The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter
JANUARY 2021
Chair: Pat Nurse Tel 044 382 0638 E-mail: [email protected]
Membership Secretary and Treasurer: Steve Gettliffe Tel 044 384 0289 E-mail: [email protected]
LBC Club address: P O Box 3576, Knysna 6570
Newsletter contributions to: Cecil and Else Hiscock Tel 0828553309 E-mail: [email protected]
CHAIR’S CHIRP
As I write this on the 31st January, who would have thought that we would have been in an even stricter lockdown than we were when the last Malachite was published in September? All we can hope and pray is that as 2021 progresses, more and more people get vaccinated, and the pandemic will finally start to die down. The last few outings of 2020 were reasonably well supported by members but the numbers of birds seen was exceptional. The December outing recorded 130 species, the highest I am sure ever seen on a LBC outing. We did manage to hold a scaled down Christmas Braai, thanks to the Hanekoms for allowing us the use of their lovely lapa and braai facilities. At the end of November quite a few members took part in Birding Big Day. Tim Carr organised the Team Ludwig’s Bustards, incorporating our three teenage birders and they broke the 200 species barrier for the Western Cape and gave Rudi Minnie’s team a serious run for their money in numbers of birds seen in 24 hours. Mark and Justin also hit the birding headlines in January, when they discovered a pair of Buff-breasted Sandpipers at Voëlvlei, the first time two have been seen together, which occasioned a large contingent of birders driving up from Cape town, including Trevor Hardaker. This last weekend the bi-annual CAR (Co-ordinated Avifaunal Road) counts took place and at least 4 teams from the LBC did their regular routes. I have been doing it since 2006. Unfortunately, the CWAC (C0-ordinated Waterbird) Counts have been a casualty of Covid 19, as the count at the end of July 2020 and now end of January 2021 have had to be cancelled due to beach and water restrictions. This is a huge blow as the count have been going regularly since 1995. Once we have heard from the President again, hopefully on easing restrictions, we will hold a Committee meeting to work out a programme from March onwards. In the meantime, I urge you to get out in the fresh air to enjoy our birds. If you go alone or in couples there is no danger of infection and if you partake in bird surveys or atlassing, you will be contributing to our avian research and data, while helping to cure your own “cabin fever”. Spending time in nature is good for your mental health! Yours in birding Pat
EDITORIAL
In spite of the restrictions imposed on us due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our club members have been very active which is causing a bit of a headache in putting together all the bits and pieces we have received for this first newsletter of 2021. Thank you to all who have contributed to the newsletter. We have received many photographs and therefore some might need to be included in a photo gallery. Some of the photos are really spectacular and you will be reminded of Tom Esterhuizen’s zoom presentation of his amazing photographs of the raptors of the Kgalagadi National Park. We also apologise for any errors in crediting the submissions to the incorrect people. Birding is without a doubt one of the healthiest pastimes at the moment and many of our members have taken advantage of being out in nature. Others have, however, chosen to stay at home as there is more to just being in fresh air and people who are at high risk don’t wish to take a chance. Personally, our wings have, very unfortunately, been clipped.
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter It has indeed been a trying time for all, as people were not created to live their lives in isolation. The economy of our region has also taken a huge knock with the beach ban causing many visitors to cancel their holiday bookings. We sincerely hope that some semblance of normality will return during 2021, and that all club members can return to enjoying our activities in full. We do hope that you will find this newsletter informative, especially if you haven’t been able to partake in any of the activities. We wish you a successful, enjoyable birding year.
Cecil and Else Hiscock - Editors
OUTINGS and ZOOM MEETINGS
Black (Verreaux’s) Eagles of the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden and other interesting birds. - 17th September 2020
What an interesting presentation given by Ernest Porter and Candice Donovan about these magnificent raptors. It brought back many memories of family life frequently visiting these gardens for many years when living in Gauteng, watching these eagles soaring on the ridges and building their nests against the rock face beside the waterfall. Beautiful photographs of these eagles showed their two metre wingspans, and the distinctive white markings on the back often referred to as “angel wings”. Studied by John since 2004 and with the aid of 24-hour nest cam recordings he explained how these birds have adapted their diet to human encroachment. Comprising Guinea Fowl 57%, Rock Hyrax (Dassie) 25% and Scrub Hare 18%. This is quite different to eagles living in a wild natural environment where Dassie comprises the majority of their diet followed by Guinea fowl, small monkeys etc. In WSNBG the present pair of eagles have built two nests with one nest eventually built up over the years to a height against the rock face of over four metres. Although two or even three eggs can be laid only one chick survives which grows 2cm a day and in 90-100 days is fully equipped and developed but lacks hunting experience. Candice then went on to discuss the interaction of the eagles with Pied Crows and Peregrine Falcons which peaks at breeding season. The female eagle can weigh up to 4.5kg while Pied Crows throw their weight in at 550grms! It has been seen that up to twenty-two Crows will gang up on an eagle. Sightings have been recorded since the 1940’s of Black Eagles in the area. In 2014/2015 a pair of Peregrine Falcons stayed the whole year near to the eagles’ nest but did not breed. In 2016 the resident pair disappeared after 35 years together quite a remarkable life span compared to those eagles in the wild which live for 10 to 15 years. The same year a young female appeared followed in 2019 by a male. Ernest in 2013 started monitoring and photographing the “odd” special bird in the gardens only to discover a greater variety than he ever imagined including Buzzards and Eagles, Booted, Wahlberg’s, Martial, African Fish. Falcons, Lanner, Peregrine. Nightjars Fiery-necked, Rufous cheeked, Cuckoo Hawk etc. Visitors to WSNBG should keep their eyes and ears open, not forgetting to look skywards from time to time. We had 23 people/couples log-on to hear these two passionate presenters. Once again, many thanks to Else and family for allowing us to use their business Zoom facility.
