The Eagle’s Eye Newsletter
Endangered Wildlife Trust
Birds of Prey Programme
December 2015
Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
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Content
A View from the Programme Manager’s Perch
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The Climbing of Colleywobbles
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Evaluating the ecosystem service provided by the Red-billed Oxpeckers on cattle farms in South Africa
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Field trip to the Khamab Kalahari Reserve
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Ringing and marking of vulture chicks
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Some notes on other birds associated with the White-backed Vulture on Dronfield Nature Reserve
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Dear Eagle’s Eye Readers,
It’s hard to believe that 2015 is almost at an end, with Christmas & New Year looming just around the corner.
We would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt and sincere THANK YOU to all our sponsors, companions,
volunteers, BoPP staff and our colleagues who support our programme’s various projects’ year-on-year. The Birds of Prey Programme is made-up of a small team of just 4 people doing our best to fulfil the tasks to keep
these projects afloat. Without your assistance we would not be able to accomplish our goals each year, so we really want you to know how greatly appreciated your contribution is to our programme. We wish you all the best for
2016 and happy holidays too!
During the month of September we hosted two important events, namely the International Vulture Awareness Day
and the Birds of Prey Annual Awards.
The Annual Awards Ceremony took place on the 1st of September at the Country Club Johannesburg. The Steven
Piper Lifetime Achievement Award, established in memory of Prof. S.E. Piper, aims to acknowledge the contribution
of individuals who, throughout their active working lives, have made an extensive and lasting contribution to the
research, monitoring, conservation and awareness of raptors and their plight in southern Africa. Billy Howells was
the receiver of the 2015 Steven Piper Lifetime Achievement Award. Billy Howells recently retired. He was involved
with nest surveys in Hwange National Park for a number of years, and then with KZN Wildlife. He has been involved
(and still is) with both the Bearded Vulture and the provincial reserve raptor surveys. With over 30 years of raptor
work, Billy made a good candidate.
Congratulations Billy on a well-deserved award!
Other recipients of our Annual Awards are as follows:
• Sonja Krüger - Bearded Vulture Conservation and Research
• Lukas Marima and the Mthombeni family - Award of Appreciation
Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
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Lucas Marima the Soshanguve resident who
understands the value of wildlife and
conservation and rescued a Secretarybird, he
received the award of appreciation
Andre Botha handing the award to Dr Sonja
Krüger
The International Vulture Awareness Day was celebrated on the 5th of September 2015 at Blouberg Nature Reserve
in Limpopo and was considered a great success. The event was also used as an opportunity to hand-over certificates
of appreciation and reward community members who brought in grounded vultures to the Reserve during the
2014/2015 season.
Finally we would like to announce that our two favourite journals the Vulture News and Gabar are now on line at:
www.ewt.org.za
Best Regards,
Warm regards
Rebecca Mabuza
A View from the Programme Manager’s Perch
Dear Readers
The staff of the Birds of Prey Programme and members of the Executive Team of the EWT gathered near a very
cold and blustery Dullstroom in early September 2015 to conduct a review of the strategy of the programme and
to the determine goals and objectives which we will work towards over the next 3-5 years. I would like to thank all
of those who participated and contributed to this process. Specific thanks to colleague Kerryn Morrison from the
African Crane Conservation Programme who facilitate the strategic review process. We look forward to sharing the
reviewed strategy with you at our 2016 Annual Conference.
The IUCN Species Survival Commission hosted its Specialist Group Chairs meeting in Abu Dhabi during September
2015 and I was fortunate to attend and meet with my Co-Chair of the Vulture Specialist Group for the first time since
our last meeting three years ago. Attending meetings of this nature is always an intensely interesting experience
as it provides an opportunity to interact with people working towards the conservation of a wide range of taxa
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
ranging from Blue Whales to primitive plants. This is a fantastic opportunity learn from the experiences of others
and to realise that we largely face similar challenges regardless of the species that we focus on. Dr Richard Kock,
Leo Niskanen from the IUCN and I also facilitated a workshop during the week to explore possible synergies and
opportunities for cooperation in terms of the poisoning of vultures and other wildlife in Africa and to highlight the
possible human and animal health impact should the current level of wildlife poisoning continue. The response
from a range of other specialist groups was very positive and we look forward to building in this opportunity.
