18 th Annual Parrot Count- Report on the 2015 Cape Parrot Big Birding Day.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "18 th Annual Parrot Count- Report on the 2015 Cape Parrot Big Birding Day."

Alice Robinson
5 years ago
Views:

1 18 th Annual Parrot Count- Report on the 2015 Cape Parrot Big Birding Day. Colleen T. Downs* and Preshnee Singh School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P/Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa. *Cape Parrot Working Group Chairperson. For several years most of our South African bird book guides have shown the Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) to be a separate species to the Greyheaded Parrot (P. suahelicus) as proposed by Clancey (1997) and supported by others (Wirminghaus et al. 2002; Perrin 2005) based on morphological, ecological and behavioural assessments. Unfortunately this was not recognised internationally as they required genetic evidence. So one of the highlights of 2015 has been the publication of Riel Coetzer, one of our PhD students, supporting that the Cape Parrot is a separate species with genetic support (Coetzer et al. 2015; note this a free download and accessible on the website- see reference list). As the only parrot species endemic to South Africa and currently one of South Africa s Endangered birds, it makes the annual census an important conservation monitoring tool. The Cape Parrot Big Birding Day (CPBBD) was initiated in 1998, and has been held annually since as part of the conservation effort of the Cape Parrot Working Group. The aim is to determine their occurrence and obtain an accurate population estimate of the Cape Parrot. Over the recent years less than 1600 have been counted in the wild (Downs et al. 2014). Factors contributing to the parrots decline vary in their effects and extent at different locations and include: the loss or change in the quality of their preferred forest habitat; food and/or nest-site shortages; illegal poaching for the pet trade; disease (especially psittacine beak and feather disease virus (PBFDV)); avian predators; and accelerated climate change (Downs et al. 2015) The Cape Parrot, a forest specialist, is now mainly restricted to patches in a mosaic of afromontane southern mistbelt forests from Hogsback in the Eastern Cape through to the Balgowan and Karkloof areas of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN); with a disjunct population in the Magoeboeskloof region of Limpopo Province. Though they are seen feeding on fruit in Protea patches, gardens, orchards or coastal forests at certain times of the year. Absence of parrots in some forest patches during certain periods are not local extinctions, but are likely due to the absence of food, as the fruiting of their preferred yellowwoods may be sporadic and absent in some years. 1

2 CPBBD 2015 The CPBBD is generally extended over the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning of the following day. One reason for this is that often the weather is poor on one of the days. This allows an afternoon and a morning estimate. The higher of these for each province is then used to give the maximum number counted. This year the count was earlier in April rather than May as several areas had requested this. The areas of South Africa covered by the count included the Eastern Cape, KZN and Limpopo Provinces. Sadly the weather on one or two of the days was poor in some of the areas in Unfortunately in addition the forest areas around Mthatha (Umtata) were affected by strikes and it was not safe for observers so this year we used the number of parrots seen there in 2014 to get an overall count*.the maximum number of Cape Parrots counted in 2015 (including the above mentioned correction) was 459 in KZN, 427* in the former Transkei, 554 in the former Eastern Cape and 68 in Limpopo Province. This suggests that there were at least 1508* in the wild on the CPBBD in 2015 which is higher than the maximum count of 1344 in 2013 when weather also had an impact. This supports that there are less than 1600 Cape Parrots in the wild (Downs et al. 2014). As mentioned previously the annual CPBBD also highlights the importance of South Africa s Afromontane/-temperate indigenous forest patches and their associated grasslands for other species: including Samango Monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), Southern Ground Hornbills (Bucorvus leadbeateri), Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres), African Crowned Eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) and Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus). We are most grateful to all those who participated in the CPBBD, particularly the coordinators (Appendix 1) and those volunteers who have participated for many years. We continue to be extremely grateful for the effort, enthusiasm and continued support of the coordinators. We are also grateful for the contribution of Border Bird Club, DAFF, DEAT, Rance Timbers, Sappi and Mondi foresters, Indwe Security, and Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife officials (particularly those from Coleford Nature Reserve), and the Armours who host the University of KwaZulu-Natal students near Ingeli. Cape Parrot Day 2016 please diarise 16 and 17 th April

3 A new A1 poster highlighting aspects of the Cape Parrot are available from Prof CT Downs. Please contact her or ; for copies. 3

4 Appendix 1. Grateful thanks is extended to the co-ordinators of the Cape Parrot Big Birding Day Area Name Tel Overall co-ordinator Colleen Downs ; Karkloof John and Jenny Robinson / Midlands conservancies: Dargle/ Nottingham Rd/ Balgowan Byrne Valley Boston Sally Cummings Nikki Brighton Malcolm Anderson Malcolm Miller Barbara & Glyn Bullock Bulwer Russell Hill Creighton/Donnybro ok Malcolm Gemmell ; ; ; ; Ngeli Colleen Downs See above Mpur/Glengarry Andy Ruffle ; Alfred Nzo Region, namely: Ntsiswa, Gomo, Bulembu, Tonti, Amanzinyama and Xhama Forest Dean Ricketts Mthatha Langeni / Matiwane Ngcobo Helen Dalton Bertus Bouwer ; (w) ; (w) Helen@starlightsa.com Hogsback Tony Moody aim@aptech.co.za Stutterheim Neill Harvey Donald Kemp , alliedin@eci.co.za donald@barkaybirds.co.za Wild Coast (Port St Kathryn Costello outspan@wildcoast.co.za Johns) Mbotyi Wendy Ayliffe /01 info@mbotyi.co.za Taz Moola KWT/Alice Gertie Griffith gerken@intekom.com Peter Mather-Pike pamp@supafeeds.co.za Limpopo Province David Letsoalo info@krm.co.za 4