Brian Taggart
FRANSMANSHOEK AND VOëLVLEI - 17 OCTOBER 2020
The first outing after the strict lockdown eventually took place on Saturday 17TH October, third time lucky as it had been postponed twice due to heavy rain. It was a very happy 26 members and guests who met up at Engen, delighted to see each other again and to be going on an outing. We set off in ten cars and observed all the Covid protocols. Our first stop when we turned off the N2 produced lots of birds, Agulhas Long-billed and Large-billed Larks, Capped Wheatear and two Blue Cranes. The veld was looking very green and there were lots of spring flowers blooming. We next stopped near a small dam and were delighted when suddenly five Whiskered Terns in full breeding plumage flew over us towards the dam (Their underparts were a distinctive dark grey). We saw Blacksmith, Crowned and Black-winged Lapwings and we heard the distinctive call of the Common Quail, which most of us had not heard for a couple of years, due to the drought. We had a great view of a raptor on a fence, which most of us thought was a Common Buzzard but one of our guests, Josh Kleyn, from Garden Route Raptors rehabilitation Centre soon corrected us and said it was a juvenile Jackal Buzzard. We did see a Common Buzzard soon after. We stopped for morning tea/coffee in the small valley of the Buffelsrivier, which was a swiftly flowing stream, which made me very optimistic that maybe some water had come into Voëlvlei. While we refreshed we saw Greater Striped Swallows, Black Saw-wings and the first Barn Swallows of the summer season. It was good to see a busy colony of breeding Southern Red Bishops, as well as Malachite and Greater Double-Collared Sunbirds. We carried on towards Vleesbaai and the Fransmanshoek Conservancy, passing a lot of the larger pans, which were still dry. Once we got to the peninsular, our three young birders, Justin, Mark and Ludwig rushed off to climb on top of the big rocks to see what was out to sea. Most of us managed to see some Cape Gannets diving and a couple Cape Cormorants flying past, but they managed to notch up a White - chinned Petrel. We were all charmed to see a pair of Humpbacked Whales cavorting in the waves not too far out and then a few dolphins. There was a Rock Kestrel on the rocks that gave us good views and then Rob said he had heard that Peregrines were nesting there. Sure enough we soon spotted the nest and then one adult sitting on the rock above it. We then headed off toward the Gouritz River Bridge, taking the Kanon turn off. My vehicle missed the most exciting sighting of the day but others saw a Martial Eagle sitting on the ground near a flock of sheep. This made me wonder if the birds do not scavenge on the afterbirth of the sheep, as many of them had young lambs at foot. The Wedge-tailed Eagle in Australia is well known for eating the afterbirth of both sheep and cattle. Once we got near the escarpment for the Gouritz we had a view over the Voëlvlei depression and I was ecstatic to see quite a bit of water at the north end. We drove to the Gouritz Bridge and saw lots of Pied Starlings in and out of their nesting holes in the high banks. In vain we listened for the Greater Honeyguide we had heard here the year before. I now know why, as Roberts says they parasitize the Pied Starling’s nests. We had a quick consultation amongst the members and decided to forgo going down towards Gouritzmond, in favour of going to the north end of Voëlvlei to inspect the newly arrived water. January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter I was thrilled to see a good quantity of water in the northern section with the river looking very full so that the little causeway was under water. We all pulled over on the grass near the water to have our lunch. There were a few Black-winged Stilts on the shoreline and about 10 small waders which our youngsters identified as Little Stints and Curlew Sandpipers. On the river we found a few Red- knobbed Coots, a Little Grebe and single pairs of Red-billed Teal, Cape Shoveler and Yellow-billed Duck. While we ate, Josh walked up the side of the river to the cliffs and came back to report he had seen a Booted Eagle. The rest of us went that way after eating but did not see it; however, I did hear a Neddicky. We then did our list which totalled 101. Just then a Yellow –billed Kite came over the hill to make it 102. Justin then spoke to the group about the calendars he is proposing to produce for sale from his own photographs. He wants to save up to buy a pair of Vortex binoculars. We then all headed home on different routes. five vehicles crossed the causeway and drove along the edge of the pan towards the southern side. Unfortunately, the water had only reached as far as the area in front of the house where Roland Scholtz used to stay, where we used to be able to have our lunch and a bathroom break. However, we did see three South African Shelduck on the far side which made our total for the day 103 species. Robert has since reported to me that on their route home they also saw a Malachite Kingfisher, so the grand total was 104 species, one of our best outings, ever. I had a wonderful day. It was great to see all the members again, the veld looked wonderful and having water in Voëlvlei was the cherry on the top. I checked my records and the last time there was water in Voëlvlei was in 2016. On Sunday Robert got a phone call from Shelagh-Rose, who came to speak to him, as our cars drove past the houses at the north side of Voëlvlei. She said that overnight some flamingos had arrived, which they often do about a week after the water starts to flow into the pan. I intend to go back there this weekend to see the flamingos and what else has subsequently arrived.
Pat Nurse
Sub Adult African Pipit
Photos Claire Scott
Peregrine Falcon
Martial Eagle
Photo Ludwig Muller
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter ZOOM PRESENTATION. 22ND OCTOBER 2020. BRIAN TAGGART ON BIRDING IN BOTSWANA In December 2018 Brian and Muriel Taggart drove up to Beaufort West to meet up with Japie Claassen of Karoo Birding Safaris who was taking them on a birding trip of Botswana and the Zambezi Region (formerly the Caprivi Strip) of Namibia. There were nine participants, including Otto and Sandy Schmidt of the Cape Bird Club, very experienced birders. They had to sleep over in Beaufort West the night before their departure and Japie arrived late afternoon and offered to show them some Sclater’s Larks, if they did not have them on their Life List. They all took him up on that offer and drove out to a nearby farm, where the birds regularly come to drink water at 6 p.m. So, they all started the trip with one “Lifer”. Their days started with 6am departure and then a breakfast stop a couple of hours later, normally at a place where they could tick off a few species. The weather was a reasonable 30C when they left Beaufort West but eventually reached 45C by the time they got to the Zambezi. They headed up the N 12 and then on to the N18 through Hartswater where they saw another “lifer” a large flock of newly arrived Abdim’s Storks. It was then through the border and heading north through Gaborone and Francistown, until they arrived at Nata Lodge adjacent to Sua Pan, the eastern part of the Makgadikgadi Pans system. In the gardens of the lodge he had a very interesting encounter with a Grey-headed Bush-shrike which was trying to lead him away from its newly fledged youngster and he also found a Brown-crowned Tchagra sitting on a nest with two eggs. He showed some stunning photos of the Lilac-breasted Roller which I always thought should be the National Bird of Botswana. The National Bird is in fact the Kori Bustard but it was only declared in 2014. They then drove on north where Brian took a great photo of a large brown eagle perched in a tree. Both Japie and his wife Ralie identified this as a Lesser Spotted Eagle. However, Otto Schmidt was not convinced, so when he got home he sent his photo to Trevor Hardaker for confirmation. After much intercontinental discussion it was finally positively identified by a Finnish expert Dick Forsman as a Steppe Eagle, which is an equally rare summer visitor to Botswana. The I.D. was clinched by the bird’s very large gape, which Forsman described as a “vicious grin”. At Kasane, they stayed in the lovely Kubu (this means Hippo in Setswana) Lodge. Birding was good in the grounds and also the adjacent Mowana (Baobab) Lodge where they added Painted Snipe and Lesser Moorhen. The level of the Chobe River was very low, but they did a few boat trips and added Rock Pratincole, Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and African Skimmers to the list in searing 45C heat. Namibia was next on the itinerary so they drove through Ngoma Bridge border post to reach Caprivi Houseboat Safari Lodge, hoping to see the Yellow-throated Leafloves, but as Brian said they had gone away for a short holiday. He showed an amazing photo of over 70 Yellow-billed Kites feeding on the tar road, with huge trucks trying to avoid running over them. The next area they went to was west of Divundu, where the main road crosses the river, which changes its name here from the Kavango (of Namibia and Angola) to the Rock Pratincole Okavango of Botswana. The two target birds were the Souza’s Shrike and the
Sharp-tailed Starling
Yellow-bellied Greenbul
Sharp-tailed Starling, both of which Brian eventually managed to photograph after a lot of “bundu bashing” in the extreme heat. They then heading back into Botswana and had a couple of nights at the incomparable Drotsky’s Cabins south of Shakawe on the Okavango River. The birding was excellent here, some done on boat trips, and he showed photos of four owl species, including the “mega tick” Pel’s Fishing Owl, fast asleep in a tree overhanging the river. Due to the time of year all the birds were very vocal and he ticked off and photographed many warblers and cisticolas, Slaty Egret and three species of Coucal. They bought a barbell from a local fisherman in his mokoro which was cut up and thrown into the river in pieces. Once they gave a whistle the Fish Eagle came in to collect it. Brian also showed a photo of one of the seven African Finfoots they had seen and Carmine Bee-eaters at one of their nesting colonies. In all Brian was highly delighted with this his first trip to Botswana. The whole trip list from Beaufort West and back again (5450kms) was 351, of which he ticked 342, 41 of which were “lifers”. At the beginning of the show Brian showed a photo of a Crimson-breasted Shrike with a flag and coat of arms next to it, and asked everyone as to the meaning. At the end he explained that this bird had been the national bird of German South-west Africa, as the colours were the same as the Imperial flag and coat of arms. With the advent of Namibia, in order to get rid of the colonial legacy, the national bird of Namibia was changed to the African Fish Eagle. The quality of Brian’s photographs was excellent as was his narrative, and it really made me want to rush back up to beautiful Botswana, where I lived for fifteen very happy years. If their borders were not still closed, I might have gone!!!
