The Cape Bird Club

Western Cape Raptor Research Programme – Andrew Jenkins.

Andrew has been busy!!

photograph by Andrew Jenkins

This pair were two chicks Andrew ringed in 2005, one from a nest in Scarborough, the other from the Muizenberg area.

photograph by Andrew Jenkins

The dead bird was a female he ringed in 2004 in the Muizenberg area. She died when she flew into this 8mm thick plate glass window of a house on the slopes of Camps Bay.

photograph by Andrew Jenkins

The 3rd picture is of a chick Andrew ringed in 2005 in Fish Hoek, perched in a tree in Muizenberg.

photograph by Andrew Jenkins                                                                  photograph by Andrew Jenkins

These 2 pictures of a chick ringed on Table Mountain and then a few months later as a fledged juvenile in the Rondebosch area.

photograph by Gary van der Merwe

See the work to encourage Peregrine breeding in a suburban environment.

Andrew's earliest recollection of his interest in birds is as a small boy, he was watching a Mallard Duck that used to frequent a stream that ran through his grandparents home in the UK. Soon that gave way to a lasting fascination with Peregrines, long before he actually saw one of these impressive raptors. He attributes his awakening interest in Peregrines to the controversy that surrounded the use of DDT in the UK at the time, and the adverse effect it was having on these birds that were considered very rare at the time. When his family emigrated to South Africa, they often went on holiday to the Drakensberg. Andrew's interest in raptors grew and as a schoolboy he used to monitor a pair of Black Eagles that were breeding at Hartebeespoort dam. After his schooling in Johannesburg he did his undergraduate studies in Zoology at the University of Natal (Pietermaritzburg) and completed his PhD at UCT and currently serves as a research associate at the Fitzpatrick Institute, managing and overseeing a suite of projects that make up the Western Cape Raptor Research Programme.

During these years Andrew was fortunate to meet and work with several individuals who influenced and guided Andrew's growing interest in raptors.
As a schoolboy he used to assist Chris Brown, an ornithologist, with radio tracking vultures in the Drakensberg. Chris later moved to Namibia where Andrew assisted him with various raptor projects. Chris currently heads up WWF in Namibia.
Dave Allan, the Curator of Birds for the Durban Museum, whose published work on raptor surveying of the Transvaal, is today still an excellent example of what can be achieved through hard work and dedication. Dave was instrumental in getting Andrew into the Fitzpatrick Institute as a student to do Peregrine work, when he was doing his Masters there. His PhD dealt with comparing the biology of the Lanner and Peregrine falcons.

photograph by Andrew Jenkins

Lucia admiring a Peregrine while helping Andrew, it is patiently awaiting its release.

Peregrines have a more specialized way of catching their food and as a result are more dependant on the abundance of their specific food type, birds, and the environment in which they are found.
Currently 35 Peregrine nests have been recorded in Andrew's study area, which stretches from Cape Point to the Tygerberg Hills. 22 of these occur in the mountains, 8 on buildings and 5 in quarries. Andrew expects approx. 30 chicks to fledge this season - 2004. So far 24 have been ringed.

photograph by Andrew Jenkins

A Peregrine Falcon on her nest.

This year has been a relatively poor breeding season for Peregrines. This is mainly due to late cold fronts with torrential rains in October. Rain squalls provide gaps for the birds to dry out and catch some food. During downpours of torrential rain, birds get sodden. This is detrimental to the incubation process and limits the adult's ability to protect a newly hatched chick from the cold wet weather.
The variation in numbers of chicks produced, between good and bad breeding seasons is quite substantial. A good season produces five times the number of chicks. IOW 35 pairs of Peregrines, in a good season can produce between 70 to 80 chicks. In a bad season, only as few as 20 chicks.
Peregrines are also susceptible to high speed collisions. 60 to 70% of casualties are due to high speed collisions with overhead wires, vehicles etc. So although Peregrines are able to exploit the benefits presented by urban areas, it holds many hidden dangers for them. As a predator at the top of the food chain the use of poison has fatal consequences for Peregrines.

photograph by Andrew Jenkins

A Martial Eagle chick in a nest, high up on a powerline pylon in the Karoo.

The other projects, that form part of the WCRRP:

• is the Eskom Electric Eagle Project. (EEEP) in the south western Karoo, which is a collaborative project with Eskom, the EWT and the Fitztitute which has the dual aims of managing and reducing line fault problems associated with the nests of Martial and other large eagles.
• The Goudini Fish Eagle Project, sponsored by the Goudini Wine Estate deals with monitoring the levels of pesticide contamination in 10 pairs of Fish Eagles, (as well as 20 pairs of Black Sparrowhawks) found along the Wolseley and Robertson section of the Breede River.
• The Barn Owl Project, which encourages farmers to make suitable nesting boxes available to these owls and thus encourage them to become resident in the area to keep the gerbil population under control. This project is based up the West Coast, but should be extended to all wheat growing areas.

Andrew Jenkins,
021 650 4123/4  or  082 959 9238 ajenkins@botzoo.uct.ac.za