DOLPHIN COAST BIRD CLUB

NEWSLETTER : FEBRUARY 2016

Outings

Last Outing – 20 February 2016 – Dunkirk Estate [2925_3110]

One daren’t complain about rain but it did make for difficult birding this morning, pouring quite heavily on and off. There was not much wind and the temperature was about 24° which made the atmosphere very humid.

Forty seven members and two visitors attended the outing. Members were Klaus and Ragne Achtzehn, Jan and Vi Bakels, Colin Barfoot, Errol Blair, Peter and Gill Buchholtz, Tony and Lorraine Clarkson, Darryl Dale, Paul Dutton, Avril Eshmade, William and Gillian Holman, Graham and Gill Leslie, Chris and Danny Macdonald, Chris Mathews, Roy Orsmond, Nan Sharp, Peter and Susanne von Belino and Mike White.

Guests were Lorna Cooke [1] and Haltraut Loell [1], friend of Peter and Susanne von Belino from Austria.

Apologies were received from Bev Blair, Rung Button, Tony and Adele Hesp, Rie Mathews, Malcolm and Pete McClean, Leslie-Ann Orsmond, Kevin and Jenni Reynolds, Ivan and Gwen Swaffield, Elayne Tranter, Jimmy Trevorrow, Andy and Averil Warner, Clive and Priscilla Watson, Dave and Donree Wilkinson and John and Linda Wilson.

The intermittent rain made birding somewhat more difficult until everyone retired to Mike White’s stoep where the good views afforded some dry bird spotting including the Little Bittern in the dam below. Another interesting sighting was a Southern Tchagra in the hedge behind Mike’s house. The number of species recorded was 31 and the total number of species recorded year to date is 130.

Great thanks go to Mike White for organising the outing and allowing us to seek shelter at his home and to Dunkirk Estate Management for granting permission for the club to bird on their estate.

Error Sappi Mbozambo January: no Black Coucal was seen; should have read Burchell’s Coucal.

Chris Macdonald Chairman 082 879-4681Andy Warner Treasurer 073 221-9193Danny Macdonald Secretary 083 447-0520

Next Outing – 19 March 2016 Glen Shaka Trail [2920_3105]

The next club outing will take place at Glen Shaka Trail at 07:15 on 19 March 2016. Members taking part in this outing can meet at the corner of the R102 and the Glendale road just north of Shaka’s Kraal at 06:30 for a 06:45 departure for Glen Shaka.

Club rating for Glen Shaka Trail

Birding: A great birding venue around the homestead, on the forest trail and in the glen. This has turned up exciting birds like Olive Woodpecker, Knysna Turaco, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Square-tailed Drongo and Mountain Wagtail on most outings.

Walking distance: not more than 4 kilometers

Difficulty: the trail is quite a hefty walk but walking from the glen area is mostly easy.

Amenities: Toilet at the Glen, condition?

Outings 2016 [Proposed, subject to change]

January 16 Sappi MbozamboFebruary 7/15 Coastal Bird CountFebruary 20 Dunkirk

March 19 Glen ShakaApril 16 Nyoni FarmMay 21 UmbogavangoJune 18 Jex EstateJuly 16 Zinkwazi

August 20 Harold JohnsonSeptember 17 Verbara

October 15 UmlalaziNovember 19 DlinzaDecember 3 Year End Function

January 23 Summer CWAC Sappi Mbozambo/Mvoti EstuaryFebruary 13 Summer CWAC AmatiguluAugust 06 Winter CWAC Sappi Mbozambo/Mvoti Estuary

November 26 Birding Big Day

Away Outings 2016

Two bookings have been made for away outings:

Firstly, Ndumu from Friday 13 May to Monday 16 May [three nights]

All seven chalets are available at R750 per two-person chalet per night, self-catering, communal ablutions, total cost R2250 per chalet. Camping facilities are also available.

Secondly, Itala Game Reserve from Friday 21 October to Monday 24 October [3 nights], bed and breakfast at R 1260 per two-person chalet per night, total cost R3780 per chalet.

All bookings to be made through Andy Warner at aawarner@mweb.co.za , full payment will confirm the booking.

Talk Evenings

The next talk evening takes place on 2 March 2016 at Simbithi CC at 18:00. The talk will be given by Ernest Robbertse entitled “The Elephants of Tembe”. This should be very interesting as these elephants have been moving between southern Mozambique and Tembe area for many years and there are some serious tuskers in amongst them.

