BLB 2010 Calendar

BirdLife Botswana needs your quality

photographs of beautiful

Botswana Birds of Important Bird Areas

(IBAs)

Please submit your best images on CD to the

BirdLife office in Kgale Siding by the end of

January 2009.

Images need to be 300dpi, either jpg or tiff, and A4

size .

Hi Members, 2008 has come and almost gone ! The Board of BirdLife Botswana wish all our readers and supporters a most restful and happy Festive Season and good wishes for 2009. Even when times are tough, remember the birds and I prom-ise you they will carry on singing and delighting us with their presence!

In this issue, don’t miss the report on the wonderfully generous donation from Debswana’s Jwaneng Mine that will go a long way to help in the conservation of Botswana’s special bird, the Kori Bustard.

Ikakanyeng Nyambe of the Cape Vulture Environmental Club writes on her life-altering trip to Kenya on page 3, there are delightful items from members from pages 6 to 10 and the second spe-cial children’s page is on page 11.

Don’t forget to send me your ideas and contributions - I would love some feed-back!

Eugenie Skelton - editor

December 2008

N e w s l e t t e r o f B i r d L i f e B o t s w a n a

Familiar Chat

IF ANYONE CAN

CAN

DEBSWANA DONATION TO BLB

2

FLYING HIGHER ON THE WINGS OF THE SWEDBIO PROJECT

3

HOLISTIC APPROACH TO MANAGING PROTECTED AREAS AND IBAS

5

WHO IS NESTING IN RURETSE?

6

BIRD LISTENING 8

CARROTS OR PARROTS? 9

BIRDING ‘BRIC-A-BRAC’ 10

KIDS FOR BIRDS 11

In This Issue

KENYAN BIRDLIFE VOLUN-

TEERS RECEIVE PRIZE 4

BRANCH EVENTS 12

BLB DONORS 2008 15

BLB COMMITTEE 16

“Did you hear about BLB and Debswana, dear? I heard that they are going to look after us for generations to come”

Congratulations to the winner of the Stamp Design Competition, Mary Lane-Jones. Mary will be

working with Botswana Post and the Botswana Philatelic Society to produce a beautiful set of 4

bird stamps as well as a first-day cover for release next year

Birdlife Botswana recently received a substantial donation from Debswana, Jwaneng, for the conservation of Botswana’s special bird, the Kori Bustard.

The General Manager of Jwaneng Mine, Mr Balisi Bonyongo, invited the Chairman of BLB, Mr Harold Hester and representatives from BLB to attend the official ceremony to hand over the donation of P276,125 at Jwana Game Park on 6 October 2008.

After an early start from Notwane, Harold Hester and Sandra Stonehill arrived at Jwaneng Mine and were transported to the handover site in Jwana Game Park where they were joined by BLB Director, Kabelo Senyatso, IBA Manager, Virat (Motshereganyi Kootsositse), Marketing Executive, Molebi Mosokotso and Kabo Ditshane from BLB Jwaneng Branch.

Environmental Services Manager, Joe Matlhare, Director of Ceremonies, opened the proceedings. The Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, The Honourable Kitso Mokaila officiated at the handover. In his keynote address the Minister said ‘over the past years Birdlife Botswana had proven to be a worthy ally to the ministry in their effort to improve the conservation status of Botswana's wildlife’. He said ‘the occasion was a testament to the commitment that the two organisations had made to the conservation of the environment and wildlife.’

Mr Bonyongo said ‘the partnership between Debswana and Birdlife Botswana was one that sought for them to pool their resources together into a research programme aimed at conservation of the Kori Bustard’. The cheque was officially handed over by Balisi Bonyongo, the General Manager of Jwaneng Mine, to BLB Director, Kabelo Senyatso.

Harold Hester and the Jwaneng Finance Manager, Victoria Lekoma signed the Memorandum of Understanding and Kabelo Senyatso made the acceptance speech. The MP for Ngwaketse West, the Honourable Mephato Reatile gave the vote of thanks.

All the speakers were on good form and a light-hearted air made for informal banter and jokes during the proceedings.

We enjoyed light refreshments and ‘chat’ with our hosts before departing for the journey home to Gaborone.

