Namaqua Birds
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Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2. -
South Africa Mega Birding Tour I 6Th to 30Th January 2018 (25 Days) Trip Report
South Africa Mega Birding Tour I 6th to 30th January 2018 (25 days) Trip Report Aardvark by Mike Bacon Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Wayne Jones Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Mega I 2018 2 Tour Summary The beauty of South Africa lies in its richness of habitats, from the coastal forests in the east, through subalpine mountain ranges and the arid Karoo to fynbos in the south. We explored all of these and more during our 25-day adventure across the country. Highlights were many and included Orange River Francolin, thousands of Cape Gannets, multiple Secretarybirds, stunning Knysna Turaco, Ground Woodpecker, Botha’s Lark, Bush Blackcap, Cape Parrot, Aardvark, Aardwolf, Caracal, Oribi and Giant Bullfrog, along with spectacular scenery, great food and excellent accommodation throughout. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Despite havoc-wreaking weather that delayed flights on the other side of the world, everyone managed to arrive (just!) in South Africa for the start of our keenly-awaited tour. We began our 25-day cross-country exploration with a drive along Zaagkuildrift Road. This unassuming stretch of dirt road is well-known in local birding circles and can offer up a wide range of species thanks to its variety of habitats – which include open grassland, acacia woodland, wetlands and a seasonal floodplain. After locating a handsome male Northern Black Korhaan and African Wattled Lapwings, a Northern Black Korhaan by Glen Valentine -
Namibia & the Okavango
Pel’s Fishing Owl - a pair was found on a wooded island south of Shakawe (Jan-Ake Alvarsson) NAMIBIA & THE OKAVANGO 21 SEPTEMBER – 8 OCTOBER 2017 LEADER: STEVE BRAINE For most of the country the previous three years drought had been broken and although too early for the mi- grants we did however do very well with birding generally. We searched and found all the near endemics as well as the endemic Dune Lark. Besides these we also had a new write-in for the trip! In the floodplains after observing a wonderful Pel’s Fishing Owl we travelled down a side channel of the Okavango River to look for Pygmy Geese, we were lucky and came across several pairs before reaching a dried-out floodplain. Four birds flew out of the reedbeds and looked rather different to the normal weavers of which there were many, a closer look at the two remaining birds revealed a beautiful pair of Cuckoo Finches. These we all enjoyed for a brief period before they followed the other birds which had now disappeared into the reedbeds. Very strong winds on three of the birding days made birding a huge challenge to say the least after not finding the rare and difficult Herero Chat we had to make alternate arrangements at another locality later in the trip. The entire tour from the Hosea Kutako International Airport outside the capital Windhoek and returning there nineteen days later delivered 375 species. Out of these, four birds were seen only by the leader, a further three species were heard but not seen. -
The Karoo Birds Research and Conservation Project
The Karoo Birds Research and Conservation Project Final Project Report based on fieldwork conducted through the Karoo south of the Orange River during 2017 and 2018 A BirdLife South Africa conservation project by Alan Lee and Dale Wright. Report by: Alan Lee January 2019 1 Summary The Karoo biome is a vast arid zone environment covering 26% of South Africa, as well as Namibia, and is home to 11 endemic bird species. The Karoo Birds Project was a BirdLife South Africa initiative run from 2017-2018, which aimed to provide a conservation assessment by obtaining data on population size, range and population trends primarily of the Karoo endemic bird species. This report was obtained through a point count and atlasing project across the Karoo region south of the Orange River, South Africa. This was partly run in conjunction with the Karoo BioGaps project. The South African National Biodiversity Institute’s (SANBI) Karoo BioGaps project aimed to gather foundational biodiversity data to support the impact assessments for Shale Gas and other infrastructure development projects in the Karoo basin. During 2017 and 2018 we conducted 2854 point counts across 150 pentads, mostly from end of July to October, largely corresponding to the late winter to early spring period. We found that avian species richness and bird abundance increased eastwards, mostly explained by increasing overall vegetation height, but accompanied by increasing grass cover and decreasing sand cover. In contrast, Karoo endemic bird species richness decreased eastwards, negatively correlated with increasing grass and acacia tree cover. Density and species richness were especially high around water locations and farmhouses, and we found that the presence of many species to be influenced by water, a surprising result for an arid environment. -
