Bokmakierie - witsbirdclub.org.za

Newsletter of the Witwatersrand Bird ClubDecember 2016 No 247

Bokmakierie

BirdLifeS O U T H A F R I C A

Giving Conservation Wings

WIT

WA

TERS

RAND

BIRD

CLU

B

Included on the inside front and back covers are a selection of photographs that were submitted but not selected for the calendar. They are however excellent photographs. Thank you again to all who took part.

Natal Spurfowl - photos by Leslie Cornish

Black-headed Heron - photos by Joan Maddern

Secretarybird - photos by Karen DixonAfrican Fish Eagle - photos by Michelle Scott

Lappet-faced Vulture - photos by Karin Mitton Gabar Goshawk - photos by Marcelle van Wyk

2016 Calendar Competition Entries

Bokmakierie December 2016 No 247 | 3

Witwatersrand Bird ClubP O Box 641 Cresta 2118Tel: 011 782 7267Fax: 086 512 7696Email: [email protected]: www.witsbirdclub.org.za

Inside this issue:

NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORSBokmakierie is published three times annually. Contribu-tions may be in Afrikaans or English. English names of birds should be those used in Roberts VII. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor, Club, the Committee, Members or those of BirdLife South Africa. The Editors reserve the right to edit articles as necessary.

This issue of Bokmakierie has been produced and edited by Andy Featherstone and Lance Robinson.

2016 Committee:HON. PRESIDENT: Lance Robinson

CHAIRMAN: Andy Featherstone

VICE-CHAIRMAN: Koos van Dÿk

TREASURER: Sandy Goodall

COURSES: Janice Isom

CONSERVATION: Lance Robinson

EVENING MEETINGS: Lia Steen

WEBSITE: Thinie vd Merwe

SALES & MARKETING: Dael Stojakovic

PROGRAMME: Fiona van Zyl

EAST RAND CHAIR: Awie Coetzee

HENLEY-ON-KLIP CHAIR: David Ludlow

WEST RAND CHAIR: Koos van Dÿk

CLUB SECRETARY: Lauraine Leigh

COVER PHOTO: Southern Carmine Bee-eater by

Michelle Scott

MAGAZINE LAYOUT: Andy Featherstone

Bokmakierie

4 Letter from the Chair

5 Durban pelagic - October 2016 by Lesley Cornish

7 Garden Observations by Mike Fullerton

8 Bird ringing by Jim McLuskie

12 Update on EWT Livestock Guardian Dog Project by Derek van der Merwe

14 Marion’s Owl Award

15 Bubo the Eagle Owl by Alf Craul

16 Touring Botswana and the Caprivi Strip by Anthony Cavanagh

20 Polokwane Nature Reserve: WBC trip 16th – 18th September 2016 by Lesley Cornish

24 The remarkable life of Darrel Charles Herbert Plowes compiled by Lance Rob-inson and Andy Featherstone

28 There are still some Eden’s left by Louise Barlow

30 Mass bird fatality in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng by Dane Paijmans

32 Cruising on the Queen Mary 2 by An-thony Cavanagh

38 Two septuagenarian twitchers by Jim McLuskie

40 Common Swifts Fly For 10 Months Without A Break - BirdGuides

42 Birds’ beaks act as air conditioners - BirdGuides

43 Rarities and unusual sightings report: 15 November 2016 by André Marx

Newsletter of the Witwatersrand Bird ClubDecember 2016 No 247

4 | Bokmakierie December 2016 No 247

Dear Members,

The December edition of Bokmakierie is the final one for the year and Lance and I hope that you will enjoy it. As with the last edition, we have tried for a more attrac-tive layout with a selection of diverse articles, some written by our members and others selected from external sources.

In November the Committee held our annual Bosberaad at Wakkerstroom where we discussed the overall state of the Club and made sever-al decisions that will impact the club in 2017. The biggest challenge that we face is a financial one; simply put, the cost of running our Club far exceeds the income we receive from membership subscriptions and from any proceeds of outings, sales and evening meetings. We are more fortunate than most clubs in that we have monies invested that were bequeathed to the Club. As with any investment, these increase in value during the course of the year and it is this additional income that has kept us afloat to date. We are making every effort

to improve the financial situation without making too much of an impact on what we can provide for our members. Unfortunately, one of the biggest cost-sav-ing reductions that we have had to make is to reduce Lauraine’s working week, from three days to just two, and the office will now be open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only, as from Tuesday 10th January.

Before leaving for our Bos-beraad, I sent an email to a number of our members asking for their thoughts on the Club’s current activities and how they thought that we could improve them. Thank you to those who contributed, you gave us some valuable insights into areas where we can try and improve things. An area that received fair criticism was that of the evening meetings and we will act on many of the suggestions, particularly in respect of the themes of the talks and the state of the venue. We have also taken note of the ideas proposed for outings, so some of these suggestions will start to filter through in our new programme. If you were not asked to give feedback but would like to give us your thoughts, it’s not too late, email either Lauraine, Lance or myself with your ideas.

The 2017 70th Anniversary plans are progressing well

and we will kick-start our big year with a talk by Geoff Lockwood, who will share fond memories and give some insightful history of the Club. Another talk not to be missed: Trevor Hardaker will be giving us insights into his passion for rarities and twitching on Saturday 18th February. To accommodate Trevor’s special talk, we will hold our AGM in March next year. Later in the year, we will have a cocktail party on Saturday 10th June, the nearest weekend to the actual date of our found-ing. Also in the pipeline is a winter balloon trip in the Pilanesberg area, a waders event with Faansie Peacock, a bumper Birding Big Day event in November and a special trip to round off the year.

As many of you know there is a little Robinson due to enter this world early in the New Year. On behalf of the Club, we wish Lance and Hanneline every happi-ness with their new family member and look forward to meeting her (most likely with mini binoculars in the pram) in due course.

With the festive season upon us many of you will be heading for holiday destinations or to visit family, if you are travelling please travel safely and enjoy the time away.

Andy Featherstone

Letter from the Chair


The weekend was an exercise in cram-ming in as much as possible: special dinner with Errol on Friday, buying lots of goodies at the photographic show on Saturday morning, then driving down to Durban (me working in the back of the car on print-outs) to have another adventure trying to reach our accommo-dation due to the Halloween Street Party which had closed most of the streets in the area. Also, a wonderful supper on Saturday night with the best scampi in South Africa (which rivalled UK scampi), getting up at 4.30 am on Sunday for the pelagic trip, and finally driving back to Johannesburg immediately after lunch, but we managed! Work was a bit of a struggle on Monday though.

The pelagic trip was rough on the

way out, then it rained, but only a bit. There was not too much about, but we soon saw White-chinned Petrels, then Flesh-footed Shearwaters, Arctic Terns, and Great-winged Petrels. Someone called Green Turtle, but I did not get onto it. Then, a scream of “Barau’s Petrel”, and there it was, about 600m off out star-board side. It was quite far, but recog-nisable because it was pale underneath, with a black carpal stripe and a dark back. I felt like shouting “Liferrr”, because I had missed it last year!

Then it was back to clinging on, which I did not do very well, and I fell on the braai (giving me some interesting bruises to explain to Errol the following week) which had fallen off with a large wave, but been deftly rescued by the crew.

Durban Pelagic - October 2016Text and Photos by Lesley Cornish

The most common bird out at sea: White-chinned Petrel


hours of being thrown around (with several people “down”), we stopped and threw out the chum. This was much better because now we were not beating our way forward. There were birds too. Not so many, and I was surprised that there were no storm petrels, but the White-chinned Petrels came in nice and close, and we also had some good close sightings Great-winged Petrels, including the possible Australian sub-spe-cies gouldi which has a paler face. We hung around quite a while drifting down the chum slick, and then repeatedly made our way back to the “top end” to drift down again. At one stage, there were about six petrels around us, and then another Barau’s Petrel came in close, so now I had some photographs of my lifer!

It disappeared, but another

One special sighting was a large school of Indian Bottle-nosed Dolphins which were making their way towards us. There were well over 50, and I had never seen so many dolphins together, and so it was a real thrill for me. We also saw two albatrosses: Indian Yellow-nosed and Shy, and a couple of Sooty Shearwaters (showing off their diagnostic silvery underwings).

After what seemed like Barau’s Petrel: note the diagnostic black carpal joint on wing

Indian Bottle-nosed Dolphins


came in later (although not so close) from another direction, making at least three Barau’s Petrels! We threw out the second chum bucket at more-or-less the same place, but who knows how far we had drifted (hopefully, the skip-per did), and that brought in more petrels but nothing new. But who can com-plain about at least three Barau’s Petrels?