BLB Board Chairman, Harold Hester and Finance Manager, Victoria Lekoma signing the Memorandum of Understanding

Birdlife Botswana Director, Kabelo Senyatso with Birdlife representatives Molebi Mosokotso and Kabo Ditshane

Page 2

Debswana Donation to BirdLife Botswana A report by Sandra Stonehill

BLB Director, Kabelo Senyatso receiving the cheque from the General Manager of Jwaneng Mine, Balisi Bonyongo

Flying Higher on the Wings of the SwedBio Project By Ikakanyeng Zaine Nyambe — Cape Vulture Environmental Club Wow! I could not believe my ears when I received a phone call from BirdlLife Botswana saying that I would be going to Kenya to represent the Cape Vulture Environmental Club (CVEC) and my country, at a Lessons Learnt workshop which formed part of the SwedBio-funded project that CVEC had been part of for the past few years. I started asking myself several questions – “Is it really I who will be traveling to Nairobi?” “Which mode of transport will I be using?”

The workshop ran from 22nd - 25th October 2008. Presentations were based on lessons learnt, challenges met and how the Cape Vulture Environmental Club as a Site Support Group (SSG) benefited from the project.

Representatives from the three countries which participated in the project viz. Kenya, Burkina Faso and Botswana made the presentations. Apart from these there were representatives from the BirdLife part-ners in Cameroon, South Africa and Zimbabwe and the BirdLife Europe Secretariat who shared their ex-periences with the SSGs from the various participating countries. We were also fortunate to meet with Karen from SwedBio, and thereby put a face to the project sponsor!

One of the highlights of the visit was travelling to two IBAs in Kenya and meeting with members of the two respective SSGs, KENVO and Friends of Kinangop. KENVO is very well organized, and although their situation is different from that of the CVEC (they are rehabilitating parts of the Kereita Forest by plant-ing trees) there were many similarities and it turned out to be a particularly useful experience for me. There were also practical lessons to take home from the visit to Kinangop where the SSG, like CVEC, is concerned with the protection of a single endemic species – in their case Sharpe’s Longclaw.

Page 3

Ikakanyeng (right) with colleagues outside the CVEC office prior to leaving for Kenya

The visit to Kenya enabled me to meet with BirdLife partners from different countries. We also visited the BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat office in Nairobi where I was very happy to see the Bot-swana flag flying alongside those of other BirdLife partners – our country is really playing a role in conservation in Africa. During the field visit we were able to see part of Kenya and see how people live there – of course, comparisons were made in our minds with life in Botswana!

All good things have to end, and on 26th October we traveled back to Botswana. I would like to personally thank SwedBio for funding the project, and Jane Gaithuma and Edith Onyango-Hongo for their assis-tance while in Kenya. My thanks also go to my colleagues at CVEC, especially our Public Relations Officer Benjamin Noge, and also to Pete Hancock who sacrificed his time to assist me with my presenta-tion, and Keddy Mooketsa from the BirdLife Botswana office in Gabo-rone for placing her trust and confidence in me to represent CVEC and my country.

Page 4

A group working to conserve the Kikuyu Escarpment forest Important Bird Area in Kenya has won the prestigious Equator Prize for 2008. The Kijabe En-vironment Volunteers (KENVO) were chosen from 310 nominations & received the award at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.

Site Support Groups (SSGs) like KENVO are key to BirdLife's work and one of the most practical ways of achieving conservation by local communities. They work to protect the most threatened biodiversity sites, whilst ensuring benefits from the wise use of the natural resources. SSGs are valuable tools for the future, due to their intricate relationships with the wider community and to the resources within IBAs.

KENVO are providing local communities with the information, education and resources they need to advance environmentally friendly businesses, by con-necting local entrepreneurs with low-interest loans. They also provide practi-cal training in bee-keeping and eco-tourism guiding, and work with clubs and local schools to promote conservation education. They contribute to direct management of Kereita forest - part of Kikuyu Escarpment forest - through a tree-planting initiative focused on indigenous species.

The SSG was one of 25 winners, chosen out of recommendations from 70 na-tions in the tropics. They were selected to celebrate outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation of biodiversity. KENVO, which works with Nature Kenya (BirdLife in Kenya), has shown remarkable success in addressing conservation issues at Kikuyu Escarpment forest, where human pressure has been increasing. This IBA is rich in bird species and is home to regionally threatened species such as African Olive Ibis Bostrychia olivacea and Crowned Hawk-eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus.

"KENVO’s work shows what can be achieved with consis-tent effort and determination" —Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science, Policy and Information

Kenyan BirdLife Volunteers Receive Prestigious Prize A report from BirdLife International 21.11.2008

Children assisting in the management of the Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO) tree nurseries.