South Africa Mega Birding III 5Th to 27Th October 2019 (23 Days) Trip Report
South Africa Mega Birding III 5th to 27th October 2019 (23 days) Trip Report The near-endemic Gorgeous Bushshrike by Daniel Keith Danckwerts Tour leader: Daniel Keith Danckwerts Trip Report – RBT South Africa – Mega Birding III 2019 2 Tour Summary South Africa supports the highest number of endemic species of any African country and is therefore of obvious appeal to birders. This South Africa mega tour covered virtually the entire country in little over a month – amounting to an estimated 10 000km – and targeted every single endemic and near-endemic species! We were successful in finding virtually all of the targets and some of our highlights included a pair of mythical Hottentot Buttonquails, the critically endangered Rudd’s Lark, both Cape, and Drakensburg Rockjumpers, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Pink-throated Twinspot, Southern Tchagra, the scarce Knysna Woodpecker, both Northern and Southern Black Korhaans, and Bush Blackcap. We additionally enjoyed better-than-ever sightings of the tricky Barratt’s Warbler, aptly named Gorgeous Bushshrike, Crested Guineafowl, and Eastern Nicator to just name a few. Any trip to South Africa would be incomplete without mammals and our tally of 60 species included such difficult animals as the Aardvark, Aardwolf, Southern African Hedgehog, Bat-eared Fox, Smith’s Red Rock Hare and both Sable and Roan Antelopes. This really was a trip like no other! ____________________________________________________________________________________ Tour in Detail Our first full day of the tour began with a short walk through the gardens of our quaint guesthouse in Johannesburg. Here we enjoyed sightings of the delightful Red-headed Finch, small numbers of Southern Red Bishops including several males that were busy moulting into their summer breeding plumage, the near-endemic Karoo Thrush, Cape White-eye, Grey-headed Gull, Hadada Ibis, Southern Masked Weaver, Speckled Mousebird, African Palm Swift and the Laughing, Ring-necked and Red-eyed Doves. -
Namibia, Botswana & Zambia
NAMIBIA, BOTSWANA & ZAMBIA AUGUST 12–29, 2017 NAMIBIA: WALVIS BAY PRE-TRIP AUGUST 9–13, 2017 African Barred Owlet © Geoff Lockwood LEADER : G EOFF LOCKWOOD COMPILED BY: GEOFF LOCKWOOD VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS , I NC . 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE , S UITE 1003 AUSTIN , TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM Victor Emanuel Nature Tours ITINERARY Pre-tour August 10 Flight to Walvis Bay; Kuiseb Delta and drive to our hotel in Swakopmund August 11 Swakop River mouth; coastal drive and Walvis Bay and the Walvis Bay Salt Works August 12 Swakopmund Salt Works, Rossmund Golf Course & Swakop River valley August 13 Early morning walk in Swakopmund; flight to Huab Lodge for the start of the main tour Main Tour August 13 Afternoon drive to a water point in the hills August 14 Early morning walk downstream; birding around the lodge then a drive upstream along the river; afternoon drive along the river August 15 Birding around the Huab Conservancy August 16 Early birding around the lodge, travel to Okaukeujo Camp, Etosha via Kamanjab August 17 Early birding in camp; drive to Okondeka contact spring, Newbrowni waterhole and Gemsbokvlakte August 18 Drive eastwards through the park to Mushara Lodge via Rietfontein waterhole, Halali Camp, Goas waterhole and Namutoni Camp August 19 Mushara Lodge to Namutoni; drive to various waterholes around camp August 20 Namutoni and surrounds (Klein Namutoni waterhole and Dikdik drive; Klein Okeivi and Tsumcor waterholes) August 21 Namutoni to Mokuti Lodge; flight to Bagani airstrip in the Caprivi; drive through the Mahango Game -
Namibia & Botswana 2017
