Bokmakierie Newsletter of the Witwatersrand Bird Club August 2016 No 246 ND RA S R E T B A U L W T C I W D IR B SOUTHBird AFRICALife Giving Conservation Wings Sediba and Borakalalo Outing Weekend Photos by Jan van Heerden Christine le Brocq, Charlotte Mathews and Lester Ness Birders at Sediba Game Lodge, May 2016. Felicity Kanichowsky, Fiona Butchart & Jenny Fullerton, Diana Cowen & Christine le Christo Venter (with Malcom Henderson in Brocq the background) Lance Robinson collating the Sediba & Borakalalo bird list Bokmakierie Newsletter of the Witwatersrand Bird Club August 2016 No 246 Witwatersrand Bird Club Inside this issue: P O Box 641 Cresta 2118 2 Letter from the Chair Tel: 011 782 7267 3 Advanced photography with peanut Fax: 086 512 7696 butter by Lesley Cornish Email: [email protected] 6 Moscow calling - a rehab European Web: www.witsbirdclub.org.za Honey Buzzard heads north by Prof. Craig Symes 2016 Committee: 8 Bon voyage Ginny Mes 23rd July 2016 HON. PRESIDENT: Lance Robinson by Andy Featherstone 9 Vergelegen partners in bird of prey CHAIRMAN: Andy Featherstone rescue: press release by Meropa VICE-CHAIRMAN: Koos van Dÿk Communications TREASURER: Sandy Goodall 12 Notes on a nesting pair of Short-toed Rock Thrushes (Monticola brevipes) in COURSES: Janice Isom Kloofendaal Nature Reserve, Roode- CONSERVATION: Lance Robinson poort by Jacobus van Dÿk & Anthony EVENING MEETINGS: Lia Steen van Zyl 16 Short-toed Rock Thrush (Monticola WEBSITE: Thinie vd Merwe brevipes) field notes by J D van Dÿk YOUTH: Grant Morrison 20 A winter visit ro the Pilanesberg by An- SALES & MARKETING: Dael Stojakovic thony Cavanagh 23 Mount Elgon: part one: highlands and PROGRAMME: Fiona van Zyl caves by Lesley Cornish EAST RAND CHAIR: Awie Coetzee 26 Klipriversberg Verreaux's Eagles - the HENLEY-ON-KLIP CHAIR: David Ludlow story of "Witsie" by Lance Robinson 27 Vulpro, Eskom and the Endangered WEST RAND CHAIR: Koos van Dÿk Wildlife Trust (EWT) save our vultures!: CLUB SECRETARY: Lauraine Leigh press release by Vulpro 29 Long lived Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS caffra) by Dane Paijmans, SAFRING Bokmakierie is published three times annually. Contribu- tions may be in Afrikaans or English. English names of birds 30 Oldest Southern Masked Weaver by should be those used in Roberts VII. Views expressed are H. Dieter Oschadleus, SAFRING not necessarily those of the Editor, Club, the Committee, Members or those of BirdLife South Africa. The Editors 31 African Goshawk (Accipter tachiro) reserve the right to edit articles as necessary. makes a reappearance in Johannesburg This issue of Bokmakierie has been produced and edited by Andy Featherstone and Lance Robinson. by Lance Robinson COVER PHOTO: Verreaux’s Eagle by Warwick Tarboton 33 Rarities and unusual sightings report: MAGAZINE LAYOUT: Philip Tarboton 31 July 2016 by André Marx Bokmakierie August 2016 No 246 | 1 Letter from the Chair have not seen for a number the Committee. Ginny Mes of years. There were plenty has left the Gauteng region of migrants enjoying the to live and work in Cape summer with in particular, Town with her family and large number of White we wish her well. Joining Storks in the agricultural the Committee in her place, areas of the Baltic countries. Fiona van Zyl has under- I would love to go back to taken the onerous portfolio of programme planning, Dear Members, do some serious birding but the cost of living in these please give her your support It’s hard to believe but countries is truly frightening! and help. Dael Stojakovic winter is nearly over and has also joined the Com- the first day of spring is Back to local matters, as mittee to head up sales & September heralds the start approaching fast. The first marketing, an area which of spring, there are several of our intra African migrants has needed input for some events that are important in have already started to time. Dael has already made our calendar. The first week- arrive with White-throated an impressive start in selling end of September is the Swallows and African Palm some of our old clothing African Bird Fair which will Swifts making their ap- stock, even offering to adjust be held at Walter Sisulu Bo- pearance. Waders are also the size of items which are tanical Gardens on the 3rd turning up on what is left of too large for the purchasers. and 4th. Wits Bird Club will our pans and migration will So if you still want a fleece be having a stand at the Fair soon be in full swing. Let jacket, see Dael and she will and Lauraine is keeping a tailor one to suit! us hope that this year the roster of members willing to drought will end and that we assist in manning