Pat Nurse
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter Ganzvlei - 5th November 2020
African Emerald Cuckoo
25 birders met up near the farmhouse at Ganzvlei. It was an almost cloudless, a relatively hot day, with little wind. The birders broke up into three groups, one group headed toward the guest house, another went straight into the forest, and the last group birded around the main farmhouse. Black Saw-wing, Streaky-headed Seedeater, and Grey Sunbird were all observed in the general area of the farmhouse. As we moved into the forest, we bumped into some typical forest birds, such as Collared Sunbird, Black-backed Puffback, Terrestrial Brownbul, and African Dusky Flycatcher. We also found two species of Cuckoo: African Emerald, as well Klaas’s. Both cuckoos were very vocal. Going past the river, we had a spectacular sighting of a Long-crested Eagle soaring overhead, while Black Cuckoo shrike, Black Cuckoo, and Brown - throated Martin moved around us. The last stretch of forest had some decent birds in store as well, namely Cape Batis, Knysna Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, and Lemon Dove, whilst Chorister Robin called from every angle. At the hide, we had a change in birdlife. Cape Shoveler, Yellow-billed Duck, Levaillant’s Cisticola, and Cape Wagtail were all observed within a short amount of time. Peter Ginn had also found a Black-headed Oriole nest and explained to us how they kept their nest dry. We didn’t see too much on the walk back to the farmhouse, but Common Buzzard, Black- bellied Starling, and White-breasted Cormorant were all new species to our day list. By the time we got back to the farmhouse, the temperature had risen, and lunch was high on the agenda. While we all ate, we completed the outings list; 96 species, Including five species of cuckoo, in the space of a few hours. Not a bad mornings birding, and quite a successful outing!
Justin Ponder
Zoom-meeting with Tom Esterhuizen 19 November 2020
The final Lakes Bird Club “Zoom-meeting” for 2020 was held on 19 November. We were privileged to have been addressed by Tom Esterhuizen for the occasion. He elected to talk on his experiences of Raptor photography in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Tom and his wife, Jeanette, have been visiting the Transfrontier Park systematically at least three times per year for the past thirteen years and in this time, they have assembled a remarkable collection of photographs. We enjoyed a thrilling afternoon being exposed to some of his raptor photographs.
One of Tom’s most compelling suggestions about visiting the Transfrontier Park is that one should make a point of having an extended stay at Tweerivieren Rest camp. By doing so, the drudge of long dusty drives to the remoter parts of the Park are ruled out and one can then concentrate on looking at the numerous waterholes in the immediate vicinity. One such waterhole highlighted by Tom is Leeuwdril, some 11 kilometres from Tweeriveren. It is at this waterhole that he has managed, amongst other sightings, to keep a photographic record of a family of Juv. Martial Eagle Martial Eagles which have been successfully breeding in a nearby Camel Thorn-tree. With the aid of his magical telescopic photographic equipment, he has kept a sound record of this family of Eagles and has faithfully documented their development over time. Tom shared some truly remarkable pictures of these birds, one of which is the juvenile “dancing” in the nest and obviously “practicing” for the fateful moment.
Viewing his portfolio of pictures, one comes to the conclusion that he has possibly documented every raptor specie in the Park. This is a truly remarkable achievement given the sometimes, trying conditions experienced in photography in this environment. One of the greatest challenges is the use of natural sunlight and Tom has achieved great mastery of using daylight to his advantage, particularly early morning and late afternoon records. Some absolutely stunning shots of raptors in late afternoon sunlight were viewed, one of which is that of a Pygmy Falcon, a really difficult raptor to capture on film due to its natural camera-shyness and its minuscule size.
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter
Thankfully for us, Tom’s wife Jeanette has a good eye for photography. Tom shared one of her magnificent action shots of a Bateleur adult descending onto its chick’s perch with a portion of a Cape Cobra. Subsequent pictures showed the adult feeding the torn- up pieces of the Cobra to the chick.
The effect of serendipity in photography has not eluded Tom. One of the most astonishing shots he took was of a juvenile Lanner Falcon on a kill. Tom initially thought he had photographed only one bird, but on analysing the photograph on his viewfinder, he discovered that, without his seeing it, another Lanner Bateleur had come into view - possibly with the intention of robbing the kill from the first one!
It was at the legendary Camel Thorn-tree at Craig Lochardt Waterhole, that Tom managed a once in a million picture of a Pearl- spotted Owlet emerging from his nest in the trunk of the tree. This tree is well known to birders who wish to see a Pearl-spotted Owlet at close quarters.
One of the most astounding pictures was that of two Lappet-faced Vultures which Tom had captured “goose-stepping” across the landscape. One could see from the picture that these two birds were very intent on something and one could imagine that no self- respecting lion would want to confront these two determined and well- choreographed behemoths, even if he had the tastiest of kills!
In all, the Zoom-meeting was well attended and some really excellent pictures were shared with the group. Lappet-faced Vulture
Robert Smith
Pygmy Falcon Tawny Eagle
January 2021
Lanner Falcon Lanner Falcon
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter
THE ESTUARIES NEAR MOSSEL BAY AND VOëLVLEI - 5 December 2020
The LORD certainly smiled on us with the weather on Saturday 5th December. After days of strong winds and bits of drizzle, it was clear and quite calm. Peter Ginn was leading us and he had done a lot of homework as to the best places to visit with regards to tides and people. We met at Die Dekke, Grootbrak and after consolidating a few vehicles headed straight down to Voëlvlei. The farmers on the access road were busy combining their harvest but we still managed to see Large-billed and Agulhas Long billed- Larks, Bokmakierie and Capped Wheatear. Peter saw what he thought was a Harrier, but it was grey, so much discussion and debate ensued but unfortunately the bird had disappeared, so no positive I.D. was possible On arriving at the pan, it was good to see that the water was still filling the northern basin, but the inflow from the Buffelsrivier seemed to have stopped so the level was dropping. It is obviously very attractive to the birds as there were a lot more birds than on my previous visit on 24th October. There was a flock of about 50 Greater and Lesser Flamingo and many Pied Avocets and Black-winged Stilts. There appeared to be two pairs of Blue Crane on the other side, with one of each pair sitting on eggs. There were also Spurwing Geese and S.A. Shelduck over that side. We drove down as close to the water as we could safely go without getting stuck, and saw lots of African Pipits and Kittlitz Plovers close by. There were large flocks of small waders flying around and landing in the shallow water but even with our scopes it was difficult to identify all the species, but we did list Wood Sandpiper, Common Greenshank and Common Ringed Plover. There were Whiskered Terns, in their beautiful breeding plumage, over the water as well as Barn and White- throated Swallows and Brown-throated Martins. We then drove up the river as far as we could go and found lots of Red-billed Teal and a few Yellow-billed Ducks, Cape Teal and Cape Shoveller. We saw a Booted Eagle overhead and also some Pearl-breasted Swallows. A lot of these sightings were thanks to the sharp eyes of our star young birders, Mark and Justin. We then retraced our steps and headed for the Twee Kuilen complex next to the industrial area in Mossel Bay. After strict Covid 19 compliance protocols we were allowed in and were able to have our picnic lunch under some shady trees, overlooking the reed beds of the wetland. While we were eating we ticked off Red-faced Mousebird, African Palm and White-rumped Swifts, Greater Striped Swallows, Black-crowned Night and Purple Herons. We then walked along the board walk towards the sea. We were very excited to find a Little Bittern, which was very obliging by flying in front of the reeds and then across the water into the reeds on our side. With the use of our scopes, we were able to identify both Grey-headed and Hartlaub’s Gulls lying on a small grassy island together with a Caspian Tern. There were many Southern Red Bishops in the reeds, as well as Levaillant’s Cisticola and we heard the Lesser Swamp Warbler. We then headed off to the Waste Water Treatment Works at Hartenbos, which Peter had organised access to. The works seem to be very well run and clean. There were many birds lounging on the berms in between the ponds with many Blacksmith Lapwings and African Sacred Ibis and we saw quite a few immature Black-crowned Night Herons. On the furthest pond we got a duck species we had not seen that day, a Southern Pochard. Peter then took us to look at the breeding heronry on the other side of the N2. Here there are a few casuarina trees that have always been popular for nesting birds but the number has increased exponentially, with the birds using all adjacent low-lying bushes and even the ground to make their nests upon. There were African Sacred Ibis, Reed Cormorants, Western Cattle and Little Egrets as well as Black-crowned Night Herons. What a smell and cacophony of sound, but great photographic opportunities. We ended up back at Great Brak where I saw and heard a few species that were not on my list: African Darter, Three-banded Plover and a Knysna Warbler in the nearby bushes. Our final total for the day was 130 species, once Peter had added in the Black Winged Kite he saw on the way back to George and we added an African Fish Eagle soaring over Swartvlei. What a wonderful day. The final list was the best ever for an outing so thanks to all the 22 participants for adding to our sightings and enjoyment.
