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2 P O Box 641 WITWATERSRAND Cresta, 2118 Tel: 011 782 7267 BIRD CLUB Fax: 086 512 7696 Email: [email protected] ISSUE NO 239 APRIL 2014 Web: www.witsbirdclub.org.za Inside this issue: 30 Rarities and Unusual Sightings Re- port: December 2013 by André Marx 4 Letter from the Chair 34 BirdLife Matters 5 L. John Bunning by Murrie Slotar 2014 Committee: 6 Ons Besoek aan Kwa-Zulu Natal deur Jan en Maryna Bezuidenhout Honorary President Murrie Slotar 9 Flight for the Plight of Vultures by Kerri Wolter Chairman Andy Featherstone 11 Noah the Ornithologist by Tian Hat- Vice-Chairman Barbi Forsyth tingh 14 How much longer will SABAP2 last? Treasurer Leanne Webster by Les Underhill Courses Murrie Slotar 15 Across the top of the World: 7th – 21st August 2013 (Part 2) by Lesley Conservation Barbi Forsyth Cornish 18 Birding Trivia - A Cuckoo Letter to Evening Meetings Lia Steen The Times by Peter Greaves Programme Ginny Mes 19 Update on EWT Livestock Guardian Dogs by Derek Van Der Merwe Club Secretary Lauraine Leigh 21 You don’t find Birds on Natal’s South Coast by Louise Barlow DEADLINE FOR AUGUST 2014 ISSUE - 1st JULY 2014 22 Controversial wind farm in Lesotho gets the go-ahead by Samantha Ralston and Hanneline Smit- Contributions, addressed to the Editor, Robinson can be: 25 A History of Birding and Bird Ringing E-mailed to: [email protected] on Melville Koppies by John Freer 28 Unusual Nesting Site - Calitzdorp by Posted to: The Editor, Witwatersrand Darroll Bent Bird Club, P O Box 641, Cresta, 2118 29 BirdLife South Africa: Birder’s Code of Ethics Delivered to: Delta Environmental Centre, Road No 3, Victory Park Cover Photo: Eurasian Blackcap by Ivan Motlik Cover Design: Philip Tarboton See articles on Page’s 5 and 25 regarding first record of a Eurasian Blackcap for South Africa 3 The AGM on the 22nd February met with a Letter mixed reception. Whilst it was great to wel- From come members that we had not seen for some time many of our regular attendees The were absent. Well done to Alison Hanson recipient of the Diamond Award and Chair Etienne Marais worthy recipient of the Bearded Vulture Award. Sadly at the meeting we said farewell to Lance Robinson and Matthew Axelrod who Dear Members, both decided to stand down from the Com- mittee but we welcomed Ginny Mes who Autumn is upon us and sadly our summer will be taking over the Planning portfolio. migrants will be departing for warmer Lance will continue to act as co-editor for climes to start their breeding cycle very Bokmakierie and will still be involved in shortly. Our resident bishops and widows many of our upcoming events and outings. are all losing their colourful plumage and reverting to their drab winter plumage. In March I attended the BirdLife South Af- There are, however, still plenty of things to rica FLOCK in the Berg which proved to be see and do so we shouldn’t despair and go a well run and enjoyable event incorporat- into hibernation for the winter. Upcoming ing the BirdLife AGM. If only we could get trips include the Easter outing to Witsand, a as many people to attend our AGM! Kalahari reserve that I have not visited pre- Maybe a new and more exciting venue is viously and am looking forward to it. For called for? something different why not try our com- bined trip and Raptor Course with Geoff Andy Featherstone Lockwood at Panata in May. Both excel- lent ways to avoid the winter blues! It is heartening to see a good number of new members at the start of the year and we hope the trend continues. Please en- courage people who you know are inter- ested in birds but who are not members to come and try one of our outings or evening meetings and to join the club. More mem- bers means a stronger club and a bigger voice when helping with environmental is- sues. Sadly we have lost one of the stalwarts of Wits Bird Club, John Bunning, a member for many years and past editor of this maga- Barbi Forysth, husband Alan, Leanne zine. Lance and I felt that it was appropri- Webster, Beverley Carstens and Ginny ate to dedicate this issue of Bokmakierie to Mes all listening intently to Lance Rob- his memory and we have included an arti- inson’s talk on his planning protfolio— cle on his life by Murrie Slotar, as well as an photo by Andy Featherstone article relating to Melville Koppies where he carried out ringing for many years. 