The Lark Issue 14, November/December 2017 In this issue Editors’ chirps 2 NEWS Birdlife Polokwane outing to Pierre Homan’s farm Jody De Bruyn 3 Spring Ring 2017 Derek Engelbrecht 5 Eshowe naweek uitstappie (In Afrikaans) San3 De Wet 8 Karoo and then some - another mad dash lifer bash Rowan Van Tonder 11 A tough assignment with sweet rewards Derek Engelbrecht 18 BIRD OF THE MONTH Cape Penduline Tit 21 REGULARS Bird briefs The wanderings of Cape Vulture C176; A bumper year for African Skimmers breeding 23-28 in South Africa; African Fish Eagle standing its ground against a Hippopotamus; The King of the River eats goose for lunch; Summer migrant arrivals: September-October 2017. Something old, something new … 29-30 Important environmental dates 31 Upcoming events 31 Birdlife Polokwane Committee members 32 Editor’s chirps Welcome to our final edition of THE LARK for 2017. It has certainly been another fantastic birding year and we have so enjoyed all the interesting articles and stories contributed by our members and other nature enthusiasts. This edition is sure to motivate you to get out there and discover new birds and places – and to do your own mad dash lifer bash! We wish you all a happy festive season and remember to “keep ‘em peeled”. Happy birding, Daniel and Raelene. The opinions expressed by contributors in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the editors or the committee of Birdlife Polokwane. Cover page: Brubru, Mabula Game Reserve (May 2015) © Michael Bosman 2 The Lark 14, November/December 2017 NEWS Birdlife Polokwane outing to Pierre Homan’s farm Jody De Bruyn Our trip started at 5 am on Saturday the 2nd of September, as seven of us departed from Polokwane. Our main target for the day was the Thick-billed Cuckoo. After winding our way through Magoebaskloof and passing through Tzaneen in the early hours of the morning, we reached our destination about 20 km east of Tzaneen. We started our bird list for the day, and picked up species like Blue Waxbill, African Green Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Cape Grassbird, Southern Boubou, Black-crowned Tchagra, White-browed Scrub Robin, Yellow Bishop, Black- headed Oriole, and not forgetting the ever-nagging call of a Rattling Cisticola also made it onto our list. A cup of coffee and a bite to eat was enjoyed by everyone after our early morning start, while constantly adding birds like Emerald- spotted Wood Dove, Yellow- bellied Greenbul, Scarlet- The cuckoo trackers. chested Sunbird, Ashy and Pale Flycatcher and Spectacled Weaver to our list. In the distance, we heard the thin calls of a Klaas’s Cuckoo. Gorgeous Bushshrikes were heard calling up the hillside, and Striped Kingfishers were calling down the valley to the east. We did a short walk through a wooded patch, and got so see a large group of White-crested Helmetshrikes passing through. Jameson’s and African Firefinches were foraging in the grassy fringes of the path. We were lucky to find two Grey Penduline Tits sitting out Ashy Flycatcher. in the open for everyone to see. A 3 The Lark 14, November/December 2017 Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird was spotted in a tree, and the resident Lizard Buzzard flew overhead to see what we were up to. Our list grew steadily with the likes of Thick-billed Weaver, Common Scimitarbill, Yellow-breasted Apalis and a distant calling African Fish Eagle. From a hill- top lookout we expectantly watched out for any signs of the Thick-billed Cuckoo. After a while, I made my way back to the vehicle to have another cup of coffee. Mark and I were discussing the inhabitant of a large spider’s nest we Bulls eye! The target of day, Thick-billed Cuckoo, showed beautifully. found on the ground, maybe a Baboon Spider, but it seemed to be empty now. I heard some commotion, as Richter announced the arrival of the Thick-billed Cuckoo, and now we all could hear its loud call. We rushed in the direction of its call, and lo and behold, had a beautiful sighting of this bird flying by with its broad, leaf - shaped wings. A Lifer for six of the seven participants. After everyone enjoyed watching and photographing the bird, we made our way down the hill to see what else could be added to our bird list. We managed to add Purple-crested Turaco, Kurrichane Thrush, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Village Weaver and a Brown-backed Honeybird that silently Yellow-throated Longclaw. flew into a tree next to us. We ended this very successful morning on 62 species. We would like to thank Pierre Homan for allowing the club to visit his farm, as well as Richter Van Tonder who organized and led the outing. 