Namibia & Botswana 2017 A Tropical Birding Custom Trip 3-18 September 2017 Guides: Ken Behrens & Charley Hesse September 3-18, 2017 Guided by: Ken Behrens Charley Hesse Photos and Report by Ken Behrens www.tropicalbirding.com The Crimson-breasted Gonolek is Namibia’s national bird. WINDHOEK After arrival in Namibia’s capital, we had a day to relax and enjoy the excellent birding on offer around this small and charming city. Windhoek has a population of about 300,000, out of Namibia’s tiny population of only 2.1 million, remarkable for a country that is twice the size of California. Monteiro’s Hornbill (left), one of many Namibian near-endemic birds that we were seeking. On our morning walk at Avis Dam, we enjoyed Barred Wren-Warbler (top left) and Black-fronted or African Red-eyed Bulbul (bottom left), while there were a bounty of waterbirds at the Gammons Water Care (Sewage!) Works, including Red-knobbed Coot (middle left) and African Darter (right). From Windhoek, in the central mountains, we descended into the Namib Desert, where species like the Common Ostrich survive despite incredibly harsh conditions. Creatures of the Namib: South African Ground Squirrel (bottom right); Tractrac Chat (top right); and Rueppell’s Bustard (left). WALVIS BAY AND SWAKOPMUND The Namib dune fields hold Namibia’s sole political endemic bird, the Dune Lark. Walvis Bay itself is a mecca for waterbirds, including thousands of Lesser Flamingos (right-hand page). Spitzkoppe is Namibia’s most distinctive and iconic mountain. Our avian target at Spitzkoppe was the charismatic and scarce Herero Chat. -
Fledgling Survival Increases with Development Time and Adult Survival Across North and South Temperate Zones
Ibis (2016), 158, 135–143 Fledgling survival increases with development time and adult survival across north and south temperate zones PENN LLOYD1,2* & THOMAS E. MARTIN3 1Percy FitzPatrick Institute, DST/NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa 2Biodiversity Assessment and Management Pty Ltd, PO Box 1376, Cleveland, Qld 4163, Australia 3U.S. Geological Survey Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA Slow life histories are characterized by high adult survival and few offspring, which are thought to allow increased investment per offspring to increase juvenile survival. Consis- tent with this pattern, south temperate zone birds are commonly longer-lived and have fewer young than north temperate zone species. However, comparative analyses of juve- nile survival, including during the first few weeks of the post-fledging period when most juvenile mortality occurs, are largely lacking. We combined our measurements of fledg- ling survival for eight passerines in South Africa with estimates from published studies of 57 north and south temperate zone songbird species to test three predictions: (1) fledg- ling survival increases with length of development time in the nest; (2) fledgling survival increases with adult survival and reduced brood size controlled for development time; and (3) south temperate zone species, with their higher adult survival and smaller brood sizes, exhibit higher fledgling survival than north temperate zone species controlled for development time. We found that fledgling survival was higher among south temperate zone species and generally increased with development time and adult survival within and between latitudinal regions. -
Avifauna Survey
AVIFAUNA SURVEY Prepared by: Dr W. Richard J Dean, Research Associate at the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town Reviewed and edited by: Dr Penn Lloyd, Principal Ecologist and Director at Biodiversity Assessment and Management Pty Ltd; and Patrick Morant, SACNASP Professional Natural Scientist (Reg. No. 401514/83). Table of content II. SURVEY RESULTS 3 III. INFRASTRUCTURE AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON BIRDS 10 IV. CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER LONG-TERM MONITORING AND RESEARCH PROGRAMME WITHIN THE SKA CORE AREA AND KCAAA1 13 V. LIST OF ALL BIRD SPECIES RECORDED WITHIN KCAAA1 14 VI. REFERENCES 22 I. Introduction The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is situated in the Nama Karoo, so only those bird species that occur in the Nama Karoo will be discussed here. The study area of the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for the first phase of the SKA project (SKA1_MID) covers 153 Quarter Degree Grid Cells (QDGC)1, fairly well covered by participants in the Bird Atlas project in the late 1980s and early 1990s with lists of bird species for all 153 QDGC. Data for the 153 QDGC are a combination of the South African Bird Atlas Project data, museum specimen data and sight data (WRJD pers. obs.) and includes a recent bird list compiled by Etienne Marais. The avifauna of the Nama Karoo is not distinctive, and there are no families of birds endemic to the Karoo, but there are 25 species that are near-endemic to the region (Table 1). Only two species, Red Lark Calendulauda burra and Sclater's Lark Spizocorys sclateri, whose distribution ranges are almost entirely within the Nama Karoo, can be considered true endemics to the Nama Karoo. -
Karoo Chat Is Paler and Has a White Rump