5 Appendix 2. Selected references on Cape Parrots. Boshoff AF What is happening to the parrots of southern Africa? Quagga 27: Clancey, P.A The Cape Parrot: an additional valid species. Honeyguide 43: Coetzer, W.R., Downs, C.T., Perrin, M.R. & Willows-Munro, S Molecular systematics of the Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus): implications for taxonomy and conservation. PLoS One DOI: /journal.pone Downs CT. 2005a. Abundance of the Endangered Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus, in South Africa: implications for its survival. African Zoology 40: Downs CT. 2005b. Artificial nest boxes and wild Cape Parrots Poicephalus robustus: persistence pays off. Ostrich 76: Downs CT th Annual Parrot Count- Report on the 2011 Cape Parrot Big Birding Day. Unpublished Report. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal. Downs CT th Annual Parrot Count- Report on the 2012 Cape Parrot Big Birding Day. Unpublished Report. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal. Downs, C.T., Brown, M., Hart, L. & Symes, C.T Review of documented Beak and Feather Disease Virus cases in wild Cape Parrots in South Africa over the last twenty years. Journal of Ornithology /s Downs, C.T., Pfeiffer, M., Hart, L.A Fifteen years of annual Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus censuses: current population trends and conservation contributions. Ostrich 85: Downs CT, Symes CT Snag dynamics and forest structure in Afromontane forests in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: implications for the conservation of cavity-nesting avifauna. South African Journal of Botany 70: Grieve, G. & Downs, C.T A checklist of the plants of the forests and associated grasslands in the Weza district, southern KwaZulu-Natal and a review of their status in the Red Data List. Koedoe DOI : /koedoe.v57i Pain DJ, Martins TLF, Boussekey M, Diaz SH, Downs CT. Ekstrom JMM, Garnett S, Gilardi JD, McNiven D, Primot P, Rouys S, Saoumoé M, Symes CT, Tamungang SA, Theuerkauf J, Villafuerte D, Verfailles L, Widman P, Widmann ID The impact of protection on 5

6 nest-take and nesting success of parrots in Africa, Asia and Australasia. Animal Conservation 9: Perrin MR A review of the taxonomic status and biology of the Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus, with reference to the Brown-necked Parrot P. fuscicollis fuscicollis and the Greyheaded Parrot P. f. suahelicus. Ostrich 76: Perrin MR Parrots of Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands: Biology, Ecology and Conservation. Johannesburg: Wits University Press. Perrin MR, McGowan P, Downs CT, Symes CT, Warburton L Chapter 6: Africa. In: Snyder N, McGowan P, Gilardi J, Grajal A (eds). Parrots: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. p Pillay K, Dawson DA, Horsburgh GJ, Perrin MR, Burke T, Taylor TD Twenty-two polymorphic microsatellite loci aimed at detecting illegal trade in the Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus (Psittacidae, AVES). Molecular Ecology Resources 10: SABAP 2. The South African Bird Atlas Project 2. Skead CJ The overland flights and the feeding habits of the Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus (Gmelin) in the Eastern Cape Province. Ostrich 35: Skead CJ The Cape Parrot in the Transkei and Natal. Ostrich Supplementary 9: Symes CT, Brown M, Warburton L, Perrin MR, Downs CT Observations of Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus, nesting in the wild. Ostrich 75: Symes, CT, Downs CT Occurrence of Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus at non-forest feeding sites in South Africa: threats to a declining population. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 9: Taylor MR. (Ed.) The Eskom Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa. In press. Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Perrin MR, Symes CT. 2001a. Breeding biology of the Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus. Ostrich 72: Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Perrin MR, Symes CT. 2001b. Abundance and activity patterns of the Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) in two afromontane forests in South Africa. African Zoology 36:

7 Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Perrin MR, Symes CT. 2002a. Taxonomic relationships of the subspecies of the Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus (Gmelin). Journal of Natural History 36: Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Symes CT, Dempster E, Perrin MR. 2000b. Vocalisations and some behaviours of the Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae). Durban Museum Novitates 25: Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Symes CT, Perrin MR Conservation of the Cape Parrot in southern Africa. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 29: Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Symes CT, Perrin MR. 2000a. Abundance of the Cape Parrot in South Africa. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 30: Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Symes CT, Perrin MR. 2002b. Diet of the Cape Parrot, Poicephalus robustus, in afromontane forests in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Ostrich 73: Wirminghaus JO, Downs CT, Symes CT, Perrin MR. 2001c. Fruiting in two afromontane forests in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: the habitat type of the Endangered Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus. South African Journal of Botany 67:

21 th Annual Parrot Count- Report on the 2018 Cape Parrot Big Birding Day.

21 th Annual Parrot Count- Report on the 2018 Cape Parrot Big Birding Day. Colleen T. Downs*, Eebee Ally and Preshnee Singh School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P/Bag X01, Scottsville,