Birds of a feather

A man with a passion for wildlife, Ballito’s James Rowdon has made sure nature fills just about every aspect of his life.

Rowdon has lived on the North Coast for 40 years, he attended Umhlali Primary and has sent his children there in turn.

He has a long history of working with wildlife, having studied Zoology at UKZN before going on to work with lions at the famous Mala Mala Game Reserve for three years and the Okavango Delta for a further six years.

When Rowdon decided to start a family and returned to the Dolphin Coast he started working for SATIB Insurance Brokers, though that does not necessarily take him away from his first love, as they insure both tourism and wildlife.

“When I came back from the Okavango I wanted to stay in touch with nature, so SATIB was the perfect place,” said Rowdon.

“SATIB’s conservancy trust has also sponsored my bird ringing activities, where I tag birds in order to track populations and migrations.”

From walking with lions to tagging birds that fit in the palm of his hand may seem like an anticlimax, he seems content as long as he is in contact with Africa’s wildlife.

“Birds are ringed for us to be able to identify them as individuals so that we can learn more about their lives, such as how long they live and when and where they move.

“Placing a lightweight, uniquely numbered, metal ring around a bird’s leg provides a reliable and harmless method of identifying birds as individuals.”

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Rowdon works in conjunction with the University of Cape Town (UCT), through which he has a licence to carry out bird ringing, he also has a provincial permit for his activities.

“Generally, the night before I will set up a small mesh screen with a pocket below. Then I will come check it the next morning just before first light to see what birds have been caught so that I can check and tag them.”

Through UCT, Rowdon tracks migration patterns (local, continental and international) while he also measures wingspan, bill and tail length, weight, assesses the bird’s moulting and more.

He said he mostly catches smaller birds with his screens, as the occasional hadeda or goshawk will simply pull it apart and escape.

His work has allowed him one or two interesting finds, such as discovering a Lemon Dove in Zimbali, something that had never been spotted there before despite a bird list in existence for 20 years.

Rowdon’s passion and skill have now sent him winging off to Sierra Leone in West Africa, where he will spend several weeks outside the capitol, Freetown.

“This is a bit of a rekkie trip, the war that went on for years in Sierra Leone meant that very little was documented about their wildlife. I am hoping to build on the understanding of the local environment, involve locals – especially children – in conservation and document all the species we observe.”

So if you ever spot a bird with a little ring around its ankle, that isn’t the latest fashion in the feathered world, but rather a little example of the work ringers like Rowdon do to advance our understanding of our avian neighbours.

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