Tshegofatso Ramontsho and Ikakanyeng, both from Botswana, looking at the flags of all the countries that are members of the BirdLife Africa Partnership

"KENVO’s work shows what can be achieved with consis-tent effort and determination" —Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science, Policy and Information

In mid August I took a trip to the Ngamiland District and Makgadikgadi Pans specifically to meet safari lodge operators who are able to spend more time in the field than myself. The meetings were geared to indi-cate how the information on different PAs and IBAs should be captured using the global monitoring framework. It is most likely that safari op-erators use animal sightings registers to pick areas with the best chances of seeing particular species, be they birds or other taxa, for tour operations. The aim of the Africa IBA project is to consider infor-mation from Protected Areas that overlap Important Bird Areas and in-volve a wide range of stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring using the global monitoring framework developed by BirdLife International. This initiative involves seven other African countries and is funded by the European Commission. In Botswana the collaborating organizations are BirdLife Botswana, Department of Wildlife and National Parks and De-partment of Environmental Affairs.

Simply put, the information to be assessed is the population estimates of trigger species for different areas such as Cape Vultures for Manye-lannong Nature Reserve and the Tswapong Hills, Lesser Flamingos for the Makgadikgadi system and Slaty Egret for the Okavango Delta. How-ever other species information is also appreciated for the Common Bird Monitoring and Tickbird Programmes (see BLB’s website). IBA habitat information and threats or pressures for the survival of the species or the habitat is also relevant. Last but not least is the recording of conser-vation measures or actions that are taken by any identified stakeholder. It is stressed however, that people should only contribute firsthand knowledge, not hearsay or unsubstantiated information. This informa-tion will then be amalgamated and a situation report produced at the end of each year, not only to depict the status of PAs or IBAs, but also to inform a national report on the protected area situation. Over time it will be possible to draw an informative trend line from what has been documented.

It is apparent that some stakeholders have considerable knowledge, gained over time, on the status of their environment but because there hasn’t been a structure to document such information in a simple, sus-tainable manner, it is very difficult to corroborate what has been hap-pening. Disparate information has been captured using formats that may be too scientific, difficult to understand or unsustainable. Using the global monitoring framework comparison with areas outside Botswana also becomes possible. It has been proved that one cannot effectively manage an area without proper background information and over time monitoring will provide essential information for the management of a particular area or species or any form of intervention.

Interested parties can obtain detailed forms or more information from any BirdLife Office or wildlife research unit in the Department of Wild-life and National Parks.

Page 5

The aim …. is to consider information from Protected Areas that overlap Important Bird Areas and involve a wide range of stakeholders in biodiversity monitoring

Holistic Approach to Managing Protected Areas (PAs) and Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Botswana A report by Motshereganyi Virat Kootsositse - BirdLife Botswana

Cape Vultures are the trigger species for Manyelannong Hills

Lesser Flamingos for the Makgadikgadi system

Who is Nesting in Ruretse?

A report by John Dalziel

Page 6

On the 2.11.08 a good number of Gaborone members attended an outing to a seemingly uninteresting bit of leafless acacia scrub in Ruretse, which on inspection, was found to be not quite so boring!

We visited many nest sites made during the previous month or so and it is interesting to note how many nests are either predated or damaged by strong winds. Sudden changes in the weather can also bring failure, and all this even before the cuckoos arrive to make use of their hosts.

Unfortunately the nine laughing dove nests discovered during the previous month had either fledged, been destroyed by wind or pre-dated before the outing. Regrettably too, the Namaqua Dove nest had been predated the day before. Those who have seen Namaqua chicks in a nest will know how wonderfully camouflaged they are. No Cape Turtle Dove nests were recorded in the area - they must have nested earlier in the long grass before it was burnt. Nests sites were recorded in August in other areas.

One Pied Babbler nest was seen on the outing but presumably it had not been used yet as it had been rather tidy for some weeks, which is not usually the case once a clutch is lost. There are fledged chicks in our garden now which is great to see.

Unfortunately the Brown-crowned (Three-streaked) Tchagra eggs in the nest we had been recording for some time, was predated the night before but we did get to see the nest, typically situated in the seemingly inaccessible (but obviously not quite enough) centre of a medium sized Acacia mellifera.

The Golden-breasted Bunting nest with two eggs was subsequently predated, possibly by a snake or small raptor, as there was no dam-age to the nest itself. The Black-chested Prinia was abandoned af-ter only one egg remained in the nest and the Crested Francolin lost out when the heavy rains left her eggs under water for days.

The following successes occurred in the nests shown -

1. The ever conspicuous Forked-tailed Drongo nest resulted in success as usual, with 3 chicks fledging which were seen roosting together for several weeks.

