks, or two numbers, e.g. 20//1 = 20 adults, no juveniles and 1 chick, or one number, e.g. 13// = 13 adults, no juveniles or chicks. In all tables the following abbreviations apply: BC = Blue Crane; CC = Crowned Crane; WC = Wattled Crane; KB = Kori Bustard; LB = Ludwig’s Bustard; SB = Stanley’s Bustard; BS = Black Stork; WS = White Stork; AS = Abdim’s Stork; SEC = Secretarybird; BK = Black Korhaan; BBK = Blackbellied Korhaan; UK = Blue Korhaan; KK = Karoo Korhaan; WBK = Whitebellied Korhaan; WQK = Whitequilled Korhaan; GH = Ground Hornbill; BI = Bald Ibis; SG = Spurwinged Goose; BHH = Blackheaded Heron; YS = Yellowbilled Stork. Mistakes and misprints Please carefully check the figures given for your route in this newsletter against your records, and report any discrepancies. This is very important, as we need to correct any errors in the database. We are unable to employ a permanent assistant and different people do the data capture for each count. Mistakes do occur, so please help us to find them! In the last newsletter I mistakenly wrote that KU02 had been discontinued, instead of KU03. Overberg precinct The number of Blue Cranes per 100 km was very slightly higher than last summer. White Stork numbers were even lower than last summer, probably due to extremely dry conditions again. It is interesting that a Kori Bustard was recorded in this region again, as in the dry summer of last year when four were observed. I was glad of the opportunity to meet observers on Wicus and Hanlie’s farm and we certainly enjoyed the river on such a hot day. A braai will follow the winter count on Hennie Lötter’s farm as usual. Vicki Hudson, the Overberg Crane Group fieldworker, has been very busy responding to requests for help with cranes, a number have been caught in fences lately. The Overberg Crane Group has recently launched a Blue Crane Tourism route in conjuntion with the Caledon farming community, Engen and Open Africa. The Blue Crane is being seen as an economic asset by farmers, which will hopefully ensure its survival. The information which you have gathered over the last seven years has been useful in identifying a suitable area for this route. For further information on this tourism route you can visit the following website: http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/www.africandream.com – select ‘all interests’ and ‘all places’ and look for The Blue Crane Route. Wicus’s slides also make this site well worth the visit. Counters of the Overberg routes gathered on the farm of Wicus and Hanlie Leeuwner after the summer 2001 count. At the back from the left are Wicus Leeuwner, Patrick Hurly, Paul and Hannie van Wieringen, Vicki Hudson and Annette and Hennie Lötter. In front are Linda Reynolds, Avril Young, Donella Young and Mary and Des Frylinck.
Swartland precinct I am extremely grateful to Elna Slabber who will take over as Precinct Organiser, as I unfortunately no longer have enough time to continue coordinating this precinct. I am delighted that the Tygerberg Bird Club has been able to take over responsibility for a route. The number of Blue Cranes per 100 km continues to increase slightly. Spurwinged Goose numbers were also higher than last summer. The number of Secretarybirds observed during the count, and reported by other birders, is encouraging. I look forward to meeting you at Elna and Tertius Slabber’s farm after the winter count.
Beaufort West precinct Japie Claassen has been able to establish a new route in this precinct. Maria Andela remarked on the increase in birds following a thundershower, after a very hot morning. Little Karoo precinct Andrew Schofield has discontinued route WK02 as the birds have disappeared owing to hunting on this route. Uniondale precinct I was glad to meet Gail Cleaver, of Kammanassie Nature Reserve, on our return from the Eastern Cape in February. A surprising number of White Storks (852) were seen on route WU05 feeding in or near lucerne fields.
Mark Anderson reports: It is hard to believe that the Karoo Large Terrestrial Bird Survey is now in its seventh year, with the 12th survey taking place on 27 January 2001. This summer’s survey was also the most comprehensive to date, with 1400 kms of road along 24 ‘routes’ being driven. Fourty-four people took part in the survey. The previous largest number of participants was 21 in January 1997. The increased participation is largely due to Ronelle Visagie’s enthusiastic recruitment of new participants. The survey started at about 07h00. Although the temperature was quite favourable, a strong wind blew the entire morning. This undoubtedly affected the number of birds observed. For example, only 74 Whitequilled Korhaans were counted (i.e. 5.3 birds per 100 km), compared to 228 (or 31.8 birds per 100 km) during January 2000 (when only a very light breeze was blowing). A total of 6023 large terrestrial birds was counted (i.e. 430.2 birds per 100 km), with this large total being mainly attributed to the 5128 White Storks that were recorded (i.e. 85% of the large terrestrial birds counted). Most of these storks were counted by Luke Kock. The birds were feeding on dead Brown Locusts on the farm Verborgenfontein near Richmond. Let’s hope that the storks were not negatively affected by the chemicals used to kill the locusts! Large numbers of Ludwig’s Bustards (357) and Blue Cranes (248) were also counted, with these two species being widespread throughout the precinct. Almost all the participants reported Blue Cranes with offspring and a total of 50 juveniles and chicks were counted. The eastern Karoo Blue Crane population had a significantly more successful breeding season during this past summer as compared to last year. During January and February 2001 we managed to catch and colour-ring 49 chicks (some of which have already been re-sighted or recovered dead away from their natal areas). This survey would not be possible without the enthusiastic assistance of the many participants and I would like to thank them for their contributions, both the ardent stalwarts and the people who have only recently become part of this important project. Finally, the Karoo Large Terrestrial Bird Survey would be significantly less successful without Ronelle Visagie and Donella Young’s important contributions. I am delighted with the growth in this region, thank you Mark and Ronelle. Welkom aan die nuwe deelnemers!
