Research
Raptor Research
Coordinator
Dr Andrew Jenkins
Research Team
Prof. Phil Hockey (PFIAO),
Dorine Jansen
(PFIAO), Ann Koeslag
(Cape Bird Club), Lucia Rodrigues, Dr
Rob Simmons (Honorary Research Associate, PFIAO), Mr Anthony van Zyl
(Research Associate, PFIAO) & Dr Bettine Jansen van Vuuren
(Department of Zoology, University of Stellenbosch),
Affiliated Institutions
Birds of Prey Working Group (Endangered Wildlife Trust),
Overview
Birds of prey are
generally rare, charismatic,
top-of-the-food-chain predators, often suitable
as indicators of environmental health, and ideal
as icons for broader conservation initiatives.
The Western Cape Raptor Research Programme is the
administrative umbrella for a growing number of
research projects focused on the biology and
conservation of raptors and raptor habitats in
the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The
programme includes established, long-term studies
of raptor populations in the Cape Town area, and
newer, more applied projects on raptors and
land-use in the Karoo and Fynbos biomes. An
important objective of the programme is to
identify the conservation needs of the
regions birds of prey, and to develop
parallels, overlaps and synergies between these
needs and broader, human issues of regional and
national environmental health and socio-ecomomic
upliftment.
Conservation of the Black Harrier in
the Western Cape Province: the effects of land transformation on
population status
Research
Team: Andrew Jenkins & Rob Simmons
The Black Harrier Circus maurus is
one of 16 species of harriers worldwide, with the
most restricted range of any continental species.
Endemic to the grasslands and fynbos of southern
Africa, it has been the subject of only one
breeding study, and is classified as locally
`Near-threatened and globally
`Vulnerable. Its world population is
estimated at fewer than 1000 birds, of which less
than 100 occur in protected areas. This study
aims to investigate the breeding ecology and
resource requirements of Black Harriers, with a
view to improving management strategies to meet
its conservation needs. Specifically, the project
will compare the natural history of the species
in different habitats, and analyse the effects of
landscape characteristics on harrier
distribution. This is of particular relevance
given that large areas of the harriers
range have been transformed by agriculture. Data
from regular surveys of the West Coast and
Overberg regions will be used to examine the
relationship between the degree of fragmentation
of natural habitat and harrier population size.
The Black Harrier
project is largely funded by the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) and is part of
the C.A.P.E. (Cape Action Plan for People and the
Environment) initiative. As such, an important
element of the project is to encourage the
`buy-in and involvement of civil society
(e.g. landowners, conservators, birders) in
developing a sustainable research and management
network, using the Black Harrier as a
conservation flagship and/or an indicator of
habitat health.
Breeding
performance and survival of Peregrine Falcons on
the Cape Peninsula: the influence of nesting
habitat quality
Research
Team: Andrew
Jenkins
Although
the biology of the Peregrine
Falcon Falco
peregrinus is intimately known in many parts
of its cosmopolitan range, understanding of the
demography of Peregrine populations is
surprisingly poor. The few studies that have
yielded good information on population dynamics
are from northern temperate and Arctic areas and,
as yet, no comparative figures are available for
African or any other southern Hemisphere
populations. This project builds on over a decade
of research on aspects of Peregrine biology on
the Cape Peninsula, and focuses on the dynamics
of this population primarily survival,
turnover and recruitment rates. In the long-term,
the study will emphasize the relative influence
of crucial features of the nesting habitat on the
lifetime reproductive success of individually
marked birds.
Breeding
biology and ecology of the Rock Kestrel in the
southwestern Cape, South Africa
Research
Team:
Anthony van Zyl
The Rock Kestrel F. tinnunculus is a
widespread and fairly common species in southern
Africa, and occurs at particularly high densities
in parts of the southwestern Cape. The present
study has compared aspects of kestrel biology in
this south temperate area with those of tropical
and northern temperate populations, with a view
to testing theories on the effects of latitude on
life history strategies. Future objectives
include assessments of the effects of overly
frequent fires and the spread of urban
development on the biology and success of kestrel
pairs on the Cape Peninsula.
The natural
history of the Black Sparrowhawk on the Cape
Peninsula, South Africa: habitat manipulation and
unusual life history traits in a founder
population
Research
Team: Ann Koeslag & Phil Hockey
The natural history of the
Black Sparrowhawk Accipiter melanoleucus
is poorly known, despite the fact that it is the
largest and one of the more common forest hawks
in Africa. It is a fairly common species in the
southwestern Cape, and a healthy population has
been resident on the Cape Peninsula since at
least the late 1980s. It is uncertain
whether the species is a new arrival to the area,
or was resident here before the removal of
indigenous forests in the 1600s, and has
since re-colonised the Peninsula with the
establishment of exotic plantations as a
substitute for its natural breeding habitat. This
project will research various aspects of Black
Sparrowhawk biology, including habitat use, diet
and population dynamics. In addition, two
particularly interesting issues warrant further
investigation: (i) How do the hawks respond to
anthropogenic changes to the local environment?
As fast as territories are established by new
pairs in what has been an expanding population,
others are lost as the `Working for Water
Project, focused on the removal of alien
trees, gathers momentum in the area. (ii)
Winter-breeding and double-brooding have been
reported for Black Sparrowhawks on the Cape
Peninsula. Should these reports be verified, the
study will assess the environmental features that
allow such unusual breeding strategies, and
examine their effects on breeding success and the
survival of adults and offspring.
We
need your help!
While securing the
funding for research projects, and particularly
for raptor studies, is always difficult, we have
reached a stage in the development of the WCRRP
where perhaps our most limiting factor is the
availability of personnel to achieve the tasks
that we have set ourselves. Part of the solution
to this problem lies in our local tertiary
institutions, and we hope to extend the academic
horizons of the programme, and take on more
post-graduate students, in the near future.
Another important resource that remains largely
untapped is the Western Cape birding community,
and we would like to appeal to you, the birding
public, to participate in some aspect of field
data collection for any and all of the projects
within the WCRRP.
For Cape Town
birders, one way in which you can help is to
'adopt one or two raptor nest sites in your
area of the Peninsula, and keep an eye on
activities there through the breeding season,
letting us know if and when the birds appear to
have laid eggs or started to feed young. With
some initial guidance, this wouldnt require
much more than two or three visits to the
relevant area each breeding season. Establishing
a network of such observers to keep tabs on at
least some of our study sites would free us up
for the more hands-on work nest visits,
ringing etc - and allow us to use our time more
productively. On a broader front, the harrier
project is about to launch a major
public-participation campaign, aimed at involving
birders, conservators and landowners in
collecting data to help us learn more about the
nesting and foraging habitat requirements of the
Black Harrier.
Acknowledgements
All of the
projects listed above are independently funded.
We would like to acknowledge the financial
support of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership
Fund, Peregrine Properties Pty Ltd.
Last modified:
2010/07/19
Copyright: Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology 2010
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