phone 3190540 email [email protected] Familiar Chat N e w s l e t t e r o f B i r d L i f e B o t s w a n a About Walks WHO? If you are interested in learning about , you are welcome! WHAT? We walk slowly for a couple of kilometres and look for birds. You need binoculars, a bird ID book is useful. A vehicle which can deal with bumpy, overgrown tracks is useful, but not essential. However - don’t set off without folding chairs and the makings of a picnic. WHEN and WHERE? The 1st Sunday and the 3rd Saturday of the month at 6.30am meeting on the Molapo Crossing Car Park. The Sunday walks are permanent fixtures as demand is Researchers evaluated 1,991 participants from the Walking high. The Saturday programme, for beginners only, is a for Health program in England, which helps facilitate nearly recent addition and depends on the level of interest. Check 3,000 weekly walks and draws more than 70,000 regular the website for details. walkers a year. WHY? “Walking is an inexpensive, low risk and accessible “Given the increase in mental ill health and physical form of exercise and it turns inactivity in the developed world, we are constantly out that combined with nature exploring new, accessible ways to help people improve their and group settings, it may be a long term quality of life and well-being,” very powerful, under-utilizedGrey Crowned “Group Crane walks– endangered in local natural environments may make a through habitat destruction stress buster. Findings suggest potentially important contribution to public health and be that something as simple as beneficial in helping people cope with stress and experience joining an outdoor walking improved emotions.” group may not only improve someone’s daily positive The Why? Is borrowed from the website below. emotions but may also http://www.uofmhealth.org/news/archive/201409/walking-depression-and- beating-stress-outdoors-nature-group Referred by Ian White contribute a non- pharmacological approach to serious conditions like 1 depression.” October 2014

Not just a bird camp - more of a total environmental experience First Impressions of BLB We arrived in plenty of time to set up camp. Surprise! We found At the beginning of this year, my wife and I moved to four large raised tents complete with beds just waiting for us - all Botswana from the U.S., where I previously worked in we had to do was light the fire (with one match!) the area of black lung law for the U.S. Department of We were given a great welcome by Mma Riggs and Linda. It was Labor. good to be back in the quiet beauty of this hidden paradise. Our I have been volunteering at BLB since May of this year. camp was shaded by several huge Combretum imberbe and As an attorney, I’ve sought to use my legal knowledge Acacia tortilis. As we relaxed we could see and hear a variety of and training to assist BLB in various projects over the birds all around us. A small croc sunned itself on a nearby last few months, including drafting several policy briefs sandbank, watching the Limpopo flow gently past. targeted at government officials on the issue of the We explored - collecting interesting rocks from the river and finding illegal poisoning of vultures. porcupine quills, before joining up for supper and conversation The illegal use of agrochemicals is a huge issue here and around the fire. Ian had spotted a White-backed Vulture on its’ in the region, and there are numerous ways in which I nest and we had all seen the pair of Fish Eagles swooping high believe the Botswana government can better prevent above the tree canopy. There were White fronted Bee-eaters in the wildlife poisoning incidents from occurring. river bank, Hadedas, Grey Hornbills, Yellow billed Hornbills, I’ve also attended several educational outreach events, Drongos, Burchells Starlings and Kurrichane Thrushes, Brown bird walks, and, most recently, the camping trip to hooded Kingfishers, Natal Francolins, and a pair of scruffy Crested Darnaway Farm. Thus far I’ve been impressed by the Barbets, all of which were very active in the late afternoon. dedication and accomplishments of the staff and how Next morning Ian led us round the bend - in the river! We enjoyed welcoming BLB members have been. I’m honored to be a memorable sighting of a Giant Kingfisher, highlighted by the sun a part of the good work BLB is doing, and I look forward shining on the river. We didn’t see many water birds – a lone to assisting BLB in several upcoming projects in the near Egyptian Goose, a couple of Helmeted Lapwings….. future. Our evening walk took us to the weir. There we watched a pair of Alex Smith Three banded Plovers, with a chick, scurrying around on the sand and a big fish jumping. On our return, we found a large herd of Impala. Mma Riggs confirmed there were 150, but they are constantly under threat by South African poachers coming across the river. Our last morning we visited a densely wooded area, just upriver. A little creature with a bright red/tan pointed face was moving extremely rapidly from branch to branch. It was a tree squirrel, quite unlike the ground squirrel. We watched a pair of Water Dikkops, motionless and almost invisible against the sand. Many thanks to Ian White, for being an able, knowledgeable and entertaining leader. Ros Wyer

