Bokmakierie Newsletter of the Witwatersrand Club August 2015 No 243

The Murrie Slotar Tribute Edition

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BirdLife SOUTH Giving Conservation Wings The new Jacana Hide at Nylsvley 13 August 2015 WITWATERSRAND P O Box 641 BIRD CLUB Cresta 2118 Tel: 011 782 7267 ISSUE NO 243 Fax: 086 512 7696 AUGUST 2015 Email: [email protected] Web: www.witsbirdclub.org.za

Inside this issue: 2015 Committee:

2 Letter from the Chair Honorary President Lance Robinson Chairman Andy Feather- 3 Report on July 2015 CWAC at stone Nylsvley and CAR In Chrissies- Vice-Chairman Lia Steen meer by Barbi Forsyth Treasurer Leanne Webster 7 Mice Threaten Near-Pristine Is- Courses Janice Isom land by Ross Wanless 9 In Warfare by Anthony Ca- Conservation Lance Robinson vanagh Evening Meetings Lia Steen 11 The Bird Runner - He Ran For Website Thinie v d Polar Bears And Now To Save Merwe The Flufftails by Kamcilla Pillay Programme Ginny Mes 13 Farewell Messages to Murrie Slotar Club Secretary Lauraine Leigh 20 Cuckoo Encounter by Lesley Cornish DEADLINE FOR DECEMBER 23 Bird Of The Year 2015 Media 2015 ISSUE - 1st NOVEMBER Release By Birdlife 2015 24 The Birdman Of Marloth Park Contributions, addressed to the and other tributes to the late Editor, can be: Tony Newey 29 A Tribute to Jan Bezuidenhoudt E-mailed to: [email protected] 30 Botsalano In June by Lesley Posted to: The Editor, Witwa- Cornish tersrand Bird Club, P O Box 641, Cresta, 2118 32 Klipriviersberg Verreaux’s Ea- gles by Boudewyn Van Der Lecq Delivered to: Delta Environ- Raptor mental Centre, Road No 3, Victory Park Cover Photo: African Penguin by Faxed to: 086 512 7696 Albert Froneman

3 If you would prefer to remain anony- LETTER mous to the Committee then just ask FROM Lauraine to withhold your name. THE After many months of building work BirdLife’s new offices in Dunkeld are CHAIR complete and they have now moved in. Part of the new building is a shop where you can browse books, binoc- Dear Members, ulars and other goodies whilst having Spring is approaching fast and al- a coffee and cookie. The library is ready the first inter-African migrants open to all so you can study or read are starting to trickle in. The weath- the many titles housed there. There er is warming up nicely although we is also an indigenous garden and wa- hardly seem to have had a winter ter feature and once the gardens be- this year. September will be a busy come established it will be bound to month with the Sasol Bird Fair and attract many avian visitors too. Arbor Day at BirdLife’s new ofices Wits Bird Club has entered into an starting off the spring season nicely. agreement with BirdLife SA whereby Wits Bird Club will be having a stand we will become the Local Conserva- at the bird fair, which will be on the tion Group for the Nylsvley flood- 5th and 6th September, so please plain IBA. As part of this agreement stop by to say hello if you attend. we will be organising data collection August has been a month of change trips to Nylsvley on a regular basis. with Murrie Slotar leaving for her This will include ringing, atlasing new home in Durban and the sad and other ADU data collection pro- news of Jan Bezuidenhoudt passing grammes such as mammals, butter- away after a long illness. flies and reptiles. More information will be forthcoming over the next In October the Committee will be few months from the Conservation having their annual Bosberaad to sub-committee under the guidance discuss the state of the club and of Lance Robinson. to debate ways and means of mak- ing improvements. We also plan The club has also formally adopted our evening meeting dates and dis- the monitoring of the nesting Ver- cuss what can be done to improve reaux’s Eagles at Meyer’s Farm (see our events. If you have any views the aricle on page 32). More details that you would like to share with us to follow. please let either Lauraine or any of the Committee members know. We Andy Featherstone really would like to hear your views, whether positive or negative on any aspect of the club whether venues, meeting days and dates or outings. 4 hilarity amongst the volunteers. REPORT ON JULY Thanks Daphne, Eddie, Jeanne, 2015 CWAC AT Joan, Verna, Jan and Alan for being NYLSVLEY AND such a great team. CAR IN CHRIS- SIESMEER Text and Photos By Barbi Forsyth

11 July 2015 was our designated date for the Winter CWAC at Nylsvley. For the first time we had volunteers who How farmers deal with rodents in Chrissiesmeer. There was an stayed in the chalets at their own owl in the box on the pole. expense. The chalets were lovely and clean and the 5 volunteers who Two weeks later we were off to occupied them were very happy Chrissiesmeer for our Winter CAR. and snug. We socialised at the cha- Our new accommodation was su- lets both evenings, so the campers perb, very clean and I felt again that couldn’t complain, despite getting Chrissiesmeer was my second home. locked in, locked out and dealing My sincere thanks go to Jean Rath- with a gushing tap in the campsite. bone and her family who couldn’t have done more for us. Nylsvley was very dry and the grass has returned to its moribund state from before the fire. However, we had a lovely day and counted 214 birds from 27 species. That did not include the dead racing pigeon, which almost forced me into early birding retirement and caused much

Receding water at Nylsvley.

Each of the routes seemed to come home with their ‘specials’ for the day. Despite the cold conditions, rain and hail, 6 of the 7 routes were covered. The Helmeted Guineafowl At the bridge. Possibly the low- population appears to be recover- est we have seen it at Nylsvley. ing in the precinct. (Continued p6) 5 CHRISSIESMEER CAR RESULTS

Species Total MC01 MC02 MC03 MC04 MC05 MC06 MC07

Secretarybird 4 0 0 0 1 3 0 0

Black-headed Heron 5 0 0 0 2 1 0 2

Blue Korhaan 8 2 0 4 0 2 0 0 Northern Black 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 Korhaan Bald Ibis 12 2 5 0 2 0 0 3

Grey Crowned Crane 51 0 0 5 43 2 0 1

Spur-winged Goose 63 0 2 31 11 0 0 19

Helmeted Guineafowl 644 135 18 176 0 315 0 0

795 139 25 216 59 323 0 33

6 CHRISSIESMEER CAR RESULTS

Species Total MC01 MC02 MC03 MC04 MC05 MC06 MC07

Steppe Buzzard 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Pied Crow 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2

Jackal Buzzard 5 0 0 0 2 3 0 0

Black-shouldered Kite 71 8 8 15 10 19 11 8

81 8 8 15 12 23 15 33

7 NYLSVLEY CWAC RESULTS

Reed Cormorant 12 Yellow-billed Duck 5

Grey Heron 3 African Fish-Eagle 8

Goliath Heron 1 Black Crake 5

Purple Heron 5 Common Moorhen 3

Yellow-billed Egret 5 African Jacana 2

Cattle Egret 2 Three-banded Plover 1

Squacco Heron 4 Blacksmith Lapwing 63

Green-backed Heron 1 African Wattled Lapwing 6

Hamerkop 12 African Snipe 1

African Sacred Ibis 1 Marsh Owl 2

Glossy Ibis 38 Pied Kingfisher 9

African Spoonbill 1 Giant Kingfisher 3

Spur-winged Goose 5 Unidentified Waders 1

Egyptian Goose 15

Total waterbirds counted: 214 Total species observed: 26

Animal Demography Unit

8 Sadly the condition of the roads in the precinct has continued to dete- MICE THREATEN riorate and Alan has challenged me NEAR-PRISTINE with some statistical analyses, which may be beyond me. ISLAND By Ross Wanless