It was great to meet with the Co-Chair of the Vulture Specialist Group, Chris Bowden again in person for the first
time since 2012. We took the opportunity to plan and discuss the focus and future work of the VSG in view of the
tremendous challenges faced by vultures globally.
I arrived back from Abu Dhabi to a rather depressed South Africa that had just suffered a defeat to Japan in the
Rugby World Cup on the Saturday afternoon. However, there was only enough time to unpack and re-pack another
bag before heading off to the Lowveld the next morning to participate in the last component of the aerial survey
of large tree-nesting birds in the northern Kruger National Park. Meeting up with Dr Campbell Murn from The
Hawk Conservancy Trust, Rowen van Eeden from the University of Cape Town and pilot Eugene Couzyn from The
Bateleurs, we managed to complete the first set of transects on the Sunday afternoon. After three years and
more than a hundred hours of flying, we managed to complete the first dedicated aerial survey focused on large
tree-nesting birds in the Kruger National Park. This provides us with a definitive benchmark dataset of nests for
these birds in the Kruger National Park.
One of the White-headed Vulture nests recorded during the aerial survey in the northern Kruger National Park. The
second image shows the team heading back to base after a long day in the air.
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We were sadly also to witness the first evidence of the poaching of elephants in northern Kruger and have
subsequently heard that nineteen of these animals have been poached to date. We also assisted one of the section
rangers in the area to fly over the area where these incidents occurred. During the flight we discussed the possible
threat posed by the poaching of elephants to vultures as it is a well-known fact that these birds have been poisoned
in large numbers in association with elephant poaching elsewhere in southern- and east Africa. This is one of the
main reasons for the declines in vulture populations in many parts of Africa.
Sadly, our discussion became a stark reality days later when the same ranger contacted me by telephone to inform
me of the first mass-poisoning of vultures at an elephant carcass in the Vlakteplaas section of the Park. We were
about to commence with the tagging of vulture nestlings in Kruger and elsewhere in the Lowveld, but everything
was put on hold and I travelled north to join up with and assist SANParks staff on the ground to assess the situation,
collect samples for analysis and to decontaminate the scene.
It was evident that the elephant was deliberately poisoned to kill other wildlife and a total of 45 critically endangered African White-backed Vultures, 1 sub-adult Bateleur male and 4 Lion were killed after feeding from
the carcass which was laced with Carbofuran. It seems that the aim of poisoning these animals and birds was to
collect parts of the carcasses for muthi. I would like to commend the section ranger, Marius Snyders and his staff
for their rapid action and dedication to ensure that the entire scene was decontaminated and poisoned carcasses
destroyed after samples were taken. It took almost five days to do this properly and to ensure that there was no
further risk of poisoning from the elephant carcass.
We were able to stabilize and transport an adult Hooded- and an immature African White-backed Vulture from
the scene and these birds were handed over to the Moholoholo rehabilitation centre for treatment. I am happy to
report that both birds made a full recovery and were released into the Park after six week of treatment.
The team of SANParks staff who worked very hard to decontaminate the scene busy counting and determining the
age of the birds poisoned. The second image shows the adult Hooded Vulture being released back in the Vlakteplaas section of the Kruger National Park. It is hoped that this bird will re-join its partner as it was actively breeding
at the time of the poisoning.
We have subsequently also learnt of two more poisoning incidents involving vultures in the Lowveld. In the first,
a single adult Cape Vulture was found poisoned on a farm near Hoedspruit. Follow-up investigation in the area
included an aerial survey with support from the Bathawks, but no further evidence of larger numbers of birds being
involved or the source of the poisoning could be found.
On the 20th of November 2015, information of the poisoning of 22 more African White-backed Vultures was received
from Letaba Ranch, north of Phalaborwa in Limpopo. In this case it seems that the birds were poisoned after two
buffalo carcasses were laced with poison. The motives for these killings were evidently for muthi as all the birds had
their heads and certain parts of their intestines removed. A team of volunteers under the leadership of Lutz Otto
were able to properly assess the scene and eliminate the threat of further poisoning from the carcasses.