2. Two Crimson-breasted Shrike chicks fledged on different days and were also seen in the area for several weeks with the last having almost totally changed from the camouflage brown/black colours to the lovely crimson that we are all so familiar with.

A mirror-on-a-pole makes for easy nest viewing

The crombec’s slipper nest with an egg inside

The Cape Penduline Tit uses spider-web for its elaborate nest

3. Only two Kalahari Scrub-robin chicks, from one of the nests recorded with contents, survived. Not a successful month for them in comparison with the previous year.

4. Several Laughing Doves - one narrowly escaped certain death during the night by moving, somewhat prematurely, a foot from the nest. The next morning we found its sibling on the ground nearby, beheaded and partially eaten.

5. Only one pair of Red-faced Mousebirds, of the four recorded during the month, fledged two chicks successfully. It ap-pears that they take advantage of the fruit provided by the Shepherds Tree (Boscia angustifolia) to breed. It would have been wonderful to have seen chicks with their little green faces and crests, on the day. It was interesting to learn that the inner lining of each nest was spider web stolen from the poor little Cape Penduline Tits.

6. Four Scaly-feathered Finch chicks fledged as did the Tit Bab-blers and the Marico Flycatchers from the first nest we saw. The other nest was predated the following day. In addition, the single Long-billed Crombec baby survived.

Incidentally, of the three Southern Masked Weaver nests at the house - one fell during a storm, was picked up and re-fastened to the branch early the next morning. The female continued to incu-bate but obviously the eggs had got too cold and never hatched. The second had its eggs eaten by the Yellow-billed Hornbills which cleverly made a hole through the top of the nest and swallowed and/or broke each egg. The third almost suffered the same fate as the nest was destroyed by the hornbills, but by that time the chicks were fairly large and I saw one in the vicinity a few days later.

Soon after the walk the rains set in and with the grass come the snakes and ticks, so our excursions have come to an end.

The most exciting news though, is that the old female Yellow-billed Hornbill that has nested in a man-made nest near the house and successfully raised chicks in six out of the past seven years, is nest-ing again. Last year she did not nest and we thought she may be getting too old but she has proved us wrong. Presumably, the poor rains the year before and late commencement of last year’s rain resulted in her not being at her optimum for breeding.

It was good to have such enthusiastic participation on the walk and we hope that those of you who took nest logs home have already had some success.

Ed’s note: our log was occupied within hours by a pair of Acacia Pied Barbets, only to be displaced by Crested Barbets who are feeding their young as I write

On one occasion (one never has a camera at the crucial time) I watched the Penduline Tits (our smallest bird) attack and chase off a Red-faced Mousebird in the process of stealing their nesting material. The Tits were so aggressive that one might have mistaken them for Drongos!

The Dalziel’s tame Gunea Fowl at centrestage

The poorly-concealed Crested Francolin nest

The White-bellied Sunbird nest in the cactus

Page 7

Bird Listening: A New Hobby More tales by Kabo Ditshane

I kick my bike to life and beckon to my dog, Putjie. She already knows where we are heading and dashes off in front of the bike. Before I even knew it she is running like crazy some 500 metres away. We are headed for the edge of Jwaneng town, to a place which used to be a motor cross course, to do a new hobby called “bird listening”.

After a couple of lazy stunts on the motor cross mounds, I eventually kill the engine and prop the bike on top of the mound. I climb up and perch on the back of the bike and look south west. A lone figure walks slowly towards a disused motor cross stand a few metres away and sits down, also facing the set-ting sun.

A vast endless plain of lowveld and shrub savanna sprawls out before us. It drags my heart and soul with it away to the great Kgalagadi desert. A cool breeze is blowing my way from that direction and I can feel it massaging and caressing me with its soothing and soft fingers. I hear my heart beat settling down, my blood pressure leveling up and the day’s heat blown away. I smile.

The sun is slowly touching the western horizon in a display of rusty, reddish orange. The whole sky just above the horizon is painted in shades of dirty orange with careless streaks of grey wispy clouds. Up above a moon crest hangs calmly, watching the setting sun disappearing into the horizon. Two bright stars stand guard around the wondering moon who seems to ask the sun, “Why the rush?” Somewhere in the far distance a child’s voice is calling, and further away a group of men is singing somewhere beyond the now darkening thicket.