Eventually, we decided to call it a day and headed back to port. It was a smoother and quicker journey back because the wind was pushing us, and I even plucked up enough courage to have a beer to celebrate my lifer! Fairly close to the Durban, we saw a Humpback Whale. So thanks to Janice Isom for pushing me to join the trip. What an outcome: a lifer and I got all my work done in the car!

Great-winged Petrel

Mike Fullerton submitted this photograph and reported that between 8 and 10 African Green Pigeons were feeding on the new shoots of a Plane tree in Honeydew in August

Garden Observations


HISTORY

Man has been marking, or ringing birds, for over 2000 years, originally not for scientific reasons but for ownership purposes. In the Middle Ages, falconers fitted metal bands to the legs of their birds to indicate ownership. In the seventeenth and eighteenth cen-turies, ducks and swans were marked with metal collars by landowners. Later, marks were placed on pigeons, both carrier and racing pigeons. There is evidence that by 1653, young salmon had ribbons attached to their tails to establish that, after their migration out to sea, they returned to their natal streams to breed.

The marking of birds for scientific purposes was started in 1899 by a Danish school teacher. He placed rings on European starlings and the rings bore a return address and a date. Within a year he had accumulated a substantial number of recoveries. The first national ringing scheme was established on the Baltic coast in Germany in 1903. This was followed by many other countries before the First World War.

The first ringing of birds in southern Africa was undertaken by the Witwatersrand Bird Club (WBC) in 1948. Members of the WBC scaled the cliffs of Skeerpoort to ring nest-ling Cape Vultures. One of those birds was later recovered in Zimbabwe.

Bird RingingBy Jim McLuskie

White-winged Flufftail in hand

WHY BIRD RINGING?

The recovery of the vulture illustrates one of the reasons that birds are ringed. Ornithology would still be in the Dark Ages were it not for bird ringing or marking. It has been described as the research tool that produced the most important results in ornithology during the 20th century. Much of our insight into bird movements and migration and our knowledge of population dynam-ics exists because individual birds have been uniquely marked and subsequently found either at the place of original cap-ture or elsewhere.

It is only by making a bird individually identifiable that we can learn about the individual’s movement, longevity, and social associations.


HOW ARE BIRDS RINGED OR MARKED?

Birds are caught for ringing in a variety of ways. The method used most frequently to catch fully-grown birds is by mist-net. This is a fine net erected vertically between poles. It is designed so that when a bird flies into the net it drops down into a pocket. It is taken out of the pocket by an experienced ringer and put into a dry permeable bag. This is to keep the bird warm, dry and calm. Nets are visited frequently and the birds in the bags are processed quickly and gently.

Birds are then taken to a ringing station, where they are kept in the shade until pro-cessed. The station is situated as near as possible to the nets without spooking the birds. Each bird is fitted with a light ring on its leg. Each ring has a unique number and the name of the ringing authority (University of Cape Town in the RSA). The ring is sized to fit the leg of the bird so that it does not chafe it. Various measurements are taken and age and gender are assessed. The bird is then released after checking its condition. The ring number, date, and location, as well as the measurements, are all recorded for subsequent sending to SAFRING in Cape Town.

Measuring a Pied Kingfisher

In this way aspects of the life histories of many bird species have gradually been unravelled, giving a new understanding of the movement of birds as well as raising a whole new set of questions relating to causes and factors contributing to population movement, dynamics and behaviour.

In the 21st century, bird ringing remains the most cost-effective method of studying many aspects of the biology of most common bird species. That data, after analysis and collation, are found in the texts of many bird guides such as Roberts, as well as forming the foundation for many scientific studies.


QUALIFICATIONS AND CONTROL

SAFRING is part of the Animal Demogra-phy Unit at the University of Cape Town and it controls bird ringing in South Afri-ca. It also assists other southern African countries.

A potential ringer is trained by experi-enced ringers and has to reach a high level of competence before being tested by one of the country’s top ornitholo-gists. This apprenticeship period usually lasts several years. If the test is success-ful, SAFRING is notified and it issues a numbered ringer licence. No ringer may operate independently without such a licence. In addition, the ringer requires a written permit from each province within which he plans to ring. Lastly, ringers must have the permission of the land-holder where the ringing is to take place.

SAFRING is the sole procurer and controller of rings in South Africa; it sells rings only to licenced, competent ringers. It is empowered to censure any ringer who brings bird ringing into disrepute. This may include withdrawal of license and letters to provincial nature conser-vation authorities, as well as no longer supplying rings.

ETHICS of BIRD RINGING

- The well-being of any bird caught and handled is the paramount consideration

- A ringer may not operate more equipment than he or she can properly manage

- A ringer may not allow unqualified persons to use his equipment to capture and handle birds or fit rings except under close supervision.

- Catching birds should not be attempted under conditions that may result in birds becoming severely stressed or injured.

An open mist net at Waterfall Estate


Jim at the ringing station

CONCLUSION

Catching birds with mist nets or traps is an ex-tremely important way to obtain scientific data. Several specialist work-ing groups exist in South Africa and most of them include ringing as part of their activities. Examples are the South African Crane Working Group, the Raptor Conservation Group, the Vulture Study Group and the Western Cape Wader Study Group.

Most bird clubs have their own ringing groups and support ringing as an important source of ornithological knowledge, as does Birdlife South Africa and Birdlife International.

All bird lovers are encouraged to support bird ringing and to take an interest in local activities. If anyone should find a live bird with a ring they should make a note of the ring number and the species before letting the bird go. They should also note the

date and place of finding as well as the condition of the bird. These notes should be communicated to SAFRING.

South African Bird Ringing Unit

021 650 3434

e-mail: [email protected]

www.safring.adu.org.za

Local enquiries:

Jim McLuskie 011 517 2597 or 083 308 0093, who rings on the Waterfall es-tates and who welcomes interested visitors.

Male Fiery-necked Nightjar showing diagnostic markings on wing and tail


We have had a very busy time as of late. We managed to place three new pup-pies as well as 4 alpacas, unfortunately one of the puppies has since passed away. This was very bad news as it was our first venture with a community. Un-fortunately it was too late to perform an autopsy on the body, therefore we can only speculate as to the cause of death. We do believe that is was either a tick borne disease or a snake bite. We are very saddened by the loss as we have not lost a dog in a long time. Nonetheless we are not giving up as the communi-ty has had terrible losses to leopard in recent months and have poisoned two leopards since losing calves. Therefore it is imperative to educate and work with the community to reduce the conflict between the community and predators. Our other dogs are doing very well and are continuing to conserve predators on farmland and community land outside of protected areas. Our alpacas have been a huge hit with farmers in the Northern Cape, one of the reasons we are trialling alpacas is because we have struggled to successfully place Livestock Guardian Dogs with dorper sheep in the Upington area. Our biggest challenge was to bond the dogs to the sheep, because dorper sheep don’t have a herding instinct it was extremely difficult for the dogs to bond with the sheep and eventually one of the dogs sat at the water most of the day and wouldn’t allow the sheep to drink.

The dogs have become rather large and the sheep remained intimidated by the dogs and because of the size of the camps it was very difficult to bond the dogs with the sheep. Two of the dogs in the Northern Cape are working success-fully with goats and one is still working with a combination of sheep and goats. Because of this we spoke to a number of farmers in the area and one suggested we trial alpacas as he knew of a fellow farmer who was having a lot of success with alpacas as Livestock Guardian ani-mals. So I went to meet him and decid-ed to trial alpacas on these farms. We managed to source 4 male alpacas from a farm in the Western Cape. Females are just too expensive. We managed to place the four alpacas last month and recently split them up once we were happy with their condition as the veld in the North-ern Cape is very different to the lush green Western Cape. My initial thoughts on the alpacas as well as the farmers is very positive. We have already witnessed guardian behaviour in the alpacas and I hope this continues. We will be collect-ing data and hopefully publishing the effectiveness of alpacas as Guardian animals.

Bull was a very large male puppy and we were hoping he would be a huge success. He was going to protect cattle against leopard conflict in the area. Un-fortunately he died unexpectedly. We are not sure of the reason for his death..

Update on EWT Livestock Guardian Dog ProjectBy Derek van der Merwe Carnivore Conservation Programme: Conflict Mitigation Field OfficerEndangered Wildlife Trust


Diana has been placed on a farm with sheep and goats in the Waterberg.

The third puppy has not received a name as of yet. However she is doing very well.


Meet our latest bodyguards a first for the Endangered Wildlife Trust. These four alpacas have been placed on farms in the Northern Cape to protect sheep from jackal, caracal and brown hyena conflict.

