The Southern Banded Snake Eagle Circaetus fasciolatus appears to be restricted to the coastal forests of northern KwaZulu-Natal, with the small national population possibly concentrated in the mosaic of formally protected areas making up the iSimangaliso Wetland Park complex and its surrounding network of public and private nature reserves. The species is a flagship for this threatened ecosystem.
Southern Banded Snake Eagle
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Photo right: Jo Balmer
Distribution
Distribution
Southern Banded Snake Eagles have a narrow and fragmented distribution, stretching from southern Somalia to north-eastern South Africa along the eastern coast of Africa. In southern Africa, there are three apparent sub-populations: central Mozambique (between the Zambezi River and Beira), eastern Zimbabwe, and southern Mozambique to northern KwaZulu-Natal.
The species is considered to be globally Near-threatened, and in South Africa it has recently been uplisted to Critically Endangered. In South Africa, the species appears to be restricted to the coastal forests of northern KwaZulu-Natal, with the small national population possibly concentrated in the mosaic of formally protected areas making up the iSimangaliso Wetland Park complex and its surrounding network of public and private nature reserves.
Biology
Biology
Southern Banded Snake Eagles occupy the ecotone between coastal dune/sand forest and coastal lowland grassland. They will perch on shrubs, trees or in more recent times electrical or railway pylons during the early morning and watch for prey in the grassland or open areas below.
Of the few breeding records that have been recorded, breeding takes place between August and October with nests built in large tree canopies with good cover from canopy creepers, providing a secretive location for the birds.
Their main source of food is snakes, particularly night adders and spotted bush snakes, but they have been recorded capturing amphibians, lizards and small rodents as well. In the heat of the day they appear to retreat to the denser shadows of the coastal forest making visual detection difficult.
The current population estimate for this species within South Africa is no more than 50 mature individuals with a global population estimate of 670 – 2000 individuals. Unfortunately both of these estimates are course and have little scientific evidence to back them up. BirdLife South Africa is working to establish a more robust estimate fof the South African population.
Conservation & Research
Conservation & Research
BirdLife South Africa contracted AVISENSE Consulting in 2015 to design a research and monitoring initiative focused on the Southern Banded Snake Eagle. A follow up study was undertaken by Dr Shane McPherson in August 2016. During his survey, he identified a nest within a pocket of natural forest in the Mtunzini plantations.
Using the findings from both of these surveys, Dr Melissa Whitecross, set out to learn more through a survey of the northern KwaZulu-Natal plantation matrix. She is investigating the efficacy of remnant pockets of indigenous forest within the plantation matrix to provide critical habitat for the Southern Banded Snake Eagle and other raptors. The records she has collected are being fed into a broader ecological niche model for the species that includes records from several citizen science repositories.
This model will assist in identifying key areas of suitable habitat that can be further surveyed for the presence of Southern Banded Snake Eagles. It will also highlight key areas for electrical infrastructure retrofitting to reduce the significant threat of electrocution for this species in partnership with Eskom and the Ingula Partnership.
Research and Conservation Objectives
The core objectives of the project are:
- To establish a scientifically robust population estimate for the South African population of Southern Banded Snake Eagles.
- To determine the amount of remaining suitable habitat for the Southern Banded Snake Eagle across both (a) South Africa and (b) Africa using a combination of remote sensing, ground-truthing surveys and ecological niche modelling.
- To complete a threat assessment for the Southern Banded Snake Eagle so that effective mitigation strategies can be developed using scientifically-based evidence.
- Use all of the information collected from the above objectives to conduct a reassessment of the global IUCN conservation status of the Southern Banded Snake Eagle and potentially upgrade it to a higher threat status.
BirdLife South Africa is collaborating with Forestry South Africa and their affiliates to determine how the pockets of indigenous forest within the plantation matrix of northern KwaZulu-Natal can potentially act as a refuge for the Southern Banded Snake Eagle and other raptor species. Read the case study report here.
Be a part of our research and contribute to conservation science:
To increase our understanding of this secretive species BirdLife South Africa is conducting annual surveys in Northern Zululand. These surveys will assist us in determining how many Southern Banded Snake Eagles remain in South Africa and allow us to monitor any changes in the population. We want to invite members of the public to contribute to our conservative science by participating in our Zululand Snake Eagle Big Weekend initiative. This event will entail getting as many people out looking for Southern Banded Snake Eagles as possible, over the same time period, to provide us with a snapshot of the population and to identify breeding sites. This event will occur on the weekend of 3-5 March in 2023, please keep an eye on this page for updates and see the instructions for participation below. We hope you’ll join us on the hunt for this secretive species. Bonus points if you find and report nest sites (please report nests directly to christiaan.brink@birdlife.org.za)!
Instructions for participation:
- Use the map linked above to plan your trip and identify potential Southern Banded Snake Eagle habitats near you. The map shows the predicted suitable habitat in purple with darker patches indicating the most suitable habitat. However, these model predictions are quite coarse, so when out surveying look for natural forest patches with adjacent open areas. These Snake Eagles can most easily be found early morning, hunting from a perch on the forest edge. Keep an ear out for its unique call!
- Download the BirdLasser App and in the menu under “Causes”, sign up for BirdLife South Africa’s “Threatened Species” cause.
- Between the 3rd and 5th of March go explore this area and log any Southern Banded Snake Eagles you see or hear (please specify in the app if only heard).
- NB! Regardless of whether you discovered any Southern Banded Snake Eagles, please be sure to register your search effort using the red button below when you return from your survey.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Rio Tinto, Airports Company South Africa for their financial support of the initial population assessment of the regionally Critically Endangered Southern Banded Snake Eagle, and to the Durban Museum of Natural Science for providing a vehicle for fieldwork.
Thanks to Airports Company South Africa and the Ingula Partnership for their financial support of the current project. Thanks also to Forestry South Africa, Sappi, Mondi and SiyaQubheka for their logistical assistance during the 2018 survey.
The 2019 survey is being supported the Leslie Brown Memorial Grant from the Raptor Research Foundation and we are grateful to them for this support.