All eyes on the sky

Wildlife enthusiasts flock together for talk by birdlife connoisseur

June 20, 2019

Heidelberg Nigel Heraut 4 minutes read

The Friends of Marievale enjoyed an enlightened talk with guest speaker Ernst Retief from BirdLife South Africa. They are seen here at the lovely bird sanctuary outside Nigel where visitors can enjoy sightings of almost 300 species of birds with bird hides and a picnic spot with braai facilities.

Ernst Retief (manager: data and spatial planning) from BirdLife South Africa visited the Friends of Marievale on June 8 to talk on the work that BirdLife South Africa do and on the Blesbokspruit as an important bird and biodiversity area.

BirdLife South Africa is the only dedicated bird conservation in the country. Retief said there are currently over 850 bird species in SA and it is a difficult task to conserve so many species especially over a widespread habitat which include areas that sometimes are impossible to reach.

“How do you conserve birds that are constantly on the move and even migrate to other countries?,” he asked.

Retief also stated that many of the birds are killed in power lines and fences. “To me it is a challenge. Some people think we should run away from it, but I am passionate about the conservation of birds. One of the best ways of conserving birds is to conserve their habitats and we at BirdLife South Africa do this through our IBA (Important Bird and Biodiversity Area) program.

The IBA program concentrates on preserving habitat sites. If you manage the grasslands in the correct manner, graze and burn it correctly the secretary birds and endangered larks will be able to look after themselves.

“Unfortunately we only have so many personnel and we need to prioritise. 122 sites have been identified as crucial IBA sites in 1998. You are currently sitting in an IBA site, but it is not only Marievale, it is the entire Blesbokspruit area. A revised IBA directory was published in 2015. We had to assess all the areas again, had to get rid of some of the sites and had to identify those sites which serve as habitat areas for our most threatened bird species. There are strict criteria to consider in identifying an IBA site,” Retief continued.

Unfortunately almost all of the areas next to Blesbokspruit is transformed. It is either urban areas, mines or agricultural areas. This is not great for any IBA or nature reserve. This is why it is difficult for GDARD (Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) to mitigate threats in this area.

Retief attended meetings with GDARD in Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve recently where he did a study on birds colliding with barbed wire fences and had a discussion that all reserves in Gauteng must move to non-barbed wire fences. He said that the authorities in principal agreed to in future start to replace barbed wire fences.

Retief confirmed that they are working with and meet on a regular basis with government in terms of planning. “Many of the areas we work in are called strategic water resource areas. If we lose our grasslands for example, Gauteng (with catchment areas in other provinces) will not have water and politicians listen when you relate this fact,” Retief said.

He gave the Friends of Marievale several ideas in which way they can attract more tourists to the area. “There are a lot of tourism opportunities in our conservation areas. We must look at building all bird hides so that it can be accessible to all (wheelchair friendly etc) and we must also look into training guides (creating job opportunities). Marievale is a hotspot area for birding in Gauteng so we can definitely look at training maybe one or two guys as bird guides. We can provide you with wonderful nature conservation material for the bird hides and we can also market the area to local lodges and establishments. Get more bird clubs involved. It is important to get regular data on which birds have been spotted in which area.”

Retief said they appreciate the Friends of Marievale’s regular CWAC (Coordinated Waterbird Avifaunal Count) counts. The objective of CWAC is to monitor South Africa’s water bird populations and the conditions of the wetlands which are important for water birds.

Retief asks the community to help them with bird counts by using an app called BirdLasser where you can record your bird sightings. This data is used the most in conservation planning.
Retief brought a ‘friend’ with him called Striger. He explained that the caricature of the secretary bird (which is South Africa’s bird of the year for 2019) is used by BirdLife South Africa in their educational lesson plan in collaboration with Chrissie Cloete (chrissiecandraw) and with funding from the Hans Hoheisen Charitable Trust.

These plush toy replicas of Striger and pin badges will also be available to the public at BirdLife South Africa’s head office in Johannesburg at 17 Hume Road, Dunkeld West or phone them on 011 789 1122 for more information.

Retief assured the meeting that BirdLife South Africa has a keen interest in Marievale and will continue to do so. It is valuable to us to see passionate people like you being involved in Marievale,” Retief concluded.

Marievale Bird Sanctuary is located 5km outside Nigel on the R42 towards Delmas. This is a bird lover’s paradise where you will find more than 240 bird species in an area of about 1 000ha. Follow the roads between various water pans and enjoy bird watching in five different hides. There is also a picnic spot with braai facilities and ablution block.

Entrance to the reserve is free and operating hours are from 05:30 until 19:30 (during summer) and from 06:00 until 18:00 (in winter). The Friends of Marievale is a group of passionate bird lovers who keep an eye (in partnership with GDARD) on the reserve and also spend time, effort and funds in upgrading facilities. If you want to join the group or want more information on the reserve, phone Dee Johnson on 011 730 2059.