Marion’s Owl AwardMarion Mengell, synonymous with Friends of Nylsvley (FoN), was the worthy recipient of a BirdLife SA Owl Award in October 2016. Congratulations Mari-on, we are very proud to be associated with FoN.


Eyebrows rake upwards to end in tufted ears.A regal face belies savage intent, hidden in the gaze of round obsidian eyes.Night stealthily descends to rest on the gnarled branches of the Mamuti tree, standing sentinel on the river bank.Like a drug, the oppressive heat bonds with the pulsating sound of the Cicada bugs.The haunting call of a Rail splits the night air.Bubo replies, “Hok-Hok-Hok” …a warning grunt, as if to say…”I am here!”Pink eyelids, macabre in this setting, blink a warning signal.An indistinct sound from below causes his body to elongate, as he stretches in anticipation.Fearsome yellow-brown talons, in sharp contrast to white feathered legs, grip the branch a little tighter.Like a trapeze artist preparing to leap.Oblivious to the danger above, a mongoose hunts.A careless step, on a dry Mopane leaf, announces its presence and sig-nals its death.Bubo’s head slowly turns , eyes and ears focused on the prey.A Nightjar calls, “Good Lord deliver us!” …..On silent wings, with razor sharp talons spread wide,Bubo swiftly swoops in for the kill.In a beating of wings on Mopane scrub, a dust cloud rising from dry thirsty ground, the mongoose perishes without a sound.The bushveld is silent, nothing moves.Death has arrived!The Mamuti tree watches silently as a giant beak ferociously tears flesh from bone.Satiated, Bubo reverts to his motionless, sentry state.Ear tufts erect.Maybe tomorrow an errant guinea fowl will cross his path …Once again the nightjar sings!

By Alf Craul

Verreaux’s Eagle Owl (Bubo lac-teus) - photo by Warwick Tarboton

Bubo The Eagle Owl


Sue and Anthony together with friends Gavin and Joan

One of the many elephants encountered

Touring Botswana and the Caprivi StripText and Photos by Anthony Cavanagh

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a jewel in the dry Kalahari and its life-giving waters create one of Africa’s greatest concentrations of wildlife. Summer rains in the Angolan highlands drain into the Okavango River, which flows 1 200 km south into the flat arid area of northern Botswana, eventually spreading out and covering an area up to 15 000 square kilometres during the peak flood between June and August. Although not the largest inland delta in Africa, the magnificence of the Okavango Delta helped in it being named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa and also a World Heritage site.

In July Sue and I, together with friends Gavin and Joan, embarked on a tour of Bot-swana and after spending a few days in Gaborone and also visiting the Magadikgadi Pan we arrived in Maun situated on the edge of the Delta. We stayed at Audi Camp a few km north of the town and booked a boat trip for the following day. The floodwa-ters flowed strongly in the channel overlooked by the camp and once the four of us were aboard the boat, our pilot headed upstream towards the wide-open wetlands of the Delta. The birdlife is stunning and some of the species we saw included Swamp Boubou, African Golden Weaver, Coppery-tailed Coucal, Slaty Egret, African Openbill, African Pygmy Goose and Saddle-billed Stork. Elephants were plentiful as were the Lechwe.


Sue and Anthony together with friends Gavin and Joan

The waters stretched as far as one could see and the numerous channels created many small low-lying islands where basking crocodiles warmed themselves in the winter sun. Local residents fished from their traditional mokoros and tourists were

being leisurely poled along in other mokoros. The Delta is indeed a watery paradise in a country covered mostly by semi-desert.

After leaving Maun we drove southwestwards towards Lake Ngami, which at this time of year was benefitting from the seasonal floodwaters from the Delta, and then northwards adjacent to the Delta and on to Shakawe. En route we came across a few road-kill sites with dozens of vultures scrapping over cattle carcasses. Drotsky’s Cab-ins, 10km south of Shakawe, was our next port of call and came well recommended. It didn’t disappoint, as the lodge facilities were excellent as were the large campsites, each being very private and having individual ablution blocks. Drotsky’s overlooks the Okavango River in an area known as the Okavango panhandle. Here the river is some

Sable Antelope

African Fish Eagle

African Skimmers White-fronted Bee-eater


Pel’s Fishing Owl

600m wide and from where it enters Botswana, it flows southwards for 70km where it then fans out into the alluvial plain of the delta thus providing the Delta with its main source of water.

On our boat trip, we had excellent sightings of Little Bittern, Long-toed Lapwing, White-browed Coucal and dozens of White-fronted Bee-eaters nesting in holes on the steep earthen riverbank. Our target bird was the Pel’s Fishing Owl, which is a mega sighting for any keen birder. Our guide saw the Pel’s about 50m inland and said he would talk to the owners of the property to ask if we could walk on their land and approach the Pel’s for viewing purpose. Permission was declined but our guide had thoughtfully then disturbed the bird, which flew towards the river and sportingly perched very visibly and long enough for us to take some fine close-up photos. An-other excellent sighting from the river was that of the Western Banded Snake Eagle. Needless to say, we showed our great appreciation to our guide in the time honoured customary manner.

Bradfield’s Hornbill

The woodland areas around the campsite had an abundance of birdlife and nota-ble sightings included, Brown and Red-billed Firefinches, Green-backed Honeybird, Black-faced and Hartlaub’s Babblers, African Yellow White-eye, Southern White- faced Owl and Greater Swamp Warbler. Cape Clawless Otters were seen in the stream below the campsite.

The Caprivi Strip is a narrow protrusion of Namibia that extends some 450km east-wards north of Botswana and south of Angola and Zambia. It is named after German Chancellor Leo von Caprivi who in 1890 negotiated with Britain for the acquisition of


this land in exchange for the island of Zanzibar. Germany had wanted access from German South West Africa to the Zambezi River and a route to the German colony of Tanganyika on the east coast.

We crossed the Botswana border into Namibia and drove along the Caprivi Strip to Katima Mulilo the largest town in the area, and then on to Island View Lodge some 30km further east of the town and situated on the banks of the Zambezi River. Our campsite had superb views of the river and after setting up the tents we got the fire going and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the African bush while downing a few cold beverages.

Coppery-tailed Coucal

The next day on our boat trip on the Zambezi we had good sightings of Senegal Coucal, African Marsh Harrier, White-crowned Lapwing and African Skimmers. Around the camp, regional specials included White-browed Robin-chat (Heuglin’s Robin), White-browed Coucal and Scha-low’s Turaco.

Our final destination was Kasane back in Botswa-na, where we stayed in a

lodge about 30km out of town. The area around Kasane abounds with game and as there are no fences. Elephants, jackals, bushbuck and other animals often halt traffic as they walk across the road. Kasane is very close to Africa’s Four Corners where the four countries of Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe meet and kilometre long truck queues lined the road leading down to the Zambian border crossing at Kazun-gula.

We took a small motor launch on the Chobe River and our guide showed us the breeding colonies of Yellow-billed Storks and White-breasted Cormorants. We fol-lowed the river upstream and entered the Chobe Game Reserve where we had to sign in, and then continued up the river to where herds of game could be seen on the flood plain and on low-lying islands. Lechwe, in particular, were plentiful as were hippo and crocodile. Elephant by the score could be seen in the park and we were also fortunate to see a male Sable Antelope. On the Namibian side of the river, a bushfire was raging and Southern Carmine Bee-eaters were having a field day catching fleeing insects. Other interesting sightings up river were Ringed Plover and Collared Pratincole, and Collared Palm-Thrush near the landing deck.

Back at the lodge, there were dozens of Greater Blue-eared Starlings, Southern Red-


Sue and Anthony enjoying the river cruise

Billed Hornbills, Bradfield’s Hornbill and a number of Pearl-spotted Owlets. Every evening elephant walked freely in front of the chalets and drank at the waterhole to the delight of the many tourists watching from the viewing deck.

Alas, the time came for us to head back home and we drove down through Nata and Francistown and crossed into South Africa at Martin’s Drift. We did, however, manage to spot another Botswana special 62 km north of Francistown where we all saw the Boulder Chat, which has a very small range in Botswana.

Botswana is a land of contrasting beauty, with vast areas being sparsely populated dry and dusty semi-desert, and then with oases of lush vegetation and abundant water supporting a magnificent diversity of people and wildlife.