The Limpopo River at Darnaway Farm (Tuli Block) 2 Breeding success of certain birds can be limited if trees, alive or dead, that have the requisite cavities are not available to them. Appropriate-sized nest holes may be used over a period of years and as such highlights the importance of understanding and conserving the various elements of suitable habitats. While it In the series on , this is number 6 is recommended that only dead wood should be collected for firewood, it is also and it looks at the two Scops Owls: the important to not collect all the dead wood in an area as it could also be providing African Scops- (formerly called just the nesting areas for certain birds and habitat for other creatures. Owls do not, or ) and the Southern White-faced cannot, modify nest holes (make them bigger or deeper) as do some other hole- Scops- Owl (formerly known as the White- nesting birds. faced Owl). These are among the very small/smaller owls with the former The female African Scops-Owl does all the incubating which lasts about 25 days, being 15cm long/tall and the latter somewhat but the male does his part by bringing prey to her at night. They mostly feed on African Scops Owl larger at 28 cm. Being the same size as insects as their feet are too weak to catch and hold larger prey. These owls call at the now-named owlets, one wonders why the African Scops-Owl is not now night with a soft ‘prrrrp’ that is repeated about every ten seconds, but also called an owlet. occasionally they can be heard calling during the day.

The African Scops-Owl is a fairly common resident in Botswana but can be The larger Southern White-faced Scops-Owl is the largest of the small owls and difficult to see as its plumage (feathers) looks like the mottled grey or also has ear tufts that are more prominent than those of the African Scops-Owl, brown bark of a tree. During the day when it is resting at its roost it stands which it is quick to raise when disturbed. This owl is mainly grey with red-orange or perches very close to a tree trunk. It stretches and holds its feathers eyes that are surrounded by a white ”face”. This white face disk is outlined by a close to its body and keeps its ear tufts raised, and in blending into the broad black ring making a border around the face. Owls are said to have a “face” colour of the tree bark it can look like a branch or stump. It also closes its as their forward-facing eyes are in the middle of a rather flat face-like area of the yellow eyes almost completely – down to just slits. Its use of camouflage head. All birds of prey’s eyes face forward but they don’t have a face as do owls, makes this owl quite difficult to see. while other birds’ eyes are located at the sides of their head which allows them to see danger coming from various directions. The Southern White-faced Scops-Owl The African Scops-Owl is the only one of the very small owls (which include also occurs throughout Botswana and breeds in woodlands, savannah or in dry the Pearl-spotted Owlet and the Barred Owlet) to have “horns” or “ear thornnveld. This owl does not use tree cavities or holes to lay its eggs in, but tufts”. Although this owl is said to occur throughout Botswana and breeds instead uses old nests of other birds such as some of the smaller birds of prey or in open woodland, it favours tall trees such as mophane that have cavities even those of sparrows. They have been known to also use the bare crotch of a large enough for the female to enter and lay her eggs (an average of three tree where several branches can form a sort of flat base that will hold the two to eggs per clutch (number of eggs laid in a nest or a group of hatchlings)) and four eggs laid. Incubation is done mostly by the female but the male does stay on incubate them. If there are standing dead trees with suitable cavities, these the nest when the female goes to feed. Incubation lasts about 30 days. are also used. 3 These owls eat rodents, insects and , as well as birds. The Southern White-faced Scops-Owl is nocturnal (active at night) and like the African Scops-Owl hunts from a perch at night. Its call is a rapid hooting but it is not as vocal as the African Scops-Owl which seems to call throughout the night. The Southern White-faced Scops-Owl also rests during the day in a similar manner as the African Scops-Owl. It also is well camouflaged during the day when it stands close to a tree trunk, elongates its body, holds its feathers close in to the body, raises its ear tufts and closes its red-orange eyes down to slits.