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
These incidents have highlighted the need to train conservation staff, rangers, and a range of other stakeholders in
the proper identification, management, investigation and decontamination of poisoning incidents throughout the
region. Many people are at a loss as to the appropriate course of action when events such as these take place and
the EWT and other stakeholders will endeavour to address this by providing appropriate training and support where
necessary. Since the incident in Kruger, we have presented six training events to more than 100 people and many
more training sessions are planned for the first quarter of 2016. We believe that properly trained individuals can
play a significant role in limiting the damage and reducing losses when poisoning incidents occur if they have the
necessary skills and equipment to deal with them. Please contact me at [email protected] if you are interested in
this training or would like to host such a training session in your area.
One of the groups with whom training in the management of poisoning incidents was conducted in November
2015. This is a group of rangers, social ecologists and other staff from the Mkhuze Game Reserve in Zululand.
The Zululand Vulture Project was also able to complete the first helicopter surveys of breeding vultures in the
Mkhuze Game Reserve and the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park during August 2015. Once again, Eugene Couzyn from The
Bateleurs assisted by providing the services of his helicopter for this purpose. It was very interesting to fly over these
beautiful conservation areas, but sad to see how the breeding populations of vultures in the Mkhuze Game Reserve
in particular have declined over the last 10 years. However, the survey was extremely valuable and will enable us to
compare results with that of the fixed-wing surveys which have been conducted in the area for many years.
The survey was followed up by the tagging of vulture nestlings during October and November and we also managed
to conduct the capture of some birds in the Hluhluwe Game Reserve in late November. Two of the birds captured
were also fitted with tracking units to add to our existing sample of tracked birds from Zululand. I would again like
to take the opportunity to thank our partners KZN Wildlife, Wildlife ACT and Eskom for making this work possible.
In early October 2015, I was invited to attend the second CMS Raptors MoU Meeting of Signatories in Trondheim,
Norway. During the meeting, we were able to create awareness among the governments from countries within
the Africa-Eurasian flyway of the plight of vultures, particularly vultures in Africa, and received principle support
for the drafting and implementation of a multi-species action plan for vultures within this region. Although the
programme was a very full one and we did not manage to see much of the country itself, I was delighted to witness
the spectacular Aurora borealis above the city while walking back to the hotel one night after a long session of
discussions and deliberations.
Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
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Aurora borealis over Trondheim, Norway
This is the time of year when many raptorphiles are scanning to skies to look for the arriving migratory raptors to
southern Africa. I have already heard of several records of species such as Eurasian Honey Buzzards, Sooty Falcon
and Lesser Spotted Eagle that have arrived, but summer does not rally seem to have arrived until the Amur Falcons
make their appearance in numbers. It was therefore really encouraging to hear that the bulk of the population of
this species have departed from the staging area in Nagaland and have started to make their trans-Indian Ocean
passage to Africa without any disturbance or hunting of birds having taken place in an area where a few years ago
thousands were killed for food. This is certainly a great testament to those involved in bringing about this change
and provides us with a great working example of what can be done to benefit both raptors and people. We look
forward to shortly seeing these little falcons again foraging over the grassland and savanna of southern Africa.
Please look out for the dates of the Annual Migratory Falcon Count which will take place in late January 2016 and
assist us in the counting of these birds at roosts throughout the region.
I would like to conclude by wishing all of you a peaceful and safe festive season.
Warm regards
André Botha
Manager: Birds of Prey Programme
Endangered Wildlife Trust
The Climbing of Colleywobbles
A total of 466 Cape Vulture nestlings were rung at Colleywobbles Cape Vulture colony in the Eastern Cape Province
of South Africa between 1976-1991, according to the South African Bird Ringing Unit (SAFRING). After a 24 year
hiatus, scientists returned to the prehistoric-looking colony as part of an ongoing study on the movement ecology of
Cape Vultures in the Eastern Cape by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan
University (NMMU).
In September this year, a team consisting of members from UKZN, Raptor Rescue Rehabilitation Centre, and the
Colleywobbles community literally scaled cliffs and climbed mountains to aid in the conservation of this endangered
vulture species. The mission was to place GPS transmitters on Cape Vulture nestlings. SAFRING metal rings, yellow
patagial wing tags, and cellular-based GPS transmitters were successfully deployed on 9 nestlings over the course
of 5 days. Measurements, photographs, and two drop of blood for DNA material and avian sexing was taken. Using
Komen’s (1991) equations relating wing length to age we calculated that the birds were between 60 and 86 days old.