Rick Nuttall reports: A total of 112 routes was surveyed (65 in the south-west (FS), 29 in the north-east (FN) and 18 in the north-west (FW)) on Saturday 27 January 2001, covering a combined distance of just over 7400 km. A total of 230 participants counted 6153 large terrestrial birds of 17 species. Of these, 3312 were counted in the FS, 2351 in the FN and 490 in the FW. Of the total number of birds seen, Spurwinged Goose (1724; 23.6 birds/100km), White Stork (1154; 15.8 birds/100km), Whitequilled Korhaan (990; 13.6 birds/100km), Blackheaded Heron (473; 6.5 birds/100km), Abdim’s Stork (468; 6.4 birds/100km), Bald Ibis (385; 5.3 birds/100km) and Blue Korhaan (318; 4.4 birds/100km) were most frequently recorded. In the FS, Spurwinged Goose, Whitequilled Korhaan, Abdim’s Stork, Blue Korhaan, White Stork and Ludwig’s Bustard (201) dominated, while in the FN, White Stork, Spurwinged Goose, Bald Ibis, Blackheaded Heron and Abdim’s Stork were dominant. In the FW, Whitequilled Korhaan, Spurwinged Goose, Blackheaded Heron and White Stork were most frequently recorded. Grass cover was good in certain areas, resulting in comparatively poor visibility and lower numbers of birds seen. Participants in certain areas commented that fewer birds were heard calling as well; this may be the reason for the lower numbers of certain species reported (e.g. Whitequilled Korhaans (990)) compared to the January 2000 count (2667). Numbers of White Storks (1154) were about the same as during last summer (1197), but whereas in 2000 these were concentrated in the FS, in 2001 they were more numerous in the FN. Abdim’s Stork numbers in 2001 (468) were considerably less than in 2000 (2169); this may be the result of abundant food resources elsewhere, such as in the Karoo. Numbers of both Blue Cranes (234) and Ludwig’s Bustards (201) were considerably higher than in January 2000 (146 and 49 respectively), although possible reasons for this are unclear. It is interesting to note as well that more Secretarybirds were counted this year (96) than in 2000 (63). Bald Ibis numbers were lower this year (385) than in January 2000 (788); this is perhaps a result of greater dispersion of these birds, or their occurrence in smaller groups than in 2000. (Routes FS50 and FS62 arrived late and their bird numbers are not included in the totals above, but do appear in the Table.) I would like to thank participants for adjusting to the new configuration of routes which required changes. The removal of backtracks has significantly reduced the amount of time required for data capture. I also appreciate Brian Colahan’s time and patience in effecting these changes.
James was able to attend a meeting of the KZN Regional Project’s Committee in February at which he appreciated meeting many of the CAR Precinct Organisers. The CAR project has certainly become well established in this province and I would like to acknowledge Tim Wood’s role in keeping in touch with Precinct Organisers. BirdLife Zululand is involved in a number of projects at the moment, but anticipates being able to start some new routes in the grasslands of northern KwaZulu-Natal by January. Kevin Cockburn covered a new route in the Greytown area, near Umvoti Vlei, an Important Bird Area. Gavin and Sandi Calverley and team were delighted to see two Secretarybird nests quite close to each other on top of flat thorn trees, one with a chick visible. Bill and Leila Barnes saw a surprising number of Bald Ibis on their route, KM06, which seems to have shown a steady increase in this species. Sean Clinning saw a Crested Francolin with seven chicks on his route, KM02. Shirley Bennett saw a fascinating group of birds in a field on a free-range pig breeding farm on her return from their CWAC count. There were about 260 White Storks, 2 Marabou Storks, 2 Black Storks and one Woollynecked Stork, about 500 Yellowbilled Kites, as well as about 15 Whitenecked Raven and an uncountable number of Sacred Ibis! The Marabou, Black and Woollynecked Storks are not usually seen in this area. It seemed that the pigs were fed cattle carcasses, hence the opportunistic storks! The White Stork numbers were much higher than the previous two summer counts, probably due to good rains in the province and hence an abundance of food. The Bald Ibis and Swainson’s Francolin numbers were also encouraging. The highest number of Wattled Crane were also recorded on this last count, with the majority occurring on Rod Dorning’s farm, as usual. The grass was long in most parts of the province. Please continue to count gamebirds in KwaZulu-Natal and use the abbreviations HG for Helmeted Guineafowl, SF for Swainson’s Francolin and NF for Natal Francolin.
