ANNUAL REPORT 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 CONTENTS Chairman’s Message – 1 – Chief Executive Officer’s Report – 2 – Challenges in 2014 – 6 – Awards – 7 – Conserving Terrestrial Birds – 8 – Encouraging Ecological Sustainability – 10 – Saving Seabirds – 11 – Protecting Sites And Habitats – 13 – Birds And People – 15 – Sponsors And Supporters – 20 – Financials – 21 – Albert Froneman Cover page: Albert Froneman ANNUAL REPORT 2014 CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE Albert Froneman When BirdLife South Africa’s current Chief Today we are ready for more change. Executive Officer took up his position over six years ago it was like watching new It is time for a subtle shift, a stretch of leaves stretch out from all the trees. It was great wings perhaps, an energetic reach a very ‘green time’. Barn Swallows arrived up to a higher place, to the tips of where on the horizon, and the days widened like the sun comes onto the land, to the big flowers. gathering rows of summer swallows: the governance structure and the membership For many of us there is something structure of BirdLife South Africa must unsettling about change. But if we care As with all good ideas and actions, timing now realign with an even more efficient to look at Nature; if we pick up the is important. Change must therefore be way of doing things, a way that will profit rhythms and listen carefully, we will hear coordinated; it must be sequential. And from greater influence within the world the beautiful (and magnificent) tick of the birdwatchers – like us – appreciate this, of environmental conservation, a way circadian clock. We will notice exquisite laced in our obligate patience, we are that will welcome greater inclusiveness sensitivities and adaptations to change. We great observers of elegant change! from business, the NGO communities, will soon realize the essentialness of it all. birdwatchers and all those who care Mark Anderson and his team – a team that about wilderness. Seasons are powerful moments in Nature. grew through years of careful selection They are times of wondrous opportunity. – have given us a new Organization. It Our world of change is a place of renewal, has come gently and yet steadily. Our but it is also one of evolution. Next time That Wednesday morning of 1 October staff now work within an ambience of you are high on a hill, high enough to look 2008, when our CEO arrived at his new excellence; it has become our culture. down on a forest, watch for the greenest desk for the first time, it creaked a bit, Our thousands of volunteers and our leaves and the swallows: a scene that talks leaves were very bright and fresh, and corporate supporters have responded of a good tomorrow. birds sang outside. On that day BirdLife with resounding philanthropic kindness South Africa experienced change. and generosity. Vernon R.L. Head Chairman 1 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT The past year was another successful year BirdLife South Africa continued with for BirdLife South Africa. its excellent marketing and awareness campaigns and, thanks to our marketing One of our most important, and often committee, Utopia (our pro bono ad most difficult, responsibilities is to ensure agency), Continental Outdoor Media, and that we have the financial resources to Mind Share World (our new media partner), cover our administrative costs and to many South Africans are now aware of undertake our important conservation birds, our organisation and its work. work. During 2014, our conservation projects were adequately funded and core Another important form of endorsement ended with a surplus of about R900 000. for BirdLife South Africa is the fact that, This was the fifth consecutive year we have after many years of steady decrease, our ended with a net profit situation, enabling membership is again on the up, including us to replenish totally the sustainability four new Corporate Members. Adding to fund, which had been eroded away during this, African Birdlife subscriptions increased preceding years. BirdLife South Africa once by more than 50% in the past year, so again received a favourable audit report our current offices, involved purchasing much so that we have increased the print from KPMG, and our financial team was a new head office in Dunkeld West, run. African Birdlife editor Eve Gracie and congratulated by our auditors for their Johannesburg. We need to be based in a her team produce one of the world’s top exemplary financial management. leafy suburb close to the Gautrain station bird and birdwatching magazines. Our and bus routes, and we need a suitable social media reach is growing amazingly: It is my belief that people are supporting home for the next 50 years. The purchase our monthly e-newsletter goes to more us because they are impressed with our of Isdell House, as it will be known, than 7000 people, our attractive website conservation successes, they appreciate was made possible through generous is updated every few days, our two Twitter our good financial management, and donations from in particular Neville and handles gain new followers every week, they