While these two owls may be confused, the size difference and colour of the plumage and colour of their faces as well as their eyes will help you identify them. Their calls are also distinct and they can be identified by that even if you cannot see the owl.

Doreen McColaugh

Resources consulted for this article:

A Beginner’s Guide OWLS by G. Lockwood

Birds of Botswana by K. Newman

Nests & Eggs of Southern Africa by W. Tarboton

Owls & Owling by W. Tarboton and R. Erasmus

Southern White-faced Scops Owls

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4 THE NESTING CYCLE NEST BUILDING Nests provide a safe place for Throughout the year, most birds use day length to tell what season it eggs and young birds to develop. is. When the number of hours of daylight exceeds a certain critical Bird nests are extremely diverse, level, physiological changes are triggered in birds which prepare them although each species typically to breed. Most birds, especially those in temperate regions, also time has a characteristic nest style. their breeding activities so that they will be feeding their nestlings Some birds do not make nests at when food is most abundant. However, well before nestlings arrive, all and instead lay their eggs in a birds need to select a breeding territory. Non-migratory species may simple scrape in the ground. either maintain a territory throughout the winter or establish a new Other birds construct nests from natural materials, such as grass, one in the spring. Migratory birds begin looking for and defending a leaves, mud, lichen, and fur, or from man-made materials like paper, territory as soon as they arrive in the spring. Good territories provide plastic, and yarn. Nests potential nest sites, reliable food sources, and protection from can be found almost predators. anywhere – on the CHOOSING A MATE ground, in trees, in While territories are being claimed, birds try to attract mates. In most burrows, on the sides of species, females choose males based on an assessment of their overall cliffs, in and on man-made quality and vigour. Males advertise their suitability as a mate by structures, etc. Females exhibiting bright breeding plumage during courtship displays, by typically build nests, but bringing food to females, by demonstrating their nest-building abilities, sometimes both parents and by singing, drumming, or calling. Social pair bonds tie males and or just the male will build it. females of most species together throughout the breeding season, but promiscuity is not uncommon. DNA analyses has shown that even birds COPULATION AND EGG FORMATION During the breeding season, that presumably “mate for life,” such as ostriches (Struthio camelus), hormonal changes cause the internal testes of males to swell to more may not always be faithful. It is possible for nestlings in a single nest to than 1,000 times their normal size. The ovaries and oviduct of females be fathered by different males! Males of some species, such as the also increase in size in preparation for egg fertilization and Weavers (Ploceidae sp), can have more than one mate at a time (a development. During copulation, the male’s cloaca contacts and ejects mating system called polygyny). sperm into the cloaca of the female. The sperm travel to the oviduct Much less commonly, females of where they can be stored for long periods. If all goes well, the sperm some species, such as the Jacana penetrate through the wall of the ovum (egg) and fertilization takes (Actophilornis africanus), may have place. During the first stage of embryonic development, the egg shell more than one mate as well develops; pigments are added last. Ovulation and laying take about 24 (polyandry). hours, so female birds typically produce at most one egg per day.

WARNING – This is from a US website, I have localised the bird species BUT and some US spellings may survive.! EGG LAYING fully feathered, mobile, and with eyes open. Incubation periods are The total number of eggs that a female can lay in one nesting attempt longer for precocial birds than altricial birds, allowing for increased varies widely depending on the species. For example, many tropical embryonic development in the egg, and therefore they have relatively birds lay clutches of only 2 or 3 eggs. Waterfowl, such as Wood Ducks, advanced motor and sensory functions at hatching. can lay up to 15 eggs in one nesting attempt. Clutch size can also vary widely among individuals of the same species depending on food and calcium availability, latitude, age of the female, weather, and time of year. The size, shape, colour, and texture of bird eggs are also extremely variable both among and within species.

