BirdLife South Africa, the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey Programme (EWT-BoPP), and the University of the Witwatersrand have launched a collaborative satellite tracking project on one of South Africa’s most charismatic raptors, Secretarybird.

Secretarybird has a wide distribution, occurring throughout sub-Saharan Africa in different habitat types, except for areas covered by forests and true deserts. Secretarybird was recently up-listed on the IUCN Red List to Vulnerable, as it is threatened by a number of factors throughout its range. These include habitat fragmentation and degradation through agricultural and commercial forestry development, collisions with power lines and farm fences, and secondary poisoning.  The continued survival of this iconic species, easily identifiable by its long legs and erectile crest, is under threat in South Africa. A preliminary analysis of information collected during the two bird atlas projects (http://sabap2.adu.org.za/) shows a considerable reduction in the areas this species previously occupied in South Africa.

The EWT-BoPP and BirdLife South Africa initiated a collaborative project to gain a better understanding of Secretarybird’s biology. Although Secretarybirds are large and visible birds, very little is known about their home range size, juvenile dispersal, and which habitats they prefer.

The tracking project, a costly exercise, will provide detailed information on the species’ movements and habits. These devices cost in the region of R25 000 apiece. The tracking device, using cell phone tracking with GPS technology, collects data every 15 minutes, is accurate to within 6-10 metres, and downloads the data via the GSM cellular network.

“The project will enable us to better understand the biology of the Secretarybird, and should help determine why they are no longer doing well in the grasslands and other habitats in South Africa and enable us to make better informed decisions on appropriate conservation action to benefit the species”, says André Botha, Manager of the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

BirdLife South Africa will focus its efforts in the grasslands, while the EWT-BoPP will focus its efforts in the Kalahari region of the Northern Cape and the savannas of the Lowveld and the Kruger National Park. The combined data will allow comparisons to be made, and the research findings will lead to considered conservation action and ultimately contribute to countering the current decline in numbers and decrease in range of this species.

Ernst Retief, BirdLife South Africa Regional Conservation Manager for Gauteng and North West says, “The first tracking device has been fitted to a Secretarybird fledgling on the farm Garingboom near Springfontein in the Free State on 22 March 2012. The fledgling called Spyker is sponsored by Radio OFM and its movements can be followed at http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/threatened-species/secretarybird.  Spyker has moved around quite extensively since leaving the nest.”

The harnesses were tested on captive Secretarybirds to make sure that they fit correctly and therefore to prevent any side-effects.

Dr Hanneline Smit, BirdLife South Africa Conservation Manager/Oppenheimer Fellow of Conservation, says: “In this short amount of time since fitting the device to Spyker, our knowledge on juvenile dispersal and behaviour has increased immensely.” She asked farmers and birders to let BirdLife South Arica and the EWT identify breeding sites in the target areas, to enable the conservation teams to fit further tracking devices to fledglings later this year.

The devices are best fitted to 8 – 9 week fledglings and are expected to last for a minimum of two and a half years should the fledglings survive to adulthood. Given the numerous threats faced by this species, we also request the public to report mortalities.

Secretarybird

The Secretarybird - Sagittarius serpentarius - is a large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey Endemic to Africa. It is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah in sub-Saharan Africa. The majestic Secretarybird is in serious decline and is now classified as Globally Vulnerable.

Description

The Secretarybird is instantly recognizable as having an eagle-like body on crane like legs. They have rounded wings and in flight it resembles a crane more than a bird of prey. The bird gets its name from its crest of long feathers that look like the quill pens of 19th century office workers used to tuck behind their ears. It is basically dove-grey in color, with black on the wings, thighs and elongated central tail feathers. It has an eagle like head with a short, down-curved bill is backed by an area of bare, red and yellow skin. The tail has two elongated central feathers that extend beyond the feet during flight. Sexes exhibit very little sexual dimorphism, although the male has longer head plumes and tail feathers.

Food

The Secretary bird walks well on its long legs, and will walk roughly 40km per day. It finds most of its food on the ground and will stamp on grass tussocks to scare up lizards, grasshoppers, and small mammals or birds. Adults hunt in pairs, stalking through the habitat with long strides. Prey consists of insects, snakes, other reptiles, amphibians, tortoises, rats and other small mammals as well as young game birds. It also waits near fires, eating anything it can that is trying to escape. Secretary Birds have two distinct feeding strategies that are both executed on land. They can either catch prey by chasing it and striking with the bill, or stamping on prey until it is rendered stunned or unconscious enough to swallow.

Breeding

Secretarybirds pair for life and are remarkably faithful to their nest site. The nest is generally placed on top of a tree, usually an acacia. During courtship, they exhibit a nuptial display by soaring high with undulating flight patterns and calling with guttural croaking. Males and females can also perform a grounded display by chasing each other with their wings up and back, much like the way they chase prey.

Secretarybirds lay two to three oval, rough textured, pale-green/white eggs over the course of two to three days. The eggs are incubated primarily by the female for 45 days. Both the parents feed the young and are fed liquefied and regurgitated insects directly by the male or female and are eventually weaned to small mammals and reptile fragments regurgitated onto the nest. At 60 days, the young start to flap their wings, and by 65 to 80 days are able to fledge.

The Secretarybird has traditionally been admired in Africa for its striking appearance and ability to deal with pests and snakes. Africans sometimes call it the Devil's Horse. As such it has often not been molested, although this is changing as traditional observances have declined.

Conservation Status - Globally Vulnerable.

The Secretarybird was uplisted from Near-threatened to Vulnerable. In South Africa there is considerable concern about the conservation status of the species. A preliminary analysis of SABAP1 and SABAP2 data shows a considerable reduction in the areas this species previously occupied. This is probably mostly due to habitat loss and habitat degredation, but other threats such as power lines collisions are also taking their toll.

Birdwatching

Ask Aves Birding Tours to create a tour for you to see these majestic birds or book on one of the following Aves Birding Tours/Safaris/Adventures: -

Aves Arid Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.

Aves Eastern Cape Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.

Aves Highlands / Tembe Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves KZN Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North East Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves North West Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves Western Cape Birding Tour / Safari / Adventure.

Aves West Coast Birding Tour / Safari /Adventure.