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THE EAGLE’S EYE

Dear Eagle’s Eye Readers,

Allow me to introduce myself as a new member of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT). My name is Rebecca Mabuza, I am working as Administrator for the Birds of Prey Programme (BoPP). I am originally from the Lowveld, Mpumalanga Province. Living within an environment surrounded by vegetation made me to admire nature as a whole and well-regarded to work with organisation/s whose interest is in conserving nature. I am privileged to have Ms Selina Nkosi (my friend from Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks who is now a lecturer of Nature Conservation at Unisa) also a subscriber to one of EWT publications, as she is the one who e-mailed me the advert for the EWT, BoPP Administrator’s position.

I used to come across this red animal foot print when I worked for Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency, but never thought I will one day work for this organisation. I am very excited for this distinct opportunity as an member for BoPP. I read an article on vultures in one of the Vulture News journals and I was so interested in knowing how interesting these birds are. That article enthused in eagle-eyed how important it is to conserve these birds of prey.

My goal as Administrator for BoPP is to provide an effective and efficient administrative

support to the programme. I possess a number of personal attributes that are required of the new millennium administrators however, I still have a lot to learn and to read to get up to speed, but it is all worthwhile. It is so exciting working for a programme like BoPP, especially reading about the work they do in order to conserve these amazing creatures.

Also I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Rebotile Rechuene, who welcomed me so well in the BoPP office. He kindly told and showed me how the administrative activities within BoPP are provided.

Kind RegardsRebeccca Mabuza - editorAdministrator BoPP - EWT

A View from the Programme Manager’s Perch

As the year is rapidly nearing its end, there is much to share with you regarding the recent activities of the EWT-BoPP. Our staff, volunteers and associates have been hectically busy with fieldwork and other activities and there have been several developments with regard to EWT-BoPP staff since the last edition of the Eagle’s Eye was circulated.

Zelda Hudson resigned from her position at the Programme to join the Bateleurs in September. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Zelda for her contribution and hard work during her tenure of more than two years with the EWT-BoPP. I would like to welcome Rebecca Mabuza who was appointed to replace Zelda and who has commenced work with the EWT-BoPP on the 1st of October 2013. Rebecca will introduce herself as editor of the Eagle’s Eye and will be your point of call with regard to administrative matters, membership, journal subscriptions, etc. in fu-ture. In the short time that Rebecca has been with us, she has proven to be a very competent and efficient replacement and I look forward to working with her in future.

On the 23rd of September 2013, Madel & Brent Whittington became parents for the first time when Sabian (2.99kg) was born in Upington. Mother and baby were able to return to Nossob in the Kgalagadi TFCA a mere four days after the birth and all is well. Madel is of the opinion that he is the most well-behaved 6-week old baby that you will ever meet and that pyjama-drill is nothing but a pleasure. We wish the Whittington-family well!

Matt Pretorius, the coordinator of our Anglo-Coal Grass Owl Project, and Veronique Wolfaardt became engaged in Lesotho on the 6th of October 2013. Congratulations and best wishes for the future to both of you!

Sabian Whittington

Newsletter of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey Programme: Oct 2013

Inside this Issue: Update on the Anglo African Grass-Owl Project 2013 4Dronfield White-backed Vulture breeding summary for 2013 5The Martial Eagle Project - Kruger National Park 6Oxpeckers flying high with the Bateleurs! 7Hornbill harnesses: lessons learnt from captive birds 8“The Neighbourhood has gone quiet, why? 9Verreaux’s Eagles ringed in the Northern Cape 11Workshop on Pied Crows 12Wonderboom Urban Verreaux Eagle Project 13Sponsors 15

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Late June again provided us with an opportunity to conduct the surveys of the Olifants River in the Kruger National Park. It is incredible to see how the floods of 2012 and 2013 have transformed the system and the damage to the riparian vegetation on the river banks have been extensive. However, with the exception of the population of Pel’s Fishing Owl Scotopelia peli, it seems as if the floods have benefitted most other fish-eating bird species along the system and it was great to again see substantial flocks of cormorants, egrets and other waterbirds along the river. Since the start of our surveys in 2007 until 2011, most species were present in very low numbers or were totally absent. As usual, walking along one of the major rivers in the Kruger during the dry season, there are risks and we had a number of interactions and close shaves with hippo this year. I would again like to thank all the SANParks rangers and staff, EWT staff and volunteers who assisted with the survey this year and look forward to the 2014 surveys.

Walking along the Olifants River in the early morning is a really special experience.

Over the last three months, a substantial part of my time was used to complete fieldwork related to the Savanna Vulture Project which focuses on tree-nesting vultures in and around South Africa’s National Parks and is conducted in partnership with SANParks and The Hawk Conservancy Trust. In addition to the work in the Kruger National Park, we also monitor nests in the Kgalagadi TFCA, Mokala National Park and Mapungubwe National Park. The work that the EWT-BoPP conducts in partnership with KZN Wildlife and Wildlife ACT in Zululand also falls within the objectives and focus of this project. The fitting of wing-tags to nestlings was again conducted from mid-September and work should be completed by late November when the last White-headed Vulture nestlings will be fitted. Almost 70 nestlings would have been fitted with tags by the end of the breeding season. Thanks again to Sasol and Eskom for providing us with substantial financial and logistical support to make this work possible. To date, ten GSM-based tracking units were also fitted to vultures in the Kruger and Zululand and we look forward to

following the movements of these birds once they have fledged. We were also able to fit a tracking unit to a single Marabou Stork nestling at the recently established breeding colony of this species in the Phongolo Nataure Reserve in Zululand. This seems to be a first for this species.

Eskom again provided logistical support in both the Lowveld and Zululand by making available cherry-picker trucks that makes access to nests and nestling much easier than climbing to them.

A further exciting development related to this Project is the partnership with the State Veterinary Services Department of Animal Health at Skukuza which will focus on a study to determine the role of vultures as possible vectors of certain diseases such as Anthrax in the northern Kruger National Park. We have identified a

Campbell Murn from partner The Hawk Conservancy Trust climbing to a White-backed Vulture nest about 25m above the ground in southern Kruger.