182 Turdidae: thrushes, chats, robins and rockjumpers Karoo Chat is paler and has a white rump. However, these errors are not believed to have had a serious effect on the data. Habitat: Although its range overlaps greatly with other chats of the Karoo, its preferred habitat differs subtly from theirs. In contrast to the Sicklewinged Chat C. sinuata and the Anteating Chat Myrmecocichla formicivora, it is most common in the westerly, succulent-dominated parts of the Karoo, including the Little Karoo in the south. It prefers somewhat denser, taller scrub than the Tractrac Chat, and in northern Namibia it is altitudinally separated from that species, with the Tractrac occupying lowlands nearer the coast and the Karoo Chat occupying high ground further inland (Keith et al. 1992). The Karoo Chat can be found both on the flats and on broken ground, but is replaced in mountainous habitats by the Mountain Chat. It does not seek out human habitation like the Familiar Chat C. fami- liaris and it does not use the very open, bare ground and overgrazed and cultivated habitats favoured by the Capped Wheatear O. pileata. Movements: Although marked, the seasonal fluctuations in reporting rate are not thought to denote movements. It is more likely that a spring/summer drop in reporting rates is due to reduced activity in the summer heat and possibly a degree of secretiveness while breeding and during post- breeding moult. Breeding: It has a spring/summer breeding season with a peak September–November. The few records reported by Winterbottom (1968a) were July–October. Maclean (1993b) gave the breeding season as August–March with variation linked to rainfall. -
South Africa: the Southwestern Cape & Kruger August 17–September 1, 2018
SOUTH AFRICA: THE SOUTHWESTERN CAPE & KRUGER AUGUST 17–SEPTEMBER 1, 2018 Leopard LEADER: PATRICK CARDWELL LIST COMPILED BY: PATRICK CARDWELL VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM SOUTH AFRICA: THE SOUTHWESTERN CAPE & KRUGER AUGUST 17–SEPTEMER 1, 2018 By Patrick Cardwell Our tour started in the historical gardens of the Alphen Hotel located in the heart of the Constantia Valley, with vineyards dating back to 1652 with the arrival of Jan van Riebeeck, the first Governor of the Cape. Surrounded by aging oak and poplar trees, this Heritage Site hotel is perfectly situated as a central point within the more rural environs of Cape Town, directly below the towering heights of Table Mountain and close to the internationally acclaimed botanical gardens of Kirstenbosch. DAY 1 A dramatic change in the prevailing weather pattern dictated a ‘switch’ between scheduled days in the itinerary to take advantage of a window of relatively calm sea conditions ahead of a cold front moving in across the Atlantic from the west. Our short drive to the harbor followed the old scenic road through the wine lands and over Constantia Nek to the picturesque and well-wooded valley of Hout (Wood) Bay, so named by the Dutch settlers for the abundance of old growth yellow wood trees that were heavily exploited during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Our skipper was on standby to welcome us on board a stable sport fishing boat with a wraparound gunnel, ideal for all-round pelagic seabird viewing and photographic opportunity in all directions. -
Essential Namibia: Custom Trip Report 10 – 19 October 2019
ESSENTIAL NAMIBIA: CUSTOM TRIP REPORT 10 – 19 OCTOBER 2019 www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | TRIP REPORT Essential Namibia custom tour October 2019 Overview Namibia is a must-visit African country since it is so very unique, with the world’s oldest desert including the highest sand dunes in the world of a spectacular red color, rugged desert mountains along the bird-rich Namibian Escarpment, and one of the world’s greatest game parks, the vast Etosha National Park. And, last but not least, Namibia hosts a number of birds that are only found there or in adjacent Angola. This tour was a uniquely crafted departure searching for as many bird species as possible in central Namibia with limited time at our disposal. In terms of finding key species we did very well – locating basically all of the desired targets. A total of 218 bird species were seen (plus eight species heard only). A full bird list can be found at the end of this report. After some initial, productive birding around Windhoek and a wonderful evening in the capital the clients set off to Sossusvlei via a highly scenic charter flight over awe-inspiring dunes and rugged topography. After spending the day at the red sand sea of Sossusvlei they took another incredible flight along the Atlantic coastline, taking in Cape Fur Seal colonies and more dune scenery, to Walvis Bay, where we continued our trip. What follows in an annotated report of the key birding and wildlife localities visited as well as some of the respective highlights enjoyed at each.