The White Stork numbers were more than double those of last summer in this province. The number of Secretarybirds seen was also relatively high. Steenkampsberg precinct Nineteen CAR counters were involved in the summer count. Long grass in the natural veld made counting the smaller species difficult, but otherwise counting conditions were good. One route surprisingly produced a Redbilled Oxpecker! MS03 has been changed and since this change involved more than 10% of the route, it has been renamed MS13. Please continue to count Helmeted Guineafowl and use the abbreviation HG. David Gaynor has requested that you fill in the details about activity and location (i.e. the last three columns) for Bald Ibis, as well as for cranes and bustards. This will add to the information being collected by the Escarpment Bird Club on Bald Ibis for the Important Bird Areas conservation project. The Bald Ibis is a globally threatened (Red Data Book) species. Middelburg precinct Species diversity was again low in this precinct. Interestingly, all the birds observed on these routes were in wetland habitat. Wakkerstroom precinct Alison Richardson once again organised a very successful weekend for the CAR volunteers from Wits Bird Club. She wrote that ‘The weather was wonderful, and Wakkerstroom donned her finest clothes in honour of our visit – not only was the birding excellent, but the blanket of wild flowers was quite spectacular. A PhD student from Kenya was able to show us two 8-day old Yellowbreasted Pipits in his hand!’
In February Doug Harebottle, who coordinates the CWAC project at the ADU, and I went up to the Eastern Cape in response to an invitation to speak at the BirdLife Eastern Cape AGM in Port Elizabeth. We also took this opportunity to provide feedback to participants in Humansdorp, Kenton, Grahamstown and Graaff-Reinet, and to introduce our respective projects to the Plettenberg Bay Bird Club and the new Hartenbos Bird Club. The CAR project began in the Eastern Cape three years ago and I really enjoyed meeting people involved and am encouraged by the possibility of further growth of the project. At the meeting organised by Joan Collett and David Jolliffe in Graaff-Reinet, interest was expressed in forming a bird club and I have heard that one has since been started with 23 enthusiastic members! I certainly returned with a greater appreciation of your perseverance on bad roads and willingness to travel long distances! As Graham Winch pointed out on his last road count form, there can be surprising fluctuations on a particular route and this is what makes counting the same route regularly interesting. Maureen Turner wrote that, during their tea stop, they saw a Spurwinged Goose swimming on a dam, with 14 chicks in tow – all in a row! Peter Metcalf saw 2 Marabou Storks on his route, EK01. Adrian Craig’s team has now seen a total of 132 different bird species on their route. So CAR routes can be very productive! I am delighted that the first route (EU01) in the ‘old Transkei’ was launched in January by Sonja Vorster and her team from the University of Transkei. Ken and Jenny Munro also started a new route to include farm lands along the Fish River irrigation scheme. They were struck by the hundreds of White Storks in flowering lucerne fields, just prior to cutting. Route EE03 has been shortened due to deteriorating road conditions and poor visibility due to plantations on the last section. The Ludwig’s Bustard numbers were much higher than usual (6.9 birds per 100 km, as compared with 1.4 and 1.2 per 100 km in January 1999 and 2000 respectively). Exceptionally high White Stork numbers were also recorded (201.8 birds per 100 km, as compared with 93.5 and 75.7 per 100 km in January 1999 and 2000 respectively). Otherwise birds numbers were much the same as usual. Sadly Phillip Poggenpoel died very unexpectedly shortly before the summer count. I always enjoyed the written descriptions of his count and a wonderful ‘CAR story’ of his will appear in the CAR report.
Future developments As mentioned earlier, some new routes will be starting in the Eastern Cape. The Hartenbos Bird Club have already done some recces for routes in their area, and are hoping to start two new routes. Reporting dead birds Do remember to report any dead birds in suspicious circumstances to your local Nature Conservation Officer or the Poison Working Group (011) 4861157 (o/h); cell: (082) 4468946 (24-hour emergency), or the ESKOM toll free number (0800) 111535 if it is an obvious case of electrocution. Thank you A big thank you to all Precinct Organisers and observers for your voluntary involvement in this project. I appreciate your enthusiasm and continued growth, particularly in the Karoo, this last count. Thank you to Pavs Pillay, a Zoology Master’s student at UCT, who has captured the summer count data. Do phone me about any problems or incorrect information in this newsletter; my phone number is (021) 6504239. I hope you enjoy the winter count! Donella Young Counting method:details can be found in the following link: INFORMATION SHEET No. 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