Cape Town, 29 April 2015: Getting rid of a conservation problem, once “Would you like me to do that?” and for ever, is something of a rar- Joan Strugnall showing them how it’s done. ity. But eradicating invasive species from islands is one example. BirdLife My thanks must go to Joan, Ginny, is leading an initiative Jeanne, Jasmin, Verna, Hanneline, that could result in invasive mice be- Ineke, Rose, Jan, Alan, Lance, Peter ing eradicated from Marion Island. and Kevin who made this one of my best and happiest CAR Counts ever. Marion Island is the jewel in the crown of South Africa’s islands. It is Thanks too to the Committee of the massive, beautiful, and a sanctuary Wits Bird Club for all their support. for seabirds, seals, killer whales and more. Cats were eradicated from Both sets of results have been sub- Marion Island in the early 1990s, mitted to the ADU at the University leaving mice as the only introduced of Cape Town. We shall be back in mammal. Work done at Gough Is- January 2016. land demonstrated that predation by mice can cause extinctions, and their impacts at Marion Island are increasing. BirdLife South Africa is leading a col- WEBSITE laborative effort to review the feasi- We are pleased to announce that bility of eradicating mice from Mari- the Wits Bird Club website has on Island. The good news is that the been rebuilt and is now back up techniques to do this conservation and running. work exist and are proven effective. Marion Island remains the largest is- land ever cleared of cats. Australia’s Macquarie Island is now clear of rab- 9 bits, rats and mice, the largest island to have a 3-species complex eradi- cated simultaneously, and one of very few where rats and mice have been tackled successfully. South Georgia is currently being cleared of rats and mice – which will make it the biggest island on earth ever cleared of these invasive rodents. Serious consideration is also being given to eradicate mice at Gough Is- land, the celebrity island for mouse Mouse at nest - Photo by Andrea Angel. impacts on seabirds. So initiating work to consider options at Marion tact: Ross Wanless, +27 (0)21 419 Island isn’t really pushing the enve- 7347 or email: ross.wanless@birdlife. lope in any meaningful, technical org.za sense. But it is a massive island, and will require very significant resourc- To donate in support of this appeal, es if an eradication programme is to please go to www.birdlife.org.za/ be tackled. And therefore we really support-us/donate need to get every aspect looked at, studied in depth and squared away comprehensively. That’s the good news. The bad news is that these are fiendishly expen- sive, risky operations that require 2016 WITS BIRD extensive studies, exquisite plan- ning and a lot of time. And time is, CLUB as everyone knows, money. The first step is to have an expert, and in this CALENDAR instance it is Dr John Parkes from The 2016 WBC Calendar will be New Zealand, inspect the island and available at the Sasol Bird Fair point out where there are significant and thereater from the office. risks to other species, logistical con- The cost is R100. Please place straints and areas requiring more re- your order with Lauraine at the search. BirdLife South Africa is try- office. ing to raise R200 000 to cover the expenses of getting John to Marion Island, so that he can undertake a feasibility study and risk assessment. For further information, please con

10 was attached to the bird’s leg thus BIRDS IN WAR- leaving the bird’s flying capability FARE unhindered. The feral pigeon, com- mon today in urban areas is derived By Anthony Cavanagh from the European Rock Dove and their plumage is very variable. The World War I has the dubious distinc- bluish grey form with black tail and tion of being the conflict where the wing bars is identical to the ances- technology to kill was far in advance tral European rock dove. of the technology to communicate. The machine gun, quick firing artil- There are numerous accounts of pi- lery, flamethrower, aeroplane and geons delivering essential messages tank, all recent inventions at the in wartime thus saving lives. In Octo- time, were used with devastating ber 1918 towards the end of the war, effect, while morse code radio com- 194 American soldiers found them- munication was in its infancy and selves completely isolated and sur- telephone lines were unreliable as rounded by the Germans. Their only they were often destroyed during an hope was to send a pigeon with their enemy artillery barrage. Commu- co-ordinates in a message attached nication during a battle thus relied to its leg. The name of the pigeon heavily on the use of pigeons to car- was Cher Ami and when released, it ry a message back to headquarters. flew 25 miles from behind German Over 100,000 pigeons were used to lines to its home base in the Ameri- convey messages, with an astonish- can sector in just 25 minutes. The ing 95% able to reach their destina- pigeon was wounded by a German tion safely with their message. bullet but continued to fly home and deliver its message. American forces The homing pigeon, used by both launched a rescue and the trapped sides in the war, had for hundreds soldiers were saved. Cher Ami was of years, been selectively bred awarded the Croix de Guerre medal from the wild European Rock Dove for its courageous flight. that has a natural homing ability to return to its nest. This characteris- Although radio technology had vastly tic made it relatively easy to breed improved, pigeons were still used birds that could repeatedly find their during World War II. Paddy was an way home over distances as far as Irish bred homing pigeon that was 1800km. Pigeons can only return to awarded the Dickin medal after be- one specific location that they have ing the fastest pigeon to arrive back identified as home. Pigeon mail will in England with news of the success- therefore only work where the send- ful D-Day invasion. Out of hundreds er is releasing pigeons that roost of pigeons released, Paddy was the with the receiver. A message was first to arrive home and flew 230 written on very light thin paper and miles from France to his home base then rolled into a small tube which in England in four hours and fifty

11 minutes. The medal citation read “For the best recorded time with a THANK YOU FOR message from the Normandy Opera- tions, while serving with the RAF in YOUR DONATION June 1944.” Andy Featherstone Paddy’s medal was sold at auction for almost £7,000 in 1999. Barbi Forsyth John Freer

Felicity Kanichowsky

Megan Kew

Chris Lotz

Ginny Mes

Rianna Naven

Howard Rayner

Lance Robinson Paddy the Homing Pigeon Hero Another pigeon awarded the Dickin Gail Schaum medal during WWII was named Wil- Koos van Dÿk liam of Orange and his message saved more than 2000 British soldiers at the battle of Arnhem in Septem- ber 1944. The radio sets used by the British at Arnhem had a very short range and the surrounded troops Erratum could not communicate with their headquarters. William of Orange was Bokmakierie released by British soldiers at 10hr30 April 2015 on 19 September and arrived at his nest box in England at 14hr55. He Edition flew over 400km to deliver his mes- We apologise for the quality of sage that was instrumental in the the April 2015 edition of Bokmak- ultimate rescue of the beleaguered ierie which contained a number men. It was reported ten years lat- of errors and omissions. Unfor- er that William of Orange was “the tunately the wrong version was grandfather of many outstanding inadvertently saved and sent to racing pigeons.” the Printers.

12 found nearly 4 000km away in Ethio- THE BIRD RUNNER pia. That’s fascinating,” Chamberlain - HE RAN FOR PO- told Daily News this week. LAR BEARS AND The birds have been found in high altitude wetlands in KZN, including NOW TO SAVE THE Franklin Vlei, Penny Park, Hebron FLUFFTAILS near Kokstad, Ingula and Murphy’s Rust near Ladysmith, as well as a By Kamcilla Pillay single record from Mfabeni in the St Lucia area. Photos courtesy BirdLife SA Note: This article is reproduced by kind permission of the Daily News DailyNews