Campbell with the first Lappet-faced Vulture to be tagged as part of the project in the Kruger National Park

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suitable site for the capture, marking and tracking of vultures in the Pafuri-region in early 2014 and trust that this study will provide us with additional insights into the role that vultures play in the spread or containment of disease in the Park and further a-field.

One area of concern however, is the increasing prevalence of mass-poisoning of vultures which has affected vulture populations over the last 6 months. This started with the news of the poisoning of 54 Cape Vultures and a single African White-backed Vulture on a farm in southern KwaZulu-Natal in July. This was the largest single poisoning incident affecting vultures in South Africa for many years. To date , no charges have been brought against the culprits in this case and it is still under investigation by the Hawks. This incident was however over-shadowed by the news of poisoning incidents in the Caprivi, Namibia (400-600 birds) in August and the poisoning of 300 elephants in the Hwange National Park, Zimbawbe which resulted in the deaths of a minimum of 400 vultures and several other species of avian and mammalian scavengers. The direct link between the poaching of elephant and the killing of vultures who act as indicators of poaching activities to law enforcement staff is of great concern and, should this trend continue, it will have devastating effects on vulture populations in southern Africa. Now, more than ever, we need to work together across international, provincial and organizational barriers to contain and manage poisoning events effectively and to attempt to prevent such incidents from happening in future. The objectives contained in the Pan-African Vulture Conservation Strategy with regard to the impact of poison on Africa’s vultures should be implemented as soon as possible.

The fifth International Vulture Awareness Day was celebrated on the 7th of September 2013 and was again supported by more than 150 organisations from 56 countries. In South Africa, there were several events that were held on the day and in the week preceding the Awareness Day and I was privileged to attend and participate in the programme at the Blouberg Nature Reserve this year. Congratulations to Johan van Wyk and the Friends of Blouberg who have made a significant contribution to convey the message of vultures and the need to conserve them to all stakeholders and communities in the area surrounding the Blouberg Cape Vulture Colony. Feedback in terms of the other activities has also been very good and the vulture count conducted in KwaZulu-Natal has yielded excellent results. Thank you to all who participated and supported us in making this year’s event a success.

Further good news is that the first Biodiversity Monitoring Plan for a raptor in South Africa is in its final stages of approval and ratification by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and should be implemented before the end of 2013. The Bearded Vulture BMP took almost two years to finalise and complete and Bearded Vulture Task Force Coordinator Sonja Krüger must be congratulated for guiding this process through the necessary steps to get it this far. We look forward to substantial support from government in terms of securing the population of this species in South Africa and Lesotho.

At this time of the year, many migratory species of raptors are busy with their southward migration to over-winter in Africa. You may remember the international outcry that was caused when news of the massacre of thousands of Amur Falcons Falco amurensis in Nagaland, India became known. For an update on the fantastic work that has been done to prevent these

massacres from continuing, please look at the information on the following link: http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0913-dasgupta-amur-falcon-hunting-mitigation.html#FoRIm54WVito2UPV.02

Our Ububele Secretarybird Project has also made good progress and we were able to fit tracking units to two Secretarybirds in the vicinity of Polokwane in April and June this year. The one bird, a nestling in the Polokwane Game Reserve, fledged shortly after being fitted and has established a range in the north-eastern corner of the reserve. The other bird was rehabilitated by René Olivier of Crown Wildlife Rehabilitation and was released on their property after it regained its full health. Both birds are seemingly doing well. In addition, we are in the process of registering projects focused on this species in KwaZulu-Natal and the Kruger National Park and we will keep you updated on developments in this regard.

René Olivier from Crown Rehabilitation and Yana Mockford with the second Secretarybird fitted with a tracking unit near Polokwane

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a peaceful and safe festive season and a prosperous 2014. We look forward to working with you to the benefit of our raptors and other birds! Warm regards

André BothaManager: Birds of Prey ProgrammeEndangered Wildlife Trust

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Update on the Anglo African Grass-Owl Project 2013 This year marked the Anglo African Grass-Owl Project’s (AAGOP) sixth year in existence. I was recently asked to estimate the fieldwork effort to date and was quite shocked at some of the figures I managed to calculate. Since May 2008 a total of 114 352 km was travelled and roughly 765 km walked during Grass-Owl fieldwork. Approximately 225, 124 and 288 hours were spent dissecting Grass-Owl pellets, observing prey deliveries at nests and tracking radio-tagged Grass-Owls, respectively. There is, however, much that still needs to be done in order to learn more about the ecology and behaviour of Grass-Owls. The primary objective of the AAGOP in the next year is to fill some of these gaps.

With the Grass-Owl breeding season now well and truly over it is worth reflecting on the nests monitored during 2013. The most striking feature of this year’s season was how late the owls started breeding. Estimated laying dates of the six nests monitored were: 23/04; 17/05; 27/05; 29/05; 23/06; 22/07. Overall, incubation commenced particularly late considering the previous latest laying date was of a pair that started incubating around the 25th of May during the 2012 season. This may have something to do with this year’s unusually late arrival of the cold winter temperatures we are used to on the Highveld. Nesting success was typically low with only two out of the six nests producing at least one surviving fledgling.

A highlight of the breeding season was the discovery of a Grass-Owl nest in a patch of rehabilitated grassland at Anglo American Inyosi Coal’s Kriel Colliery - the first known on a reclaimed opencast coal mine. The nest was discovered near Kriel’s boundary with its neighbouring colliery, Isibonelo, on the 23rd of July. The discovery marks a significant achievement for the Anglo African Grass-Owl Project, which aims to implement guidelines developed from research into the species habitat preferences, feeding ecology and spatial requirements in order to maintain and, where necessary, create adequate habitat on opencast rehabilitation sites.

The nest contained the remains of a single large chick, estimated at five and a half weeks of age. It was probably predated by a Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas) or Serval (Leptailurus serval), both of which are common on the site. A second chick was flushed from another cavity in the grass about ten metres from the nest site. It is highly likely that the fledgling is a survivor from the same nest. The surviving chick was probably older and better able to fly than its unfortunate sibling. The discovery of the fledgling at this particular nest is significant in that it has provided the first evidence of successful breeding on a reclaimed surface mine. It is an example of how a rehabilitation site can be used to provide refuge for a threatened species in a highly transformed landscape.

We are now in the month of September and (hopefully) approaching the end of what has been the most catastrophic fire season to date. Most of the patches of Grass-Owl habitat at my study sites have burned; only three of the fifteen territories I currently monitor remain intact. Fire is, of course, important for revitalising grasslands and wetlands used by Grass-Owls, but only at intervals of once every three years or so. Unfortunately these grasslands and wetlands now burn just about every year, preventing growth of the rank vegetation required by the owls.

Fire on the northern extension of Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve.

At the moment I am primarily concerned with the capture and placement of tracking devices on wild Grass-Owls. Capturing Grass-Owls has proved to be quite a challenging task - over the past three years I have only managed to tag five owls. Grass-Owls do not seem to be susceptible to any of the capture techniques traditionally employed to trap wild birds of prey and owls. I have also developed a few unusual and innovative trap designs, only one of which has been successful. As a result my sample of tagged owls has been limited to breeding females, fledglings and a rehabilitated juvenile male. The tracking technology employed has also been restricted to radiotelemetry and many hours have been spent relocating owls and triangulating fixes in the field at night. New tracking technology has however, finally enabled us to purchase GPS tracking devices that are light enough to be placed on Grass-Owls. My challenge now is to capture a few African Grass-Owl nest at Kriel.

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more owls to carry these devices. The biggest problem I am faced with is that the devastating fire season has left me with only a few intact territories where I can attempt to capture an owl. If anyone is aware of Grass-Owl sites on the Highveld that have not been destroyed by fire and are currently occupied by owls, please contact me via e-mail at mattp@ewt.org.za.

Matt PretoriusAnglo African Grass-Owl ProjectBirds of Prey ProgrammeEndangered Wildlife Trust

Dronfield White-backed Vulture breeding summary for 2013

This year (2013) marks our 21st year of ringing and monitoring of the breeding White-backed Vultures on Dronfield and Inglewood.

Firstly a big thanks to all who assisted in the ringing this year, especially Andy and the Hawk Conservancy Team coming all the way from England. It was good to have Mark and Tania Anderson with us again after a couple of year’s absence. Beryl Wilson led one of the teams as usual and I and Eddie McFarlane lead another team, while the Hawk Conservancy group made up the third team ably supported by the Dronfield Manager Charles Hall. This year’s August survey produced 78 active nests, last year there were 75 and the most we have had has been 95 (in 2010). So not a bad year considering the major poisoning incidents that occurred in Southern Africa this year (at least one tagged vulture from Dronfield died in one of these incidents). However considering the extent of the poaching, particularly Rhino in South Africa, a poor 2012 rainy season and very a dry winter, one would have thought that there would have been an abundance of food and therefore a better than average breeding season. Maybe something else is happening that we are not aware of?

There were 39 chicks on nests out of the 79 breeding attempts which give a 49.4% success rate down from the 21 year average of 58.5%.The failure at the egg stage was 30.4% (last year it was 36.0% a record high) the average has been 20.9% over the last 21 years.We only recorded one dead chick in a nest this year (1.3%) as opposed to 11 or (14.7%) last year.Mortality during the incubation remains a concern. Currently we think it is Crows that are responsible for predating the eggs, but Leguaans have also been seen in the nest trees and there are other nocturnal predators that could be responsible. Vervet Monkeys are common in several areas of the Nature Reserve and it has been thought that they could be responsible for the chick deaths, and possibly for egg predation as well.

We are hoping to arrange for a student from the UK to look into the egg mortality during 2014 nesting season and hopefully that will shed some light on this aspect.

On a more positive note, we recorded our first Tagged vulture actively breeding at a nest on Dronfield. It is W099 and was tagged in nest WB396 on 11 October 2008 some 2km south west of WB422 were it is now breeding. It is now five years old and does not yet show any sign of having a white back.

Finally I would like to thank De Beers Consolidated Mines for their continued support for this project and allowing us access to Dronfield and Inglewood Nature Reserves. Sasol is thanked for their support of the project via the Sasol Vulture Monitoring Project.

Regards,

Angus Anthony

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The Martial Eagle Project - Kruger National Park

The project stemmed from a drastic need to understand the reasons behind the decline of the species in the park over the last 20 years. Comparisons of SABAP 1 and 2 data suggest a decline of 45% over the last 2 decades. Having spent my early career working on African Penguins, now an Endangered species after undergone declines of over 50% since 2004, I came prepared with many of the tools needed to determine the reason behind the Martial Eagles demise. However, having never been to Kruger National Park I was in for a life changing experience. I awoke early one morning in May with a “there’s a first time for everything” attitude and departed into the darkness up the western boundary of Kruger. With the mid winter cold biting to the very bone, Andre Botha (EWT BoPP manager) and myself sat upon a koppie waiting for the first rays of sun

to alleviate the cold pain not even three layers of clothing could deter.

The first thing that struck me when the sun illuminated the landscape before me was how vast the park is. At roughly 19 415km2, the Kruger National Park is one of the largest protected areas in Africa. The challenge was set. Why are birds declining in an area of this size? Scale is everything. Martial Eagles are a species that have been thought to hold large territories in the region of 135km2. At a home range of this size the park may only be able to host a population of roughly 145 pairs, given pairs share overlapping home ranges. Using inter nest distances as a proxy provides a similar estimate. For comparison, in the mid 2000s there were estimated to be about 1500 leopard in the park. Given so few individual Martial Eagles, any disturbance can thus have very rapid and long lasting consequences for the population. It didn’t take too much thought to know that we are playing a now or never game in solving the reason for the observed decline.

My work quickly began by trying to trap Martial Eagles to equip them with GPS telemetry. These would be the first Martial Eagles ever satellite tagged in Kruger National Park and serves to pinpoint our understanding of the birds habitat use, preference, and survival. If a bird succumbs to natural or un-natural mortality, tracking down birds will allow us to identify the cause of mortality. After two months of searching for Martial Eagles in appropriate trapping conditions, Arjun Amar (project supervisor and senior lecturer at the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute, University of

Cape Town) and myself finally managed to trap our first two birds, one near Tshokwane and the other near Skukuza. Another two birds were then trapped near Orpen gate and Timbivati picnic site, with the assistance of André Botha. Trapping Martial Eagles is no easy feat. Finding them is one of the hardest part, but trying to trap them on roads frequented by tourists, some who ignore signs and simple direction, can be a nightmare. Nevertheless, the first four birds trapped thus far have all established territories averaging 125 km2. The first bird deployed with a GPS tag has since uploaded 700 fixes in just over 50 days. This demonstrates the wealth of information that can be gathered from these devices in a very short amount of time. The second bird tagged, a large adult female, has since moved 80 km southeast into Mozambique and is beginning to establish what is likely a second territory near the town of Xai Xai. As far as I am aware this is something that has never been documented for Martial Eagles. Why birds would do this remains to be determined and this may be a good excuse for me to “work” abroad for a few days. A fifth bird has since been tagged near Orpen, which also happens to be the only female that has raised a chick since nest checks began in June. Her movement patterns are again interesting, never straying more than 4km from her nest containing a chick, almost ready to fledge. Hopefully our other female birds will show similar patterns, indicative of breeding, and we can add these nests to determine breeding success.

I am currently monitoring 23 nest sites, 17 of which were identified during aerial surveys of the park back in 2011. The remainder of the nests were discovered by Andre Botha, Section Rangers, private concession managers, tourists and myself who have noticed nests on Kruger’s vast road network. It is highly surprising that only one pair has come close to fledging a chick this year. The peak lay date for Martials is in May/June so it would be expected that at least half the nests (Martials breed biannually) would fledge chicks in October/November such as the nest near Orpen. A few nests are showing positive signs of activity such as nest lining activity and frequent prey remains below nests, so perhaps next year will be the year of the Martial Eagle. What drives

Movement patterns

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bad and good seasons will also need further exploring and hopefully we can start to properly document the life of Martial Eagles in Kruger National Park.

I look forward to continuing to GPS track Martial Eagles in the park and continue discovering more nests to monitor. I am confident that we will soon start to understand the constraining factors limiting Martial Eagles in the park and determine the causes for declines. From here we need to begin GPS tagging juvenile birds that have recently fledged in order to assess dispersal and survival. This is most likely the single largest reason for the observed decline, as juveniles are hypothesized to disperse hundreds of kilometers into unprotected areas where they are vulnerable to threats such as human persecution. The public can support the project by reporting Martial Eagle sightings to MartialEagleSightings@gmail.com. A patagial tagging (small plastic wing tags with a unique identification number) programme is about to be launched in the park and this will allow us to further estimate adult survival and habitat use. Let’s get those sightings in and hopefully through these efforts we can enjoy Africa’s most magnificent eagle for generations to come.

Rowen van EedenPhD Candidate: Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African OrnithologyUniversity of Cape Town

Oxpeckers flying high with the Bateleurs!

This year, Operation Oxpecker managed to relocate 53 Red-billed Oxpeckers. Our captures started in the Kruger National Park in July, where 20 birds were captured. These birds were relocated to a farm in Hight Flats in KwaZulu Natal. In August, we captured birds on a farm near Swartwater in Limpopo, which were destined for Mokala National Park. A total of 38 birds were caught there, which accounted for about half of the birds that were seen on average per day.

A camera trap photograph showing the captive Oxpeckers tucking into their tasty meal.

Oxpeckers have a diet high in protein, as a result of feeding on ticks, other ectoparasites, blood and wound tissue. To ensure that they receive adequate nutrients, they are fed on a mixture of extra lean minced beef, grated liver, egg yolk, Pronutro, blood and some Avistress (electrolyte replacement powder) throughout the capture process. A camera trap was placed

in the capture boma to monitor the birds feeding. On average, the birds started eating within a few minutes of the food being placed there.

When the birds were ready for transfer to their new homes, the Bateleurs stepped up and provided the necessary support with the help of two of their pilots, Brett Gehren (Skukuza-KZN) and Noel McCullough (Swartwater-Mokala National Park). This drastically reduced the travelling time and in turn the stress of the birds.

In the end, 16 birds were relocated to KZN and 37 to Mokala National Park. A new poster has been designed requesting people to report sightings of any ringed birds that they see in the release areas. These will be placed in prominent sites, such as at the Mokala National Park reception and museum, as well as at co-ops in High Flats. A sightings booklet, where tourists can record where they have seen birds has also been produced and will be placed at reception in Mokala National Park by the end of September. If you happen to see Oxpeckers with colour rings on their legs, please report this to Operation Oxpecker at oxpecker@ewt.org.za

Leigh CombrinkOxpecker ProjectBirds of Prey ProgrammeEndangered Wildlife Trust

Mokala Rangers, with Leigh Combrink, Andre Botha, Noel McCullough (pilot)

and Deon Joubert in front of the release boma in Mokala.

The birds in their transport crates in Brett’s Piper Cherokee

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Hornbill harnesses: lessons learnt from captive birds

The Kruger Southern Ground Hornbill project will soon be fitting tracking devices to seven helper males within the Kruger National Park. As Southern Ground Hornbills are co-operative breeders, they live in groups with an alpha pair and a number of helpers, comprising adult and sub-adult males and sub-adult females. When females reach around three to four years of age, they are evicted from the group.

There is always controversy around more invasive methods of data collection, such as fitting a harness and tracking device to a bird. Although this is an accepted method for raptors and vultures, and has been used for many years in Europe, there are many different designs and fitment methods used. Southern Ground Hornbills in the Association of Private Nature Reserves (APNR) were fitted with tracking devices in the recent past and the harness design included an elastic piece to ensure that the birds did not get their bills stuck.

We fitted three captive Southern Ground Hornbills at the Johannesburg Zoo with mock-up devices and harnesses to test which design worked best for them. The three birds were Ntwanana (adult male), Tshukudu (Sub-adult male) and Janovsky (juvenile male). We made the mock-up devices the approximate shape and weight of the actual devices with some cable at the one end for the antennae.

Tshukudu showing off his mock-up device (Photo: L. Jordan)

Ntwanana was fitted with a harness design with elastic, whereas the other two birds had no elastic incorporated into the design. Janovsky also carried a much lighter device, as he was a much younger bird and any device should not be more than 3-4% of the bird’s body weight. We left the harnesses on for a period of around 2 months, or until the birds showed any signs of discomfit.

Ntwanana was the first to have his harness removed, as the elastic made the harness too loose and the device was shifting around too much. Tshukudu’s harness was removed after about a month, as a scab was noticed near the device, possibly from friction with the device. When Joburg Zoo staff removed the scab, the bird had an small open wound, which in a captive situation meant that the harness had to be removed to prevent any possible infection. The staff said that they would not be

concerned about the safety of a wild bird, should a similar situation arrive as the result of our harnesses and devices. Owing to the large number of species of birds kept captive in Johannesburg Zoo, the keepers and staff have to take every precaution to ensure that their birds are safe.

Janovsky kept his harness on for the full project period. Both Tshukudu and Janovsky showed no discomfit as a result of the harnesses, besides their initial fiddling while getting used to the device. They were both eating well

and did not lose body condition throughout the experiment.

Another concern with these group-living birds is that the other group members might target the harnesses bird and try and remove it. We asked some volunteers to monitor the harnessed birds, specifically to see how the other birds responded. Again, besides some initial interest, the group soon forgot about the devices being there. This is really encouraging for us, as our concerns have been alleviated, with regards to the harness design, the bird’s and group’s response.

We will begin capturing the birds in Kruger in early October - watch this space!

Leigh CombrinkBirds of Prey ProgrammeEndangered Wildlife Trust

Ntwanana with the device (and annihilated “antennae”) (Photos: L. Jordan).

Vet Brett showing the amount of give in the harness as a result of the elastic (Photos: L. Jordan).

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“The Neighbourhood has gone quiet, why?

In view of the current surge in vulture poisonings. I thought it is appropriate to include this blog post I wrote about our observations and experiences during the 2009 vulture tagging operation in Zululand:

Have you ever wondered what it would be like when the people living in your neighbourhood, many of whom may be your close friends and/or relatives, start disappearing from the area without explanation, never to return? As naturally gregarious creatures, human beings seem to mostly prefer the proximity of other people and often depend on those around them for friendship, support, acknowledgement, love and, at times, a livelihood. It is therefore a fairly logical assumption that, should the above scenario become a reality, it would have a profound effect on anyone affected by such a phenomenon. Should such disappearances continue, it is very likely that the remaining people living in such an area will abandon it altogether to settle elsewhere where conditions are generally more favourable.

Imagine if some super-sleuth started to investigate the disappearances and found that they can be ascribed to several mass-killings of those around you, mainly for the sale of their body parts in the illegal trade? Now that is very likely to elicit a flood of media exposure, Hollywood will probably be lining up to do B-grade movie deals to make millions and it would be recorded in the annals of high-profile macabre incidents for posterity. Suffice it to say that, should the perpetrators ever be caught and brought to justice, that there will be little mercy shown and that the maximum sentence would be handed down. That is, of course, if humans were involved.

Now picture the following…

A pair of African White-backed Vultures Gyps africanus has been nesting in the savanna of northern Zululand for many years as part of a loose congregation of about 24 active nests, most of which occur within the relative safety of a proclaimed nature reserve. These birds are gregarious and several individuals often forage together and constantly watch each other for clues as to where good sources of food can be found. It is also very likely that, should a bird be fortunate enough to reach breeding age and conditions are favourable in their natal area, they would pair up and settle with their mate to breed within the same area they have fledged from. These groups of birds are also likely to have one or more favourite waterhole within close proximity to their nesting sites where they spend quite a bit of time to drink, bathe and socialize with other vultures. This can easily be compared to your local pub, where you and your mates often get together to catch up and have a few!

Back to the pair of nesting birds. Their nest is situated in the top of a Knob-thorn Acacia Acacia nigrescens, about 20m above the ground. Due to the height of the tree and its rough bark, sturdy branches and very thorny stems, the tree forms a safe and stable platform for the nest which they have built from sticks. The nest is out of reach of most terrestrial predators and has been instrumental in the pair successfully raising a single chick every year for the last 11 years. It also has quite a spectacular view of the surrounding savanna, a mountain range to the east and the

small bay in the nearby dam which they and the other vultures use as the local “social club”.

From here, they also have visual contact with at least seven other vulture nests, including one that used to be occupied by the much rarer White-headed Vulture Aegypus occipitalis pair which they have encountered on a number of occasions at carcasses and the drinking/bathing spot. “Used to be occupied” is sadly the appropriate term for at least 5 of these nests as the pairs that made use of them seem to have disappeared over the last 3 breeding seasons or so. This includes the pair of White-headed Vultures. In some cases, the birds went missing during the breeding season, leaving their chicks to eventually starve in the nests. In one instance, only one bird of a pair disappeared, but the task of providing food for itself and the chick in the nest was too much to ask and the chick eventually starved anyway. This adult seems to have moved away from the area as it hasn’t been seen in the area for many months now. Most of the nests have since collapsed, but some of the really sturdy ones still sit proudly on top of the trees on which they were built, but now are stark reminders of a once thriving congregation of breeding vultures.

A Lappet-faced Vulture in the nest in the Phongolo Nature Reserve

If you thought that the above scenario is just a figment of the imagination, I am sorry to disappoint you. During our annual vulture colour-marking initiative in southern Africa in October this year, I was fortunate to spend almost 2 weeks in northern Zululand working with staff from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) on three of their reserves to visit vulture nests with the aim of fitting rings and tags to nestlings to follow their

dispersal and movements after they have fledged. Due to logistical hitches and inclement weather, efforts on two of the reserves amounted to little more than a frustrating wait for not much to happen. It was however fantastic to see the first decent rains of the season fall in the area and seeing the Mkhuze River come down in flood for the first time in several years was certainly rewarding.

Conditions however sufficiently improved toward the end of the trip to enable us to get to work and a team of 12 people, including a crew from Eskom with one of their cherry-picker trucks finally were able to move into an area close to the Swaziland-border to check on known nests and ring and tag any nestlings that were found.

The effort however ended in a frustrating and perplexing process of visiting known nesting sites only to find that the trees have either collapsed, nests have started to disintegrate or were just no longer in use. Out of the 24 known nesting sites visited, we found only four active nests in the area, one of which contained a tiny chick that must have resulted from either a very late start to the breeding attempt or the first attempt having failed early in the breeding cycle. All of the 24 sites were active over the last 5 years and to find only four of these still active this year certainly

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was a worrying discovery. Although some of these nests may have become defunct due to old age, the death of the nesting trees or storm damage, it is highly unlikely that this could have accounted for all of them, especially when so many disused nests were still found intact.

The most likely factor that this decline in the breeding population of vultures in this area can be ascribed to is that a substantial number of adult breeding birds have been removed from the population by some or other means. Based on information obtained and incidents that have taken place over the last 3 years, it is very likely that most of the “missing” birds have been killed by feeding on poisoned carcasses placed in the veld for the explicit purpose of killing vultures. In 2007, 50+ vultures were killed during a mass-poisoning near the Mkhuze Game Reserve and earlier this year, another poisoning was reported from the area in which a substantial number of vultures were killed.

It is believed that these birds were killed to obtain their heads and feet for use in the traditional medicine trade as many of the vulture carcasses were found with the heads removed. The head is the most popular part of vulture carcasses that is used in the trade. Various agro-chemicals are readily available in this area, among others from the large-scale cultivation of sugarcane and other crops. EKZNW estimates that, should the current trend of vulture poisoning continue, that even common species such as African White-backed Vultures would become extinct in KwaZulu-Natal within the next 15 years. The current rate of decline in the breeding population of the above area certainly seems to support this prediction.

What can be done to address this? Trying to physically safeguard highly mobile birds like vultures from being poisoned is a near-impossible task. Not even the largest protected areas in Africa are large enough to achieve this and we know that vultures can cover several 100km² in a day in search of food of which a substantial part of its foraging range will fall outside of existing parks and reserves. It only requires one or two individuals within such an area with the intent to kill vultures to have a huge impact on the vulture population of an area. Poisoning is a highly effective, silent method which can be done randomly and anywhere and at its worst kill hundreds of birds at a time. Recent poisoning events in Tanzania where more than 300 birds in a single incident were killed once again confirm this.

This does not mean that we should give up on trying addressing the issue. A similar trend was noted in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s in South Africa which was fairly effectively countered by providing the public with important information in this regard to ensure that agricultural and other chemicals were better managed, controlled and used with due consideration of their potential impact on the environment. What is particularly relevant in this case is the fact that the use of poisoned vulture parts by people could potentially also lead to the death of the individuals concerned and this information should be made known to the potential clientele of dealers trading in vulture parts. The focus on the human-health issue is far more likely to have an effect in creating awareness of this threat in rural communities rather than trying to focus on the environmental impact. At the same time, it is essential that law enforcement with regard to the misuse of poisons is stepped up and that the penalties for people that are apprehended and found guilty of the misuse thereof, be appropriate to the potential impact of the crime on the

environment and the community within which it took place. Together with the loss of habitat, the threat of poisoning is currently by far the most serious that vulture populations in Africa face and it will take a continued and concerted effort by all parties concerned to effectively curb and address this.

Back to the pair with the small chick in northern Zululand…

I am happy to say that the small chick was successfully raised to fledging age by the parents and has finally left the nest a few days ago. Let’s hope and trust that our efforts in conserving these birds will assist to ensure that it will one day be able to return to this area with its mate to build a nest and breed in a revived congregation of breeding pairs. This neigbourhood can and must be revived.”

Back to 2013

Our most recent tagging operation in Zululand resulted in the tagging and ringing of 15 vultures of which 9 were also fitted with GMS-tags to track their movements. What was however of great concern was the further decline in the number of breeding sites in the Phongolo Nature Reserve and the location of 7 vulture carcasses here with another at the Mkhuze Game Reserve, all in close proximity to or, in two cases on top of active nests. Indications are that all these birds have died due to being poisoned after feeding on poisoned carcasses outside of these reserves.

The carcass of an adult African White-backed Vulture found on the nest in the Phongolo Nature Reserve, October 2013. The bird seems to have died from poisoning after returning to the nest to incubate its egg.

The poisoning of vultures in Zululand continues despite the efforts of conservation and law enforcement staff in the region. Two individuals from a community near Mkhuze were sentenced to a

two year prison term in August 2013 after they were arrested inside the Mkhuze Game Reserve with vulture carcasses in their possession. The small populations of tree-nesting vultures in Zululand simply cannot sustain the losses incurred due to poisoning, regardless of whether it is for muthi-purposes or of an accidental nature.

Andre BothaManager: EWT-BoPP

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Verreaux’s Eagles ringed in the Northern Cape

Verreaux’s Eagles (Black Eagles) breed in high trees, on high cliffs and also on manmade structures like communication masts. These large eagles lay 2 eggs, but only raise one chick as the bigger chick usually kills the smaller chick within three days after hatching. Eagles stay in the same area for years. They use the same nest year after year and add sticks during each breeding attempt. These nests can be huge and during the breeding season the nest is lined with fresh, green twigs.

Position of the nest on the mast at Elandsdraai

Verreaux’s Eagles are black with a white “V” on the back which make identification of these eagles easy. The juvenile eagle has a brownish colour and it takes approximately 4 – 5 years before it reaches adulthood and starts to breed. About 90% of the diet of these eagles consist of dassies. It is known that a pair hunts together. One eagle will distract the attention of the prey and the other eagle will surprise and catch the prey.

Prey items under the nest at Philipstown

Most eagles are opportunistic feeders and may eat at any animal carcass. They also feed on small prey items like termites, red-billed queleas, locusts, rodents and reptiles. Dassies and rabbits form an important part of their diet and it is estimated that one pair and their chick may consume up to 350 dassies per year. Many eagles may take carrion and therefore may feed on dead lambs. Farmers are requested not to

put out poison in carcasses which may lead to the death of raptors in an area. Eagles are ringed with metal rings with an unique number. The reason for this is to monitor the movements of the eagles and to find out how long they live. All ringing activities in southern Africa is coordinated by SAFRING at the University of Cape Town. If someone finds a dead, ringed bird or even just a bird ring, report it to SAFRING at safring@adu.org.za or any bird ringer. Verreaux’s Eagles are very good parents and won’t leave their chick when it was in contact with humans during the ringing process.

People are not allowed to disturb eagles near their breeding site, because all raptor species are protected by Law. Bird ringers receive training and must have the necessary permits to handle these birds. Recently two Verreaux’s Eagle chicks were ringed on cell phone masts in the Upington area with the help of two cell phone companies, MTN, Vodacom and a sub-contractor, RO-AL Construction. Jan Cuperus, Coenie Farmer and Llewellen Philander of the Upington area helped to bring the chicks from the masts and Ronelle Visagie of the Endangered Wildlife Trust ringed them. The chick at Kameelpoort was only about 10 days old and still too small to be ringed. This was the tenth year that Coenie helped with the ringing of the chicks. He works on 95 masts in his area. In spite of very strong winds, he managed to climb the masts, brought down the chicks and took them back safely again. The chick on the mast at Grobler-shoop was about 5 weeks old and the chick at Marydale was about 7 weeks old.

The cell phone companies, MTN, Vodacom and a sub-contractor, RO-AL Construction of the Kimberley area helped to ring the chicks at Victoria West, Grootgrasfontein near Britstown, Philipstown and Elandsdraai.

Coenie Farmer with the chick that was too small to ring.

Coenie Farmer, Llewellen Philander and Jan Cuperus with the chick at Marydale

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There was no eagle chick on the mast at Victoria West. We could not find any remains and as the chick was about 4 weeks old when last seen, we suspected that it was taken out of the nest. A sub-contractor of another cell phone company makes use of Chinese technicians and we suspect that they removed the

chick from the nest. The case was reported to Dept. of Environment and Conservation to follow up.

For any raptor related inquiries, please contact André Botha of the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust andreb@ewt.org.za or phone 011-372 3600 of 0861 THE EWT (0861 843 398).

The chick at Philipstown is still full of down, but was heavier

than the chick at Grootgrasfontein which was

about 2 weeks older.

Thomas Sekhobongo and Mark Dawids with the chick at Elandsdraai.

Workshop on Pied Crows

During late July a Workshop on Pied Crows was held in Kimberley. It was initiated by the Northern Cape Raptor Conservation Forum as it was on the agenda since 2001 as a possible problem.Different role players were present, i.e. Department of Environment and Conservation, BirdLife SA, EWT, Sanparks, Eskom, farmers and members of the Raptor Conservation Forum.

Why are crows a problem? Crows don’t have any natural predators, their numbers are increasing fast and to get rid of them, poison is placed into carcasses and many raptors and other innocent animals are killed. Poison is easily available, cheap and effective, but ILLEGAL to use for a purpose for which it was not registered. Crows do a lot of damaged to small stock: peck out their eyes and peck at the back of ewes that are lambing. They are also a problem at pecan nuts and peanuts. They also take the eggs and chicks of other birds and it is suspected that they play a role in the decreasing of raptor numbers. Crows are often seen when they attack raptors. It is

very difficult to get evidence of the damage that is done by crows, because nobody takes pictures of it.

What do crows feed on? Crows are opportunistic feeders and eat about anything: road kills, other carcasses in the veld, chicks and eggs of birds, food at dumping sites of towns and abbattoirs, offal that is left in the veld by hunters, peanuts, pecan nuts, prickly pears, reptiles, locusts and food at picnic sites next to roads.

The story of Nollie Lamprechts of the Ceres Karoo: Mr Lamprechts monitored one pair of Pied Crows for one breeding season and this is what he saw:On 18 Sept. 2012: 5 eggs and 4 days later 4 very small chicks8 days later: 4 crow chicks and 4 tortoise shells2 weeks later: 4 bigger crow chicks and 41 tortoise shells8 days later: 4 big crow chicks and 100 tortoise shells2 weeks later: the crow chicks fledged and there were 160 tortoise shells under the nest!

Any solutions? Possible solutions may include: trap cages, hunting, DRC 1339 (is registered for House Crows, but not for Pied Crows and very expensive), nest removal, alarms, lights, bird canons, bird scarers, etc. As Pied Crows are very clever, these suggestions are not very successful.

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Discussions at Workshop: No final decisions were made, but these are just suggestions. The farmers asked that the problem must get urgent attention and they are NOT in favour of poison. They also asked that the NC Ordonnance be changed to include larger caliber rifles and not only the 22 caliber that is currently on the Ordonnance. Farmers, interested and affected persons must write a request to Dept. of Environment and Conservation to include forbidden hunting methods i.e. spot lights and shotguns. The opinion of the people present was that DENC need to give urgent attention to this problem as it is their mandate to protect the biodiversity and to find solutions to problem animals. BirdLife and EWT suggested this, because they don’t have offices in the Northern Cape.The farmers mentioned that predators are a huge problem in the Karoo, but no-one must be irresponsible and put out poison. Only if there can be a registered poison for Pied Crows, may it be used, but the effectiveness must still be scientifically proven.

Julius Koen of the Northern Cape Raptor Conservation Forum asked that research be done to investigate the increase of crow numbers. Effective control measures need to be environmentally friendly. Chemical control may be considered, but the right role players need to get on board.

It was suggested that a Forum be started to look at the crow problem, but all organisations need to get involved. These include: municipalities, Dept. of Health, Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Unions in the province, Dept. of Environment and Conservation, Universities, Red Meat Producers Organisation, Eskom, Transnet, SPCA, ets. The control program need to be implemented for a long time and not only for the near future. The Dept. of Transport needs to be included, because they need to keep the picnic places next to the roads clean.

The focus on research is very important to get evidence to confirm that crows are a problem and to implement effective control measures to control the crow numbers. Devices to deter crows are not considered, because the problem need to be solved and not only moved to other places.Mark Anderson mentioned that the food supplies of crows need to be limited. Remove carcasses from the veld and remove prickley pear plants. He also suggested that old telephone poles be removed so that there may be fewer breeding places for the crows. Old wires need to be picked up as these cause damage to windmills and short circuits on power poles when the crows use it as nesting material.

Beryl Wilson mentioned that we are not suggesting the total removal of crows, but only the control of their numbers.

The following resolution was accepted at the Workshop:The meeting acknowledge the important ecological role that crows play in the ecosystem. The increase in crow numbers endanger both the biodiversity and the agricultural production in the Northern Cape through the predation of reptiles, other birds and damage to livestock and agricultural products. Solutions to the problem must be found through research and control measures. All control measures need to be effective, humane and legal.

Wonderboom Urban Verreaux Eagle Project

The 2013 season was definitely a big year for the Wonderboom Urban Verreaux Eagle Project (WUVEP)! After very hard work, lost of saving and the help of Birdlife Northern Gauteng, WUVEP finally managed to raise the funds for the Buckeye Cameratrap. Pieter started some tests at home and it was a huge success.All the necessary antennas and cables where bought and a bracket was made to fit neatly and inconspicuously above the nest site on the mountain at Wonderboom Nature Reserve.

On the 26th of January 2013, the day for the installation eventually came. Pieter Saunders, myself and Walter Neser set forth to install the camera-trap. Once at the reserve, the guys descended to a decent size boulder chosen to fit the camera on, about 8 meters above the nest.Three deep holes were drilled into the rock face and the camera was fitted with epoxy.

When the first picture was taken, one could almost hear all of us holding our breaths as we waited for the image to come through.... and then finally ‘’ Image received from WUVEP NEST CAM’’ SUCCESS!! The final adjustments and settings were done on 9 February 2013 and the pictures started rolling in one after the other.

Slowly day by day the Eagles made more and more trips to the nest. First only with branches and then with green spays. These were exciting times for the Wonderboom Urban Verreaux Eagle Project and its members! Suddenly the nest cam went quiet and after some investigation we found the Eagles have moved across the reserve and were working on a nest on the Telkom Towers close to Mountain View. To our relief, this was only a practice nest, and the Eagles soon returned to the safety of Wonderboom Nature Reserve. The Wonderboom Eagle pair made history this year by producing a three egg clutch for the second year in a row. All three eggs hatched within four to five days within a 47 day period. As always with Verreaux’s Eagles, the Cain and Abel phenomenon took effect, leaving a single healthy chick. The nest cam proved itself worthy of its task and the images kept streaming in. To the delight of all the WUVEP members and facebook followers, over 4000 photos were taken by July 2013.

We received a wealth of information from the webcam and watched the day by day growth of the juvenile, which was an overwhelming experience. After 93 days on 29 August 2013, the juvenile fledged, which verified speculations that it was male. The 2013 juvenile was named M’lilwane - Swazi for “Little Fire”. With the juvenile spreading his wings and taking to the skies, the following news could not have come at a better time. We received a call on a Tuesday 27 August 2013 from Pieter Bezuidenhout at Tshwane Power, informing us that Tshwane Power has plans to switch off the high voltage

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power lines running across the reserve the following week.This meant that we had to get the WUVEP team together and get to work fast. By Friday 30 September 2013, we managed to get together all the bird spikes and straps needed for the pylons. We posted on Facebook and emailed all the WUVEP members and followers of our website. The response we received was incredible! Various donations from all over Gauteng were received and Birdlife Northern Gauteng also made a very generous donation, making the whole exercise viable.

The following Tuesday we had managed to secure all the funds needed to purchase the flappers. Pieter collected the flappers and all was set and arranged for Thursday 12 September 2013. Needless to say, we could hardly sleep the night before as we where both brimming with excitement. This was an important moment for WUVEP seeing that Wonderboom lost the previous adult male on these exact same power lines and the current male tends to use it as a preferred perch. Another obvious concern is the recently fledged juvenile. Therefore this operation could not have been done sooner.

And so the morning came and by half past eight, I have to admit I was feeling a little nervous and worried whether Tshwane Power was still going to pitch…

All of a sudden one Tshwane vehicle after the other started to arrive! Soon an entire fleet of vehicles and electrical high voltage crew flooded the area!

We were greeted by Pieter Bezuidenhout and his crew, all very excited to do their bit for the environment. The spikes and flappers where loaded on their vehicle, and off we went!! After the safety briefing, the crew started climbing the pylons with the bird spikes to be fitted first.

They made swift work of the spikes and enjoyed it thoroughly when the eagles flew past to inspect their workmanship. Next up the flappers… What a nerve racking sight… We did not realise the immense danger these people expose themselves to. With dizzying heights and little space to manoeuvre, these people showed excellent skill, commitment and professionalism. By 15:00 all the spikes and flappers on line one was fitted and what an all inspiring sight it was!! The following Tuesday’s fitment of the bird flappers and spikes was completed with no hassles, the Tshwane group started early the morning and by 13:30 all the flappers and spikes where fitted to the second line.

We at WUVEP wish to thank everyone at Tshwane power for their input and hard work, especially Pieter Bezuidenhout and his crew. Without them this would not have been possible. So having measured and weighed ourselves, a very successful 2013 breeding season! Having accomplished so much in such a short period of time, keeps us motivated to see whether we can’t improve in the years to come…

We have already got plans for the rest of the Verreaux’s Eagles on the Magaliesberg by fitting more nest cams to active nesting sites, safe making of power lines and hopefully fitting our first

tracking device to a juvenile after having assisted in the development and testing of a solar powered product which weighs a mere 80 grams.

Exciting times lie ahead….

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The Birds of Prey Programme would like to thank all our sponsors for their ongoing support of the work done by our various Projects.

CHARL VAN DER MERWE CHARITABLE TRUST

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 rebeccam@ewt.org.za

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.

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