4 then trained under John Ledger and be- L. John Bunning came a qualified bird ringer and this be- 02-06-1935 - came his first love. 24-01-2014 John was instrumental in starting the ringing at Melville Koppies where he trained many By Murrie Slotar young ringers. Thanks to John the ringing at Melville Koppies is still in the hands of the Honorary President W.B.C. During an extensive study con- ducted at Melville Koppies from March 1973 to the end of 1994 John and his ringing train- ees recorded 164 bird species. Some of these were just birds flying over. Were it not for this extensive ringing program a vagrant Blackcap from Europe, that was caught in th the mist-nets on the 10 of December 1985, would otherwise have gone unnoticed and therefore unrecorded. Over the years John and his trainees ringed some 22,000 birds and ringed over 118 species at the reserve. I first met John when I became Chairman of the W.B.C and wanted to start up the ring- ing within the club again. Ringing had been dormant for a few years. As the W.B.C was the first club to start ringing in S.A. I was keen to start this long standing tradition again, and I also wanted to be- come a ringer. John and I hit it off right away and we became the best of friends. It is with great sadness that I write this as John agreed to become editor again for our John was very special not only to me but to Bokmakarie which he did so while I was in so many who knew him, he will be remem- the Chair. John then retired to Barberton bered by members and ringers of the and, in typical Bunning fashion, it did not W.B.C. and all corners of the country. John take him long to start the Barberton Bird died on Friday 24th January after a long Club, he continued his ringing and was our illness. leader on many wonderful outings to Bar- berton. John was born in the U.K. and started bird- ing at a very young age and had a list of John is a great loss to the whole of the bird- over 100 birds. When he was sent to Kenya ing community and a personal loss to me. I during his army training a whole new know he will be sorely missed by all who world of birds opened up to him. John then knew him. went on to work in Nigeria another coun- try rich in birds before coming to S.A. John A memorial service was held for John at worked at Wit’s University for Prof. Phillip Melville Koppies on Saturday the 12th of Tobias in the School of Anatomical Sciences. April at 9.00 am He joined the W.B.C soon after arriving in S.A. He became a committee member and was editor of the Bokmakarie twice, he 5 gaan ons om voëls te kyk. Ons Besoek aan Kwa- Zulu Natal Ons sien die volgende. Southern Red Bishop Rooivink Deur Jan en Maryna Bezuidenhout Bronze Mannikin Gewone Fret Southern Masked Swartkeelgeelvink Ons beplan en reël dat ons Donderdag 19 Weaver Desember 2013 om 3uur vm sal vertrek. Op die 18de plus minus 3 uur nm is ons klaar Sacred Ibis Skoorsteenveër gelaai met alles wat ons sal nodig hê vir 10 Hadeda Ibis Hadeda dae se verblyf. Cattle Egret Veereier Maryna kyk vir my en ek vir haar en sê Common Myna Indiese Spreeu ‘Kom ons ry’. Ongeveer 15.30 nm is ons op Speckled Pigeon Kransduif pad vanaf Roodepoort. Ons het impulsief besluit en het nie slaap plek nie. Gelukkig Pied Kingfisher Bontvisvanger het Maryna ‘n lodge se naam in Piet Retief. Helmeted Guinea- Gewone Tarentaal Sy kontak lekkaslaap en die sal ons laat fowl weet of daar plek is om te oornag. Lesser Swamp- Kaapse Rietsanger Ons vat die pad deur Middelburg , Ermelo , Warbler Piet Retief. Ons wag en wag vir ‘n ant- Black-headed Heron Swartkopreier woord vanaf lekkaslaap maar niks gebeur Reed Cormorant Rietduiker nie. Maryna kontak ons dogter en sy kry vir ons die nommer van die lodge. Ons bel die Cape Robin-chat Gewone Janfrederik lodge direk en hulle sê daar is plek en ons is Laughing Dove Rooiborsduifie welkom om te kom oornag (dankie tog). Red-eyed Dove Grootringduif Tussen Middelburg en Ermelo kry ons swaar reën,donderweer en blitse wat skrik vir niks. Daar is ook baie swaar voertuie op Ons ry verder en op Pongola eet ons ont- die pad en die vordering is maar stadig byt by die Wimpy. Daarna is ons op pad aangesien daar herstelwerk aan die pad na Ndumo toe en bereik ons bestemming gedoen word. Ons kom op Piet Retief aan 12.20 nm. 19.30nm. Moeg gery eet ons ‘n spithoender wat ons vir die doel gekry het en klim in die Die plek waar jy parkeer en die chalet is bed.