Chamberlain’s new six-day, 281km adventure starts on February 1, 2015. He will cover on average about 50km a day, pulling a trailer containing his food supplies. He will use the trailer Running more than 10 000km for en- as a makeshift shelter at night. vironmental issues close to his heart The Pretoria man said environmental - with one journey spanning almost issues were something he was pas- the full breadth of Canada - was not sionate about, having spent consid- enough for Dave Chamberlain. erable time under water in various The athlete and former scuba-diving oceans around the world. instructor will now be lending his “We must look after what we have talents to saving the critically en- and do what we can to protect it. dangered White-winged Flufftail in Think about what goes into a migra- a run from Dullstroom to Johannes- tion. Some travel thousands burg. of kilometres and we take that for “This species is one of those ‘hidden granted,” he said. gems’ with a population found in Four years ago, he accepted a dare Mpumalanga, Free State and KwaZu- from his parents and ran the length lu-Natal - and the next closest group of Argentina so that he could catch a 13 boat headed for the Antarctic. Birdlife said in a press release that ornithologists were of the opinion He made it, and the run cemented that there were fewer than 250 adult his love of the activity. White-winged Flufftails remaining in Since then he has completed two the wild and that the South African further projects in aid of nature population was estimated to number conservation: a 2 700km run from less than 50 birds. Walvis Bay to Port Elizabeth in aid of the African Penguin, as well as a 7 800km, five-month epic covering the breadth of Canada to raise aware- ness for the plight of the polar bear, all while pushing his food supplies and personal belongings in a pram. From coast to coast, the country spans over 9 000km, much of it inac- cessible. Vladivostok His next project, a year-long attempt to run from Vladivostok to Reykjavik The birds are threatened by habitat across Russia and Europe, will aim to degradation and destruction includ- raise awareness of wetlands and mi- ing pollution from industrial and gratory birds. mining effluent, domestic and com- Birdlife South Africa, Eskom, Rand mercial sewage, agricultural run-off Water, Sandton City and other part- and litter. ners banded together to sponsor the inaugural Flufftail Festival, from February 3-8, which included the MYSTERY BIRD run. CONUNDRUM Both Karen Dixon and Ron Sear- le wrote in regarding Desmond Cole’s article in the April 2015 edition of Bokmakierie relating John Campbell’s observations on Birds in 1820. Both agreed that the mysterious bird that barked like a dog on page 19 would in all probability have White-winged Flufftail been a Freckled Nightjar.

14 Nature Reserve I think it was called. FAREWELL MES- Ken Logan was the leader that day SAGES TO MUR- (as well as chairman of the club) and Murrie‘s car was stuck in the mud on RIE SLOTAR the shores of the dam. I don’t re- Murrie Slotar, after many years ser- member how the car was freed or vice to the Witwatersrand Bird Club, is relocationg to Durban to be near her family. We dedicate this edition of Bokamierie to Murrie and the fol- lowing are a series of messages and photos sent in by her friends and col- leagues.

Taken at the Committee Bosber- aad at Bosveld Paradys in 2004

anything but not long after that we both joined the Wits Bird Club Com- mittee and she took over organising the evening meetings from Sandy de Witt. She kept this portfolio for quite a few years and, as she knew so many people in the birding fra- ternity, we certainly had a lot of excellent speakers – some of whom have since become legends if they weren’t already by then. Murrie was voted Chairman of the Club on 13 February 1997, taking over from Rob Leigh, a position she held MURRIE SLOTAR, WE until Lance Robinson took over from SHALL MISS YOU her in February 2005. During this time she really went all out devot- By Laurine Leigh ing herself to the club and its mem- bers and getting involved in so many Murrie and I joined the Wits Bird different activities such as 50th An- Club around the end of 1991, begin- niversary Conservation Trust, bird ning of 1992, and I first met her at ringing, CWAC Counts, Soweto Bird an outing in the Free State, Kloof Club, etc. 15 16 Shortly after becoming chairman, bring in the crowds, even today. Murrie organised the biggest event that the club had ever had. She In his letter to members in the WBC managed to raise a crowd of over Newsletter of September 1997, John 300 members for the evening meet- Freer stated what a wonderful even- ing in June 1997 to celebrate the ing was had with snacks, cheese and 50th anniversary of the Wits Bird WBC label wines. “The spread was Club. The auditorium at the Delta magnificent. The trouble was to get Environmental Centre was full to to it with members standing shoul- more than capacity. The auditorium der to shoulder in the foyer, happily can take as many as 180 people of- discussing the events of the evening ficially, so people were sitting in the or reminiscing about the activities aisles on the floor, etc. According to of yore.” Murrie bestowed Honorary Joan Wolhuter, who wrote out the Life membership on John that even- name tags for the evening, she made ing, as well as a number of other out more than 300 labels. This was stalwarts of the club. truly a big event and the talk of Wits We have had many happy outings Bird Club for many years thereafter. and weekends away over the years, Geoff Lockwood was the speaker for one that comes to mind is celebrat- the evening, which always helps to ing Murrie’s 60th birthday at an out-

17 ing to Blesbokspruit at which we had . . . . and rain – lots of rain!! a lot of fun and a very good turnout. Funnily enough however, my earliest When one thinks of the Wits Bird memory of a shared Punda trip with Club, one thinks immediately of Murrie does not involve monumental Murrie. Understandably enough, she storms, flash floods, and drowned has decided to move to Durban to campers huddling miserably togeth- be near her new grandchild but I am er in the ablution blocks. It wasn’t sure that she will come up to Gaut- even a WBC club weekend, but rath- eng quite often and of course, we er an annual birding event organised can always look her up when in Dur- by Monty Brett at the end of January ban. She is, after all, an Honorary each year. Cynthia and I were in one Life Member of the Witwatersrand of the rooms – right next door to the Bird Club. Slotar sisters, Murrie and Sue. Monty had arranged for an early gate LETTER FROM JOHN opening (I believe it was for 02:30) FREER and at about 1 am we awoke to I remember Murrie as a happy, lov- the sounds of the loo flushing next ing, hard-working and outgoing per- door, followed by the shower going son. Also that she took over from flat out – all this after a very pleas- me as President. Whereas I had re- ant and convivial evening around mained rather aloof, she would have the braai fires that had gone on till involved herself where she could as- very late! Any thought of snatching sist. a few more precious moments of sleep were dashed when a nuclear- The Club is going to miss her terribly. powered hairdryer was turned on. I wish her happiness, good friends Through the thin wattle-and-daub and good birding in Durban. The op- walls, the noise was deafening and it portunities there will be rather dif- felt as though we were in an aircraft ferent with a number of profession- hanger! (of course Murrie still claims als to assist. that all the noise was caused by Sue) With best wishes to you all, John After Monty stopped his regular Jan- FOND MEMORIES OF MURRIE – HAIL TO MODJADJI In a birding association with Murrie going back over twenty five years, it is definitely the numerous trips to Punda Maria in the north of the Kru- ger Park that stand out in my memo- ry - for great birds, good company . . 18 uary trips, I was asked to lead these that had headed south towards weekends for Wits Bird Club – and so Shingwedzi found the way back to started a memorable period where camp cut off by a raging river flow- the January rainfall figures for Pun- ing knee-deep over the tar road. An da Maria region showed a major official vehicle was sent out guide spike. Over the next four years we the group back into camp in the dark had some exceptional birds – I can via a very muddy back road. On the remember rushing back to camp to Saturday, we sat in the picnic site at round up stragglers to see a beauti- Pafuri watching as the Levuvhu River ful adult Sooty Falcon perched in a steadily rose until it broke its banks tree next to the road. Most of Mur- and flooded the picnic site. It was rie’s party were still in sleepwear on this trip that some of the regu- (another great evening around the lar Punda die-hards dubbed Murrie braai fires) but Janice Isom jumped – “Modjadji”, the rain queen, in rec- into the car and minutes later she ognition of her efforts. was enjoying great views of a lifer! The others joined us soon after and most of the group managed to see this bird. On another occasion Mur- rie and I went out on an early drive (Cynthia had decided to sleep in). We were on the tar road in the Mopane woodland between the two Cabora Bassa powerlines when I noticed a bird walking towards us down the The next year the club decided not edge of the road. We stopped – and to risk another Punda Maria week- a Corn Crake stepped out into full end in January . . . .and so we all view just in front of us. headed to Witsand Nature Reserve in If the weekends were good for birds, the Northern Cape in May instead. hey were really great for rain, more Definitely no chance of rain! rain, and still more rain, and Mur- I woke very early and starting driv- rie and I earned a reputation for ing through to meet the group - a being highly proficient and reliable light rain was falling. By the time I rain-makers. Our finest(?) hour came reached Kimberly, the rain was still at the start of one weekend when falling, and ominous clouds were 169mm of rain was recorded in camp building ahead. At the turn-off up to on our first evening. The next morn- the reserve – a cloudburst accompa- ing the fuel tanks at the garage at nied by violent winds struck and the the gate were flooded with water; roof of the filling station went sailing there was water bubbling up through off into the veld like a giant frisbee. the tar on the road up to reception, It was if someone had turned a fire- and the campsite looked like a dis- hose on the windscreen and I could aster area. Later that day, a group not see a thing. I pulled over to the 19 side, headlights on bright and hazard a bird dropped from the leaden skies lights flashing, and waited for the and landed on the shoreline in front storm to pass. Slipping and sliding of us. Through rain-streaked binocu- through a sea of mud I drove the 60 lars, I searched the area where it had km to the reserve entrance. “Modj- landed – and a male Striped Crake adji” had done it again . . . . and I stepped out into view. Pandemoni- could only laugh. um as almost everyone in the group jostled for their first sighting of this My last trip to northern Kruger with rare skulker. . . . , and the bird dis- Murrie and the club was during our appeared. Eventually however the 60th anniversary celebrations. This rising water flushed the bird – first time we were based at Wilderness into a small Ana Tree sapling just in Safaris’ Pafuri Camp and on our last front of the deck, and later, into one night the familiar sound of rain on of the larger trees across the river. canvass broke through my sleep. I set up the scope, and the entire An early morning drive across into camp - guests and personnel, en- the Limpopo valley brought great joyed fantastic views of this stunning sightings of a pair of Cuckoo Hawks rarity. Our historic run of fantastic perched right next to our vehicle but birding . . . and even more spectacu- lar rain ended on a high note. Murrie, we in the club will miss you but who knows? If your powers are still intact, the recent drought in KZN could soon be over . . . . . with a vengeance! Geoff Lockwood African Cuckoo-Hawk - photo by Warwick Tarboton Murrie spread her warm friendship on our way back to camp we stopped and infectious enthusiasm around on the Levuvhu bridge to check on the country, and we have many the state of the river. Where two fond memories of time spent with nights earlier we had enjoyed the her from the mountains around sight of a Pels’ Fishing-Owl feeding Cape Town in search of Cape Rock- on a bream, now was a rapidly-rising jumpers, to the forests of Mozam- torrent of muddy, orange-coloured bique chasing “Gunning’s Robins” water. Back in camp, our group (now East Coast Akalat). stood around on the deck watching the steadily-rising river and camp Callan Cohen and Claire Spottis- staff pointed out a mark on the op- woode posite bank which, when the water reached it, would signal the time for everyone to to evacuate. Suddenly, 20 admit that I was expecting the lead- er, Murrie Slotar, to be a man. It cer- tainly didn’t occur to Marion that she should have advised me of anything to the contrary and en route she spoke so highly of Murrie the chair- man – hence my initial confusion. After the outing the club partici- pants met under some poplars, near the one dam, and that Sue Brandt; Murrie celebrating Arbor Day Janice Isom and Gisela Ortner were also there. There was a lot of laugh- ter and an overall sense of comrad- FAREWELL MESSAGE ery. You could have been a ‘newbie’ TO MURRIE SLOTAR like myself or a longstanding club member, it didn’t matter, we were By Lance Robinson all birders and from then on I felt a When I first started going on club strong affinity to the club. My last- outings, it was the late Marion ing impression of Murrie, as Marion Wittstock who first introduced me to had correctly a lluded to, was that of Murrie. We went along to an outing the great skills and knowledge of our at Northern Farm, I think it was still venerable leader. called Diepsloot then, and I have to Our ensuing friendship is some-