A few metres away in a false umbrella thorn Acacia luederitzii a group of Red-eyed Bulbuls are making agitated calls. I conclude that these are only bed making sounds until suddenly a huge owl-like bird darted out of the tree. A few minutes later I hear the spooky hoots from the direction where the large bird went. Lesson for me: “We want to sleep but not when we know you are around, Mr. Spotted Eagle-Owl!”

With the danger finally out of the way the black capped birds settle down to roost. A cackling of the Red- billed Francolin is heard against the background of cow bells. Occasionally there is the “kraaaak, kraaaakkk” of the thick headed Black Korhaan. “Work harder, work harder” the Cape Turtle Dove seems to say to me, but I beg to differ especially at this relaxing moment. A slow whistle of some bird is also heard to the left. Some day I will be able to tell which bird it is - no need to stress about that now. Hope is the magic word here. After all who can let anxiety about a bird call disturb the peace inside now? This is African sunset; these are African sounds just on the edge of the Kgalagadi desert, the en-chanting African feeling.

Truly this is life on top of the world, or should I say on top of the mound. Putjie, now panting for breath with excitement beside me, seems to agree with me. I spread my arms and breathe slowly and deeply to embrace the African spirit of peace and freedom.

Page 8

Page 9

At the parking lot outside Super Spar in Francistown I was approached by a young man who stated that he was selling carrots. Being partial to young carrot sticks I enquired whether they were fresh from the farm. ‘Yes’ he said, so we strolled over to his Land Rover bearing a Zimbabwe number plate. I was shocked to see about 50 to 60 parrots cramped into a wire coop. Momentarily flabbergasted, I blurted out that this was illegal trade, whereupon he said defensively that he was unaware that it was not allowed and how could he legalise it. I suggested he go to the Department of Wildlife for advice. He drove off hastily. I did not record his number plate detail.

Midday on a Sunday, some weeks later, I had a call from an ex–Zimbabwean resident. He had come through the Plumtree border that mormning and spotted a cardboard and wire netting crate containing 10 Grey-headed Parrots (Poicephalus fuscicollis) unattended, and desperate to get out. They had neither food nor water and had been guiltily abandoned there the previous day. He asked the Customs official whether he might take them to Francistown to take care of them. ‘Absolutely not’ the officer replied, not unexpectedly. ‘Would you allow Birds and Game to look after them?’ he then asked. ‘Yes, I know Birds and Game from long ago — I think that would be allowed.’ And so the phone call reached me. (I am retired and no longer live at Birds and Game)

I called the person on duty and he swiftly arranged for an aviary to be prepared and even offered to accompany me. I attempted to call Customs at the border to make sure the journey would not be in vain. The telephones were out—also the police lines. We set out in good faith and upon arrival identified ourselves and the officer at the gate led us to where he had placed the crate in the shade. It was empty. The desperate birds had used their razor sharp beaks to eat an escape hole in the cardboard! I told the Customs Officer that birds illegally trapped often have the primary flight feathers of one wing pulled out to make them flightless. If this was the fate of these parrots, they were as good as dead because they could not search for water or food. Furthermore, unable to fly, any land predator including dogs and cats would surely feast on them. But, the chances were that they were walking in the tall grass looking for nourishment.

We searched. Movement in the grass led us to locate one after the other.The customs department were unable to come up with gloves so we used the table cloth out of my picnic hamper to prevent a vicious bite. The only container that we could rustle up was one of those ever popular zip-up plastic shopping bags! We dribbled water onto the gasping birds. They were so thirsty that they caught the drops as they fell.

Meanwhile my companion sought audience with senior customs staff to request written confirmation that we were not the poachers but hoped to provide care for the parrots ’til the flight feathers had regrown. No such document was forthcoming but we were given verbal consent to depart with the birds provided we report to the DWNP the following day.

Here we were courteously treated but were sent on to the Government Veterinary Department. An astute Vet consulted with his seniors and it was decided that the birds would be inspected and if free from disease, could remain in the care of Birds and Game.

When the birds are again flying well, we plan to place an identifying ring from safring on each parrot’s leg and to release them back into their natural habitat. (The parrots enjoy carrots amongst other things!)

Note: Until fairly recently Grey-headed Parrots and Cape Parrots were classified as the same species. They have now been demographically re-grouped into two distinct races. Cape Parrots (Poicephalus robustus) have a more limited distribution and are classified as ‘rare’. Grey-headed Parrots occur further north in SA and are ‘uncommon’.