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
Hallam Payne in the green shirt was the head climber. I am extremely grateful to the team for putting their lives on
the line to help the project. Photo by Camille Fritsch.
Left picture: The local community was involved in naming the vultures. The man in the stripped shirt is Ndalu, the
community’s Chief Zwelinzima Sigidi. On the right of the chief is Mfuneko Maxwedisa the local colony monitor.
Right picture: Up-close photo of Sibane (meaning light), a Cape Vulture nestling. The movement data collected will
be used in an on-going study on the movement ecology of the Cape Vulture in the Eastern Cape Province. Photo by
Camille Fritsch.
Data on the vultures’ movement will be part of a Master’s project investigating roost usage in relationship to age.
Do older vultures out-compete younger ones for suitable roosts sites (i.e. those safe and close to food sources)? We
know that adult vultures in the Eastern Cape use communal farmland more than expected, so perhaps adult vultures
are dominating food resources and roosts in communal land and pushing younger birds into these commercial
Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
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farmland areas. Poisonings and a lower abundance of carrion are characteristic of commercial farmland, which can
negatively affect the survival of vultures. The data will also be used to help define conservation buffers for use in
power line and wind energy development. We also expect a high mortality rate; be it natural or anthropogenic. Any
collisions or electrocutions will be documented and reported to the appropriate parties. Hopefully any such results
can be used to help EWT’s risk assessment of power lines in the Eastern Cape Province.
On the left is , Morgan Pfeiffer fitting a SAFRING ring
to a Cape Vulture nestling at Colleywobbles. Then
from left to right: PhD candidate at UKZN Shane
McPherson, Tammy Caine from the Raptor Rescue Rehabilitation Centre, and UKZN PhD candidate Vuyisile
Thabethe. Photo by Camille Fritsch.
Blood was extracted from underneath the toe nail of
a Cape Vulture nestling at Colleywobbles Cape
Vulture colony in the Eastern Cape Province, South
Africa for DNA material and avian blood sexing.
Photo by Camille Fritsch.
I am extremely grateful to the team for their help, advice, humour, and positive energy. Kevin Shaw from Cape
Nature is thanked for providing advice on the logistics of ringing and tagging on the cliffs. I also would like to thank
the local community, who have supported my research and conservation of the vultures. Some of the nestlings were
given names with local significance (villages, cliffs, rivers) by Ndalu, the community’s Chief and Derrick, the local
colony monitor, giving the community an even greater connection to the birds.
This was a major milestone; not only for the team and I, but for the conservation of the Cape Vulture. Out of the
466 nestling rung before 1991, only 42 (9%) were recovered/re-sighted and reported to SAFRING. With the aid
of GPS technology, hopefully we will get 100% recapture rate. All ring records have been submitted to SAFRING
including three photos of each nestling (See: http://safring.adu.org.za/ring_info.php?ring=G26707). The nestlings
are still not old enough to fly, but I look forward to sharing their stories in the coming months and beyond.
Morgan Pfeiffer
PhD candidate in Zoology
School of Life Sciences
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Reference
Komen, J. (1991) Growth in cape vulture nestlings. Ostrich 62: 149-155.
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
Evaluating the ecosystem service provided by the Red-billed Oxpeckers
Buphagus erythrorhynchus on cattle farms in South Africa
After spending two months in Sabi Sabi Game Reserve this year I developed an understanding of Red-billed Oxpeckers
(Buphagus erythrorhynchus). By this time I had already been awarded a bursary from EWT’s Operation Oxpecker
project towards the completion of my studies. The Sabi Sabi Game Reserve is located in the south-western section
of the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga. The 6500 ha private reserve is home to all game preferential hosts
Oxpeckers like Impala, White Rhinoceros, African Buffalo, Plains Zebra and Giraffe. I was fortunate to see how the
birds flock in large numbers (the most I have seen was around a 150:600 ratio with the African Buffalo herd). I was
excited to be part of a study on the birds and actually enjoyed more than ten sightings where I observed how they
feed, travel, call and monitor their surroundings in the wild.