the stand. Lastly next year the Club have the summer rains that If you can help for a couple will be celebrating its 70th we desperately need. of hours please let her know. Anniversary and we will be having a number of special I had the pleasure of re- Fresh off the press and on events to mark the occasion. cently migrating to Europe sale at the Fair will be our This will range from talks by for the holiday of a life time stunning 2017 Calendar, the Trevor Hardaker in February with my wife Gail. In sixteen photographs submitted get and Faansie Peacock provi- days we visited seven better and better every year. Congratulations to those sionally set for March, to a countries in the Nordic and birthday bash at Delta Park Baltic areas. The scenery lucky few whose photo- graphs were selected by our in June and an exciting trip crossing the mountains of to Mozambique in Decem- Norway by train and in the judges, Albert Froneman and Mark Anderson, and ber to look for the fabled fjords from various boats commiserations to those African Pitta …. was breath-taking. Whilst I who did not quite make it was not able to birdwatch Andy Featherstone this year. Keep trying! in a conventional sense my binoculars and camera were Since our April edition of always to hand so I enjoyed Bokmakierie we have un- many European birds that I dergone a few changes on 2 | Bokmakierie August 2016 No 246 Advanced photography with peanut butter By Lesley Cornish | Photographs by Leslie Cornish and Errol Bleksley Errol and I were among the lucky four to really frustrated if they did not have it. go on Albert and Marietjie Froneman’s After taking a day’s leave on Friday, and Advanced Forest Bird Photography going to a meeting at Midrand at 7.30 Workshop at Kurisa Moya in Magoeber- skloof in June 2016. Initially, I was put off a.m. en route (am I nuts, this was sup- by the “advanced” bit, but Janice Isom posed to be leave!?), we were there just persuaded me otherwise, and although after 14.00. We settled into a fantastic our photographic equipment was the old farmhouse, then had our first lecture. least of the people on the workshop, it It did not seem too traumatic, and was was enough! Albert told us the “ad- followed by a short practical session vanced” was to ensure that people had setting up the cameras and trying out reasonable capability, but mostly to en- fill-in flash photography. That went OK, sure that they had the necessary equip- so we had drinks and a wonderful dinner ment, because they would have been (all part of the full board). Cape White-eyes - do they love peanut butter! Bokmakierie August 2016 No 246 | 3 Next morning, we had coffee and rusks at 6.30 a.m., then moved down to the feeding stations. We went in two little bird hides (actually, they were camouflaged little tents for sitting up in, with many zipped windows), Lisa put out the food: seeds and peanut butter, and then it started! Cape White-eyes First in were hordes of Cape White-eyes and boy, do they love peanut butter! There were also Forest Canaries going for the seeds, together with Swee Waxbills, a family of Red-backed Mannikins and African Firefinches. More reluctant were the Cape Robin-chats, Chorister Robin-chats and one Southern Boubou. There were also Southern Double- Cape Robin-Chat collared Sunbirds feeding on the aloes. Lisa had put water into the leaves of the aloes, so we had the pleasure of watching (and photographing) Cape White-eyes, Red-backed Mannikins, Forest Canaries and the Southern Double- collared Sunbirds bathing. My favourites were the Three-striped Mice who live in the rocks! In the afternoon, we went Green Twinspot to the Green Twinspot 4 | Bokmakierie August 2016 No 246 Hide, a short walk away. It was well- Sunday morning saw Errol and I at a named, and the grain put out attracted different feeding station from everyone not only the Green Twinspots (both sexes else, and we had the usual squadrons of at different times), but at least five Lemon Cape White-eyes, shy robin-chats and Doves (what a silly name – how did they the mice! I discovered that mice like come up with that?), a Tambourine Dove peanut butter too! An African Goshawk (which kept getting chased off by a male came in and caught a mouse from the Lemon Dove), Forest Canaries and a other hide, which quietened things down for a bit. It was a short morning and we Natal Spurfowl. Later, back at the farm- had our wonderful brunch earlier, then house, we downloaded the photographs, packed up and left. While we were pho- discussed where we went wrong, and tographing, Marietjie trapped a Common Albert demonstrated the processing of Molerat which was digging up Lisa’s the images.