21 thing that has been nurtured over always remember Murrie saying they the years, over many trips together were getting a little bit of jewelry. and, admittedly, over a mutual ad- Murrie could be a bit of a Kugel at miration of great food and good red times. wine. One of the trips included the Years later, Murrie took me to her time Janice and Murrie convinced son Greg’s restaurant and asked if me to go on the pelagic, on the I would consider taking over from Agulhus, back in 2001. On board I her as club chairman. I was both soon discovered that Murrie doesn’t honoured and completely terrified have sea legs, nor any appreciation at the thought. Murrie had almost for any wind that exceeds a gentle become an institution in birding cir- sea breeze. However, all was forgot- cles. Who could possibly even think ten when the call came for a Dark- they could match Murrie’s omnipres- mantled Sooty Albatross, a bird on ence and unequivocal dedication to very few birders lists at the time. All the club? Somehow I was convinced I can say is I remember thinking at to follow in her very big footsteps the time: heaven help the soul that and, if I ever thought to comment to stands in the way of Murrie and a po- her on something a little challeng- tential Lifer! Fortunately I never did ing, Murrie would quite rightly say: and I was always so very pleased for well, when did you ever hear of a her on the rare occasion when I was free lunch?! I’m so pleased I heed- there when Murrie got a new bird for ed your advice Murrie, I went on to her life list. Not the least because it have five of the most enriching years was invariably a new bird for me too. of my adult life in the role as club Another favourite venue for the chairman. club, back in the day, was the rather Ultimately I am fundamentally grate- ethereal forest of the Feather River ful that I can count Murrie as one of Camp down in Sabie. The nights my good friends and I will be forever were purely magical, especially grateful to have had Murrie as a men- when the glow worms littered the tor too. While I will certainly miss forest floor and the fireflies danced her on the outings and trips away, I above. The birding was excellent know I will be reminded of her pres- too and one would fall asleep to the ence in countless ways as, undoubt- hooting of Buff-spotted Flufftails and edly, so many of us will. Durban is dream all night of actually seeing not that far away and there’s such one. I clearly remember Murrie and good birding to be had down there her Land Cruiser and all that ring- anyway that it only means we will ing equipment and those little bags have to visit more often. filled with recently netted birds, all strung out along on the forest path. I watched in admiration as birds such as White-starred Robin and Yellow- streaked Greenbul were banded. I

22 CUCKOO ENCOUNTER By Lesley Cornish We were on the track to the en- trance to leave Marievale in the New Year at about 10.00am, congratulat- ing ourselves for seeing four Little Bitterns, when we noticed a group of birds on the fence, and amongst male remained. Once on the road, the Southern Red Bishops was a fe- the female bishop approached the male Diederick Cuckoo with a pale cuckoo very closely. pink egg in her bill. We did not want to get any closer, in case we scared off all the birds, and unfortunately were too far away to hear anything. We were surprised because we had never seen this before, and the egg was not the usual blue colour of the Southern Red Bishop, which is the same colour that the cuckoo is sup- posed to lay for that host, accord- ing to various sources. There were The cuckoo put the egg down twice, three male bishops and one female. and immediately picked it up again. After a short while, the cuckoo flew back to the fence, and so did the bishops, but this time they kept their distance. Again, it seemed to be stalemate, until the cuckoo dropped the egg, and then the male bishop flew in really close.

There seemed to be stalemate for a few minutes, then one of the male bishops flew down to the track and the cuckoo followed. Two of the other male bishops disap- peared, but the female and the one

23 The male bishop was nearly on top host’s eggs from the nest, flies away of the cuckoo, and appeared to be and eats it. One source stated that harassing her. At this stage, the sometimes the host’s egg is removed male bishop was most “fluffed up”. earlier, but this would necessitate two visits to the hosts nest and dou- ble the chance of being caught. But why was the egg pink and not the usual blue color?

The following letter was received from the Friends of Marievale in ac- knowledgement of Wits Bird Club’s donation.

After a short while, he flew up to Dear Andy, join the female who had moved, On behalf of the Friends of Ma- but was still close. rievale, please convey our sincere thanks to your members for the kind purchase of 3 bricks which will be included in our Wall of Friendship. The monies we raise are used for upgrading and maintaining the fa- cilities at Marievale and it is only through folk like yourselves that we are able to do so. Sincerely, Soon after, the cuckoo flew off, fly- Justin Donaldson ing to some far distant trees across the other side of the water, closely Chairman followed by the male bishop. We did not see where the female bish- op had flown. For us, the whole en- counter took about four minutes, BEWARE! although we did not know when it Please pay your membership fees by started. Electronic Transfer, or at the local branch According to most sources, af- of your bank, as posted cheques are ter the female cuckoo enters the being intercepted in the post and used nest of the host, she takes one of for Cheque Fraud. If this happens to the eggs already there, then lays you your membership payment were own egg. She removes the is lost! 24 European Hon- ey Buzzards on migration over Eilat in Israel. This year’s European spring count of 250,000 birds in one day and 450,000 over two days was unprecident- ed. - photos by Itai Shanni and obtained with the kind assis- tance of Trevor Hardaker

25 conserve wetlands and grasslands. BIRD OF THE YEAR The Blue Crane, other crane species 2015 and many other less charismatic, but equally important species, depend Media Release by BirdLife on these habitats.