Red-billed Oxpeckers are considered Least Concern in South Africa, but until recently they were listed as Near
Threatened. While the decline of their hosts due to hunting has decreased, the use of organophosphates to control
ticks has had a further negative impact on the population of the Red-billed Oxpeckers over the past decades. The
main problem stems from the use of incorrect or excessive use of ectoparasiticides which are used in game and
cattle farms across the country. The purpose of my research study is to comprehend the ecosystem service of the
Red-billed Oxpeckers in farms as opposed to the use of ectoparasiticides as a measure to control ectoparasites.
A Red-billed Oxpecker feeding on insects from the back of a Buffalo
Since the study area comprised of the whole of South Africa, I wouldn’t have been able to reasonably collect data
in less than a year. The best way to collect data was through a reputable survey which I designed with the help of
the Operation Oxpecker Project Co-ordinator Leigh Combrink. The survey consisted of 14 simple questions that
were sent to various farmers throughout the country about their farms, the types of animals (cattle or game) they
breed, the presence or absence of the oxpeckers, the use and type of ectoparasiticides they use and so forth.
Unfortunately only a few farmers took part in the survey which resulted in me having to combine my survey with
another survey that was completed by the EWT’s Wildlife Ranching Project.
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Most of the farmers were from the eastern region of the country, namely the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Kwa-Zulu
Natal and Eastern Cape provinces – which I found interesting because the Red-billed Oxpecker’s preferred habitats
largely fall within these provinces (areas characterised by fairly moderate to high temperatures, such as savanna
and woodlands). When examining the data for my draft research project, I found it surprising that most farmers
would intentionally have the birds on their farms. With the common perception that farmers perceive the birds as
pest, I was excited to discover that (according to my survey) most farmers (81%) categorise Red-billed Oxpeckers as
beneficial animals to have on different farms.
The use of ectoparasiticides was a huge part of the project. During my birding trips in Pretoria (Onderstepoort area)
I came across a farmer who has three cattle farms in Gauteng, Limpopo and Western Cape provinces. Due to the
remote area where we met, I asked the farmer to complete the survey manually. He firmly said he does not use
ectoparasiticides on all his farms; and mentioned that he only uses such products on the Gauteng and Limpopo
farms. This supported my findings that conclude that the use of ectoparasiticides is dependent on the geographical
climate of the area and subsequently the need for the Red-billed Oxpecker is dependent on the geographical
description of the area. Also, I strongly believe that to an extent Red-billed Oxpeckers do provide a natural service
of decreasing the populations of ticks better than the use of ectoparasiticides in certain farms within South Africa.
The survey is still open and will run until end of November 2015. We would really appreciate it if cattle
or game farmers who have not yet completed the survey can assist us with the conservation of these
remarkable birds by answering the questions at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.net/analyze/
svEgKZooXjQpoHWQ14dU6SyZTFA7hlcf7N8WOwsfkTo_3D.
Kagiso Mohlamme
Operation Oxpecker Honours Researcher
University of South Africa
Field trip to the Khamab Kalahari Reserve
A White-backed Vulture (K431) which was tagged and ringed in the Northwest province on 25th of September 2013
was re-sighted and reported at the Khamab Kalahari Reserve on 05 February 2015. The bird had moved a distance
of just over 99 kilometres over a period of one year four months and 11 days.
Precisely because of this re-sighting we were invited to visit the Khamab Kalahari Reserve with the aim to expand
our monitoring in the area. One of our monitoring sites also includes the Molopo Nature reserve (just south-west of
the Khamab Kalahari reserve) where low numbers of breeding pairs were recorded previously. This was somewhat
disappointing from an active vulture breeding colony perspective. As part of the Kalahari Raptor project we have
decided to include the reserve to our monitoring area and visited the reserve for the first time during September
2015.
Khamab Kalahari Reserve is a private reserve in the Molopo district of the Eastern Kalahari Bushveld. The 93
000ha reserve is home to various game species including the big 5 and a number of Wild dog packs. The Khamab
Kalahari Reserve was established as a conservation initiative in 2007 with the vision of sustaining the full spectrum
of wild herbivores and carnivores that naturally occurred in this landscape in the past. With its main focus being
conservation, the reserve is managed by a very competent and committed team of experts.