Sunset over the Delta


Polokwane Nature Reserve: WBC Trip 16th – 18th September 2016Text and Photos by Lesley Cornish

Much to my shame I had never heard of this reserve, and with so many friends going, I thought we should go too. So I booked a day’s leave, went to Wits, gave two lectures (well, 10.00am is a bit blatant to bunk, even on a Friday) and set off via the CSIR to collect samples for a student (the samples then were trapped at Wits because it was closed since the students were demonstrating - not my students – they are MUCH better behaved). Once in Polokwane, we go lost trying to find the place, so did a few other people. When we were ‘un-lost’ we were not allowed in, but luckily Lauraine had just arrived, so she could vouch for us and we were let in. That night, we were gently lulled to sleep by Fiery-necked Nightjars, and then rudely awakened by the peafowls calling, several times over.

The next day, there was a long convoy at the gate for 6.00am for us to go into the park. Our target bird was Shelley’s Francolin, but it was not complying. However, we saw Marabou Storks by the pan, had love-ly views of Short-clawed Lark doing its display: fly and call, then fold wings and plunge earthwards. We had a long debate about a pale-looking horn-bill-shaped-thingy in a tree, and Selwyn told me to a photo which revealed it to be a Spar bag (a lifer?). We drove around the reserve and saw a lot of dust, as well as Ant-eating Chats, Crimson-breasted Shrikes, Lesser Honey-guide, Long-billed Crom-bec, Yellow-bellied and Burnt-necked Eremomelas (three of the latter chasing

Marabou Storks

Short-clawed Lark


Welcome New MembersJudith Cornish - Boksburg

Hester & Eugene Dann - Cresta

Jane Doherty - Auckland Park

Dave Douglas - Braamfontein

Gavin Ford - Lonehill

Ian Gericke - Randburg

Sue Goodman - Kyalami

Haroldina Jonker - Pine Park

Liesel Jonkheid - Craighal

Amanda & Dion Koekemoer - Horison

Gerda & Gerhard Schoombie - Helderkruin

Stephen & Shelley Sherwood - Bedfordview

Annie Sugrue - Greenside

Lieben & Denise Swanevelder - Strubens Vallay

Kobus Theunissen - Noordheuwel

Paul van Beek - Sandton

Pied Avocets

each other around), Scaly-feathered Finch, Red-breast-ed Swallows, many Northern Black Korhaans flying around, and both Speckled and Red-faced Mousebirds. There were also many more ostriches than I have seen for ages. We had good views of Long-billed Pipits and a White-browed Scrub Robin which even allowed us to take some photographs.

At the picnic site, we saw a Brubru, African Hoopoe and Common Waxbills, then walked to the pan where there were Tawny-flanked Prinias, Cape Grassbird (and a dead Wildebeest). Then it was back for a very quick lunch.

In the afternoon we went to the sewage works and ticked off a good number of waterbirds, as well as White-fronted Bee-eaters (well, they are often near water…) and Wattled Starlings. There were Comb Ducks, Black Crakes, African Jacanas, Wood Sandpi-pers, Black-crowned Night Herons and Ruffs. Next, we headed north, on the Alldays Road to a dam, and I began to worry that we were going to Kariba (and I had not brought my passport). We finally arrived, and Sel-wyn negotiated with security to let us in, and it was well worth it: a flock of Pied Avocets, White-faced Ducks, Red-billed Teal, Little Stints, Three-banded Plovers, Egyptian and Spur-winged Geese, White-winged Tern and a small herd of Nyala. On leaving, there was some confusion, and some went off to successfully bag a Shelley’s Francolin, and some did not.


Thank You for Your Donation

White-browed Scrub Robin

It got quite chilly and rained that night, not much, but enough to make the tents and vehicles grubby, and to shut the peafowls up!

The next day most went off to Tzaneen in the drizzle, but we went looking for the Shelley’s Francolin, where it had been seen the previous evening. Alas, we had no luck, but we did have much better sightings of the previous day’s birds: Common Scimitarbill, Crested and Black-collared Barbets, Magpie Shrike, Common Fiscal, and our first Dark-capped Bulbul. We also saw White-winged Widowbird (not yet in breeding plumage), White-crested Helmet-Shrikes and a Yellow-throated Petronia. Near the pan we saw a large bird party and that kept us entertained. There was also a Bennett’s Woodpecker. I heard an Aca-cia Pied Barbet calling in camp, and am now curious to know if the Australians will let us still call it that.

Polokwane Nature Reserve is well recommended, just remember that the turn-off is near the large, new stadium,

White-browed Sparrow-weaver

Anthony & Sue CavanaghJohn Farrant

Andy FeatherstoneBarbi ForsythGillian Preston

Lance RobinsonKoos van Dÿk

and on the other side of the road. I want to go back once there has been some (proper) rain.


Compiled by Lance Robinson and Andy Featherstone

The Remarkable Life of Darrel Charles Herbert Plowes

We were saddened to hear of the pass-ing of one of the Club’s Honorary Mem-bers, Darrel Plowes. Born in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, on 4th April 1925, he died in Mutare, Zimbabwe, on 19 Octo-ber 2016. Darrel was one of the founder members of Wits Bird Club. He attend-ed the 60th Anniversary celebrations of the club in 2007. At that celebration lunch, John Freer, then Honorary Presi-dent welcomed him, amongst others.

Darrel’s curriculum vitae is nothing short of impressive. We have taken some ex-cerpts from this to have a better under-standing of Darrel’s massive contribution to natural science.

Darrel’s interests included photography, birds, succulent plants, botany, butter-flies, orchids, mammals, fish, reptiles, archaeology and palaeontology, pre-historic rock art, insects, etc., together with a deep and lifelong concern for ecological and environmental matters. He helped found the Mutare Museum and was a member of the Board of Trustees. He was the study leader on several Rhodesian Schools Exploration Society and Outward Bound natural history expeditions. His collection of 30,000 35mm colour slides has been used by leading publishers in many countries for textbooks, prestige books, travel guides, and museum displays. These slides have now been digitised and appropriate topics will be donated to relevant institutions. Darrel was a very busy pensioner; he undertook numerous

environmental impact studies, all over Africa. He published numerous scientif-ic papers over an astounding 72 years, from 1943 to 2015.

In particular, Darrel dedicated a major effort to securing the legacy of Sir Stephen and Lady Virginia Courtauld, through their bequest of the La Rochelle property to the National Trust of Zimbabwe. His early professional association with the Courtaulds led to the establishment of the Kukwanisa agricultural training centre at Watsomba, and subsequenty he became a personal

The late Darrel Plowes


friend of the Courtaulds with shared interests in orchids and natural history.

Natural History Activities

Darrel collected birds, reptiles, and insects for the Transvaal Museum in 1942 while at Oranjemund, Namibia, and discovered a new legless lizard, Typhlosaurus plowesii, and a new race of mole-rat, Bathyergus janetta plowesii. He commenced botanical collecting, whilst at university, and discovered a new succulent, Euphorbia clivicola. In the Chimamimani Mountains on the Zimbabwe/Mozambique border, Darrel collected Aloe plowesii, two new flowers, Dierama plowesii and Dissotis pulchra, and a new genus of grass, Gazachloa chimanimaniensis. He collected over 6000 herbarium specimens, lodged

mainly at Harare, Pretoria, and Kew Her-baria, many were new records.

His comprehensive collection of birds’ eggs is housed in the National Museum, Bulawayo. He provided eggs to Dr Hugh Cott at Cambridge, and Dr Charles Sibley at Cornell, for palatability and electro-phoresis studies respectively. He also assisted Dr Herbert Friedmann of the US Museum of Natural History with studies on parasitic birds in Zimbabwe. Darrel discovered two new races of the Cape Bunting (Fringillaria capensis plowesii, and F. capensis smithersii – and was author of the latter). He commenced collecting butterflies in 1955 and collect-ed Aloeides plowesii at Nyanga.

Furthermore, he collected, studied and photographed stapeliads (succulent

Darrel at work


Afro-Indian members of the Apocynace-ae family) for 70 years in 18 countries and grew 6000 of these plants for study and world-wide distribution to botanical institutions, nurseries, and hobbyists. Darrel described several new genera and many species of stapeliads and also a new aloe (A. inconspicua). He discov-ered Huernia plowesii and several other new stapeliads.

Botanical specimens are lodged at SRGH, Harare, Zimbabwe, and at PRE, Pretoria and Kew.

He was honoured in the names of sev-eral species and this will form part of his enduring legacy:

• Typhlosaurus plowesii A. Roberts (legless lizard)

• Janetta bathyergus plowesii A. Rob-erts (mole rat)

• Aloe plowesii Reynolds (Aloe)

• Fringillaria capensis plowesii Vincent (bird)

• Aloeides plowesii Tite & Dickson (butterfly)

• Dierama plowesii Burtt Davy & Hill-iard (flower)

• Huernia plowesii LC Leach (succu-

lent: stapeliad)

• Echidnopsis plowesianum G. Orlan-do (succulent: stapeliad).