understand the immense importance Pamela Isdell, but also Johann and Gaynor and we have more than 15 000 members of our work. We are very grateful to Rupert, the Lewis Foundation, David on our Facebook Group and over 7000 on our growing number of Golden Bird Chamberlain, Nick and Jane Prentice, Otto our Facebook Page. Patrons, Corporate Members and other Muller, Norman Adami and SABMiller. donors who have contributed funds The office is undergoing extensive Part of our communication strategy to our administrative and conservation refurbishment and we anticipate moving includes holding events, and the portfolio work. The number of ad hoc donations is into Isdell House in mid-2015. Many of superbly organised events continues to increasing and I personally acknowledge people and companies are providing grow. They provide an opportunity to host all donations of R500 or more. assistance by donating time and material current donors and collaborators, and to goods for Isdell House. Special mention introduce our organisation to potential We cannot, however, assume that donations goes to our Chairman, Vernon Head, who new associates. The Walter Sisulu will always match our needs, or that we will drew up the architectural plans, and Andy National Botanical Gardens, the new be able to meet the conservation challenges Featherstone, our project manager. venue for the Sasol Bird Fair, is a perfect of the future. For this reason, the BirdLife National Trust was established in 2013 with a long-term objective to ensure that BirdLife South Africa will remain in a healthy financial position, with sufficient resources to cover administrative expenses and to implement important conservation work, in perpetuity. Under the strategic guidance of six trustees, David Lawrence (Chairman), Michael Spicer, Humphrey Borkhum, Vernon Head, Nigel Stainforth and Mike McCullough, the Trust is growing rapidly. This growth is set to accelerate through our Legacy Programme with assistance from Reg Thomson and Hugh Corder, as numerous people have indicated that they will be leaving a bequest to BirdLife South Africa. Part of planning for the future, and recognising that we’ve already outgrown Mark D Anderson 2 ANNUAL REPORT 2014 Mark D Anderson location for this annual event. The Save our birds are unfortunately threatened, Gardens in Pretoria. BirdLife South Africa our Seabirds Festival morphed into the some edging ever closer to the edge of has also been appointed by the African Celebrate our Seas Festival, allowing for the extinction precipice. With funding Eurasian Waterbird Agreement as the more collaborating partners and for the from a growing number of donors and coordinator of the White-winged Flufftail conservation message to be more explicitly under the mantle of the Oppenheimer International Working Group, affirmation expanded to the ocean environment. Fellow of Conservation position, we that the responsibility for conserving this “Flock in the ‘Berg”, which incorporated have increased the number of terrestrial embattled wetland bird rests squarely on the biennial academic conference Learn species conservation projects, including our shoulders. about Birds, was very successful and doing research and conservation work on the Drakensberg was a good venue for the Taita Falcon, Black Harrier, Southern BirdLife South Africa is involved in ornithologists and conservationists to Ground Hornbill, Lesser Flamingo, extensive research on the Secretarybird, interact, both formally and informally, in a vultures, and other birds. with the aim of trying to understand the beautiful grassland setting. An appreciable reasons for the recent population declines amount of time was spent organising the The globally and regionally Critically and to provide recommendations for new Flufftail Festival, an event which will Endangered White-winged Flufftail, conservation action. Eleven Secretarybirds be held annually in Sandton City, the heart perhaps our country’s rarest bird, is have been fitted with tracking devices of the economic hub of Africa, at the time receiving attention from BirdLife South and 41 320 locations for these birds were of World Wetlands Day in February. This Africa and the Middelpunt Wetland determined in 2014. Unfortunately two new event is a collaboration between Trust, which we administer. During the of the three birds that died during the BirdLife South Africa, Eskom, Rand Water, past year we conducted surveys of high past year succumbed after colliding with the Department of Environmental Affairs, altitude wetlands where these flufftails man-made structures: a powerline and Middelpunt Wetland Trust and other occur or have previously been recorded, a farm fence. We have learnt about the partners. we took blood samples from wild-caught major threats the Secretarybird faces as birds for our genetic studies, and we are well as fine-scale habitat use, and this Our most important responsibility is to at an advanced stage of planning for the will contribute to our current knowledge conserve our country’s 846 bird species construction of a research and captive and ultimately conservation decision- and their habitats.