Upon our arrival we were welcomed by the reserve management and because of limited time we decided to
immediately do some fieldwork for the remainder of the afternoon. Hanno Kilian guided us to a few waterholes and
we soon saw a number of White-backed Vultures, Lappet-faced Vultures, Cape Vultures, Tawny Eagles, Bateleurs
and other species feeding on a Zebra carcass. The number of raptors at this feeding site was in excess of 200
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
individuals. This sighting was an unforgettable experience for us and was very promising for what was still to come
during our visit.
We soon drove off to the first known nest and found that this nest was still active with a healthy Lappet-faced
Vulture chick in it. We quickly tagged and ringed this chick, which was very special as we have seen many
Lappet-faced Vultures flying and perching in our monitoring area, but we were never able to find any nests prior to
this one.
Due to the size of the reserve and distances to travel we decided to call it a day. We were fortunate to also share our
passion with a few intern students at the reserve and they were impressed with the work that we do.
A few students showing interest in a nest inspection.
The next morning, we set out on an aerial survey that was arranged by Hanno Kilian on a R44 helicopter. A two
hour aerial survey was conducted on a section of the 93 000ha reserve and a number of nests were mapped on
CyberTracker and GPS.
Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
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Stefan v Stuyvenberg, Johan Odendaal (pilot) and Hanno Kilian (Ecologist)
Hands on experience for a student.
The aim was to find as many active raptor nests as possible to enable us to follow up with a purposeful ground
survey. The chicks on the active nests were then tagged and ringed.
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
It was interesting to learn that the chicks in this area were significantly smaller than the chicks in active nests ±
150km to the east of the reserve.
Due to very high temperatures it became necessary to take a break under a shady tree to enjoy a few refreshments.
We were so thrilled with the results of the survey, we found 24 nests, 7 White-backed Vultures, 3 Lappet-faced
Vultures and 14 unknown species in total over two days.
Due to the size of the reserve and the potential for more nests we have decided to cover the rest of the reserve
during the next visit
The team on tea break
During our visit we have also saw a number of other wild animals such as antelope, elephant, Giraffe, Wild Dogs,
rhinoceros, aardwolf and others.
The Khamab Kalahari Reserve was well worth the visit and poses great potential for the future. We are looking
forward to our next visit to the Khamab Kalahari Reserve.
Dirk, Karen & Stefan van Stuyvenberg
Project Coordinator: Kalahari Raptor Project
076 9745042
[email protected] Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
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Ringing and marking of vulture chicks
To climb in a Camel Thorn tree and fetch a vulture chick from the nest, place it in a bucket and let it down to the
ground, may be a tough experience. For the experienced tree climbers of Puy Du Fou in France and the Hawk
Conservancy Trust of England this is a task done in five (5) minutes to reduce the disturbance at the nest to the
minimum. If one looks at the scratches and bruises on their bodies, you realise the risks involved.
Early in October the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and other role players marked vulture chicks at Mokala National
Park and the neighbouring farms. This is part of the Savannah Vulture Project which is a registered project with
SANParks where vultures are being monitored in different National Parks. The long term studies aim to determine
breeding patterns, populations and movements of these populations.
From left Ronelle, Graham, Thierry, Beryl, Andy and Macro
During a visit to the breeding colony, Ronelle Visagie, the EWT’s Field officer monitored the breeding pairs and
active nests. These included about 80 known nests from previous breeding seasons and inactive nests were
excluded. During the marking week we ringed 51 chicks, some of which were still very small and one nest had an
egg.
Every year breeding results change, we have seen that breeding success is not a guarantee that vulture numbers will
increase. There are many threats faced by vultures including poison, power lines, harvesting for muthi and natural
predators like baboons, monkeys and Pied Crows. The status of the White-backed Vultures was up listed in the Red
Data Book for Birds from vulnerable to Endangered in 2012 and as at end of October this species is now Critically
Endangered.
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
Marked vultures on a tree
An interesting observation during the past two years is that some vultures start breeding at a younger age, though it
is still too early to prove this statistically. The reason for this may be that there are vultures without breeding mates
due to one of the pair dying. What is tragic is that the young birds are inexperienced and their breeding attempt
may be unsuccessful.
On the Left Macro climbs a ladder to the nest.