The Bird of the Year for 2015 is the famous five cent bird, South Africa’s national bird, the Blue Crane. “Selecting this Crane will help every- one realise the need to conserve the country’s wetlands and grasslands,” BirdLife South Africa’s Chief Execu- tive Officer Mark Anderson said. This decade has seen Tristan Alba- tross, White-winged Flufftail, Barn Swallow, African Fish Eagle and Less- er Flamingo all getting the honour, but this year it is the iconic Blue Crane. ‘Bird of the Year’ is BirdLife South Blue Cranes - photo by Albert Africa’s annual initiative for aware- Froneman ness about birds and bird habitat conservation. The Bird of the Year The Blue Crane is endemic (only 2015 initiative is proudly sponsored found in a certain region) to south- by Waltons. “Each year choosing the ern Africa, with more than 99% of bird is highly contested, with nomi- the population occurring within nations and furious voting and sup- South Africa. A small breeding popu- port for various species, but this lation occurs in northern Namibia, in year the Blue Crane won,” said Nikki and around Etosha Pan. McCartney, events manager of Bird- “As the five cent bird, the Blue Crane Life South Africa. is generally well-known to South Af- Educating people is a key component ricans,” said Anderson. “This, and of BirdLife South Africa’s conserva- its attractive and charismatic life tion work. The bird conservation style, account for its popularity. It NGO is developing learning materi- is a good choice for Bird of the Year als using the Blue Crane as a flagship 2015,” he added. species. This will be an incentive to Poisoning, habitat alteration, and 26 power line collisions are all signifi- cant threats to Blue Cranes. Poison- THE BIRDMAN OF ing occurs both intentionally and MARLOTH PARK inadvertently. Loss of South Africa’s The following article was sent by natural grasslands threatens Blue Jeanette Newey widow of Tony New- Crane habitat. ey who passed away in December Mainly found on privately owned 2014. Tony was a member of Wits farms, a key to their conservation Bird Club for many years and later is good relationships between land- in life moved to Marloth Park. Jean- owners and conservation agencies to ette Newey sent in the article below ensure appropriate management of with the following note: “For your these environments. interest I include an article from our local “Bos News “ publication dated The African Crane Conservation Pro- November 2011. From this you will gramme of the Endangered Wildlife see that he continued his passion for Trust (EWT) works on awareness and birding right up until he became too environmental education for land- ill to continue” owners, local communities and other stakeholders; reducing crane/farmer conflicts, community involvement in sustainable use and conservation of wetlands and grasslands, monitoring of crane populations, the trade in captive cranes, and works with Es- kom to reduce power-line collisions. For further information, please con- tact: Nikki McCartney at events@birdlife. org.za or 083 636 1060

PLEASE NOTE THAT OUR WEBSITE ADDRESS IS: The man who qualifies for the title Birdman, is Mr Tony Newey, enthu­ www.witsbirdclub.org.za siastic birder of Marloth Park. If you wish to know more about birds, do AND THE EMAIL ADDRESS your­self the favour and join him on IS: his bird ­watching expeditions on cer- [email protected] tain mornings, anywhere among the trees of Marloth Park. Just make sure you are fitted out with a good pair of binoculars and your bird book. 27 Tony, a true Britisher, was brought at Howick. His next position was in up on the island of fog and rain. His Port Elizabeth with Goodyear. Dur- first encounter with Africa was while ing a visit by Americans from the working on a new project for Dunlop Goodyear headquarters he was re- in Nigeria. His employers must have quired to accompany the group to been impressed with what he had Phalaborwa. As host he introduced achieved and he was sent to India to the Yankees to the Kruger National promote the interests of these well- Park over weekends. Well, he suf- known rubber products in today’s fered a barrage of questions that Chennai and Kolkata. he was mostly unable to answer. He could have shrugged it off as being Next his skills would have been har- from Britain, yet it bothered him. nessed in the West Indies, but the project was cancelled and he duly At that stage a bird was for Tony, arrived in Benoni, South Africa. Tony well, a bird. A black bird with a thought this would also be a tempo- forked tail made him wonder, but he rary sojourn but he fell in love with didn’t know what it was. But the va- our sunshine and his wife, Jeanette. riety and beauty of our birds stirred At that stage the English sun started his soul and he wanted to KNOW. looking rather feeble, sad and far The magic world of birds opened its away. After Benoni he worked for doors to him when his two daugh- a local rubber company, SARMCOL, ters each gave him a book on birds

28 for his birthday and Jeanette fol- country, Tony has seen 855. He is lowed up with a pair of binoculars in possession of an 800-badge. Only for Christmas. While playing with his two bird watchers have reached the new toys in Settlers Park in the heart 900-mark - Ian Sinclair, a well-known of Port Elizabeth, he soon bumped writer on the subject and Trevor into members of the Eastern Cape Hardaker, an architect from Cape Bird Watchers Society, also playing Town. in the park. Tony keeps three bird lists, one for Of course, he joined and was off in his garden, one for Marloth Park and a flash when the twitchers* spotted one for the whole country. Ever en- a rare species. Tony thinks nothing thusiastic, Tony loves sharing his of it to take off to Cape Town over knowledge with anyone keen to dis- a weekend or spend two nights in a cover the world of feathered wings. town such as Pofadder in search of a * Twitchers are birders who notify rare species, or one unseen outside other birders when a rare bird is its normal habitat From a position spotted. The species, time and place he later held in Boksburg he trav- are carefully noted and persons who elled all the way to Harare to watch have not seen this specific bird will a Northern Pintail swimming on a race off to admire and tick it off on dam. These birds are rarely seen this their list. far south in Africa. Tony and Jeanette decided that their future home would be Marloth Park and they bought their own bird para- dise in 1995 and settled permanently after retirement in 2002. Of the more or less 930 birds in our

