Grass Owls’ narrow escape
On the evening of 13 July 2106 I received a WhatsApp message to the effect that Marsh Owl chicks had been rescued from a veld fire in the Greater Kyalami Conservancy (GEKCO). From photographs accompanying the message I immediately realised that the chicks were not Marsh Owl but African Grass Owl Tyto capensis, a Red Data species in South Africa. I managed to contact the person responsible for the rescue, Sophia Combrink, and she told me what had happened.
That morning, a veld fire had blazed through the open grassland next to her property. ‘As I was keeping an eye on the fire from our veranda, I noticed that two tiny owls were crouched in the corner of our property, just out of reach of the heat and burning veld,’ she explained. The owl chicks had somehow managed to make it past two electric fences into the safety of Sophia’s garden and appeared unharmed. Concerned for the chicks and unsure what to do, Sophia phoned Friends of Free Wildlife, who advised her to catch the young birds using a towel, put them in a box and take them to the nearest vet in case they needed treatment.
Only one chick was visible when Sophia returned to the veranda, so she assumed that the other one had flown away. She managed to catch the remaining chick and took it to Friends of Free Wildlife. On returning home, she and her husband Jaco noticed that the second chick was in fact hiding in nearby shrubs. Jaco suggested they telephone the Owl Rescue Centre for assistance and Brendan Murray responded to the call. He informed Sophia and Jaco that the birds they had rescued were not Marsh Owls but African Grass Owls, a special species. ‘We were super chuffed and took care of the chick with extra caution through the night,’ said Sophia.
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Denne historien er fra November - December 2016-utgaven av African Birdlife.
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EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
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The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
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CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
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WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
