THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS 2018 2 THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS 2018 CONTENTS THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS 2018 | PARTNERS 3 THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS REPORT 2018 CONTENTS Published by BirdLife South Africa Partners 3 Compiled by Martin R Taylor and Faansie Peacock BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA Design by Bryony van Wyk, Martin R Taylor Foreword 4 and Faansie Peacock BirdLife South Africa is the 1. Preventing extinctions Cover African Black Oystercatcher by Martin R Taylor Executive summary 5 Country Partner of BirdLife in the wild. Copyright © BirdLife South Africa 2018 International and is a registered 2. Maintaining, and where Non-Profit Organisation and possible improving, the Recommended citation Public Benefit Organisation. INTRODUCTION conservation status of all Taylor MR, Peacock F. 2018. State of South Africa’s Bird BirdLife South Africa is the only bird species. Report 2018. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa. South Africa’s birds: A conservation status overview 6 dedicated bird conservation NGO in South Africa, representing a 3. Conserving the sites and BirdLife South Africa Report structure 7 habitats important for birds Isdell House membership network of more and other biodiversity. 17 Hume Road The legal framework 8 than 5 600 members and 35 bird Dunkeld West clubs, and through conservation, 4. Sustaining the vital ecological 2196 lobbying, advocacy, community systems that underpin human Gauteng STATE conservation and education livelihoods and enrich the Tel: +27 (0)11 789 1122 programmes attempts to achieve quality of people’s lives. Fax: +27 (0)11 789 5188 Regionally threatened bird species in South Africa 10 the conservation of birds and Email: [email protected] In the process, BirdLife South Biomes of South Africa 20 their habitats. As a BirdLife Web: www.birdlife.org.za Country Partner, BirdLife South Africa will empower people and contribute to the allevia- Contributors Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas 36 Africa accesses the expertise and Andrea Angel, Tris Allinson, André Botha, Mark Brown, Ian global network of BirdLife tion of poverty, and will strive Burfield, Kristi Garland, Christina Hagen, Constant International. BirdLife South Africa to ensure sustainability in the Hoogstad, Andrew Jenkins, Lucy Kemp, Daniel PRESSURE commits to: use of natural resources. Marnewick, Andrew McKechnie, Taryn Morris, Giselle Murison, Matt Pretorius, Samantha Ralston-Paton, Ernst Threats to birds and their habitats 40 Retief, Peter Ryan, Jessica Shaw, Hanneline Smit- Robinson, Rob Simmons, Andrew Skowno, Candice Stevens, Gareth Tate, Linda van den Heever, Ross Wanless, RESPONSE Dale Wright, Kerri Wolter Working together to conserve birds 50 PROJECT PARTNERS AND FUNDERS Saving terrestrial bird species and their habitats 52 ∙ BirdLife International Conserving marine bird species 66 Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation ∙ SANParks Honorary Rangers West Rand Region People-based conservation 70 ∙ MONITORING & RESEARCH 74 DIGITAL RESOURCES 78 SUGGESTED READING 79 A male Northern Black Korhaan proclaims ownership of his territory (Martin R Taylor) 4 THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS 2018 | FOREWORD THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS 2018 | FOREWORD 5 FOREWORD FOREWORD It is with great pleasure that SANBI has partnered with BirdLife South Africa on the produc- The 2017 State of South Africa’s Bird Report provides a snapshot of the current conserva- tion of this key publication focusing on the status of our nation’s birds. Sadly it is evident tion status of birds in our country. The outlook is not good, with the recently reviewed that a large number of species are under pressure with the threats facing our birds being regional Red List indicating that 134 species are now threatened with extinction. The immense. It is however encouraging to see the work being undertaken by a wide variety of number of Endangered and Critically Endangered bird species has increased significantly stakeholders in the conservation sector in their attempts to address these threats and reverse since the 2000 assessment, with 51 species now listed in these categories. Going further the downward trends seen in so many of the populations of our threatened bird species. back, one sees that the status of our avifauna has deteriorated over the past three decades. The conservation of our bird species is one such challenge and it is up all of us to take on the This is succinctly detailed in the Red List Index. It is clear that our bird populations are in responsibility of protecting this special group to ensure that this national asset is enjoyed trouble and this should be of concern to all South Africans. As birds are indicators of the by all of our people into the