• He made the award-winning film ‘Black Eagle Fly Free’ (1975).

Affiliations

• Fellow of both the American and the Zimbabwe Cactus and Succu-lent Societies.

• British Cactus & Succulent Society

• International Asclepiad Society

• BirdLife South Africa

• BirdLife Zimbabwe

• Witwatersrand Bird Club

• Botanical Society of South Africa

• Wildlife & Environment Society of Zimbabwe

• Zimbabwe Orchid Society

• National Trust of Zimbabwe

• Honours and Awards

Darrel was awarded the Bronze Medal First Prize South African Documentary Film Festival for film ‘Black Eagle Fly Free’. He was selected to photograph the first day of the new millennium in Zimba-bwe for the project ‘Daybreak 2000’.


A message from John Freer:

Darrel Plowes was one of several of the original team, including Dr

Wilhelm Gilges and family, Hugh Ashton and later Dick Harwin who left us

to move north to Rhodesia. We gave Darrel Honorary Life Membership on

the occasion of our 50th anniversary. We invited him to our 60th birthday

celebration lunch which he attended from Zimbabwe. It was great to have

him with us. Our condolences to his family and friends in his passing in

the course of the Club’s 70th year.


There are still some Eden’s left

There is nothing better than cruising down the river on a sunny afternoon with an abundance of nature and wildlife flourishing to the left and right, animals roaming around freely and a cool breeze blowing in your hair.

This we found on both the Zambezi and Chobe rivers recently. Our cruise on the Zambezi was thrilling, with many Afri-can Darters sunning their wings, many egrets and African Skimmers noted for their freshly painted pretty red beaks. Also, Egyptian Geese, Reed Cormorants, Water Thick-knee, Helmeted Guineafowl, Goliath Heron, African Jacana and Afri-can Sacred Ibis all feeding peacefully on the islands and along the river bank, Of course the overseas guests were excited to see crocs lazing on the banks and the hippos bobbing up and down in unex-pected places, one opened its mouth as wide as possible. It was from the balco-ny of the amazing Kingdom Hotel that I had my first sighting (ever) of the fabu-lous Trumpeter Hornbill in a faraway tree, making terrible noises. This hotel has a small natural stream flowing through it where a Pied Kingfisher found great joy diving again and again for small fish and an African Pied Wagtail bobbing around on the rocks, the Red-winged Starlings were acting up all over the place as usual. Wild animals and even some deer come up to fences.

The Chobe River was just as magical, more African Darters, Spur-winged Geese, a Bateleur on a distant tree, Grey Herons, Long-toed Lapwing, pratin-

coles, African Spoonbills, Yellow-billed Stork, White-crowned Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Common Sandpipers, it wouldn’t be Africa without the African Fish Eagle giving forth its plaintive cry, Grey-headed Gulls, Squacco Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, more African Skimmers, White-faced Ducks and African Openbill Storks. There were many elephants, buffalo, the giraffe were further away and the rhinos had been spirited away for safe-keeping. I just loved that the Baobab trees had planted themselves in the strangest places all over the country.

At Nata Lodge, in a lovely little-wood-ed area, a couple of the Arrow-marked Babblers fussed about and a wonderful Coppery-tailed Coucal whose call first caught my attention early one morning, many Grey Go-away birds, African Red-eyed Bulbuls and Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills. Driving across the vast Makg-adikgadi salt pans, we saw about twenty to thirty Lesser and Greater Flamingos, Blacksmith Lapwing, Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Red-billed Teal, Southern Pied Babblers and Egyptian Geese. When we arrived at the lake, which spanned 6 x 32 km, there was a Great White Pelican in the far corner and a Goliath Heron flying across the sky into a magnificent sunset. Almost everywhere we saw Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills and Lilac-breasted Rollers perched on tips of the trees along the road.

On a morning at the Chobe Bush Lodge, I was lazing on a deck chair on the banks

By Louise Barlow


of the river when a lovely shy Bushbuck came meandering past eyeing me care-fully both enjoying the serenity of the place, the river gently lapping on a small beach while an egret moseyed around the river bank.

An incident that thrilled us all was watch-ing a mum elephant standing patiently in the water while a male teenager tried coaxing a baby across a shallow part of the river. This fussy little thing just would not budge, over and over again the brother used his trunk to gentle him forward. Perhaps there was a language going on there but the mum came back and allowed him to have a good suckle of milk after which he tossed his little trunk around in the water, drank some and then with another nudge from his

brother, was ready to move forward. All three river boats cheered as the baby swaying his little trunk around followed mum across the shallow waters with brother behind.

I picked up 13 lifers, with the grand total of 224 birds seen. All the above informa-tion was reported to us by experienced birders, while I, with binoculars in hand, pen and paper in the other furiously made notes.

Bushbuck


Mass Bird Fatality in Vanderbijlpark, GautengDane Paijmans, SAFRING - [email protected]

With the heavy storms occurring throughout South Africa, we have re-ceived some interesting ring recoveries and resightings from the public. Some have been more disturbing than others, and one such report came from Citizen Scientist, Gert Voges, from Vanderbijl-park, Gauteng. After a particularly heavy rainstorm on November 12, 2016 we received the recovery of a Red-head-ed Finch (ring number: FB09672; see http://safring.adu.org.za/ring_info.php?ring=FB09672). What was disturb-ing about this recovery was not only the mysterious cause of this individual’s death, but also the fact that another 45 birds were found dead in the same yard (35 Red-headed Finches, 5 Laughing Doves, 2 Cape Turtle Doves, 1 Karoo Thrush, 1 Crested Barbet and 1 Speckled Pigeon). Some of the birds can be seen in the photo, but a cause could not be confirmed as the Dachshunds of the reporters discovered the bodies first.

From the details given the deaths do appear to be storm-related. The birds

were scattered throughout the yard, with additional birds being found in a neighbour’s yard. They were all in close proximity to a large cork tree that had being used by many species for nesting. Although Gert noted no hail had fallen that night and lightning hadn’t struck the tree, there had been very strong winds (which damaged many trees in the neighbourhood) and a short but heavy downpour. This wind and rain may have caused the deaths and if hail had fallen while the birds were sheltering in the tree they may have been killed on impact by larger stones. Similar mass deaths are documented where flocks of birds are drawn up into the atmosphere by strong winds and as a result of exhaustion and turbulence may die. The focus of these bodies around the tree and the mix of species imply something more directed was likely the cause. As all these species are seed eaters there is also the possi-bility of poisoning, but as the storm had just occurred, it would be too much of a coincidence.

Many mass bird death reports are doc-umented throughout the world. These reports range from tens, to thousands of bodies being discovered, with numer-ous causes (such as starvation, disease, weather, toxins, collisions and in some cases no cause can be identified). Within our database, only a few records can be found as SAFRING reports focus on the ringed individual and usually ignore other birds found at the scene.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN BIRD RINGING UNIT


Mass bird fatality - Photo by Gert Voges

One such report involved 200 dead Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) at the mouth of Kleinriviersvlei, Hermanus, Western Cape in 2016. Only 6 of the birds were ringed and no confirmed cause was found, although it is believed that something made the birds so sick (pos-sibly Red Tide) that they were all unable to flee a predator/s that later killed them. A similar report was made where 40 to 50 Cape Gannets washed up along the same beach in 2013 with one ringed individual (ring: 9A61969). Similar reports

are most welcome (even where ringed birds are not present) as we will direct the queries to conservation groups in the area, that are sure to be interested in identifying the causes.

We at SAFRING really appreciate all the effort of ringers and the general public (the latter in reporting recoveries) and would like to thank everyone that has taken part in ringing and resighting in Southern Africa. If you have any unre-ported resightings/recoveries please contact us at SAFRING with the details.


Cruising on the Queen Mary 2Text & photos by Anthony Cavanagh

Launched in 2004, the Queen Mary 2 is the flagship of the Cunard Line, which has a proud maritime history dating back over a hundred years. The ship was named Queen Mary 2 (QM2) by Queen Elizabeth II and named after the 1936 namesake ship Queen Mary, which in turn was named after Mary of Teck the consort of King George V.

In April Sue and I flew to Singapore where we were due to board the QM2 for the Singapore to Dubai leg of its 2016 world voyage. Having a free day in Singapore prior to boarding, we had made arrangements to meet up with Nadine Benger, a former member of Sue’s walking group on the

Estate, now living in Singapore, and who had very kindly offered to show us some of the local sights. Nadine duly arrived at our hotel and guided us around this fascinating and very cosmopolitan city showing us Little India, Chinatown and Arab Street areas as well as the bustling and very modern water-front, popular with the young set with

its many bars and restaurants. We travelled around on the buses, which are so similar to the London buses, and also on the extreme-ly clean and very efficient air-conditioned underground rail system.

