Cape Parrot Big Birding Day

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Submitted by Colleen Downs             Contact Email: Downs@ukzn.ac.za

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An annual national census, the Cape Parrot Big Birding Day (CPBBD), has been undertaken for the past nine years (Downs 2006). Over the years more volunteers have participated and more forest patches have been covered which has enabled the count to become more reliable. The census has been developed around Cape Parrot behaviour. The parrots roam widely each day in search of food and are not predictably detectable in forest patches during the day. They are active in the early morning and late afternoon as they fly from and to their nightly roosts. Counters, therefore, use this time to count the individuals as the parrots leave and return to forest patches. Counters observe from vantage points above or below forest patches, or at food sources frequented away from forests, from late afternoon until after sunset on the Saturday afternoon and again from just before first light until a few hours after sunrise on the Sunday morning. They record number of birds seen; time; direction of flight; the presence of males, females or juveniles, where these can be distinguished; and other relevant details. Adjoining counts are compared to prevent duplication. Variability of results between years and discrepancy between the morning and afternoon counts can be a consequence of poor weather, double counting, and missing areas where parrots are on the particular day (Downs 2006). Also, when birds are concentrated at feeding sites, they give a false impression of abundance.  However, as the count is continued year after year, there appears to be a positive trend of gradually increasing numbers of Cape Parrots, particularly this year (Downs 2006). However, because of the patchy distribution of the parrots and their dependence on yellowwood forests, both their conservation is still a priority.

Table 1: Summary of results of Cape Parrot Big Birding Day (1998-2006) (adapted from: Downs 2006).

      No. of Cape Parrots and (Observ. Locations)
Year Weather Observers Morning Afternoon
 1998  Good  136  321  (47)  179  (37)
 1999  Poor  155  282  (53)  237  (53)
 2000  Good  118  459  (42)  460  (38)
 2001  Good  153  356  (75)  316  (69)
 2002  Good  339  634  (144)  476  (141)
 2003  Mixed  332  885  (149)  717  (148)
 2004  Good  336  994  (127)  1021  (125)
 2005  Good  339  969  (125)  894  (122)
 2006  Mixed  282  1332  (103)  1108  (103)

Table 2. Summary of results of the Cape Parrot Big Birding Day 2006 (afternoon of the 6th and morning of the 7thMay) according to areas and provinces (Downs 2006).
Area Cape Parrots in morning Cape Parrots in evening
Zululand 0 0
Boston 9 9
Bulwer 21 13
Byrne 0 2
Dargle 17 15
Karkloof 19 6
Creighton (KZN) 315 328
Creighton (Trans) 223 172
Weza 29 13
Glengarry 15 0
Umtata 115 93
Transkei Coast 62 50
Stutterheim 89 60
Fort Fordyce-Keiskammahoek 320 342
Limpopo 88 5
Total 1322 1108
     
Province    
KZN 410 386
Former Transkei 415 315
E.Cape (excl. Transkei) 409 402
Limpopo 88 5

Cape Parrot Big Birding Day 2007

A reminder for your diaries: The next Cape Parrot Big Birding Day in 2007 will be the 10th CPBD.  It will be held on the Saturday afternoon of the 5th May and the morning of the Sunday 6th May. Contact: Colleen Downs Downs@ukzn.ac.za

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