INCUBATION Birds incubate their eggs to keep them at the proper temperature to To keep up with the food demands of nestlings, their parents ensure normal development. Female songbirds usually begin continuously forage for food. This is an extremely dangerous time for incubation after they have finished laying all of their eggs so that they both the adult and young birds because the increased activity and will hatch at approximately the same time. Other birds, such as herons, begging cries of nestlings can attract predators. After 2 or 3 weeks, cranes, cormorants, and raptors begin incubation as soon as the first most songbirds are usually ready to leave the nest. Other birds, such as egg is laid and therefore their eggs may hatch on different days. In raptors, may stay in the nest for as long as 8 to 10 weeks. In contrast, some species, both males and females incubate eggs. Incubation time precocial birds spend hardly any time in the nest and are often seen varies depending on the species, but typically the larger the bird, the wandering in search of food alongside their parents only hours after longer the incubation period. hatching. HATCHING LEAVING THE NEST Songbirds and most seabirds have altricial young, meaning that the Most birds nest only once per year, but some species can have up to 4 newly hatched birds are blind, featherless, and helpless. Immediately or 5 nests during a single breeding season. After leaving the nest after hatching, altricial birds can do little more than open their mouths (fledging) young birds typically remain close to their parents for a short to beg for food. They remain in the nest where the parents can feed period. During this time, young birds must learn to survive on their own and protect them while they continue to develop. For the first week of and are very vulnerable to predators and starvation. The first year is life, most altricial birds cannot control their own body temperature and the toughest; in nearly all bird species, more than half of the first year must be constantly brooded (kept warm) by their parents. By the end birds perish. For birds that do make it to adulthood however, the odds of the first week, their eyes are usually open and their feathers are of surviving another year improve greatly. beginning to emerge. During this period, nestlings can experience remarkable growth by doubling their body weight several times! Photos – Ian White, Craig Britz,, Harsha Jadeja Precocial species, such as cranes, ducks and many shorebirds, are born http://nestwatch.org/learn/general-bird-nest-info/nesting-cycle/ 6 Expedition into the Western Woodlands. Acacia erioloba and Acacia luderitzii trees with swathes of wheat- 26th September – 1st October 2014 like grassland. No undergrowth, bushes or scrub break the views which reach on 20 years ago a colleague at Northside School did an expedition and on under into the Western Woodlands with her family. This was the trees. There remarkable, for most people living here even long, long years, was a quiet have never heard about the Western Woodlands. When, after grandeur from long looooong hours of travelling the family, including two young the ancient children, eventually arrived. The elder daughter, Brigitte hopped acacias, a out of the landrover, stood in silence gazing about her and then softness from declared “Mummy………………… this is where God lives.” Jenny’s the grassland, description of this magical moment ignited my desire to follow in and peace such as I have never experienced in Botswana – or their footsteps. I have finally done so. anywhere - ever. We had the world to ourselves for 4 days. Game was scattered everywhere with more in the southerly reaches What goes to where, from our campsite overlooking a pan, we were able to make an area watch the coming and going of eland, sprinkbok, gemsbok, speak of God’s wildebeeste and bat presence? Over eared foxes. Driving out our days of from this area on our last tuning in and day the game teemed – letting the every new vista was place affect us, populated by huge herds we boiled the of these . The magic of the area down to 3 elements – no humans, no goats and birding was not of note, no cattle! Described as one of the last unfenced true wildernesses but a steady trickle of interest kept our lists growing over all 4 in Africa we found it just as God made it – untouched, no scars days to a total of about 55 species. healing, very little evidence of others even having been there except for the tracks we followed, pure and very very lovely. About 40km long and up to 25km wide in some parts, its name comes from the strange and unique combination of large, mature