Entrance to the Lobby of QM2


Since leaving the Malayan Federation in 1965 Singapore has grown exponentially into an Asian economic tiger, which is reflected in the modern tall buildings, the rapid transit system as well as the busy harbour and Sentosa Island, a popular tourist spot connected to the main island by cable car. Singapore is a fine place to visit and many a tee-shirt has this slogan along with “fine” examples including jaywalking, spitting, chewing gum, littering and smoking in public. Consequently, the city is very orderly, very tidy and very safe. Nadine and Sean graciously invited us to dinner at their apartment where we spent a good few hours while sampling the local beers and partaking of a number of good wines.

The next day we took a taxi from our hotel to the cruise centre where we had our first sighting of the QM2 moored in the harbour. At the time of construction, the QM2 was the longest passenger ship ever built and with a gross tonnage of 150,000 also the largest. After the customs formalities were completed we joined some 1300 other new pas-sengers and boarded the vessel and were escorted to our stateroom (cabin on most other ships), which was on the starboard side of deck six. Our stateroom was spacious and very comfortable with furniture and fittings in keeping with the overall elegance of the ship and the private balcony was perfect for having a sundowner and watching the ocean drift by. Af-ter perusing the handy fold up layout of the ship, we decided to look around and see some of the facilities on board which included fifteen restaurants and bars, five swimming pools, a casino, ballroom, theatre and the first planetarium at sea. We then dressed for dinner, which was informal that evening meaning that, although for gentlemen jackets were obligatory, ties were optional while ladies could wear a cocktail dress or stylish separates. The Britannia

Britannia Restaurant

Poling along the Kerala backwaters


informative tour guide gave us a history of Malaysia as we drove through to the city centre, stopping at the Merdeka Square where, on 31 August 1957, the Union Flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag was raised. The surrounding buildings in this area are fine examples of Edwardian architec-ture and the elite Selangor Club, in replica Tudor style cladding, was in colonial times a venue for cricket and rugby matches. The highlight of our tour around Kuala Lumpur was our visit to the Petronas Towers, one of the world’s tallest buildings. Our guide informed us that the Koreans built one tower and the Japanese built the other- with the Korean tower being completed just three days before the Japanese built tower was completed. We took a lift to the observation deck on the 86th floor and looked down over the many high-rise buildings in this very modern city.

restaurant, the main dining room was in the centre of the ship on decks two and three and stretched from the port side to the star-board side of the vessel giving commanding all round sea views. At our designated table we met our dining companions, two couples from England one of which had boarded at Bangkok and the other at Singapore.

The three-course dinners were superb although wines (not included in the tariff) tended to be expensive for South Africans with the least expensive wine being USD30 per bottle, and the average price being around USD60 per bottle.

After leaving Singapore the QM2 sailed to Port Kelang in Malaysia, which is the port serving the capital city Kuala Lumpur 41 km inland. We had booked a tour of Kuala Lumpur and boarded one of the numerous coaches parked at the quayside. Our very


The QM2 sailed overnight to Langkawi, an island in the northern part of Malaysia and the country’s leading holiday destination. Sue and I had chosen to see some of the island’s wildlife and while waiting for the motor launch to take us up river, we noted mudskippers on the mud flats and Scaly-breasted Mu-nias in the surrounding trees. The launch took us to the Kilim Geoforest Park where our first stop was to see the local bat species in a series of caves. The mangrove forests in the vicinity of the caves are home to Long-tailed Macaques and a number of these inquisitive primates approached close to the tourists, allowing some memorable photos to be taken. Our launch then took us further up the river to an area where Brahminy Kites by the dozen swooped low over the river accompanied by the occasional White-bellied Sea Eagle. Our final destination was to a fish farm situated close to the mouth of the river where we were shown some of the local fish species.

The QM2 set sail later that evening and headed across the Bay of Bengal, the largest bay in the world our cap-tain advised us in his daily midday communiqué.

The next two days were sea days and dinner on the first of these was our first formal dinner evening where gents were expected to wear a dinner jacket, tuxedo or dark suit with tie and ladies wore evening or cocktail dress. It was also the evening when the captain welcomed guests who had boarded at Singapore. At this function, the captain introduced key members of his crew and also gave some statistics of the nationalities of the 2000 Re-boarding at Cochin, India

Brahminy Kite, Langkawi

Long-tailed Macaque, Langkawi


bird sightings included White Pelican and Black-hooded Oriole, as well as the very familiar House Crow, House Sparrow and Common Myna.

After another day at sea, the QM2 arrived at the port of Cochin in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. On the quayside there were a number of local tour operators and we joined two other S.A. couples and an Australian couple on a tour of the backwa-ters of Kerala. Travelling by car in India is not for the fainthearted and our driver overtook tuk-tuks and other slow moving vehicles in the face of oncoming traffic which we missed by a hairsbreadth every time. After an hour we reached the river where we boarded a local punt that had obviously seen much service and sat in cane chairs with a wickerwork cover overhead, offering some protection from the hot sun.

Two rather elderly local gentlemen poled the craft slowly along the still waterways that had dense tropical vegetation on either side. People living on the banks of the wa-terways looked desperately poor and their livestock were not in the best condition. Bird life was quite varied and we saw Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Indian Cormorant, Indian Pond Heron, White-throated Kingfisher, Rack-et-tailed Drongo and Brahminy Kite among others. We stopped at one of the villages where coir making was the main activity and also sampled some rather spicy homemade vegetable crisps that were delicious and we all bought a few packets each. What really impressed us was that these people lived in very modest houses and didn’t have many possessions, but they always had a smile and seemed content with their lives.

Back on board the next day, the captain announced at his midday communiqué that we were now sailing across the Arabian Sea, which was a known pirate operating area. Consequently, there was to be a drill later

passengers on board. Over half were British, with South Africans well represented at 190. Over 300 passengers were participating in the 120 day round the world voyage from and back to Southampton, and this par-ticular day was the 81st day of the QM2’s circumnavigation of the globe.

Each evening there was a show at the theatre, with the ship’s resident band sup-porting singers and dancers, while other acts included comedians, magicians and jugglers. A daily events programme was left in one’s stateroom each evening advising passengers of the following day’s events as well as time changes, the ship’s position, and the operating times of the many pubs and restaurants. We watched “Passport to the Universe” narrated by Tom Hanks at the planetarium where the seats recline so that one can watch the display projected onto the hemisphere shaped screen directly above the seats. Sue made regular use of the gym while I was happy to jog a few laps of the open 7th deck where each lap was approx 600mtr. The ship’s well-stocked library was at the bow of the ship on deck 8 and gave readers and browsers a panoram-ic view of the clear blue ocean ahead. There were also daily lectures in the auditorium given by experts in their field.

Colombo in Sri Lanka was hot and humid as expected and after a short bus tour of the city we headed back to the ship. Interesting

HMS Defender


that day where, when the alarm sounded, all passengers had to stand outside their staterooms until the all clear was sounded. Also, the open 7th deck (the running track) was to be closed off from 6pm to 6am. The ship’s speed was increased to 18 knots as pirates had great difficulty boarding a fast moving ship. We also noticed later that water cannons were set up on deck 7 to repel any would-be pirates. On our second day sailing through the Arabian Sea, we had a visit from a Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Defender, which came very close and gave us a display of its speed circling round the QM2 with ease. The helicopter took off from the deck of the destroyer and flew off a few miles before landing effortlessly back on the landing pad.

Alas, the end of our cruise approached and at our final dinner all the chefs paraded through the Britannia restaurant and were

The amazing twisted building, Dubai marina

Dubai marina

given a warm round of applause by the passengers. Breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout the voyage were superb and the crew went the extra mile to oblige the passengers. We exchanged email address-es with our dining companions all of whom were disembarking in Dubai and said our farewells.

We left the QM2 the next morning with just a tinge of sadness and, as our taxi drove out of the harbour area, we looked back fondly at this magnificent ship on which we had spent the past eleven days. We then had two full days in Dubai and visited the old city by the creek, the very modern marina, the Dubai Mall with its ice rink and aquarium tunnel, the Atlantis complex on Palm Island, and also the flamingos at the Ras-al-Koor bird hide.

Cruising on the Queen Mary 2 was a wonderful experience. We met lots of interesting people from all over the world, visited some exotic places, experienced different cultures, enjoyed fine dining, and all from the comfort and elegance of one of the finest vessels that ever sailed the seven seas.