29 The following letters were re- this side of the Great Rift Valley” ceived relating fond memories of as well as an array of mutilated Tony Newey: “rail cars lying in what an art critic or interior designer would term in- Dear Lauraine, teresting angles.” The Weekly Reminder 16- 2015 It was against this background reports the passing away of Tony that, having successfully climbed Newey over the Christmas period. Mt. Gorongosa and found the Maureen and I convey our sincerest Green-headed Oriole, a small pop- condolences to Jeanette and fam- ulation of which occur there and ily on their loss. nowhere else in Southern Africa, As you may recall Maureen and we commenced our heavily laden I, accompanied Tony, Jeanette, Alf three vehicle return trip to the and Lauraine Mauff on numerous Machipanda border post. birding trips to Namibia, Zimbabwe At 7.30 we were stopped at the and Mozambique in the mid to late bridge over the Pungwe River by a 1990s. number of heavily armed “police” Well do I remember, in particu- clothed in rags exhibiting no satis- lar, two trips we made to see the factory identification of any sort. specials of Mozambique in De- For all we knew they could have cember 1996 and again in October been the bandits we had heard 1998. The 1996 visit included one about. They were extremely ag- of the most traumatic incidents gressive, brandishing AK47 rifles any of us had ever experienced. and hand guns and then searched At the time of our visit, not long each of our vehicles in turn in after the termination of the civil minute detail. Our passports were war, travelling in Mozambique confiscated and we were then in- was, to say the least, an adven- structed that each vehicle return ture of note. The countryside was 40km to the police station in the heavily mined as evidenced by the town of Gorongosa for “registra- number of one-armed, one legged tion”. We were further instructed people to be seen as well as over- to transport three of the police run by marauding armed bandits, officers (one per vehicle) as pas- ex military personnel at a loss of sengers with us which meant we what to do following demobilisa- would have to leave our wives at tion of the armed forces, pillaging the bridge as hostages pending our remote villages in search of food, return. The thought which crossed clothing, etc. The dirt road which each of our minds on our drive we travelled north of Dondo which back to Gorongosa was “would we parallels the railway-line to Sena be driven to some remote location on the Zambezi exhibited “ one and shot and our vehicles and oth- of the largest collections of non- er possessions taken” whilst our functioning Soviet war machinery wives were simultaneously won- 30 dering whether they would ever see us alive again. At the police station each of us was interrogated separately on the purpose of our visit and af- ter the preparation of a detailed statement we were told that we were free to go but on the condi- tion that we transport the three police officers back to the bridge. Well after noon we were finally re-united with our very relieved wives and recommenced our jour- ney. But the drama continued – half an hour later we were stopped at a second road block at Inchope, searched, our passports and car keys confiscated and advised that our fate was in the hands of the police authorities in Chamoio. At 15.00 we were finally advised that we were free to make our way to the border. On reflection we can only con- clude that these police officers were intimidating us in the hope that we would offer them a bribe Tony Newey but so convincing was their harass- ment and our fear of landing up in It was with great sadness that we a remote Mozambican jail that we learnt recently that Tony Newey made no offers and because our passed away last December. He travel documents were all in order, and Jeanette moved to Marloth they released us. Park some years ago with the re- sult that Tony had not been an ac- And who says that birding is bor- tive member of the Wits Bird Club ing!! for some time. Tony was an excellent outing lead- er and of a very jovial tempera- Tony was one of Wits Bird Club’s ment, one of the really colourful best leaders and we had many characters of the Wits Bird Club. wonderful week-ends away with him leading in the 1990s. I cer- Kind regards, tainly owe a lot of my knowledge Ron Searle on birds to Tony. He led at many 31 out to see what is going on. Then there would be a mad ticking of lif- ers amongst us all. I know it’s not the “done thing” to do anymore but it sure was such fun. The Wits Bird Club sends their be- lated condolences to Tony’s wife, Jeanette, who accompanied him on most of our trips. Lauraine Leigh Sadly we have also lost another member of our club as Jan Bezuiden- houdt passed away on the 24th Au- of our favourite camping weekends gust 2015. such as Borakalalo, Doorndraaidam and Nylsvley (before the days of A Tribute to Jan Bezuidenhoudt CWACing). My favourite walk, In the early-morning hours of 24 which he always led, was at Nylsv- August 2015 our dear friend and ley from the campsite to Stem- fellow-birder, Jan Bezuidenhoudt, mer’s Hide where we always loving husband and father to Mar- stopped and ate our breakfast be- yna and their children, faced the fore going into the hide. last enemy. His passing will be He was always full of fun and liked keenly felt not only by his family, to party, especially at the Satur- but by all who knew him. day night braai when we were all We in the West Rand Bird Club camping. But, no matter how late came to know Jan and Maryna af- we turned in on a Saturday; Tony ter they joined the Witwatersrand was always up bright and early for Bird Club and our West Rand sat- the nice long morning walk on the ellite in 2009. They immediately Sunday, except for one very cold took an active role in club activi- weekend at Doorndraaidam when ties and Maryna served as Secre- we went at the usual time the one tary of WRBC from 2010 to 2014, morning only to find the birds only when she stepped down due to coming out to sun themselves well Jan’s deteriorating health. Over after 8. We left quite a bit later the years they played a key role in each morning over the rest of the our club and became well-known weekend. also in the main club, regularly Tony was very good at imitat- attending meetings, outings and ing the Pearl-spotted Owlet’s call weekend camps. Both were en- which got all the birds in the re- thusiastic outdoor people and they gion rather rattled and popping thoroughly enjoyed being out in the bush. While Maryna is perhaps 32 mitment and quiet courage as he faced these challenges was an in- spiration to us all. Rest in peace Jan. Your memory will live on in our hearts. Johan de Jager

BOTSALANO IN JUNE Text and Photos by Lesley a more avid birder, Jan just loved Cornish being “out there”, immersed in the wonders of nature. Botsalano is a gem, and it is only about four hour’s driving from Jo- One of Jan’s defining characteris- hannesburg. We were there for four tics was his quiet, steadfast, sup- days for other business in June, but portive presence. Never one to in between that, we managed to do put himself in the foreground, he some birding (as you do). The Park was always there to help when is on the borderline of the arid west, there was work to be done, wheth- so the vegetation is arid, and when er assisting with CAR or CWAC, ar- we were there it was dry. There is a ranging a venue before a meet- beautiful camp in the centre of the ing, taking charge of the fires at park, which overlooks a waterhole, a braai, or tackling any other job and there is also a public campsite that needed doing. One did not on the western side. Of course, we have to ask – if Jan saw a need, he had been sent to one of the rustic stepped in and helped, often an- campsites, which is in the bush, and ticipating a need and volunteering comprised: a lapa, a shower and a his services before an event, gen- toilet. Luxury, one might say, ex- tly offering suggestions on the best way to get things done where nec- essary. He was a true friend and comrade, a mainstay of our club. Afflicted by cancer, compounded by serious respiratory problems, he faced several debilitating bouts of treatment. Despite the toll of illness he was soon, sometimes still visibly affected, back and in- volved in club activities. His com- White-backed Mousebird 33 cept that neither of the latter had cies of waxbills, Lark-like Buntings, any doors, and they faced into the an African Quailfinch, Cape Glossy campsite. We could spot the toilet Starlings, Acacia Pied Barbet, Scaly- from over a kilometre way, unless feathered Finch, Specked Pigeons, someone was brave enough to sit on Red-headed Finch, and Burchell’s it. But the staff were very helpful, Starlings, there were Warthogs, and left us loads of firewood, which a Kudu (complete with Red-billed helped us keep warm, because it Oxpeckers), Impala and Springbok. was rather chilly at night. Near the western entrance is a large waterhole, which still had water, The park is mainly dry woodland, with a hide. This gave us good views and is relatively flat. The birds are of Chestnut-backed and Grey-backed typical of the arid west, and we saw Sparrow-larks, as well as the Fairy a reasonable selection, including Flycatcher. Red-eyed Bulbuls, Namaqua Doves, Fairy Flycatcher, Marico Flycatcher, We found one huge Social Weav- Tinkling Cisticola, Black-chested ers’ next (could not miss it, really), Prinia and Short-clawed Lark. We and the weavers were busy bringing had a spectacular sighting of a Spot- in grass stems, but what surprised ted Eagle Owl, as well as a young me were the Scaly-feathered Finch Pale Chanting Goshawk, and a pair of which were around, and also go- South African Shelduck. One even- ing into some of the nests. Driving ing, we found three White-backed around, we saw both Northern Black Vultures roosting on a tree. and Red-crested Korhaans. Despite the park being so dry, the game was in stunning condition, and we were also amazed at how big and chunky the Blesbok were. There were also Gemsbok, Zebra, Black Wildebeest, Waterbuck (yes, near the water), White Rhino, Steenbok, Scrub Hare, Slender and Yellow Mongoose. Double-banded Courser Our final list was 85, and if could have Most of the waterholes were dry, spent more time birding, it would but we spent one lunchtime just sit- have probably been higher. It is a ting at one of the few which still had good destination, even if a bit chilly water, watching the birds and the at night! I cannot wait to go back game that came down to drink. This in summer, not working, and plan to was magic, because we sat in front stay in the centre of the park. of a bush and under it, so we were fairly hidden, and kept quiet and still. As well as the birds: three spe- 34 of approximately 15 km spanning KLIPRIVIERS- from the R59 (Sybrand van Niekerk BERG Highway) bordering Alberton in the East up to and including the N12/ VERREAUX’S N1 South in the vicinity of Meredale. Sporadic observations by a colleague EAGLES that resided against the ridge slopes Text and Photos by Boudew- of Mondeor date back to 1997 when yn van der Lecq Raptor Con- he alerted us of their sightings. In- servation Projects creased and more frequent observa- tions by a resident who resided in Introduction Linmeyer were reported to BirdLife South Africa in early 2003 and we Not a new concept, the Artificial were requested to investigate this Nesting Platform (ANP) for large rap- occurrence. One month later it was tors has been in existence for ap- confirmed that this was a separate proximately 30 years and extensively pair to that of the Roodekrans Ver- used in many European countries, reaux’s eagles that nests within the the America’s and Canada, to ac- Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gar- commodate highly threatened birds den in Roodepoort, a mere 30 km of prey such as Osprey and the Bald northwest from the new pair and Eagle with great success. only our second known urban Ver- In South Africa, however, ANPs are reaux’s eagles on the outskirts of still very much in their fledgling greater Johannesburg! Undoubtely, stage and as less than a handful the eagles’ main attraction to this have been erected over the years, ridge system is the extremely dense these appear to not be too success- populations of Rock hyrax (dassie), ful. What has now been constructed and to our knowledge possibly the specifically for the Klipriviersberg largest natural resource within the Verreaux’s Eagle pair is the first con- Gauteng province. certed effort and, in raptor circles, Impossible to determine their exact all eyes are focused on this ANP to age, in 1997 both had been reported determine if it can become a suc- as being in adult plumage. cessful tool to divert large raptors that would otherwise resort to oc- Unlike most pairs of Verreaux’s ea- cupying power pylons. gles that mostly construct their nests against sheer and inaccessible Klipriviersberg Verreaux’s Eagle rock faces, the lack thereof along History the entire Klipriviersberg ridge sys- This is not a recent occurrence of tem, forced this pair to construct Verreaux’s eagles frequenting the their nest within a 210 kV power Klipriviersberg ridge system, that pylon, much to Eskom’s displeasure, encompasses a linear ridge distance situated 110 m from the extremely