Heads Up on forthcoming events

02 March 2016: Talk Evening at Simbithi

19 March 2016: Outing to Glen Shaka Trail at 06:30

General

Member’s Sightings

Creation of a little biodiversity into the Ballito surrounds is creating an increase in bird numbers and bird species in the area. There is now an almost continuous green belt from the Tongathi river to the Umvoti river and probably through to Prince’ Grant and the bird sightings from this area are getting more exciting by the month. When did one hear of African Pygmy-Goose, Little Bittern, European Honey-Buzzard on such a regular basis or is it because of the drought?

And Sappi Mbozambo, just over the Umvoti is throwing up all sorts of rarities with the Spotted Crake still being seen and a Leucistic Black Crake

Rob and Marion Hofmeyr

Rob and Marion have sold their house in Zinkwazi and resigned from the Bird Club as they have moved to Johannesburg.  The say that they really enjoyed their 13 years as members.  Their e-mail address is robmarion@vodamail.co.za

 2016 Photography Competition

Entries for the 2016 Competition will be limited to three per member. After taking the advice from Chris Mathews, please get snapping.

The only rules for this competition are:

Subjects must be birds Submission on A5 preferably matt prints Maximum of three photographs per member

The camera and lens used must be written on the back of the photograph as the prizes for the 2016 competition will be presented in three categories a) compact and cell phone cameras, b) entry and mid- level digital DSLRs and c) higher level DSLRs

Report on Shorebird Count 2016

The 2016 shorebird count took place in early February recording birds in five stretches of beach: Umhlali to Umvoti, Umvoti to Nonoti, Nonoti to Zinkwazi, Zinkwazi to Thukela and Nyoni and Amatigulu.

A total of 1237 records were made covering 34 species. Importantly, tern and gull populations appear to be increasing and the number of African Oystercatchers recorded indicates a stable population on this stretch of coastline. Interestingly, higher counts were made closer to estuaries.

Great appreciation goes to KZN Wildlife rangers, Selvan Pillay and Lionel van Schoor, for facilitating this count.

Bird’s Egg ColouringExtracted from “Bird Watching” December 2015

“Birds’ eggs come in an astoundingly wide range of colours, patterns and textures. The base colour of an eggshell is always white, the pigments being added at some point before the egg is laid. Strangely though, no matter what colour or pattern you see on an egg, it will be made up of, at most, two pigments; biliverdin, which gives the blue or green colours and comes from the bird’s bile, and a blood-based red-brown called protoporphyrin, which is mainly used in the patterning.

Egg colour is an indication of the health of the chick inside, and studies have shown that the brighter an egg is, the more likely the male partner is to stick around and help raise the chicks. Protoporphyrin also affects egg strength, acting as a calcium replacement, which is why the eggs of later broods are often more densely speckled than earlier ones.

As to why different species lay different coloured eggs, well, no one is entirely certain, but there are a few theories. Firstly, there is camouflage. Ground nesting birds in particular seem to lay eggs that match their surroundings, which seems quite logical when you consider how vulnerable the eggs can be to predators. This idea is supported by the fact that cavity nesting birds tend to have white eggs, possibly so they can see them more easily.

In some species the eggs even change colour after laying in order to blend in better as is the case with the Little and Great Crested Grebe, whose eggs are bluish white when laid but turn browner after contact with the nesting material. Ease of recognition also seems to have an influence on egg colour. In colony nesting birds each female’s eggs have their own pattern, making it easier for individual birds to find their own eggs.

Then in brood parasitism eggs are made to mimic the pattern of the host egg and the host bird continues to try and advance a different pattern to foil the parasite.” All very interesting!

Species Recorded at Dunkirk Estate [2925_3110]

Birds Recorded 3178 Little Bittern 94 Hadeda Ibis

102 Egyptian Goose 196 Natal Spurfowl213 Black Crake 226 Common Moorhen352 Red-eyed Dove 371 Purple-crested Turaco391 Burchell's Coucal 415 White-rumped Swift424 Speckled Mousebird 435 Brown-hooded Kingfisher464 Black-collared Barbet 466 White-eared Barbet471 Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird 527 Lesser Striped Swallow536 Black Saw-wing 541 Fork-tailed Drongo568 Dark-capped Bulbul 657 Green-backed Camaroptera683 Tawny-flanked Prinia 742 Southern Tchagra768 Black-bellied Starling 769 Red-winged Starling796 Cape White-eye 804 Southern Grey-headed Sparrow807 Thick-billed Weaver 810 Spectacled Weaver811 Village Weaver 824 Southern Red Bishop857 Bronze Mannikin