Two Septuagenarian TwitchersText & photos by Jim McLuskie

September 2016. I have just finished a birding trip with my friend of more than 40 years and birding buddy, Laurence Fenn. The area we went to was a roughly triangular area from Upington in the western central, to Port Nolloth in the northwest and Calvinia in the south. We had seven target species in mind; some were lifers for Laurence and some for me.

We left Jo’burg at 0600 on a Monday and completed the 1000 km journey through Upington to Pofadder (Afrikaans for puf-fadder, a very venomous snake), we made good progress, stopping only when we saw a Temminck’s Courser and for a sandwich. Arrived at 1700, very content, only to be told by a fellow parker that our back left tyre was flat! Laurence took off for the garage where the tyre repair part was already closed. How-ever, the owner arrived at that moment and reopened the repair shop.

We left early next morning in good shape, heading north for the Orange River at On-seepkans. Our target birds were Red Lark and Sclater’s Lark. We saw neither but lots of other nice birds. We retreated to Pofadder and struck out southwest towards the red dunes at Koa, the best place in the world to see Red Larks. Unfortunately, the Red Larks had not read the same book! So we reached Springbok, late, tired and larkless. We stayed 3 nights on a very comfortable guest farm.

Wednesday morning, after a great breakfast, we started down through the hills towards Port Nolloth, the targets being Karoo Lark and Barlow’s Lark. The guide says: start looking 5 km from the port, at the start of the coastal plain. So we did and it was not long before we saw several Karoo Larks. One down and six to go. We then moved to an

area just north of Port Nolloth, adjacent to the sea. It was an area where I had previously seen Barlow’s Lark. After several hours of traipsing up and down, we were on a track back to exit the area when we saw one! It was a great view and I even got some photos (not National Geographic standard but rec-ognisable at least). After fish and chips in the port and a look at the De Beers ship facilities there, we returned in leisurely fashion to Springbok. Two down and five to go!

The guest farm was very comfortable and did an excellent breakfast, so the next day we were early at the entrance to a local reserve (Goegap) that is well known for its wildflowers. Though the season had passed a week earlier, there were still some lovely examples to be seen: gold, yellow, purple, white and red clumps. After a briefing by an enthusiastic reserve manager, we set off on a 4x4 trail. At each good area indicated, dry river bed with reeds, we hunted the elusive Karoo Eremomela. I used my phone birding app calls with a blue tooth loudspeaker and we walked and called, listened and walked, walked and called and listened again! At site number 4, I was walking along the high bank of a dry ravine calling and listening.

Barlow’s Lark


I was standing still listening when, sudden-ly, a small bird came and landed on a bush only two metres in front of me! I called to Laurence and he came to see his first Karoo Eremomela. We then watched the female ar-rive and the male proceeded to move around his territory singing at the corner points from atop a bush. It was a wonderful sight and a great experience.

Friday morning saw us leave the guest house for Calvinia, via the desert route away from the tarred roads. We headed straight for Aardvark Kloof (antbear ravine) where the Cinnamon- breasted Warbler was supposed to be. Its preferred habitat is boulder strewn hillslopes with sparse vegetation. So we parked and commenced walking with me playing the calls intermittently. After about 2 hours we had heard no response when a small dark bird flew in front of us and disappeared among some large boulders. It made no sound. After waiting a while I heard a high-pitched slow whistle. I had not heard that call before and although not part of the call I had been playing, it was reminiscent of it. Some minutes later I heard the same call high up to my left on top of a cliff. I called to Laurence to come and tell what bird is it, hoping it was the one. He arrived, said yes, and despatched me for my telescope. The scope, when set up showed the little warbler in all its glory, singing its heart out from the

top of a 50-metre cliff!

The day ended with a second puncture but even that could not detract from the 4 down, 3 to go!

Saturday was a hard day. We spent hours combing the veld on the way to and around Brandvlei, some 150 km north of Calvinia. Lots of walking and calling but no luck with two main targets: Sclater’s Lark and Red Lark. On Sunday we left before sun-up and without breakfast to bird the same area earlier as on Saturday At 11h00 we had our third puncture! Having changed wheels we returned to Brandvlei to get the tyre fixed. Lo-and-behold, on the way back we had a great view of a Red Lark. The day ended without the tyre being fixed [on a Sunday?] but 5 down and 2 to go!

The guest house we stayed was very comfortable and great value for money. On Monday we left as soon as the tyre was fixed, at about 8 o-clock. Since we had birded the area around Brandvlei and between there and Calvinia, we quickly went until we were north of Brandvlei, on the way to Kenhardt. At every farm wind pump that was working and had water, we stopped but no luck.

Eventually, we turned east off the tarred road a bit south of Kenhardt. Same story: stop at likely habitat, call, and watch. After about 20

Rock Kestrel

Sociable Weaver’s nest


km of this, it was 11h00 and we resolved to turn back at 11h30. At 11h15 we spotted an-other little bird on the fence top, white outer tail, streaked breast, upside-down bill. It flew nearer to us and perched so that Laurence could see the “teardrop”; Sclater’s lark at last! We watched its mate arrive and the two began to feed on a bit of stony plain. I went to look for a nest but no luck. Still, 6 out of 7 on

our last day!

The missing species, Black-eared Spar-row-lark, is the easiest of all to identify so it will keep for another day. We had done the difficult ones, including 4 lark species so we were well pleased with our trip and arrived back in Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon, tired but content

Common Swifts Fly For 10 Months Without A Break

A new study has confirmed that Common Swifts can spend up to 10 months in the air without landing.

The research, published in Current Biology, involved attaching tiny geolocators to swifts in southern Sweden. The tiny logging devic-es, weighing just a matter of grams, are part of a revolution in miniature electronics that are enabling scientists to track smaller and smaller birds.

The loggers include an accelerometer, to re-cord movement, and a light sensor. Given the duration of the day and night and the time of year, scientists can determine the north/south position. Noting when the sun is at the midday position gives an east/west location.

In 2014 and 2015, the team recaptured 19 swifts carrying these data loggers and found that, as expected, the birds were spending their winters in West Africa.

Dr Anders Hedenström, a biologist at the University of Lund, and his team reported that three of the 19 birds never rested. Some did rest occasionally at night for brief periods, but the data loggers showed that all the birds

stayed in the air for over 99 per cent of the time when they weren’t nesting.

The data confirms what has long been pre-dicted — that the birds stayed aloft when not nesting. It also endorses the use of geoloca-tors as an invaluable tool for monitoring birds’ movements — to put it into context, around 50,000 Common Swifts have been ringed in Sweden over the past century, but only one ringed individual had ever been recovered south of the Sahara.

The recordings also showed that long as-cents by swifts, observed during the summer, happen throughout the year. During these ascents, often at twilight, the birds climb up to almost three kilometres in altitude.

Dr Hedenström speculated that the birds may ascend to such heights to sleep safely. How birds cope with the need to sleep remains a mystery. A recent study showed that frigatebirds can sleep on the wing, albeit for much shorter periods than they do when on land. Currently the recording devices that observe brain activity weigh too much to fit to swifts, but this may well change in the future.


The new study confirms the suspicions that Common Swifts can spend up to 10 months in the air without landing (Photo: Mike Trew)

“I can get by on just 2 hours of sleep every day, as long as I nap for 14 hours.”


Birds’ Beaks Act As Air Conditioners

Birds’ beaks come in an incredible range of shapes and sizes, adapted for survival in en-vironments around the world. But, as a new study from The Auk: Ornithological Advances reveals, there’s even more to bird beaks than meets the eye — the insides of birds’ bills are filled with complex structures that help them meet the demands of hot climates.

Nasal conchae are complex structures inside bird bills that moderate the temperature of air being inhaled and reclaim water from air being exhaled. Raymond Danner of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and his colleagues from Cornell University and the National Museum of Natural History used computed tomography (CT) scans to examine the conchae of two Song Sparrow subspecies — one that lives in warm, dry sand dunes and one that lives in moister hab-itats further inland.

In this first comparison of conchae structure from birds living along a moisture gradient, the conchae of the dune-dwelling sparrows had a larger surface area and were situated farther out in the bill than those of their in-land relatives, hypothetically increasing their beaks’ ability to cool air and recapture water.

Danner and his colleagues used Song Sparrow specimens that were collected in Delaware and the District of Columbia and preserved in ethanol and iodine to help soft tissues show up in scans. The contrast-en-hanced CT scans they used to visualize the insides of the sparrows’ bills is a relatively new technique that is letting researchers see the details of these soft, cartilaginous struc-tures for the first time.