35 busy and excessively noisy Reading the incident and found no trace of Interchange. We are uncertain how the youngster whatsoever, which long this pair has nested within this was quite unusual because if it were pylon structure as it is not an obvi- there, its parents would have re- ous nesting site and for all we know, vealed the bird’s position to us as it may have been in use for a num- they had to feed it. Juveniles are ber of years. We commenced obser- always quite vocal when they are vation from 2007 when a chick was hungry and this is a dead give-away successfully raised to juvenile and to determine where it might be, but fledgling stages. to no avail and we assumed it to be missing. During 2008 they commenced breed- ing again in the same pylon nest, Nearby Siyavaya Highway Construc- but for some unknown reason, two tion JV (SHCJV) on-site personnel weeks prior to the juveniles’ esti- was notified of the juvenile’s pre- mated fledging date; the nest was dicament and we requested them destroyed in its entirety during the to be on the lookout should they no- week of 28th September to 4th Oc- tice anything extraordinary that may tober. Impossible to understand the lead us to the juvenile. Three weeks logistics of this inconsiderate act, after the youngster’s disappearance, the juvenile was forced to fledge and by sheer chance, land surveyor prematurely and to this day we re- Wayne Jacobs saw the juvenile flut- main uncertain who instigated this ter on the rocks directly above the assault upon the youngster and its M38/R59 slipway, and he notified parents. The following reasons did SHCJV environmental officer Colleen come to mind in that: Clark who called me and I requested that Philip accompany her to locate • Did someone want the eagle and flush the young eagle out to de- as a pet? termine if it was injured and/or able • Did a vagrant take it for the to fly. After an intensive ‘bundu- muti trade? bash-recce’, their rewards paid off as upon their approach the juvenile • Did a unscrupulous falconer took fright and flew… fortunately in- take it as a show bird? land and away from the extremely We will never know who the perpe- busy interchange. trators were and despite the fact that the assistance of the Green After this observation, Philip and Scorpions was recruited, no concrete I did another ‘recce’ the following information was forthcoming. weekend and suffice to mention, it was missing… again! We walked the The Search Continues large tract of ridge system once more and could not find anything Urban Raptor Conservation Project let alone the adults and it was like associate Philip Tarboton and I finely looking for a needle in a haystack. combed the pylon ridge area after 36 For one month thereafter nothing juvenile to be relocated to some materialized and we were prospect- unknown destiny, the idea had then ing on the assumption that the adult immediately sprung to mind that in pair must have hidden their offspring order for us to safeguard the pair from inevitable persecution. They from such a drastic intervention, a must have concealed the youngster new site had to be established for very well as it was neither on Mey- them where the pair and their off- er’s Farm south of the very busy N12 spring would be safe from such in- Southern bypass, nor was it on the considerate actions. pylon side of the ridge. The unfortunate fact being that the Never giving up hope though, es- pylon site will always remain an inse- pecially knowing that it was seen cure and unprotected area, with nu- and appeared to be in good health merous vagrant presence noted, and a while ago, it was only when Philip short of spending millions of rand to phoned me one early Sunday morn- fence it in, it will yet remain what ing telling me that as he drove by it is today…unprotected and remote. on the Southern bypass, had he Almost a month after the juvenile seen the juvenile perched on top disappeared last year and whilst still of the nest pylon in the company of at the office one Friday afternoon its parents - I choked on my coffee (we close shop at 14h00) , I received with excitement! Two months had a call from SHCJV contracts direc- now gone by and there were only as tor Toni Niemand at 15h15, who in- many sightings of it…strange indeed formed me (very casually and ultra but we were delighted knowing that laid back) that they will donate the it was alive and perfectly well. ANP that we have longed for - and By the end of December 2008, the yes, I was in a state of shock and re- juvenile was chased from its natal call that I did fall off my office perch! home range by his parents and we The enormity of such an incredible strongly believe that this youngster and generous gesture was immense will be a survivor as it managed to and all we had to do was to provide withstand the rigors of premature the detail of such a ‘thing’ of which flight, nest destruction and being (admittedly), even I had had little pursued by others and us whom it knowledge of. managed to elude with sheer cun- The Contractors ning… you go feathered friend! Spending long hours on the inter- The Birth of an ANP net, I found numerous sites pertain- During the eagles’ first breeding ing to Osprey and Bald Eagle ANPs season in 2007, and especially after and adapted the best of all to suit Eskom threatened to have the ea- our conditions and about 10 days gles’ power line pylon nest removed later faxed ‘my vision’ to Toni who inclusive of an approx. 60-day old in turn handed it to SHCJV construc- 37 tion manager Peter Schoonbee, who With that out of the way, the ex- handed it over to company techni- panded metal clad 1500 x 1500 x 200 cal director Vic Wilson-Taylor, who millimetre deep platform was fabri- handed it down to structural engi- cated and welded onto one end of neer Kuda Mujaji both of UWP Con- a tube, then all sprayed with a red sulting Engineers and commenced oxide primer and delivered to site in working on the design… the ball was three individual sections. rolling. SHCJV in the interim excavated the It was a most difficult task to source large foundation and with a con- the right material for the 15 me- glomeration of interwoven reinforc- tre (above ground) high mast as my ing steel, the first tube was cast into initial thoughts were that a treated the 2000 x 2000 x 1500 millimeter timber pole aught to be readily avail- deep concrete base, leaving it to able (a felled eucalyptus tree also cure for about 12 days. came to mind) but how does one get an 18 metre long timber pole to site SHCJV, with the assistance of sales - especially our recommended site - representative Conrad Caldwell of quite impossible! Sarens South Africa (Pty) Ltd., ap- pointed a 30 ton rough terrain mo- Toni and Peter were going all out to bile crane to assist with the erection have it erected by 12th December and hoisting of the two remaining but because of the lack of suitable tube sections of which one had the material availability this period was platform attached. extended and when it was ultimately decided upon that the mast would Nest Construction have to be constructed from a steel Our first stop was to collect bun- tube, it had to withstand wind load dles of old nesting material from the tolerances and a magnitude of oth- destroyed pylon site and transport er issues that ‘went right over my these to the new site. At the new site head’ that only structural engineers we collected numerous additional could calculate. Thirty-five pages of bundles of sticks of various lengths in depth “rocket scientist theories” and thicknesses and stockpiled these later… is what stands erected today for later use. Philip, Teresa Moore - awesome! and I then revisited the site on the Three 6.10 metre long 324 dia x 4.5 Sunday morning prior to the Tuesday wall thickness steel tubes were de- 24th February, erection date to con- livered to Butch Bouwer director of struct the eagles’ nest inclusive of Vital Steel Projects cc and overseen the nest cup with leafy sprays whilst by Rui Pina and Chris Garside who the platform section was still on the commenced with the fabrication of ground. It usually takes an eagle pair each tube that is flanged and stiff- 4 to 6 weeks to build a new nest ened at both ends to facilitate easier from scratch, and we managed it in bolt-fastening and erection on site. 2 hours - a fraction of the time. To 38 prevent the nest from falling apart able surface beneath, it was amaz- and disintegrating upon hoisting, the ing to see that little (by comparison base sticks and leafy cup was tied to to the crane) machine in action as the platform with cable ties, which it quickly removed layer after layer once in its erected and stabilized po- of the soft gooey turf. Having at- sition, I would be lifted to the plat- tempted to drive the crane through, form to cut the ties and ‘puff-up’ the it bogged down again and this little manmade nest. TLB hooked it up and in reverse gear managed to tow the mighty crane Mast Erection through 70 metres of turf. We were on site at 06h15 and as it was heavily overcast, we were hop- By the time the crane arrived at the ing that the rain would hold off un- ANP erection site almost two hours til at least after the mast had been had already elapsed and after the erected. It rained during the night establishment of the crane was com- and the only access that could take pleted, the real work commenced. us to the site was an absolute mud The two flanged sections of the bath and by the time the erection tubes inclusive of the platform were team arrived at 07h00 with their bolted together on the ground and Vital Steel Project 8 ton truck car- as the scaffolding was already erect- rying scaffolding and crane basket, ed to the height of the cast-in base they managed to really churn up tube, the crane started to slowly what was once deemed a roadway! hoist the 12 metre long tube sky- When the Sarens South Africa mobile wards and Vital Steel Project riggers crane arrived shortly after 07h00 the were ready to receive it and to bolt road was virtually non existent and this extra long section to the base despite the fact that its dead-weight tube. was 50 ton and four-wheel drive equipped, it managed to get itself Whilst work continued, the curious bogged down solid in the mud. From Verreaux’s Eagle pair flew overhead their nearby site, SHCJV called for a and settled in a dead tree approx. TLB to assist with removing the mud- 150 metres northwest of the ANP dy top layers to find some hard driv- where they mated - in full view of

