Birders love to find rare birds; few things match the excitement
of coming across something completely unexpected.
But the obsession with rarities can result in population
changes in more common birds being overlooked. Breeding
bird surveys in Europe, Asia and North America show
that many bird populations are in flux, but what do we
know about the status of common birds in South Africa?
It has long been assumed that migration is a risky undertaking for birds, but it is challenging
to assess to what extent the risks are fatal. A recent review summarises findings from studies
of 30 migrant species, with some fascinating results.
Arjun Amar|Athol Abdo|Black Sparrowhawk|Blue-billed Teal|chicks|Clayton Botkin|eggs|Frank Willems|Harriet Nimmo|International Wild Waterfowl Association|IWWA|Julia van Velden|Long-crested Eagle|mites|nest|Peter Ryan|Spatula hottentota|Spotted thick-knee|waterbirds|Wattled Crane|Werner Smit|What’s in a name|Zambia
Ndumo Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal has been justifiably renowned for its magnificent avifauna
by generations of birders – some 430 species have been recorded there. But as humans increasingly
encroach on the reserve, its habitats and abundance are under threat. Tony Carnie examines
the significant challenges now facing Ndumo.
In birding circles, Richard Dean is perhaps best known as an editor
of the seventh edition of Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, but he
was a prolific naturalist with a varied career in research and conservation.
In addition to writing more species accounts in Roberts
7 than any other author, he published more than 200 scientific
papers, co-compiled a bibliography of birds of Angola and wrote
Nomadic Desert Birds and Bird Collectors during the mid-19th to
mid-20th Centuries in Southern Africa. He also edited a synthesis
of research in the Karoo (with Sue Milton) and a farmers’ guide to
rangeland management (with Karen Esler and Sue Milton); served
as editor of Ostrich from 2000 until 2006; and was awarded the Gill
Memorial Medal for lifetime service to ornithology in southern Africa
in March 2009.