Pat Nurse
Pearl-breasted Swallow Photo Mark Heystek
CHRISTMAS BRAAI: 11TH DECEMBER 2020 AT FYNBOSVLEI
Rather than completely cancel a Year End/Christmas Braai due to Covid restrictions, I decided to see if we could hold one at lunchtime, completely in the fresh air. Luckily Nic and Gail Hanekom quickly agreed that their lovely lapa on the shore of Swartvlei would be available. We decided on the date of 11th December, later than normal but, just before the area got too busy with its influx of visitors. Gail kindly said anyone could arrive early to do some birding before the 12 noon starting time when fires would be nearly January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter ready. I think only James arrived a lot earlier. I was intending to do some birding but half way to the farm I realised that I had been so busy making sure I had chairs, table and all my food as well as my little speech that I had forgotten my binoculars. What a cardinal sin for a fanatic birder!! The Hanekoms had arranged that we could drive down to the lapa and offload our goods and chattels, then go and park our vehicles on Marcus’ airfield, a short way up the hill. This worked very well. We all set up our chairs and tables suitably distanced under the beautiful Tipuana tipu which was full of yellow flowers. Robert had kindly offered to buy the wine when Steve was stuck in Cape town with his family in quarantine. Peter Dawson excelled as our braai master, ably assisted by his godson Tarquin. While they were cooking everyone’s meat to order, there was excitement when a smallish snake emerged from a fire that Nic had lit on the ground. Ludwig quickly identified it as a Red-lipped Herald Snake.
According to Google this snake is harmless to humans and pets but not to frogs and toads, which it feeds on. Ludwig kindly moved it away to some nearby bush. After everyone had eaten, I gave a short revue of the past year and thanked everyone who had helped in any way. I then gave the floor over to Chorister Robert, who had really excelled himself with some new compositions. Young Mark Heystek had composed a poem at the beginning of the hard lockdown entitled “I’d Rather be Birding” which Robert had cleverly set to music. He had also composed another song about birders trying to chase after rarities, posted on Trevor Hardaker’s website, while trying to abide by all the current regulations and restrictions. He then regaled us with some old favourites such as” The Lakes Bird Club Annual Roadside Outing” and my favourite about an amnesic hypochondriac elephant. Many thanks to Robert for keeping us so tunefully entertained. In total 27 members attended apart from Nic and Gail Hanekom, our very gracious hosts and their son Sean, who has now come to join them on the farm and take over some of his Dad’s chores. Thank you very much to all the Hanekom’s for so kindly arranging that we had the use of their lovely lapa area.
Pat Nurse.
FYNBOSVLEI - 21 January 2021
The first Bird Club outing of the year happened on the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century. Due to Covid the number of people attending a Fynbosvlei outing was much reduced. twelve of us met on a morning that was already hot and sultry at 7h30. We split into two groups that were ably led by Karen and Mark. The one group birded along the top towards the cottages and then drove down to park at the bottom. The other group had more stalwart members and they birded on the path through the fynbos and walked down through the forest. A lovely cooling breeze started coming off the water and both groups did some birding down at water level. We tried sitting on the log seats that are in a circle in a glade in the forest but sadly no bird party came to entertain us. We finished the outing sitting under the shady tree at the lapa. We saw 40 different species. Several good sightings of Sombre Greenbuls instead of only hearing them. The Coots were very quiet but the Lesser Swamp Warbler sang happily for us. Of note was a group of about fifty Cape Cormorants out on the lake. They would sit for a bit, then all fly a little further to another spot to feed and then repeat the process. Gail said that it is unusual to see them doing this in the summer. Another thing that was unusual is that we did not see either a Hadeda nor an Egyptian Goose. All in all, it was a very pleasant outing.
Jenni Miller
Visit to Tenikwa
Our leopard is called ZweLakhe which means "In His World", a reminder that we are all God's creatures, and we also live in the leopard's world, not the other way around. Our warthog is called "Digger", you can guess why!!!
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS
FAMILIAR CHAT Oenanthe familiaris nesting in buildings by Peter Ginn
This pair of Familiar Chats lived near a furniture factory on a farm in the Marondera Area of Zimbabwe. The factory was owned by one of my ex-pupils at Peterhouse. When he noticed the building of the base of the nest he invited me to come and have a look. Once the nest was complete and the chicks hatched I built a hide for photography. The birds entered the building through a broken window high in a wall. Once in the building they would sit almost anywhere. The nest site was the top shelf of a kitchen cupboard, but subsequent nests were built on any suitable shelf and were usually much lower than this nest. In the wild Familiar Chats build nests on the ground, in among rocks or even grass or on a ledge on rocks. Ideally the site should have a rock sheltering the nest, but this is often not available. It is certainly much drier and less windy in a warehouse!! They have learned to nest in man’s walls and buildings – the dry-stone walls of sheep farm kraals in the Karoo are ideal because they have lots of holes with flat horizontal floors. This furniture store was ideal and was used for a number of years Each time the birds started with a foundation of loose pieces of rock. Many of them came from a rock pile created by the farmer breaking granitic rock for the foundation of a new building. I wondered whether they were to lift the nest above the normally damp earth on which outdoor nests are built? Then thin bits of branch or roots were used to make the base of the cup which was made of finer material and lined with very fine rootlets, feathers and the like to make the nest snug and warm. The size of the nest was determined by the female’s body turning around inside the cup as she lined the nest. Three eggs resulted in 3 chicks which were too large for the cup as they grew up. Eventually they left the nest and would call from different parts of the storeroom when the adults appeared with food. After about 10 days they moved outside and started learning to feed themselves.
Peter Ginn
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter
IN SEARCH OF A RARE BIRD A SOOTY GULL
I was invited to join Pat Nurse for a few days of bird watching in Aston Bay. We set off on Monday, 18th January 2021. While looking for my purse and approaching the N2 Toll Plaza there was an alarming noise! Pat and I got such a fright, we pulled over, popped the bonnet to find the fan belt had started shredding! Pat’s vehicle a Toyota Fortuner had just been through a major service so to cut a long story short we returned to Knysna in a courtesy vehicle while the Fortuner which had also started spewing oil was loaded up on a lowbed and returned to the Workshop. Strange to say the least after telling my neighbours I would be away for a few days to suddenly appear back home!
We set off at 6am the following morning to make up for lost time and reached our destination safely. Meanwhile Pat had been tracking the sighting of a rare Sooty Gull which was first seen at Kei Mouth on 1st January 2021. We discussed travelling 500km to try and find it and planned a very early start the following morning but as luck would have it the Sooty Gull disappeared and was only seen again late on Wednesday.
We got up at 4am on Thursday and were on the road by 4.45am (curfew ended at 5am but there wasn't a soul to be seen). There was minimal traffic and we made good time arriving just after 9.30am. We had to wait a short while to cross the Kei River on a ferry which took both cars and foot traffic, The ferry only ran if there was a vehicle waiting to cross. Foot traffic paid all of R1.00 while taking a car across cost R300.00. Covid protocol was in place on the ferry as our hands were sanitized!
On reaching the opposite bank we had a bit of a walk skirting muddy and marshy areas which had been flooded recently, to get to the beach. It was only much later as we headed back from the beach that I realized it was illegal to be on the beach without the cover of a fishing rod, we only had binoculars and a telescope! We spent a good couple of hours scanning all the Tern Roosts, walking up and down the beach, to find the Sooty Gull but no luck. Meanwhile I enjoyed seeing Ruddy Turnstone, lots and lots of White-fronted Plover and a Bar-tailed Godwit in amongst the flocks of Common, Swift, Sandwich and Little Terns. I had lathered on sunscreen but could feel the sun biting. There was a slight breeze otherwise the heat would have been unbearable as it was nearing midday.
Seriously disappointed it was time to call it a day as we had another five-hour drive back to Aston Bay ahead of us. Unfortunately, I did not feel comfortable to help with the driving so I made up for it by organizing supper (we had planned take-away fish and chips only to find the restaurant had closed at 5pm) and we only got back at 6pm. We drowned our sorrows with a glass of wine (decanted into a cooldrink bottle as alcohol is not allowed to be transported) and had an early night.
Chasing rare birds is a challenge, you win some, you lose some, but I had a lovely few days away and crossing the Kei River on the ferry brought back happy memories of when I was there last in February 2010 leading a group of friends on The Strandloper Hiking Trail (Mazeppa Bay to Morgan Bay).
Pat Korrubel
Sandpipers and Twitchers Buff Breasted Sandpipers
The idea of camping at Voëlvlei came forth on the Bird Club outing. Standing on the shores of the seasonal vlei, we gazed upon hundreds of waders and water birds. Mark and I knew that amongst all those waders, there was a rarity. However, time was short, and as we were leaving with the bird club, Mark started trying to find a way that we could camp at the vlei. Two weeks after the bird club outing, Mark phoned me to tell me that it was time. He had contacted the owners of a farm on Voëlvlei, and we now had permission to camp the night on the shore. We grabbed our bins and cameras and made the journey to the Vlei. As we drove down the hill to the river, we took our first look at the pan. Most of the water had dried up, but there was a decent amount still in it, and that small bit was crawling with birds. Mark’s dad dropped us off and drove off, leaving the two of us alone. We pitched the tent, threw all our stuff inside, and did not wait any longer to start birding, as we only had about five hours of light left. The first bit of water had lots of Ruff, Little Stints, Black Winged stilts, and Kittlitz Plovers. Present in less numbers were Grey Plovers, Curlew Sandpipers Wood Sandpipers, Glossy Ibis, and Red Billed Teal. These, however, were to become extremely common. We decided to walk west through the dry part of the vlei, to see what was on that side. We found loads of African Pipits, Large Billed Larks, and passed a pair of Blue Cranes. We walked for almost three kilometres before turning back. The walk had been interesting, with the highlights being Common Quail, Cape Long-claw, and a den of Bat-eared Foxes. Halfway back to the tent, the sun set, and hundreds of Barn Swallows flew over, off to their roost. While watching them, I spotted a larger, swallow-like bird flying lower than the rest. I did not take long to identify it as a Banded Martin, one of the target birds for our January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter trip! We got back to the tent, ate some supper, and started walking back to the fox den in the dark. We were able to get close views of African Pipits, Kittlitz Plovers, and Cape Longclaws. We settled into bed just after 10pm, listening to Barn Owls and coots… We awoke just before 5am, but it was raining hard. We got ready, ate breakfast in the tent, and waited for the rain to slow. After nearly two hours, we started birding. The first thing we noticed was a lone Lesser Flamingo. We started going through the waders a bit more, scanning through Common Ringed, Kittlitz, and White Fronted Plovers. The rest of the waders were too far for us to ID, but thankfully, we had planned for that. We had an hour and a half before Tim Carr, Ian Pletzer, Chris Klopper, Martin and Ethan Vleggar arrived with a scope. Mark called me for a walk around the north-eastern shore, our last one before our friends arrived. Mark and I simultaneously spotted the wader. It was slightly bigger than a Common Ringed Plover but looked nothing like anything we had ever seen before. We started creeping a bit closer. We eventually got close enough to get a decent photo. We had no idea what it was, so I took out my Roberts, and went straight to Sandpipers. I noticed it immediately, it looked like an exact match to the photo I had gotten. We watched as the bird fed along the edge of the vlei, never going more than a meter or two away from the plants. We soon noticed that there was not one, but two of the same wader. A Plover landed near the Sandpipers, which spooked them into flying. We watched them fly over our heads, and land on the grass a few meters behind us, and resume feeding. Mark started leopard crawling closer, while I was right behind him. The birds were so tame, that we got within ten meters of the birds, and they were still relaxed with us being there. It was getting close to 9am (The time our friends were to arrive), so we decided to leave the birds to meet them. I found a patch of signal, and sent the photos to Trevor Hardaker, asking if he can confirm the identification. Tim arrived with the rest of the guys, and we told them about the waders, which, if confirmed, would be a Southern African Mega rarity. We got the scope, and before we had a chance to start trying to relocate the birds, we spotted a Jacobin Cuckoo, another one of our Targets! That is when the message came through from Trevor. They were getting ready to leave Cape Town and wanted a location pin, so they knew how to get to us. Our waders were confirmed as Buff-breasted Sandpipers! With Seven people looking, one would think it would be easy to find them again. Unfortunately, that was not the case. By the time we found them again, nearly three hours later, about fifteen people were already there. But now with the report of the relocation, more and more twitchers started coming in. By 2pm, the Cape Town twitchers arrived. We had planned for a nice day of birding at Voëlvlei, but nearly a hundred birders had already come to see the two birds that Mark and I had found that rainy morning. We eventually left the site, ecstatic that Mark and I had done what we had always dreamt of doing; finding a rarity. Going over the hill, we looked back at Voëlvlei, and at the twenty or so cars parked at the edge of the drying pan. We later found out that this was the 18th time that Buff-breasted Sandpiper had ever been found in Southern Africa, and the first time that two individuals had ever been found together (in Southern Africa). Congratulations to all those who got to see the birds, and a big thank you to all those for the messages that were sent to us!
Justin Ponder
GROOTVADERSBOSCH AND MARLOTH NATURE RESERVES 21-25 SEPTEMBER.
Cabin fever got to Pat Korrubel and me so we decided we need a little trip. We set off from Knysna at 8.00am as we wanted to go and check out Voëlvlei, as I had been told water had started arriving. We turned off on the main tar road to Vleesbaai, which is unsuitable for group birding, as since it was upgraded, there are no verges for pulling over. We soon saw lots of Agulhas Long-billed and Large-billed Larks and especially Cape Longclaws. Once we got to where we could see over Voëlvlei, we saw that the only water was in “The Old Salt Pan”, which never seems to attract birds. We went to the Gouritz Bridge where we saw loads of Kelp Gulls and Pied Starlings. We then carried on, turning off the N2 just before Heidelberg. We were pleased to see Red Bishops along the way. After a very easy check-in at the Cape Nature Office, we drove to our cabin, which was well over 2kms from the entrance, through thick indigenous forest. There are eleven very comfortable cabins, which were forestry staff houses that have been very nicely refurbished. There are 2 bedrooms, an indoor braai lounge, as well as another lounge, and well-equipped kitchen. We spent the afternoon admiring the lovely mountain views and ticking off a Forest Buzzard having an aerial battle with an African Harrier Hawk, and later a beautiful Verreaux’s Eagle heading home as the sun was setting. The next morning, we set off quite early to do the Melkhout pad walk, after ticking off Cape Canaries, Cape White-eyes, Olive Thrush and Greater Stripped Swallows around the cabins, which are surrounded by indigenous forest. The Exit road takes a route higher up the mountain in the fynbos area. As soon as we got out the forest we heard a Victorin’s Warbler trilling away. We parked next to the old Scolopia cottage where Pat had stayed a few years ago with the Re-treads. This forest is 250ha and the largest remaining piece of afro-montane forest in the South-western Cape. There are two bird hide towers, built to give a view over the tree tops but we found no birds up there. At first the lack of birds was very disappointing and it was very quiet. As the day warmed up we heard an Olive Bush-shrike and Fork-tailed Drongo and then very excitedly a Narina Trogon. We called it up but to no avail. Then we came across a gang of Cape Batis and a Red-chested Cuckoo announced that he had arrived for the summer. By then we had turned onto the Redwoods Road. In 1907 the Department of Forestry experimented with planting some exotic trees and these Giant Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) were planted and survive today with the tallest at 40m. Soon after this we got in an area of bracken which was alive with Knysna Warblers. Pat looked up and saw a magnificent Narina Trogon land on a branch and straight away turn to give us its green back. We also saw some Blue-mantled Crested Fly catchers. By then I was very tired, not being a hiker like Pat, so we got back to the car and returned to the cabin where we had a rest. Later that afternoon we tried to walk to the nearby waterfall but the track was a bit rough. The next morning we went to explore the fynbos area on a very rough 4 x 4 track, which made Pat a bit nervous. There had been a big fire in the whole of this mountain area at the end of 2018, so none of the proteas were mature enough to flower, however there were a January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter number of lovely flowers and we saw Orange-breasted Sunbirds and African Stonechats. Once we got back to the cabin we saw a Jackal Buzzard and White-necked Raven flying over. On Thursday morning, Heritage Day, we packed up to drive to Swellendam and Marloth Nature Reserve. We were in thick mist most of the way so could not do any birding and the N2 was very busy. We arrived at Marloth before the 14.00 check in time, so we drove for 3kms through mostly pine plantation to a picnic spot near the Duiwelsbos Waterfall. The fynbos here had not been burnt so there were many flowering proteas and yellow leucodendrons. We saw many Cape Sugarbirds and Yellow Bishops while above we saw African Black and Alpine Swifts and Black Saw wings. We settled under a lovely shady tree and listened to a Red-chested Cuckoo and a Black Cuckoo, doing both its calls. I have just received an Out of Range Form for this. In a nearby tangle of vegetation a Cape Grassbird emerged and spent a long time very close to us. We also heard another Victorin’s Warbler. On the way back to check in to Suikerbekkie Cottage I saw a couple of Pearl-breasted Swallows swooping over the road. The cottage was very comfortable and we spent a pleasant afternoon letting the birds come to us: Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Neddicky and Cape Canary amongst others. Just as it got dark a Fiery-necked Nightjar started calling nearby. When we woke on Friday, the weather had broken and the wind started from the west. We did a short drive before we checked out, but the weather was not conducive to birding. We then headed home on a busy N2 seeing quite a few Yellow-billed Kites on the way, We enjoyed our little break but neither venue would be suitable for a LBC away outing for a large group of people, but for a couple it was very pleasant.
Pat Nurse
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter
Changing bird names - Peter Lor
Given current South African sensitivities I was not surprised to see the recent proposal from the BLSA List Committee to rename the Hottentot Teal and the Hottentot Buttonquail. I can live with the proposed change to Blue-billed Teal and Fynbos Buttonquail respectively, although with every name change a bit of history is lost. I wonder, do the taxonomic authorities also want to change scientific (“Latin”) names with bad connotations, such as Cossypha caffra (Cape Robin-chat) or Promerops cafer (Cape Sugarbird)? When they were named the specific names caffra and cafer simply referred to the southern part of Africa.
There are quite a lot of English names I would have liked to change, such as that of the Sombre Greenbul, which is not sombre at all, but very cheerful (to Cheerful Greenbul or maybe Cheeky Greenbul as suggested by its scientific name, Andropadus importunus) and the Speckled Mousebird, which is only speckled if you have it in the hand, the Rock Dove (Columba livia) which is really just a plain old (feral) pigeon, for Heaven’s sake, and the Red-eyed Dove, which looks much less red-eyed to most non-birders than the Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea).
The proposed changes set in motion a train of thought about all the name changes I have seen since I started birding as a boy. At that time I had access only to the third edition of Dr Leonard Gill’s little First guide to South African birds (Maskew Miller, 1945), first published in 1937, and the first edition of Dr Austin Roberts’ Birds of South Africa (London: Witherby; Johannesburg: Central News Agency, 1940). Since then I’ve been able to collect all the editions of Roberts and I enjoy paging through them sometimes to see how they reflect the development of Southern African ornithology and birding, and especially to recapture the thrill of adding “new” birds to my life-list.
Birders don’t always realize that the scientific names of birds change even more than the English names. I became aware of this in the 1990s when I lived in Irene and was given a copy of an article by Lionel E. Taylor, FZS, MBOU, on “The birds of Irene”. It was the result of Taylor’s “close observations” during 1903 to early 1906, and was published in October 1906 in volume 2, no. 2 of the Journal of the South African Ornithologists’ Union, the SAOU being a precursor of Birdlife SA. As an aside, a lot of Taylor’s observations were done with the aid of a shotgun. There were no light-weight, powerful binoculars such as we take for granted today. For ornithological “close observations” birds were “collected”. To Taylor’s credit, he sexed his specimens and recorded their stomach contents.
At the time, Koppie Smuts and all the countryside around Irene was Highveld grassveld, with a very different bird community. Taylor recorded such species as Pallid Harrier, Temminck’s Courser, Blue Korhaan and Buff-streaked Chat, for which we nowadays need to go to sites such as Wakkerstroom. For a talk to the Friends of the General Smuts Foundation in 2006, I undertook to write an overview of how the bird community of Irene had changed over the century since Taylor’s article. One of the obstacles I encountered was the changing names of birds. I found it quite difficult to match the likes of the Bar-breasted Weaver Finch (Quail Finch), Von der Decken’s Seed-eater (Cuckoo Finch), and Northern Puff-back Shrike (Southern Boubou) to bird species listed in modern bird guides. I also discovered that the scientific names did not match either.
The first edition of Roberts was very helpful in this respect, since it lists all the “synonyms” (other, earlier scientific names) of the birds it describes. One of my favourite examples is the Fiscal Flycatcher Melaeornis silens, originally known in English as the Silent Bush Robin, which Roberts listed as Sigelus silens, with four synonyms in three genera, Lanius, Bradornis, and Tarsiger. Although it has now spent time in five genera, it has retained its species name of silens, Latin for silent or still. All these changes reflect an evolving understanding of birds’ taxonomic relationships, something that has accelerated with the advent of molecular genetics and international standardization, so we can expect the scientific names to continue changing.
The proposed name changes prompted me to revisit some species that have undergone multiple changes since I was boy. One example is the Protea Canary, Serinus leucopterus. It did not appear at all in Gill, which was not comprehensive. In the first edition of Roberts (1940) it was listed as Layard’s Seed-eater, Poliospiza leucoptera, with an alternative name of White-winged Seed-eater and with two scientific synonyms. At that stage it seems not much was known about it. The description was short, and Roberts mentioned that it was known from only three specimens. In the second edition (1957) – I have a treasured and much-thumbed copy given to me for my 11th birthday in that year – the entry is more informative and it is called the White-winged Seed-eater. That is what it was called when I ticked it as a lifer in 1959. In the third edition (1970) it had become the Protea Seed-eater, but it retained its scientific name, and this remained so in the fourth edition (1978). At that time a distinction was made between seed-eaters and canaries, apparently on the basis that the latter had some yellow plumage and the seed-eaters did not. But this had changed by the fifth edition (1984) when it was moved to the genus Serinus and was renamed Protea Canary, Serinus leucopterus. As a matter of interest, leucoptera/leucopterus is Latinised Greek and means white-winged, and this is still evident in the Afrikaans name, Witvlerkkanarie.)
Another interesting case is that of the Yellow Bishop, which had several of confusing name changes, but I must avoid that today and resist the temptation to digress on the subject of the Red Bishop – a 1960s research project on the breeding of that species, the “Red Bishop Enquiry, is said to have attracted the attention of the security police.
The issue of names is not without scientific interest, since the biological sciences are not always only about the very latest information. Biologists need to know what species of plants or animals they are studying, and to refer to them correctly. Organisms have been named using scientific names (basically Latin and Latinized Greek) since the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus devised the binomial system of biological nomenclature, first published in his Systema Naturae in 1735. (Linnaeus included plants, animals and stones, but his classification of stones did not catch on among geologists.) Biologists also want to know when and where organisms were first found, and by whom they were first described. So, the full scientific name of the House Sparrow is Passer domesticus Linnaeus, 1758, followed by a reference to the book in which it was first described, in this case, the tenth edition of Linnaeus’s own Systema naturae, in 1758.