On the Right Macro fetching a vulture chick from the nest
Juvenile vultures are dependent on their parents for a period of five to six months and only about 30% of the chicks
survive the first year. Vultures play a vital role to prevent the spread of disease to humans and animals and thus
important that people are aware of their role in the ecology. In India the decrease in vultures has led to an increase
in diseases like rabies. What is critical to note is that the decrease in vulture numbers in Africa may have the same
effect.
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Vultures are marked with tags with unique numbers to monitor their movements, age and distances that they fly.
Some of the birds that were marked at Mokala were seen in Botswana and northern Namibia. You can help by
sending your sightings of marked birds to [email protected]. If you see a marked bird, record the date, place,
GPS coordinates if possible, tag number and any other data that may seem relevant to the sighting, e.g. number of
vultures in the group and other species.
Ronelle Visagie
Co-ordinator: Platberg Karoo Project
Some notes on other birds associated with the White-backed Vulture on
Dronfield Nature Reserve
Over the last 23 years the ringing teams have handles 966 White-backed vulture chicks and checked 1575 active
nests on the Dronfield & Inglewood Nature Reserves. But this is not really the full picture as a number of other birds
are also associated with the White-backed Vultures on Dronfield.
One of the consistent birds to use old vulture nest are the Giant Eagles Owls. In the early years there were two
pairs breeding, but it is the southern pair that has been most consistent, nesting 12 times in the last 23 years. They
generally lay two or three eggs but only ever raise one to fledging. The owls add no lining to the old nests, with the
egg being laid on the stick structure.
Giant Eagle egg and chick
Back in 1993 there were two Martial nests on Eskom pylons, no successful breeding was observed. In 1999 one pair
started using old vulture nests and for seven years made use of five different nests, fledged four chicks.
The White-backed vultures not to be out done by the Martial’s use of their nests, then started using the pylon nests
that the Martial Eagles had built, with the same lack of success that the Martial’s had.
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
Martial egg in nest
Kestrel and vulture eggs
The Greater Kestrels have also used old vulture nests on a couple occasions. In one breeding attempt the Kestrels
laid three eggs next to an addled White-backed vulture egg. How the Kestrels managed to keep all the eggs warm is
one thing, what they thought would hatch out of the vulture egg is something else.
Secretary Birds have nested six or seven times during the last 30 years, although not too successfully in the early
years. In the last five years there have been at least three successful breeding attempts. They do not make use of
old vulture nests, but use shorter very thorny trees like the Acacia tortilis and A. mellifera to nest in.
Secretary Bird eggs on nest
In 2009 a pair of Egyptian Geese took over an old vulture nest and laid 17 eggs in it. The nest was a good six meters
above the ground, so the chicks start life with life with quite a fall.
Then finally, with the increase in the Pied Crow populations on Dronfield, we have over the last two years found
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Crow’s nesting in close proximity to active White-backed vulture nests. One nest being less than half a meter from
the vulture’s nest. This despite the fact that Crows actively harassed incubating White-backs and predated on their
eggs and young chicks.
Crow’s nest below vultures nest
Crow’s nest with chicks
The monitoring of the White-backed Vultures on Dronfield is a team effort and thanks must go to all that have made
this work possible over the years. In particular Mark and Tania Anderson, who initiated the project, Beryl Wilson,
Eddie MacFarlane (my trusty wingman), Julius Koen. The Hawk Conservancy Trust team from England led by Andy
Hilton with Adam Rose and Graham as regular members. Thierry Bouchet and Marco Billaud from the Puy du Fou in
France have also become part of the team over the last six years. A special thanks to Corne Anderson and Charles
Hall from De Beers who are always willing to assist. We would also like to thank De Beers Consolidated Mines for
their support of this work from its inception, as well as Sasol through the EWT, Birds of Prey Vulture Monitoring
Programme.
Angus Anthony
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Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
The Eagle’s Eye is the quarterly newsletter of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey Programme and is
compiled and edited by Rebeccca Mabuza
For enquiries, to submit an article or to unsubscribe, e-mail [email protected]
The articles in this newsletter represent various projects and individuals involved with the Birds of Prey Programme and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Endangered Wildlife Trust or the editor of this
newsletter.
The Birds of Prey Programme would like to thank all our sponsors for their ongoing
support of the work done by our various Projects.
Eagle’s Eye Newsletter - December 2015
19