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS Bokmakierie is published three times annually. Contributions may be in Afrikaans or Eng- lish. English names of birds should be those used in Roberts VII. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor, Club, the Committee, Members or those of BirdLife South Africa. The Editors reserve the right to edit articles as necessary. This issue of Bokmakierie has been produced and edited by Andy Featherstone and Lance Robinson.

39 about 25 onlookers - disgusting!! er lines, isolators and high voltage The pair remained in the tree for at jumper cables that protrude from least an hour as they too witnessed each pylon tower…this site is free of the proceedings with much interest. all such hazards. The cherry on top for this particular site is that it is sit- As fate would have it, it started to uated in a natural bowl area where drizzle and with the 15 metre mast the eagles can obtain an immediate securely bolted and stabilized, the lift-off on the prevailing thermals… last of the work was to hoist Phil- something that is desperately lack- lip Lennon, producer of Coral Tree ing at the pylon site. Films and I to the platform so that the cable ties could be snipped off Last but not least to mention is that that held the nest intact during the within the immediate surrounds of hoisting operation. Complete with the ANP site there are at least 10 safety gear and loaned hard hats we natural Rock hyrax populations scat- were in the basket and the Sarens tered amongst the granite outcrops, South Africa crane lifted us towards which should serve as an ideal ‘pick the platform. and choose meals menu’ from the comfort of their high nesting perch The view from the 15 metre high – what more could any eagle desire? platform is absolutely stunning and looking out over the vast 300 hec- Project Sponsors and Donors tare bushveld ridges and grassveld plains of Hans Meyer’s Farm, I could The Urban Raptor Conservation Pro- only surmise that this is as an incred- ject (in association with the Endan- ibly suited site. Despite the fact that gered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey it was not a natural sheer rock face, Working Group) wish to thank Hans made little difference as we know in Meyer owner of Meyer’s Boerdery for our hearts that this platform will be affording us the opportunity to erect inaccessible. Any Verreaux’s Eagle the ANP within the safety of his would be complemented with a site farm, Toni Niemand, Peter Schoon- like this, especially one that has a bee and Colleen Clark of Siyavaya full 360 degree surround view…there Highway Construction Joint Venture is really nothing quite like it and the for their generous donation of the associated teams made a difference! aptly renamed “Siyavaya Nest” as without your vision and execution, One kilometre northeast of the ANP this nest would have remained just we could see the moving traffic but a dream. the ‘noise’ thereof was hardly au- dible, which is a far cry from the We equally thank the development pylon nest site that is situated only team for their donated time and un- 150 metres from the extremely busy divided attention during the design, Reading Interchange. Another bonus fabrication and construction process at this site is that there weren’t any to make this long awaited platform obstacles to negotiate such as pow- become a reality: 40 • UWP Consulting Engineers • Vital Steel Projects cc • Sarens South Africa (Pty) Ltd. Footnote: On Sunday morning 1st March and only 5 days after erection, both Verreaux’s eagles landed twice on the platform and spent 22 and 27 minutes respectively on the Siyavaya Family Portrait Artificial Nesting Platform. On the second landing both brought sticks to the nest and the female arranged these. Whilst the female was testing the nest cup, both appeared to hold a ‘meeting’ of sorts with the touch- ing of beaks. We are holding thumbs that they will adapt to their new site and breed on it this year.

Breeding seasons Juvenile approaching nest Pylon Nest 2007 – incubation com- menced between 2nd – 9th June – raised a chick to juvenile and fledg- ing stages. Pylon Nest 2008 – incubation com- menced between 1st – 7th May – raised a chick to juvenile and fledg- ing stages. SANP 2009 – incubation commenced between 19th – 26th April- breeding Juvenile on the nest failure, both eggs addled. disappeared and was last seen by SANP 2010 – incubation commenced myself on 26th September 2010. The between 1st – 4th April. adult female successfully reared and Hatching of eggs was on 16th and cared for her young on her own. With 19th May respectively, cainism an absent adult male eagle, it was was complete by 22nd May. Hansa noted that the adult female did not fledged on 16th August having spent deem it a necessity to chase Hansa 92 days on the nest. from her territory and the immature spent six months plus within the nest The male adult eagle mysteriously site vicinity caring for itself and oc- 41 casionally aided by the adult female. ster to the SANP. His plumage was Hansa came and went as the wind not entirely adult as his stovepipes blew, occasionally visiting mother (leggings) were pale feathered as at home and occasionally observed were some pale feathers on his up- elsewhere within their vast home per wing coverts and the white V on range. The last time we saw Hansa his back was erratic and hardly vis- was at the Klipriviersberg Nature Re- ible whilst perched. serve during February 2013. SANP 2013 – successful breeding, SANP 2011 – no breeding raising a chick to eaglet, juvenile and fledging stages. SANP 2012 – no breeding SANP 2014 – ditto. It took the adult female 21 months and 13 days to attract a new male to SANP 2015 – breeding season in pro- her home range at Meyer’s Farm. On gress, juvenile fledging expected be- 9th July 2012, the female brought a tween 24th August – 5th September. young approx. three-year-old young-

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42 Henley Bird of a Feather’s braai fund raiser at Henley Retirement Village earlier this year. 43 44