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter All this to emphasize that zoologists and botanists frequently have to refer to the earliest books in which species were described. Ecologists and ornithologists studying changes in bird populations need to be able to match current names with those used long ago in reports by explorers and early ornithological researchers. This can be difficult, because the older books may have survived only in a handful of libraries scattered over the world. To make these sources more accessible, a consortium was formed in 2007 to make taxonomic information openly available through a digital portal https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/. Member institutions of the consortium, based at the Smithsonian Institution’s Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) in Washington DC, have scanned over 147,000 titles, with information on more than 180 million species of animals and plants. This is greatly appreciated by biologists, to the extent that a Hungarian zoologist in 2015 named a new species of snail Vargapupa biheli, after the BHL (Eberhart 2019). I would have thought that a fleeter-footed organism would have been more appropriate.
KNYSNA PELAGIC 27TH DECEMBER 2020
Well what a way to end a not very pleasant year! This was the second pelagic organised by member Tim Carr in association with Ocean Odyssey. I did not go on the first one two weeks ago, as Tim had said it could be rough. We had some very good birders amongst the participants including Josef van Wyngaard, a former member of the Club now living in Bloemfontein and Henk Nel, the inventor of the very popular Bird Lasser App. Rudi Minnie, whose team did so well on Birding Big Day, assisted Tim in guiding. I first met Rudi 10 years ago, when he was a student at Saasveld, and he took me on a boat to see the Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters at Groenvlei. As we exited the Heads we saw at least 6 Hammerhead Sharks in the water. We then headed out to sea with our limit being 15 nautical miles. We first saw a couple of Swift Terns, followed by Cape Gannets and then a White-chinned Petrel arrived. Young Mark Heystek was in charge of the chumming bucket (a delicious mix of fish oil, pilchards in tomato sauce and popcorn). Suddenly there were birds all around, flying, diving and sitting on the water. There were many Cory’s and Sooty Shearwaters and then great thrills as we found quite a few Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross sitting on the water, quite close to our boat. Next some Wilson’s Storm Petrels appeared, followed by a number of European Storm Petrels which came very close to the boat, attracted by Mark’s appetising mix. We saw up to 60 Cape Gannets in one group together on the water. Some small terns that we saw quite far away were identified by Tim and Rudi as Arctic Terns and they also picked out a few Manx Shearwaters. Rudi managed to spot the only Shy Albatross of the trip, but it was quite distant. A very attractive Sabine’s Gull then started following us for quite some time and another Shearwater, which they eventually identified as a Flesh-footed, which was a “lifer” for me, Tim and quite a few others. We also saw a couple of Parasitic Jaegars, as well as a few Cape Fur seals and as we headed back to the Heads, a few Bottle nosed Dolphins. We had also had a brief view of a Bryde’s Whale. Not too far from the Heads, our very knowledgeable skipper, Johann, got very excited when we came on a pod of four Orcas. He told us that they were not common and I think most of the participants had never seen any in the wild before. It was wonderful to watch their very elegant breaching. We stayed around them for quite some time, so that Johann could advise his boss, who quickly organised another boat to come out to look for them. By this time, it had started raining but most of us were quite wet anyway from the waves that kept breaking over the boat. I was very relieved to finally get through the Heads and into calm waters as there was a big swell of over 4 meters and white horses breaking over the front and sides of the boat. Despite taking two types of pills, I ended up talking to the bottom of a blue bucket!! However, in spite of this, it was a wonderful outing, that I would thoroughly recommend if you want to add some pelagic birds to your lists. Thank you, Tim for your initiative in organising such excellent birding opportunities in this area.
Pat Nurse
White-chinned Petrel Cory’s Shearwaters
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
January 2021 Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter
Cape Gannets European Storm Petrel
European Storm Petrel European Storm Petrel
Sabine’s Gull
Photos Claire Scott
BBD with the Ludwig's Bustards - November 2020
Lying on the couch with eyes wide open, I could hear the Coots and Kiewiets muffled calls in the distance as they began the Garden Route's dawn chorus three hours early in the darkness of the morning... a morning the team and I had been waiting for, for months. The 28th of November, the morning of Birding Big Day.
The alarm sounded, my hand smacked against the phone alerting me that it had finally reached 2:00am. With no time to waste, the team assembled in the living room with our gear packed and coffee in hand, ready to put our plan of action to work. Our team members were Ludwig Muller, Justin Ponder, Tim Carr and myself (Mark Heystek)... We were the Ludwig's Bustards. Hitting the road with all gadgets, bird books and snacks packed, we had so far ticked no less than 10 species by ear with African Wood Owl being most-worthwhile mentioning... Us boys had spent the night at Tim Carr's place, Reflections Eco Reserve, which boasts a fantastic variety of species with easy viewing. January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter 3 of the Bustards suffering from coffee side-affects moments before heading off - Justin (left), Ludwig (center) and myself (right) with our threat-sign to our biggest competitors...
First Stop - Woodville Big Tree... Still in the dark we visited The Woodville Big Tree in hope to add a couple more Owls to the list and hopefully one of the few secretive Giant Eagle- owls that hang out in the area, but had no luck there. So, we made our way back down to Tim's place at the crack of dawn, which is situated on the edge of Rondevlei lake, where waterbirds and many garden birds made their appearance on the list, before heading back up to the forest stretch but this time to a different spot. Driving into the Bergplaas forest, we emerged from the farm pastures lit up by the rising sun, into the gloomy Yellowwood forest presenting a contrasting atmosphere and a whack of new species on our list... But this atmosphere quickly changed when a suspicious Land Rover with black-tinted windows drove around the corner and then quickly picked up speed. All of us looked at each other when the vehicle had passed, knowing that we were all thinking the same thing... it was them... our rivals. Hehe... It was about to get real.
Finishing up in our patch of forest, another good 15+ species were added with the sweet sound of a Buff-spotted Flufftail and a White-starred Robin noted just before moving on. Driving further with our finger nails to our teeth, we turned the corner to the sight of our opponents lined up next to the road with bino's glued to their eyes, scanning the forest edge - The 230 Ostriches in full force, all five of them! It was only right to show some sportsmanship, so we drove past slowly and said howzit... I must say, that moment was quite interesting seeing all their different facial expressions.
But soon we were off. On our own path again to locate more species! The farmlands around Rondevlei were rather productive with Burchell's Coucal, Black-collared Barbet and European Honey- buzzard being the highlights of the area...
Now continuing, we found Lesser-striped Swallow, House Martin and Western Osprey amongst others along the drive between Rondevlei and Mossel Bay. In the Mossel Bay area, we made stops at the estuaries which produced a much greater variety of water birds, and the majority that we saw for the day, including Marsh Sandpiper, African Black Oystercatcher, Godwits, Turnstones and an un-identified Tern, excluding it's self from a roost of Sandwich and Swift Terns nearby, which had a very peculiar GISS about it... But we all know what they say - when in doubt, leave it out.
So, we did, and we had to, as there were rainclouds chasing our tail.
A quick stop at the Mossel Bay point for any luck with Pelagics was made... But despite the choppy sea all we could make out through the scope was a Cape Gannet here and there. Now at the 160 species mark, we had covered much of the habitats in the southern Garden Route area and the cold front had already kicked-in on this side of the mountain - It was time to get over the mountain for a change of habitats...
From Mossel Bay we made our way over the Robinson's Pass into the Klein Karoo, with a short detour here and there including a visit through Gondwana Game Reserve, providing a good variety of Fynbos, shrubland and valley thicket birds such as: Cloud Cisticola, Southern Tchagra, Agulhas Long-billed Lark, Grey-winged Francolin and African Quail-Finch... Continuing onto the pass we got the last of our Fynbos birds for the day including Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird and Ground Woodpecker but dipped on the Cape Rockjumpers.
Descending from the pass, fading into the Karoo we kept our eyes open for new species as the landscape changed, noting species like Cape Bunting, Familiar Chat, Karoo Scrub-robin and Booted Eagle by the time we'd reached the bottom of the pass. At this stage we weren't aware of if our rivals were already in the Karoo... all we knew was that the Klein Karoo is the 230 Ostrich’s natural habitat and that we were now in their territory! We got all the species we could while on the other side of the mountain and there was no turning back now. It all boiled down to what we made of the time we had in the Karoo - our last habitat for BBD.
