AGULHAS LONG-BILLED LARK

Getting intimate with an Overberg endemic

- SANJO ROSE

It is a special experience to be the first to study something as discreet as the breeding ecology of a species. As part of an MSc thesis funded through a donation from BTE Renewables (formerly BioTherm Energy), I spent the better part of two years in South Africa’s Overberg region studying the endemic, range-restricted Agulhas Long-billed Lark Certhilauda brevirostris (below). Although it is common between the coast of Agulhas National Park and the Langeberg mountains, lack of knowledge about its breeding ecology precludes effective conservation planning. However, evidence-based planning is important, as most of its range overlaps with agricultural activities in the Overberg, where extensive landscape transformation has taken place. Furthermore, there is uncertainty about how the lark will be impacted by large-scale wind energy facilities earmarked for the region.