“We had been studying the function of the bird bill as a heat radiator, with a focus on

heat loss from the external surface and adaptation to local climates, when we began to wonder about the thermoregulatory pro-cesses that occur within the bill,” says Dan-ner. “I remember the entire team assembled for the first time, huddled around a computer and looking in amazement at the first scans. The high resolution scans revealed many structures that we as experienced ornitholo-gists had never seen or even imagined, and we were immediately struck by the beauty of the ornately structured anterior conchae and the neatly scrolled middle conchae.”

“This study highlights the remarkable com-plexity of the rostral conchae in songbirds. This complexity has gone largely unnoticed due to the ways in which most birds are collected and preserved,” according to Jason Bourke, a researcher from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences who was not involved in the research. “Thanks to the use of innovative techniques like diceCT, we are now able to really appreciate just how com-plicated bird noses are.

3D rendering of the CT scans, showing internal structure of Song Sparrow’s beak (Photo: E Gulson-Castillo & E Sibbald).


This period covers the onset of spring and early summer, the peak time for migrant arrivals. The usual haunts for waders such as Mkhombo Dam did not disappoint and several interesting records surfaced, with Roodeplaat Dam producing a few good birds as well. Bar-tailed Godwit is a notable and uncom-mon bird seen this year on passage to its wintering grounds on the coast. Two species that never feature in this report appear here for the first time; namely African Crowned Eagle and Bat Hawk, the latter a remarkable record from Delta Park in Johannesburg by Geoff Lockwood. Is this just a vagrant record as seems likely or could this species be colonising the province as the African Goshawk appears to be doing? Time will tell, and it is only through the continued efforts of keen-eyed local birders that we will know the answers.

National Rarities/Nasionalerariteite

Sandpiper, Green/Ruiter, Witgat-

One bird was once again located at Riet-vlei NR near Pretoria on 7 Oct 2016 (RW) and was still present on 20 Nov 2016. This is likely to be the same returning individual that has been seen the past few seasons.

Another bird was reported from Roodep-laat Dam, 22 Oct 2016 (BdT).

One bird was seen along the Jukskei River in Waterfall Estate in Midrand, 12 Nov 2016 (RS).

Regional Rarities/Streeksrariteite

Eagle, Crowned/Arend, Kroon-

A single bird was photographed in the Wilge River valley in north-eastern Gauteng, a very unusual record for the province, 20 Aug 2016 (MJ). An excellent record of a species that has not been recorded with certainty in the region.

Godwit, Bar-tailed. Griet, Bandstert-

Two birds were at Mkhombo Dam on 2 Oct 2016, a very uncommon bird for the region (LJ).

Two more birds were reported from the northern end of the Blesbokspruit at Marievale, 14 Oct 2016 (SM & RC), and at least one bird was still present 25 Oct 2016.

These are likely to be birds stopping over while passing on their way south to their coastal wintering grounds.

Rarities and Unusual Sightings Report: 15 November 2016Compiled by André Marx

Crowned Eagle - photo by Michael Johnson


Goshawk, African/Sperwer, Afrikaanse

One bird was seen displaying over Fair-land, Johannesburg, again on 5 Aug 2016 (LR), with a further record in this area on 25 Oct 2016 (LR).

Another bird was seen at Delta Park, Johannesburg on 2 Sep 2016 (AR).

This is still a very rare species in Gaut-eng and any records should be carefully documented and reported.

Hawk, Bat. Valk/Vlermuis-

One bird seen flying over Delta Park, Jo-hannesburg was a surprise sighting on 13 Sep 2016 (GL), and in the weeks follow-ing what was presumably the same bird was seen on two more occasions. This is not a species that has been confirmed as occurring in Gauteng with any certainty and so this represents a very important record.

Openbill, African/Ooievaar, Oopbek-

A single bird was at Mkhombo Dam, 19 Nov 2016 (LvD).

Plover, Caspian/Strandkiewiet, Asiatiese

One bird was at Mkhombo Dam, 10 Oct 2016 (CvW & MJ).

Pratincole, Collared/Sprinkaanvoël, Rooivlerk-

A solitary bird was observed at Mkhom-bo Dam, 16 Oct 2016 (IW).

Sanderling/Strandloper, Drietoon-

One bird was seen at Mkhombo Dam, 17 Nov 2016 (MJ).

Skimmer, African/Waterploeër

A single bird was present at Vaalkop Dam, 1 Nov 2016 (SvdW). This is an un-

common vagrant, with birds turning up occasionally at large dams in the region.

Vulture, Palm-nut/Aasvoël, Wit-

An immature bird was observed at Vul-Pro, Hartbeespoort, on 18 Nov 2016 (KW). This is probably the same individual seen there a few months ago.

Whimbrel, Common/Wulp, Klein-

One bird was at Roodeplaat Dam NR, 14 Oct 2016 (CvW, MJ).

At least one bird was at Mkhombo Dam, 16 Oct 2016 (IW)

Other Interesting Observations/An-der Interessants Waarnemings

Eagle, Ayres’ Hawk. Arend, Kleinjag-

One bird was observed in a garden in Rustenburg where it caught and con-sumed a racing pigeon, 17 Sep 2106 (GF).

Greenbul, Yellow-bellied. Willie, Geel-bors-

A sighting of one bird in a garden in Wonderboom in Pretoria in pentad

Common Whimbrel - photo by Michael Johnson


2540_2810 on 20 Aug 2016; the record was also confirmed with an audio record-ing (MB). This is a very interesting find as this is not a species known from subur-ban gardens in the city.

Ibis, Southern Bald/Ibis, Kalkoen-

An interesting sighting for the Johannes-burg area was the occurrence of one bird at Northern Farm on 27 Aug 2016 (J&CH). This is a new record for the immediate area and somewhat out of range for this species.

Owl, Southern White-faced/Uil, Witwang-

One bird was found at the Sandton Field and Study Centre on 3 Sep 2016, at the same locality that it was seen at last year. (KT). Several birders reported this bird at this site in the weeks following and it is possible that it is the same bird returning to the site one year later.

Pelican, Pink-backed/Pelikaan, Klein-

A single bird was at Roodeplaat Dam NR, 14 Oct 2016 (MJ).

Plover, Grey/Strandkiewiet, Grys-

At least one bird was at Mkhombo Dam, 22 Oct 2016 (HW).

Turnstone, Ruddy/Steenloper

One bird was located at Roodeplaat Dam NR in pentad 2535_2820, 9 Oct 2016 (PV).

A single bird was at Mkhombo Dam on 16 Oct 2016 (IW), with more individuals reported in the following weeks at this locality.

Observers/ Waarnemers:

Allan Ridley (AR)

Ben du Toit (BdT)

BirdLife Northern Gauteng members (BLNG)

Corrie van Wyk (CvW)

Geoff Finney (GF)

Geoff Lockwood (GL)

Hennie Welman (HW)

Ian White (IW)

John & Celia Human (J&CH)

Kerri Wolter (KW)

Kevin Trinder-Smith (KT)

Lance Robinson (LR)

Lisl van Deventer (LvD)

Luke Johnson (LJ)

Marna Buys (MB)

Michael Johnson (MJ)

Southern Bald Ibis - photo by Duane Fischer

Ruddy Turnstone - photo by Duane Fischer


the centre of both Johannesburg and Pretoria, however, observations made further afield are also welcome. While the majority of records are included it is sometimes necessary to exclude some depending on whether the subject matter has already been well reported. Occasionally records are sourced from the Internet and from SABAP2 records. Members are invited to submit details of sightings to André Marx at e-mail: [email protected] or 083 4117674.

Pieter Verster (PV)

Rob Crosby (RC)

Rolf Wiesler (RW)

Ron Searle (RS)

Sarel van der Westhuizen (SvdW)

Stan Madden (SM)

This column is mainly concerned with observations of rarities and interesting sightings made in the Greater Gauteng region, defined as being 100km from

Nearly fifty members of the Witwatersrand Bird Club enjoyed the year-end braai at Delta Park on Sunday 4th December. This annual social event was well attended by both East and West Rand Satellite members - photo by Lia Steen

Year-end braai at Delta Park

Lappet-faced Vulture - photos by Mike Fullerton

Southern Red-billed Hornbill - photos by Bev Carstens

Pied Kingfisher - photos by Anton Schultz

African Swamphen and juvenile - photos by Dave Bentley

Black-winged Stilt - photos by Elise Bailie

Spotted Eagle-owl - photos by Peter Chivers

2016 Calendar Competition Entries

Bokmakierie - witsbirdclub.org.za

Documents