Carrots or Parrots? From Nicky Bousfield in Francistown

Birding ‘Bric-a-brac’

Snippets from Nicky Bousfield, Lucinda Briddes and Grant Buckmaster

Page 10

Road kills are always worth looking at. A Square-tailed Nightjar, squashed by a car, exuded green substance from its crop. Surely it could not be vegetable matter in an insectivorous bird? Upon dissection it turned out to be a number of green grasshoppers. NB

A Garden Warbler which is a palearctic migrant, was ringed in Botshabelo, Francistown, in January 2006 and was re-captured in March 2008—meaning that over the 2 year and 2 month period this little bird had twice flown to Eastern Siberia to breed and yet was faithful in returning to Botshabelo’s 10 acre housing estate in Francistown, Botswana. Amazing! NB

Some birds are a great example of pair fidelity. A pair of Grey-backed Camaroptera were ringed together on 14.10.2006 and again on 19.4.2008, still together! NB

On 14.6.2008 three Red-billed Firefinch chicks were found cosily nested in a discarded baked bean tin that had been thrown into the veld. They were photographed and each got their ‘omang’ (a numbered safring) NB

In the Kruger NP in July we came upon a number of different species of vultures feeding on a buffalo carcass. There were Cape, Lappet-faced, Hooded, White-backed and even a juvenile of the now rare White-headed Vultures. One, believed to be a Cape Vulture, was wearing a patagial (attached to the wing) tag. The code was readable and duly reported and we hope that it contributes to our knowledge of the movement of these birds. NB

Also in the KNP we came across a juvenile Saddle-billed Stork walking on its haunches on the ground. The primary feathers were far from fully grown and so the bird was flightless. Evidently it had been flushed from its nest. The male parent attended to it by regurgitating two silver fish, which were greedily eaten by the youngster. From a nearby picic spot we phoned the warden for the area and reported the plight of the chick. He thanked us for taking the trouble, but said that if man interferred it would end up being hand-reared in an orphanage. The policy of KNP in such a situation is to let nature take its course. Although doubtless correct, it was not without a feeling of regret and sadness that such a lovely and none-too-common a young bird should be left to the creatures of the night. I very much doubt that it saw another day dawn. NB

An item in a recent local paper tells a disturbing tale about carbon emmissions in Botswana. Per capita Botswana has the highest emmission rate in all of Africa and even Latin America. Chief meteorologist David Lesolle revealed that Botswana emits 2.44 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually per capita compared with 0.91 tonnes for the rest of Africa and 2.14 tonnes for Latin America. The blame for the high rate is laid at the the ‘energy wasteful’ energy and transport sectors and careless practices. The message to us all is to turn off the lights and geyser when not needed, share transport, walk more and use solar power wherever possible. LB

Scientists are marvelling over a small female bar-tailed godwit somewhere in New Zealand, who has a world re-cord for non-stop flying – an epic 11,200 kilometres, across the Pacific in eight days. A major international study into the birds offers an explanation as to why the godwits fly so far from Alaska to New Zealand in a single bound. The flight path shows the birds did not feed en route and would be unlikely to sleep. Scientists from around the world, electronically tagged and tracked them, both from New Zealand to Alaska, via Asia and from Alaska di-rectly back to New Zealand.

The international media have hailed the achievement. Apparently the birds would have flapped their wings non-stop for the entire journey and the resulting energy requirement was the greatest in the animal kingdom, eight times their resting basic metabolic rate (BMR) during their week-long exertion. Professional cyclists can only man-age about five times BMR for a few hours - Lance Armstrong would be no competition for these birds! The non-stop, over-water route is free of predators and substantially shorter than the alternative hop-scotching route down the eastern coast of Asia. Landing and eating would expose the birds to disease and parasites. Flying non stop – north to south – across the Pacific was the safest thing to do. GB

BLB 2010 Calendar

BirdLife Botswana needs your quality photographs of beautiful

Botswana Birds of Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Please submit your best images on CD to the BirdLife office in Kgale Siding by the end of January 2009. Images need to be 300dpi, either jpg or tiff, and A4 size .

Please note that your name as well as the bird’s name should be clearly marked.The rights to images submitted are given over to BLB and any published images will be credited to the photographer.

BirdLife – Kasane

This branch plan to meet on either the last Saturday or Sunday of the month.

Contact Lyn Francey lynfrancey@gmail.com or Pete Laver petelaver@bluebottle.com

or check the website www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw for details

BirdLife – Ghanzi Contact Lorraine Boast lboast@yahoo.co.uk tel: 72146997

BirdLife – Maun

Evening activities (talks, films etc.) are held at Maun Lodge starting at 19h00 unless otherwise indicated.