Already late afternoon and nearing Oudtshoorn, we were sitting at just over 190 species when we stopped at a reed-infested low water bridge to see what would show... The excitement built as the numbers rolled in... 197! ...198!! ...199!!! And then... "Pop goes the Warbler!" Our target number was reached. An African Reed-warbler came into view on the side of the bridge - our 200th species for the day!
January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter With no time to waste, we jumped for joy (into the car) and hit the road inspired, as the day was not yet done and we had reached our target before dusk. Dusk was sure to come though, so we quickly popped in to our night's accommodation, a campsite in town, to check-in before heading off for the last day birds that we could find. The pressure was on and the scoreboards showed that the Ostriches were roaming their territory. It was time to hit the list with all that we had... Taking the dirt roads around Oudtshoorn was very productive, even at this time of day. New species were scarce now and so adding more than one species per stop was a bonus! We tried our luck along the shrubland fields where we got special Karoo species including Cape Penduline-tit, Rufous-eared Warbler, Karoo Lark and Yellow-bellied Eremomela but dipped on Karoo Eremomela...
Driving in the last beams of light we birded along a green riverbed where some common ones that we had missed made their appearance like Three Banded Plover and White-backed Mousebird but some other nice ones like White-throated Canary and Namaqua Warbler were also ticked before dinner time... Now just after 20:00, sitting on 211 species the team took a 30min breather at the Oudtshoorn Spur and decided what our last step would be before the clock struck midnight... By now the Ostriches had left us in their dust. We had done our best and we were all running on the last of our adrenaline... but hey, it was not yet midnight. We were still short on night-birds and the Ostriches were still going... A drive down a farm road in the dark was more than worth it.
So that’s what we did. We checked the Birdlasser website to look at how the Ostriches’ list was going. They were still out there… Looking at their recent species, while driving out of town, we all burst out with excitement and Tim put foot on the gas. They had just logged Double-banded Courser and Rufous-cheeked Nightjar somewhere along the farm roads! – Two hard-to-find birds in the Garden Route. After several stop-overs, listening with our ears cupped and mis-identifying a bunny as a Bustard, we finally heard something different. The team and I all stood still when we heard the sound in the distance, there was no doubt about what it was. We broke the silence and all agreed with high fives going all over the place – It was a Rufous-cheeked Nightjar in the farm field… calling just for us. BBD 2020’s Sunset in the Klein Karoo.
With no other night birds to be heard or seen, the team and I called it a day. I’m telling you, without that last bit of excitement we may not have made it back to the campsite due to exhaustion! And that was it. A day of 212 species in the Garden Route… and although we failed to see the species our team is named after, or any Bustards at all, we did get some absolutely fantastic birds and even a few lifers for us boys!
All in all, us three boys had the most bird-full time ever! All thanks to Tim Carr for being our taxi driver, accommodation provider (we slept on his deck), for the food and drinks (leftovers and cold coffee), for guiding us throughout the day and teaching us a few lessons (like: next time bring your own extra flask of BLACK coffee!). Knowing that we, the Bustards, had very little chance of beating the Ostriches, we are still very pleased that we took 2nd place in the Western Cape with the 230 Ostriches coming in 1st!
There really are not many other words for them other than: very well done! The Ostriches totally deserved 1st place as they certainly worked for it! …with a little bit of pressure from the Bustards. Better watch out… Here we come BBD 2021!
CAR route WW02, Summer 2021 Peter Lor 2021-01-31
This summer, since there were no takers to help, I decided to do the January Coordinated Avifaunal Roadcount (CAR) count by myself. I've now done the CAR count on my local route since the Winter of 2014, having missed only two, so I felt it would be a pity to skip this year. Going solo is not ideal. It is difficult to keep an eye on the road, scan left and right, and not forget the rear-view mirrors, I'm sure birds were missed and this count is not fully comparable with earlier ones. But I hope it is better than nothing. Submitting my return gave rise to the following reflections, which I hope will be of interest and encourage Club members to participate in this citizen science project.
Route WW02 (which was amended a few years before I started) starts on the N2 at the turn-off to Langvlei, crosses the channel between Island lake and Langvlei, and follows the road eastward along the northern shore of Langvlei to the Rondevlei T-junction, then up “T-shirt Hill” onto the plateau, where it joins the Seven Passes Road, which it follows eastwards to Barrington. There the route turns south to Ruigtevlei, where it loops back north again on the Karatara road. It ends after about 58km at the junction of that road with the Seven Passes road, just outside Karatara. It passes through very varied habitats, including reedbeds, market gardens, orchards, intensive dairy farms, timber plantations, and some indigenous forest – a microcosm of our area.
The survey targets large terrestrial birds such as cranes, korhaans and bustards, along with some raptors, all three corvids, and a few other species of special concern such as the Black-headed Heron and Spurwing Goose. They are counted, and their position (kilometre reading) recorded. As with atlassing, a protocol has to be followed to ensure that results are comparable year after year, and with the other counts being done on the same day by other citizen scientists. We drive no faster than 50 km per hour, recording species of interest as we go, and stop every two kilometres to get out and scan the environment. In my case, that means stopping and getting out January 2021
The Lakes Bird Club Newsletter at least 28 times. Obviously, it helps if here are more observers. I’m sure I would have recorded more species and counted more individuals if I had had a team of two or three observers. This year I drove somewhat more slowly than in the past, in an effort to make up for the lack of observers.
Other factors also affect the results. A vehicle with a higher viewing position helps, for example. Time of day is a factor. This year I started early, for personal reasons, at 07:05. That may be fine (or late) for general birding, but one may miss raptors, storks and other large birds that wait for the air to warm up so that they can utilize thermals. In future I will wait until eight or half-past eight again.
High vegetation along road verges is increasingly making it difficult to see what is in the veld beyond. Also, year after year we see a distressing increase in invasive alien vegetation. The growing amount of combustible material is worrying. We have millions of people unemployed but it seems that the will, organizational capacity, and logistical skills are lacking to put them to work clearing alien vegetation on a large enough scale to make a difference.
It has been interesting (and a bit depressing) to see the effect of land-use changes. Dairy farming along Route WW02 seems to be intensifying. Unimproved grazing is making way for sown pasture (often irrigated with overhead sprinkling hoses) and large swathes of maize, intended for cattle fodder. The pasture is used by large numbers of Sacred Ibis, Hadeda, and Guineafowl, which are – thankfully! – not counted, but grassveld species such as Zitting Cisticola, larks and pipits are scarce there. I notice that more land that used to be pasture is being planted with crops such as macadamia nuts. All this has an impact on avian diversity. Pine plantations and forest have long been a major feature of the landscape, so that many of my 2km stops yield at most a raptor or corvid overhead.
On this trip I counted 39 individuals of six species – the smallest totals yet. White Storks were noticeably absent for the first 28 km, by which time it was after nine a.m. By then it was warming up and I started seeing storks. They are usually in small, scattered groups. If you see one, it is always worth checking, as you often find some more nearby. At 18 they were the most numerous species, recorded on fallow land and pasture. They were followed by seven White-necked Ravens, which outnumbered the Pied Crow (1) and Cape Crows (4). I was disappointed to see only one Amur Falcon (which is not countable). In earlier years I have seen them utilizing the same habitat as the storks. The two Yellow-billed Kites were not countable either, but a countable migrant raptor, Common Buzzard, was more numerous at six individuals, outnumbering the local Jackal Buzzards (3). A highlight of the trip was a sighting of five Hamerkops (not countable) flying together overhead. I had never seen so many Hamerkops together before.
Over the years Route WW02 is becoming less productive in terms of CAR species. This trend will probably continue, but I do think we should continue to monitor it because of the land-use changes it reflects. A zero observation is not the same as no observation and is also meaningful, something CAR participants should remember.
January 2021