4 The Lark 14, November/December 2017 Spring Ring 2017 Derek Engelbrecht The club’s annual ‘Spring Ring’ took place on Saturday 9th September 2017. Fellow bird ringer, Billy Attard, and I arrived at the Aloe Ridge Dam in the Polokwane Nature Reserve at 4 am and immediately set off to get our nets up and open before dawn. We managed it with a few minutes to spare and decided to treat ourselves to a cup of coffee while waiting for the morning traffic (i.e. the feathered kind) to pick up. Trainee ringers, Leoni Kellerman, joined us soon afterwards and Abigail Ramudzuli and Therminah Mashau a little later. We had barely taken our first sips, when we had our first catch of the day – a female Brown-hooded Kingfisher. She happened to be a retrap - the only one for the day - ringed on the 7th March 2015 at the same spot. This was soon followed by a suite of nice critters such as Burnt-necked Eremomela, Chinspot Batis, Marico Flycatcher, Crimson- breasted Shrike, Barred Wren-warbler, Brown- crowned Tchagra and Chestnut-vented Warbler (Tit-babbler). While removing some of these birds from the nets, we were treated to a small flock of African Green Pigeons The diminutive Burnt-necked Eremomela. arriving for a drink at the waterhole. These stunning birds are uncommon in the Polokwane area and it is always a delight to see them in our neck of the woods. The day was turning out to be another scorcher with temperatures approaching the low 30°C’s and we started noticing more and more birds arriving at the waterhole. September is pretty much the height of the dry season in our area and with little or no surface water available in the veld, most of the birds (and mammals) have to visit the few available African Green Pigeon was the ‘Guest of Honour’ at Spring Ring 2017. waterholes to quench their thirst. Soon we not 5 The Lark 14, November/December 2017 Billy Attard checking the nets with some inquisitive zebras looking on. only had our hands full removing birds from the nets, but Billy also had to gently direct the procession of Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala, Warthog, Sable and Tsessebe away from his mist nets towards the open area of the waterhole where they could drink. We caught beauties such as Blue, Black-faced and Violet-eared Waxbills, Green-winged Pytilias, Golden-breasted Bunting and Scaly-feathered Finches, while good numbers of White-browed Sparrow- weavers, Southern Masked Weavers, Southern Grey- headed Sparrows, and Laughing, Cape Turtle and Red-eyed Doves, helped to boost our tally for the day. An opportunistic immature Gabar Goshawk’s attempt at an easy catch in the mist nets turned out Young and old(er) getting a closer look at a Gabar Goshawk. to be our ‘Catch of the Day’. After Billy ringed it, we had a quick ‘ooh and aah’ session for those present to have a closer look at this remarkable little accipiter. 6 The Lark 14, November/December 2017 The rising temperatures meant more and more birds arriving at the waterhole and as we were only two qualified bird ringers, we made the call at 9:30 am to close some of the nets at the waterhole to allow us time to process the birds we had already caught. This was the pattern for the remainder of the day - opening and closing the nets at the waterhole - as and when we could handle more or fewer birds. We called it a day at around 3 pm. We caught 94 birds representing 22 species on the day. Blue Waxbills Therminah Mashau honing her skills at ringing birds. dominated the catch numerically with 32 individuals ringed. We also caught good numbers of Green-winged Pytilia (10) and Scaly- feathered Finches (6). Our ‘Catch of the Day’ was the Gabar Goshawk but the skulking Barred Wren-warbler and a few diminutive Burnt-necked Eremomelas deserve an honourable mention. On behalf of Birdlife Polokwane, we wish to express our gratitude to the management of the Polokwane Nature Reserve, in particular Mr. Maxwell Ledwaba and Ms. Jane Mabaso, for allowing us early access to the reserve and for clearing the ringing station for us. Barred Wren-warbler - a perennial favourite on ring days. Chinspot Batis - one of the beauties caught on the day. 7 The Lark 14, November/December 2017 A collage of some of the birds ringed during Spring Ring 2017. From left to right, top to bottom: Green-winged Pytilia; Golden-breasted Bunting; Crimson-breasted Shrike; Blue Waxbill; Violet-eared Waxbill; Gabar Goshawk (immature). Eshowe naweek uitstappie: 8-10 September 2017 San3 De Wet Wat ‘n heerlike naweek – diep in die bosveld langs die Limpoporivier in die teenwoordigheid van die beste gasheer en gasvrou waarvoor enigiemand kan hoop. Vrydagmiddag het dié wat bevoorreg was om vroeg te ry, al heerlik gekuier, gebraai en nesgeskrop terwyl die laatslapers so stuk-stuk daar aangekom het, met Richter en Rowan laaste in die ry net voor middernag.