Field outings on weekends commence from the parking area outside Ngami Toyota. Exact details for outings (e.g. time of departure) are announced at the evening meeting prior to the field out-ing.

Additional activities may be scheduled depending on demand.

Note that there will always be an activity on the dates listed – these dates can be diarized with a high degree of certainty that an activity will take place. If there is an unexpected problem with the listed activity, another will be substituted.

Contact P Hancock at BirdLife Maun office for further information - 6865618.

Maun office address – P O Box 1529, Maun

Page 11

Dear Kids,

In our last issue we looked at terms used to describe the different parts of birds. We concen-trated on the terms for the features on birds’ heads. Of course the beak, also called the bill, is an important and unique feature that birds have. Different types of birds have beaks that are of dif-ferent sizes and shapes. The size and shape of a bird’s beak can often tell us what it eats and therefore where you might expect to find (or look for) that particular bird. It is also an important feature in identifying birds. Different types of birds use their beaks as we would use different tools. Below are some examples of various kinds of birds, their special beaks and how they use them. You can draw the tools mentioned.

Birds Various beaks used as tools to help birds get food

Batis : beak used as tweezers to catch soft food like insects

Eagle : used like pliers with the little hook on the end of the beak and the rest of the beak helping the bird grip prey

Finch : strong beak is used as a nutcracker to break open seeds

Flamingo : beak is used as a sieve to filter very small plant or animal food from the water

Heron : like a harpoon the long, pointed beak is used to spear fish and frogs

Ibis : beak is used as long-nosed pliers to reach food far away, grip and hold it firmly

Nightjar : just as a butterfly net the beak opens very wide to catch insects

Oxpecker : beak is used like a comb to remove small bugs and ticks from the hair of large animals

Kids For Birds

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Page 13

Birds and their Beaks

Match the beaks below to the correct birds. Complete the birds by drawing in their missing beaks. (Note: The birds are not drawn to size and the beaks have been enlarged for detail.)

Beaks Birds

1. Large waterbird - A. Cape Vulture

fish and frog eater

2. Carrion (dead animal) B. House Sparrow

eater

3. Nectar eater C. Black-headed Heron

4. Live prey eater D. Kalahari Scrub-Robin

5. Fruit eater E. Green Pigeon

6. Seed eater F. White-bellied Sunbird

7. Insect eater G. Greater Flamingo

8. Water animal (tiny) eater H. Martial Eagle

Other birds such as the African Spoonbill, ducks and snipes also have unique beaks. See how many different, interesting beaks you can identify. Also think about all the different things birds use their beaks for. Make a list of these and think if you could do all those things too, with just your mouth!

Answers: 1-C, 2-A, 3-F, 4-H, 5-E, 6-B, 7-D, 8-G

Sunbird : like a syringe the long, curved beak is inserted into a flower to sip up nectar

Woodpecker : very strong beak is used as a chisel to make holes in wood to catch in-sect grubs and other food

If you would like a really special way to remember someone who cared about the bush and its birds, an In Memoriam gift to BirdLife Botswana is something you may want to think about. That’s because your gift would go directly towards protecting and conserving our birds and the environment in which they live. BLB is working assiduously to protect our birds and promote an interest in them. We are particularly trying to in-terest children in learning to appreciate and love our birds.

Your In Memoriam gift can ensure a future for the birds that meant so much in the life of someone who is sadly no longer with us. In celebrating the name of someone who cared about these things, you can help us learn more about endangered species, and promote the popularisation of a healthy pastime for others and in so doing, protect these precious birds and the environment.

It may be that you, your family and friends would like to do something more to honour the memory of the one you have lost. If so, you may wish to consider a Feather Fund in their name (e.g. the Mary Wilson Feather Fund). This on-going personalised fund will celebrate their memory, and can be added to at appro-priate times, like special anniversaries that you may wish to honour. There are many ways in which friends, relatives and colleagues may wish to increase the Feather Fund – from fund-raising to making a regular do-nation. Just let us know if you would like to know more about this rewarding way to sustain the memory of someone who had a special love for birds and the bush.

Please contact Harold Hester on 3161766 or email him at haroldh@accelerate-it.co.bw

For all Eternity

BirdLife Events 2009 - Gaborone

Bird walks start at 06:30 October to April and 08:00 May to September.

