Bird Ringing Course at Botuin, Vanrhynsdorp: 31 January to 6 February 2024

This was the seventh BDI bird ringing course. You get links to the previous courses and other bird ringing events here.

Although we had some extremely hot (over 40°C) and windy days, the last 3 days started with overcast conditions. Our week long ringing course was based at Botuin in Vanrhynsdorp, from 31 January to 6 February 2024. We caught 285 birds, including retraps, of 37 species. As on previous trips, we visited the sewage works and the Gifberg “lark site”, in addition to ringing in the Botuin gardens.

The species diversity was highest in the large garden at Botuin, with some exciting species being Namaqua Warbler, Chestnut-vented Warbler and a Fairy Flycatcher (Table 1). Most birds were caught at the Vanrhynsdorp Sewage Works, with a total catch of 65 Southern Red Bishops on two visits. Exciting species here included four Three-banded Plovers and a Little Stint. The karoo veld on the slopes of Gifberg had lower numbers and species but this site produced five Rufous-eared Warblers (a pair caught in a spring trap simultaneously!), three Large-billed Larks and a Karoo Chat.

Overall the most caught species were the Southern Red Bishop (67 birds) and Cape Sparrow (59). Lots of retraps from previous ringing events at Vanrhynsdorp were processed, including several that had moved between the sewage works and Botuin, a straight line distance of 1.5 km (see more here).

Table 1. Number of birds caught by species and site, 31 January-6 February, 2024