7 We were lucky to go country along sandy, during a season when narrow tracks deeply the trees were in ploughed by flower. Driving in we spoor which spoke of no were enchanted by traffic for a very long the Kalahari apple leaf time. The last recorded Philenoptera nelsii in visitor, according to the full and abundant camping fees receipt flower adding huge book, had been May splashes of soft lilac 2014. The main pan of against the dryness of the area, Masetleng, is huge and has one demarcated camping the October bush. site. Newly constructed, non functional ablutions were already Also flowering were Boscia albitrunca in the surrounding deteriorating into the surrounding bush. We chose a site by the scrublands and Ochna pulcra giving clean splashes of yellow woodlands, just off a north/south cutline. Two nights later we around Jwaneng. The Acacia mellifora were just going over, as moved about 40km south along deeply sandy tracks to Zutshwa were the Acacia eriloba in the woodlands themselves. The pan where we spent another 2 nights. We returned to Kang via generosity of flowers blooming into the extreme dry and dust of a Hukuntse. From Kang back to Kang via this round route was Botswana-waiting-for-rain went to underline the presence of a 646km. Higher Being without the presence of man to throw things out of Before closing this account of a truly memorable weekend, a kilter. confession has to be made. The first night at our second camping A brief summary of our spot on Zutshwa pan was punctuated by the presence of spotted route - we left the Trans hyena and their cries. The next morning crowds Kalahari Highway north of of vulture rose up on the thermals and Kang, and struck off west dominated the skies to the north. Now as towards Ncojane. We wove experienced campers and bush people you are our way through the justified in presuming that we would make the settlements in the area, past same connections that you have just made in many pans of varying sizes, the few seconds of reading this! …. Hyenas + through typical Kalahari vultures = !! ….. But we didn’t! In retrospect I landscapes until we reached Ngwatle. We then plunged into 4x4 blush at our ineptitude, and off 4 of the group

8 went on a long 3 hour walk round the pan. That afternoon 3 did a walk into the woodlands behind the camp still blissfully soaking in FASCINATING FACTS the peace and perfection of the area! Then on the second night The Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) looks more like a stork than a bird of prey. It is they made themselves known – lion to the north, later to the the only bird of prey which hunts on foot, west, and later still the south. It was all very exciting, the distance striding through the grass. It feeds mainly on of their calls keeping the adrenaline at comfortable levels! …………. invertebrates, small mammals and snakes which until Gail decided to have a meander just before we pulled out to it kicks to death with it’s powerful legs. drive home. No, she didn’t come across the lion themselves, but she did come across their spoor just 20m from our camp. A group with young had passed, obviously having made a kill during our first night there, slept if off under the trees during our happy wanderings in the area, and moving on during our second night. Yes, this IS where God lives, in the benign and not-so-benign, and where the balance of life looks after itself far better than man could ever emulate! Mary Webb Mary Webb, Mike & Daphne Goldsworthy, Janet & Craig Britz, Gail & Floris Fortgens. African Jacanas (Actophilornis africanus) have the longest toes of any bird. Even the chicks! Special mention, and huge appreciation must be extended to Chris Brewster. They open their toes to spread their weight as Generous with his pearls of wisdom, recommendations and instructions, without they walk across floating leaves. his input this weekend would not have been all that it was. It is a very remote area, little visited with very little information available, needing experience to venture in with. So thank you Chris!

9 I want Botswana Vultures Alive, Not Dead International Vulture Awareness Day Otse 6th of September 2014

International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD) is organised to sensitise communities on the plight of vultures world wide. International Vulture Awareness was celebrated at Otse, for the first time in Botswana. Otse is host to almost 120 Cape vultures, the second largest colony after Tswapong which has approximately 400 vultures. Most species of vulture have undergone catastrophic declines during the past two decades and some face Dr Senyatso giving a lecture on vulture potential extinction. Vultures provide essential poisoning and urging Otse community ecological services. As we have pointed out before in members to be vulture conservationists Familiar Chat, a rotting carcass used to be a rare sight. In commemorating International Vulture Awareness Day we aim to have an impact on the attitude of Batswana towards vultures and the environment at large. Birdlife Botswana in partnership with Cape Vulture Environmental Association organized the event By educating communities about the importance of vultures in the environment, we make them aware of the four ways in which our vultures get killed. * Poisoning by farmers, in most cases unintentional. * Poisoning by Poacher, always intentional. * Veterinary products * Lead BLB and CVEA encouraged local communities to find Murals by Otse youth showing ways to benefit from vultures.f Manyelanong Cape vultures. Tsogo Dudu Bethel (Vulture Awareness CoOrdinator) 10 Moshupa August 2014

11 The words go across and down and maybe backwards and up too! Which bird is in the picture?

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