* NB Meet in the southern carpark of Malapo Crossing (Pick ‘n Pay Centre) on the western bypass

All talks take place at the National Museum at 19:30 on the 3rd Tuesday of the month

BirdLife - Jwaneng Our Jwaneng branch is now well established – contact Kabo Ditshane for details kditshane@debswana.bw

BirdLife – Francistown The Francistown branch hold their meetings on the second Wednesday of each month, starting at 19h00 at the Supa-Ngwayo Museum, located at the corner of the first turn to the left as you travel from the Bulawayo roundabout towards the light industrial area. If you have any questions please call Guy Brina on 2412913 or email him at gltm@botsnet.bw.

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Date Activity

Sunday February 1st Walk — Metsemothlaba River

Sunday March 1st Walk — Gabane

6th, 7th, 8th March Camp — Bing’s Farm

28th March National Board Meeting at Francistown

BirdLife Botswana Donors 2008 BirdLife Botswana would like to thank all our sponsors for their valued support during 2008. It is largely due to this support that we have made much progress in meeting our goals this year and we look forward to your continued support in the future.

Abercrombie and Kent Africa Bird Club And Crafts Craft Centre shop Barlowworld Important Bird Areas (IBAs) Bergstan Purchase of calendars BirdLife International Book BirdLife International /Global Economic Fund Borello, Remi and Wendy Babbler costs Botash BP Maun Bridges, Brian Maun Office Running Costs Bytes Technology Purchase of calendars Canada Fund WUSK Canon Printing of Familiar Chat, Purchase of Calendars Capital Securities Sponsorship of lecture course CC Africa General costs Chobe Holdings Debswana Desert and Delta Safaris Diamond Trading Co Purchase of calendars Eagle Insurance Purchase of calendars Elliotts Purchase of calendars Equipment Sales Purchase of calendars Gaborone Sun Purchase of calendars Hall and Watts Purchase of calendars Hancock, Pete Helicopter Horizons Helicopter flying time IUCN Jwaneng Mine Sponsorship of Kori Bustard Project Lane Jones, Mary Letaka Safaris Lappet Faced Vultures Magnum Freight Purchase of calendars and general McCulloch Graham Flamingo Project McCulough Doreen and Bob Education Mulbridge Transport Muller, Mark Maun Office Running Costs Ngami Marine Use of boats Ngami Toyota Ngamiland Adventure Safaris Northern Building Supplies Lappet Faced Vultures Nxamaseri Island Lodge Okavango Wilderness Safaris

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Committee of BirdLife Botswana 2008/09 Chairman Harold Hester haroldh@accelerate-it.co.bw Vice-Chairman Mike Goldsworthy mgg@accelerate-it.co.bw - also membership secretary Hon. Treasurer Jane Fleming flembo@accelerate-it.co.bw Secretary Sandra Stonehill s_m_stonehill@yahoo.co.uk Committee members Balisi Bonyongo bbonyongo@debswana.bw Guy Brina - organiser of activities in Francistown gltm@botsnet.bw Chris Brewster - recorder cbrewster@botsnet.bw Mary Lane-Jones mlj@it.bw Dolina Malepa - dmalepa@gov.bw Doreen McColaugh – education bdmac@info.bw Geoff & Trish Williams - williams@botsnet.bw Eugenie Skelton – editor Familiar Chat skelton@home.co.bw Ian White – no1foods@inet.co.bw Lucas Rutina – lucasrutina@hotmail.com Staff members Kabelo Senyatso – Dir. & Conservation Officer blb@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Pete Hancock - Conservation Officer Maun birdlifemaun@botsnet.bw Keddy Mooketsa - Assistant CO – Gaborone admin@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Virat Kootsositse – Ass. CO Gaborone ibamanager@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Records sub-committee Recorder Chris Brewster, PO Box 2316, Gaborone Secretary Keddy Mooketsa admin@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Andrew Hester Huw Penry supenry@yahoo.co.uk Stephanie J. Tyler steph_tyler2001@hotmail.com

Richard D. Randall rrsafaris@yahoo.co.fr

Conservation/Research sub-committee

Chair Pete Hancock (birdlifemaun@ngami.co.za) birdlifemaun@botsnet.bw Kabelo Senyatso blb@birdlifebotswana.org.bw Stephanie Tyler steph_tyler2001@hotmail.com Graham McCulloch gmcculloch@botsnet.bw Sekgowa Motsumi semotsumi@gov.bw Caspar Bonyongo cbonyongo@orc.ub.bw Editorial sub-committee (Babbler) Editor Stephanie J. Tyler steph_tyler2001@hotmail.com

Asst. Editors Pete Hancock & Doreen McColaugh

BirdLife Botswana Private Bag 003, Suite 348, Mogoditshane, Gaborone, Botswana Website: www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw