South Africa 2019 Part 1 - Raptors

Wendy, Alison, Andrew and myself of the Group were joined by Ian Beggs and Mike Polling on a trip to South Africa for 2 weeks this February / March. The plan was to ring at 5 sites in the general area of NE South Africa with Malcolm Wilson of African Affinity.

Starting at Johannesburg we headed up to the Limpopo valley and the Botswana / Zimbabwe border. We then skirted the Kruger before heading south to the Highveld plains. We birded and ringed at the 5 sites and trapped raptors whilst travelling between sites too.
This first post covers the raptor experiences, a second post will cover some of  the 51 species of non - raptors ringed plus other activities including mammal watching.

Raptors are always a highlight of a trip to South Africa and here is a list of the species we ringed on this trip...

Whilst in South Africa we are able to catch birds with a variety of traps using live bait, generally mice in Bal Chatri or Spring Traps. We colour ringed 2 species Steppe Buzzards and a Brown Snake Eagle

Ian holding the Brown Snake Eagle with Malcolm fitting the colour- ring.

These are the legs of a Pale-chanting Goshawk given to Malcolm by a farmer after it hit a fence. It had been ringed 18 years ago and retrapped 3 times all at the same site originally ringed by the Pretoria Ringing Group.

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Steppe Buzzard re-sightings are regularly received, Ian managed to take a photo of one that Malcolm had ringed in January 2018 in exactly the same place. A great record of a sight faithful wintering bird.

Steppe Buzzards have very variable plumage, this was a particularly sandy one.

Now follows a selection of the other species of raptor ringed

Black-shouldered Kite, one of only two ringed.

Black-chested Snake Eagle, an amazing six birds ringed, adults as below

and this juvenile which we trapped in the Highveld grassland south of Johannesburg, further south than Malcolm had ever come across this species before.

5 Brown Snake Eagles were ringed too. This is one being weighed by Alison.

Several Dark and Pale Chanting Goshawks were ringed.

African Goshawk ringed at our Highveld farm at 1700m, actually caught in a mist net.

This is one of the nets showing the surrounding extensive green grasslands.

Shikra

Lizard Buzzard

In the Highveld areas visited we came across small numbers of Jackal Buzzards but this juvenile was the only bird we ringed.

Moving up a scale from Hawks and Buzzards to Eagles....

This adult female Tawny Eagle weighed 2.4kg. Pictures of outspread wings are taken to record the wing moult, the main criteria in ageing large birds of prey.

Note the 3 moult waves in this wing of this adult eagle.

A 3rd year Wahlberg's Eagle was also caught in the Lowveld grasslands near the Kruger.

Every opportunity to educate is taken with impromptu ringing demonstrations to passers by about the importance of raptor ringing. On this occasion it was a group of trainee safari guides who were fascinated to hear about the work.

Four African Hawk Eagles were ringed including these two that were caught independently on two traps placed 20 metres apart, quick thinking by Malcolm and the team to have two traps ready to drop.

More quick thinking following a cunning plan....Secretary Bird !!
Over years of study Malcolm had decided that Secretary Birds when confronted by wire fences walked along them whilst hunting - much like waders do when presented with a baffle.
This Secretary Bird appeared near a fence as our vehicle drove over a rise, we drove past and dropped a trap c400m ahead near the fence, drove on and waited to observe. The bird did wander along the line of the fence and find the trap. After a little wing flapping the rare processing of a Secretary Bird.

The bird weighed 3.7kg, the thigh muscles were incredibly powerful.

The following Falcon species were also ringed - this an adult Greater Kestrel

Lesser Kestrel, we often found small groups of  Lesser Kestrels feeding with the far more numerous Amur Falcons, great roadside spectacles watching these flocks feeding on flying insects.

We only came across 1 migrant Peregrine, occasionally we found roadside Lanner Falcons of which we caught two, again note the different age flight feathers.

Newcastle, near our last base of the trip, has one of the largest Amur Falcon roosts in South Africa, right in the middle of the city

Here, Rina Pretorius has been conducting some great research into the Amur Falcon migration. The use of tagging devices has shown how these small falcons cross the Indian Ocean and most of India before their 1st stop - a non-stop 5 day/night flight.

It is worth watching The Incredible Journey of the Amur Falcon to see Rina at work in the second half of the video, using canopy nets and ringing the Amur Falcons,
We were fortunate that Malcolm had arranged for us to ring at the roost, an incredible experience. 14000 Amur Falcons coming in to roost, catching a small sample with a very high mist net and the findings of this research as discussed above.

Finally, a Red-crested Korhaan

This small Bustard was one of the amazing experiences in the next post which will follow our journey, the ringing sites, mammals and other birding and ringing highlights of this trip with Malcolm Wilson and African Affinity

Text by Rich and Wendy, photos by various trip members with a major contribution from Andrew.

Redwing to Italy - better late than never

This recovery has only just been received by us - 7 years later !

Redwing  RF90948 was ringed on 19-Feb-2012  at our upland site Frenni Fawr, Crymych, Pembrokeshire.

Finding date: 15-Nov-2012 at Mallevisina, Mezzane Di Sotto, Verona, Italy
The Redwing was freshly dead - had been shot within a week.

Duration: 270 days Distance: 1360 km 

In 2012 we only ringed 12 birds on Frenni Fawr and only the one Redwing, a species we rarely find roosting at night up there.

The map shows the ringing and finding sites of the Redwing and the Woodcock - details below.

Woodcock  EZ73635 was ringed on  13-Nov-2018 at Boncath, Pembrokeshire

Finding date: 27-Jan-2019 at  Tredion, Morbihan, France

Again a freshly dead - had been shot within a week.

Duration: 75 days Distance: 491 km 


This Siskin shows a typical movement within Wales of one of our Siskins.

Siskin S322465

Ringing date: 10-FEB-2018

Boncath, Pembs

Finding date: 13-AUG-2018

Ceinws, Powys

Duration: 184 days Distance: 89 km

(text Richard  / map and details Wendy)

Recoveries and winter ringing

A quick summary of the last month before four of the group head out to South Africa.

Windy weather has hampered much ringing but various other trapping methods as described in the last blog have been used successfully. The most interesting species was the capture of 3 Yellowhammers in a field adjacent to my garden near Llechryd.

In recent years they have been seen very occasionally a few miles away but with no arable farms anywhere near they were a real surprise. They came to a seeded area for catching with a whoosh net.

The land is probably too wet for a planted cover crop to work well but something to think about.

Chris has been visiting Mwnt regularly over the winter but until recently the usual wintering Linnet flock had been missing. A successful first catch of the year last week with a flock of about 50 seen and 42 new and 2 retraps from last year.

Charlie and Andy have managed some good training sessions. We now have 6 enthusiastic trainees. Many Siskins are visiting Charlie's garden at the moment. 123 caught on the 5th Feb kept Sion and Alison busy. The adult males are looking very smart now.

Reed Bunting ringing has been a success this winter with 78 new birds colour ringed. The part of the Teifi Marshes where we catch the Reed Buntings is also where we concentrate our efforts for migration monitoring. A commercial cut by a Thatcher in this area make it ideal for passage White Wagtails in April, Snipe and Jack Snipe are still around to be caught and Water Pipits occasionally venture into the new wet stubble too.
This year's cut is in progress this week.

Recent news from the BTO of a few recoveries and controls of various species

Dunlin ringed on Poppit Sands on 23-SEP-2016

Subsequently captured by Scan Ringing Group on 19-Jan 19 nr Beaumaris, Anglesey

848 days  136 km  (NNE)

Storm petrel ringed at Mwnt  on 17-JUL-2017
Subsequently captured on  06-AUG-2018 at Porth Iago, Llangwnnadl, Gwynedd.

385 days  78 km  (N)

Woodcock ringed at Boncath on 15-MAR-2018 

Found freshly dead (shot) on 13-APR-2018 at  Kresty, Mosalskiy district, Kaluga O., Russian Federation

29 days 2646 km  (E)

Sedge Warbler ringed at Teifi Marshes on 17-JUL-2018 

Subsequently captured on 16-AUG-2018 at Terres d'Oiseaux, Braud-et-Saint-Louis, Gironde, France

30 days  810 km (SSE)

Another Sedge Warbler ringed at Teifi Marshes on 12-MAY-2018 

Subsequently recaptured on 15-AUG-2018 (at Tour aux Moutons, Donges, Loire-Atlantique, France

95 days 559 km  (SSE)

A movement within the group from Chris to Andy

Siskin ringed on 27-APR-2016 at St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire

Subsequently recaptured at Bancyffordd, Llandysul on  06-JAN-2019 

984 days Distance: 27 km (ESE)

Siskin ringed on 12-MAR-2017 at Gleadthorpe Grange, Warsop, Notts by Birklands Ringing Group  subsequently recaptured by Charlie on 25-JAN-2019 at his Llanfynydd site, Carmarthenshire

684 days 248 km  (SW)

Trapping at Mallard Pond.....and beyond

Reed Buntings - - the study species...

He wandered in ...for Millet
(a different Water Rail to this one photo'd by Dyfed near Kingfisher Pond earlier this week)

Not in the large Potter Trap baited with cat food....

...but in the middle trap of this compartmental trap with three independent doors and catching boxes.

We did catch 5 Reed Buntings this morning, 3 new and 2 retraps, thus no concern of birds being trap shy on the trap's first outing !

We have to balance general feeding of the area to keep the Reed Buntings at Mallard Pond, providing opportunities for our following of  Reed Bunting photographers who are invaluable for recording colour-ringed birds. This was one of several sent to us recently by Colin Dalton of an old male ringed in 2013, regularly seen around Mallard

We also like to catch with a mist net when possible or with even more precise baiting of the traps when conditions dictate.
The general feeder for Millet postioned towards the far end of the 18m net ride

Karen having a closer look at feather wear on the Water Rail.

