A sub-adult
male Black Sparrowhawk visited the garden on the morning of the
11 June 2009. These photos show the unique colour-ring combination,
allowing Ann Koeslag
of the Western
Cape Raptor Research Group to confirm the bird was ringed as
nestling in Cecilia Forest on the lower slopes of Table Mountain
on 18 August 2008.
Ann Koeslag, of the Western Cape Raptor Research Group, who has
now been involved with ringing130 Black
Sparrawhawks, follows up:
"Fledglings hang around their nest for ages after fledging.
We have had a father and son hunting together three km from the
nest, four months after the chick fledged. The chicks have to be
taught to hunt, which is a skill that takes the parents some time
to pass on. So we are never too surprised to see ringed fledglings
around their territory for the first three months.
I am collecting all the sightings of both adults and juveniles
that I have, to put in a data base, and it is not a lot. One of
the
interesting things is some birds are seen regularly while others
are never seen again. There is one male who was ringed as a chick
in De Hel, Constantia in 2006 who crops up on and off in Marina
da Gama and Lakeside. The male who resides in Lower Tokai Forest
also crops up all over the place.
Probably the sweetest resighting I have is at Cecilia Forest South,
where the bird you found in your garden came from. The female there
had been one of the birds we ringed in Bel Ombre Greenbelt. She
and her mate disappeared from that territory and she then reappeared
a year later at the Cecilia Forest nest with a new mate. (Father
of the bird that visited the Birding Africa garden). This year her
original mate has found her and they're back together again as a
pair.
They really are like people with their relationships. There is
everything from death, infidelity and divorce. I was at the one
of the Newlands nests a few months ago and the male was in the nest
doing some building. The female was sitting about 40 metres away
when she suddenly took off and flew off to the edge of the stand,
about 120 metres away. Suddenly we could hear mating noises. A little
while later she arrived back to see how the nest was progressing.
I would love to do paternity testing on their offspring."
Birding Africa is a specialist birding tour company
customising tours for both world listers and more relaxed holiday birders.
We combine interests in mammals, butterflies, dragonflies, botany and
other natural history aspects and will guide you to Africa's and Madagascar's
most diverse birding destinations. Our guides'
knowledge of African birds and birding areas is our greatest strength
and together we have rediscovered species, shared exciting observations
with the birding community and had a fun time exploring our home continent.
We've even written two acclaimed guide
books on where to find Southern Africa's and Madagascar's best birds.
Birding is more than our passion, it's our lifestyle, and we are dedicated
to making professional, best value trips filled with endemic species and
unique wildlife experiences. Since 1997, we've run bird watching tours
in South Africa and further into Africa for individual birders, small
birding groups and top international tour companies. We've run Conservation
Tours in association with the African Bird Club and work with and
consult for a number of other top international tour companies and the
BBC Natural History Unit.