future. health of ecosystems which are so essential to human well being, inferences can be made about effects on humans, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes. The threats driving the declining conservation status of birds are varied, with land degradation and transforma- tion, as well as the extractive industries, leading the way. Fortunately South Africa has a strong and active conservation sector with a number of different organisations, ranging from government departments to conservation NGOs, working hard to ameliorate these pressures. The next decade will be critical if we are to halt population declines, address Moshibudi Rampedi threats, and thus improve the conservation status of our birds. In order to do this, it will Chief Executive Officer Moshibudi Rampedi take a massive amount of effort and cooperation by many stakeholders to ensure that Mark D Anderson South African National Biodiversity Institute future generations will be able to benefit from our country’s spectacular diversity of birds. 9 January 2018 Mark D Anderson Chief Executive Officer BirdLife South Africa 11 January 2018 Spring flower abundance in West Coast National Park, one of Pallid Harrier, a globally Near South Africa’s most important IBAs (Ronél Peacock) Threatened raptor (Dylan Vasapolli) 6 THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS 2018 BIRDS AS INDICATORS FOR BIODIVERSITY THE STATE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS 2018 | REPORT STRUCTURE 7 Thanks to SOUTH AFRICA’S BIRDS: AN OVERVIEW REPORT STRUCTURE: STATE | PRESSURE | RESPONSE | MONITORING South Africa is rich in birds with 856 bird species recorded in the region, including the “long-term Prince Edward Islands. The State of South Africa’s Birds 2018 report provides a synopsis of the conservation status or STATE of these birds, the threats or PRESSURES that they face and the 1 2 3 measures or RESPONSES being put in place to improve their conservation status. Assessing research and the conservation status of birds is extremely important but determining the reasons why the birds are declining, i.e. the pressures, is just as important. This assists conservation authorities monitoring, to formulate a response – a figurative toolbox of different conservation interventions that can be unpacked to deal with specific problems. Birds can help set, meet and track the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. As part of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the member bird ecology, states of the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to 20 headline ‘Aichi Biodiversity Targets’. Governments are translating these to the national level legislation | pp. 8-9 state: species | p. 10-19 state: biomes | pp. 20- distribution through their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. An initial section of the report briefly There are two sections on the state of birds and The second section on state assesses the Data on birds can help the South African government to set summarises the South African their habitats, which set the scene for this health of the terrestrial biomes, rivers, and life history targets, focus actions and monitor success for the environmental legislation framework, document. From a species perspective, the results estuaries and marine ecosystems that conservation of biodiversity. which provides a backdrop as to how the of the recent 2015 Regional Red List Process are regional bird populations rely on. This conservation of birds and their habitats is provided, giving an overview as to which groups section highlights the link between traits are well dealt with by the South African are under the most pressure and how these threatened birds and their habitats, and government. groups have fared over time. identifies key environmental problems. documented BIRDS AS INDICATORS and under - FOR BIODIVERSITY ∙ Unlike many other taxon groups, bird taxonomy in stood South Africa is well known and is relatively stable. 4 5 6 ∙ Thanks to both research by ornithologists and monitoring by birdwatchers, bird distribution, ecology and life history traits are well understood. Cape Rockjumper (Dylan ” Vasapolli) ∙ Birds are easy to identify, survey and monitor, and historical databases exist for comparative trends. ∙ Birds are diverse, found in nearly all habitats and occur across the country. bird species recorded in South Africa pressure | p. 40-49 response | p. 50-73 monitoring | p. 74-77 ∙ Birds usually occupy high trophic levels in food webs 856 and are thus sensitive to environmental change, The section on pressure summarises The section on response identifies case studies Knowledge of biodiversity leads to better making them excellent early-warning systems. endemic or near-endemic major threats to key bird species, highlighting conservation projects by different understanding, better management, and ∙ Bird population trends often mirror those of other species in the