We returned to Mallard this morning with Andrew - 3 more new Reed Buntings colour-ringed.

Third Wheel have supplied us with our latest traps including the interesting 3 compartmental trap shown above.

See their website for further details if interested in various traps.
Wendy has also positioned a Whoosh Net below one of her hedgerows, a new venture using the same trap and methods as Chris uses at Mwnt for  his Linnet RAS study.

Recoveries and controls 2018

As news of subsequent encounters of our birds arrive already for this year, a quick look back at some birds to and from the Group over the last year.

Some of the sites listed are included in the following map.

And this map shows some of our furthest recoveries including a Woodcock shot in Russia ringed on one of our wintering birds study farms near Crymych in the Preseli Hills.

The majority of these have been mentioned on the Blog at the time of receiving reports from the BTO. Some that we have received news of more recently include a Blackcap, ringed Teifi Marshes on the 28th August and caught in France at Tour Aux Moutons, Donges, Loire Atlantique on the 15th September, 18 days later. This is a site where several of our Sedge Warblers have been caught over the years including another two this August.
Charlie's sites in Carmarthenshire attract a lot of Siskins, 463 were ringed at the 2 sites last year with 7 of his birds subsequently encountered elsewhere including Scotland and he has caught 3 ringed by others. One ringed at Oxwich was caught at both of Charlie's sites which are 5km apart.  Some Lesser Redpoll movements too with one ringed at Crabtree Hill in Gloucestershire caught at Llanfynydd, one from Somerset to Fygyn Common and one from there caught in Sandwich Bay.

The Linnet recovery needs a mention again. Chris has been running a RAS (Retrapping Adults for Survival) for Linnets at Mwnt  since April 2016. 600 were ringed last year and he had the first Control caught on the 9th Feb and 13th Marsh 2018. It had been ringed on South Uist in the Western Isles in August 2017.

The table below is correct at the moment but it sometimes takes a while for the BTO to receive reports of recoveries from foreign schemes so the list will be updated as more come in on the link under Totals.

2018 Recoveries and Controls

A look back at 2018

Yesterday evening, the Group reviewed our year of ringing at the AGM. 

One of the 773 Sedge Warblers ringed in 2018

With the Group growing we have now had to move on from meeting in one of our homes. Thanks to The Grosvenor Hotel in Cardigan for the use of a room.

The totals for the year are now published on the blog
2018 totals

During the year we ringed 7,541 birds and re-encountered 2,362 making a total of 9,903.
Now that the group has moved on to DemOn for our data entry we are unable to produce the usual table of retraps and controls but will hopefully publish some of the most interesting controls soon.

We discussed the activities at the different sites used by the group. Some new species for the Group were caught this year at Fygyn Common, one of Charlie's sites.

 Cuckoo and Nightjar are species that we hope to study more in the coming years.

Charlie also had a good number of Redwing passing through his Llanfynydd site and with trainees ringed 277. Unfortunately one that he ringed in November 2017 was shot in Gironde, France November 2018 (745km).

We will continue to run our Constant Effort site at the Teifi Marshes as well as the four RAS projects  on Reed Warblers, Reed Buntings, Siskins and Linnets.
Sedge Warblers are once again our most frequently encountered bird on the Teifi Marshes with big catches as they pass through on migration in May and late July/August. We caught 11 that had been ringed elsewhere and 13 of our birds were caught by other ringers, mostly in Western France. Note in particular the bird that was controlled in Ireland by Irish Midlands Ringing Group. This recovery adds weight to our thoughts that the Teifi Marsh is a stopover site before the migration hop over the Irish Sea to breeding sites in Ireland.

We have been colour ringing Reed Buntings on the Teifi Marshes since 2014 to add to subsequent encounters of them for RAS (Retrapping Adults for Survival). In 2018 we added 110 to the study population. We are grateful to the photographers who send us photos. The photo below is from Colin Dalton who has sent us many photos over the last few weeks.

At Mwnt, Chris continues the study on Linnets with 603 birds ringed. Some other species were caught at Mwnt too including Stonechat, Chough, Wheatear, Storm Petrels and a Magpie.

We only caught 7 Storm Petrels this year, one had been ringed on Bardsey Island in 2016.

On winter nights we continued our long term study on birds roosting on sheep pasture. We now have continuous data for these sites since 2008.
The most common bird encountered is Woodcock but other species are ringed too.

At the AGM we asked Group members which species would they most like to ring on our local sites. This will help us plan our activities this year. Skylark was a popular choice!!

We start a new year with an enthusiastic growing group comprising 18 members including 6 A ringers, 5 C ringers and trainees. Great to welcome Andy Turner to the Teifi Ringing Group.