The Biodiversity and Development Institute invites ringers (and banders) to attend and participate in a Ringers’ Symposium to be held over the period Friday 6 to Thursday 12 November 2026, at the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area, near Bredasdorp on the Agulhas Plain.
The three days from Sunday 8 to Tuesday 10 November are the core dates, on which there will be symposium presentations. The remaining days, two on either side of the core period, are set aside for bird ringing activities, especially for people who have travelled a long way to be at the symposium. On the three presentation days, the programme will start at 11h00, after a substantial brunch available from 10h15, enabling ringing sessions to be held in the early mornings. There will be a ltea/coffee/snack break at around 13h00, and the programme for the day will end by 16h00, so that late-afternoon ringing is possible.
NUWEJAARS WETLANDS SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA
The Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area covers 47,000 ha, of which about one half is natural vegetation and the other half is agricultural. It includes some 30 farms and the town of Elim. It is a biodiversity rich area. The objective is to build a functioning ecosystem where nature thrives, where agriculture is sustainable, where wetlands recover and where people benefit through green employment opportunities. One of the biggest achievements to date has been the removal of alien vegetation from the Nuwejaars River and the restoration of the floodplain, a wetland which is 800 m wide in places.
You can find out more about the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area on their website: https://nuwejaars.com/
CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
If you would like to do a presentation, please contact Sue Gie via email susan@gie.co.za. Presentations need to have a strong focus on some aspect which is related to bird ringing.
Here is a tentative list of likely presentations. Not all of these are confirmed yet, and the titles are also provisional.
| Presenter | Topic |
| Introduction | |
| Ross Kettles | Introduction to the Nuwejaars Wetlands Management Area |
| Sally Hofmeyr | The role of Safring |
| Erica Brink | The value of bird ringing in the environmental education programme at Nuwejaars Wetlands SMA |
| Bird observatories | |
| Roy Earle | Bird Ringing at the Alte Kalköfen Bird Observatory, Southern Namibia |
| Xavier Quantz | Beaverhill Bird Observatory, Alberta, Canada |
| Methods | |
| Dieter Oschadleus | Exploring your ringing data |
| Toni Hoenders | Standardized photography of birds in the hand |
| Les Underhill | The analysis of primary moult |
| Ringing projects | |
| Tammy Godding | How the recovery of the Seychelles Magpie Robin was monitored |
| Muneeba Lamera | The role of nectar-rich stepping stones in facilitating bird movement across urban landscapes“ |
PRE- & POST-SYMPOSIUM ACTIVITIES
For the past few years, we have ringed at a variety of sites within the Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area. On Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November, the two days preceding the symposium, and then after it on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 November, we will coordinate ringing at various of our sites. Go to links to reports, and pick out the reports on previous ringing trips to Nuwejaars Wetlands.
During the symposium sunrise will be at around 05h30. Sunset will be around 19h20. New moon is on 9 November, so the nights will be dark.
ACCOMMODATION
Please make your own accommodation arrangements. There are several self-catering options within the Nuwejaars Wetlands SMA: see https://nuwejaars.com/sleep/.
The three which are closest to the conference venue are
Black Oystercatcher 5 km – https://blackoystercatcher.co.za/bredasdorpaccommodation/
Strandveld Vineyards 9 km – https://strandveld.co.za/accommodation/
Zoetendals Vineyards 10 km – https://zoetendal.co.za/accommodation/
It will also be possible to camp or caravan on the farm Hazevlakte, where the BDI team will be staying. Please contact Sue Gie for details about this.
There is accommodation in Bredasdorp and in the area around Elim.
SYMPOSIUM REGISTRATION FEES
Symposium registration R1 450
- This includes three lunches on the conference days 8–10 November
- This includes participation in the ringing activities between 6 and 12 November
Daily registration at the symposium R600 per day
- 8, 9 or 10 November
- This includes lunch on the attendance day
Daily registration at ringing days without attending the symposium R200 per day
- 6, 7, 11 or 12 November
Any proceeds of the Ringers’ Symposium will be used to fund research concerned with various aspects of bird conservation.
To register, please contact Susan Gie via email (susan@gie.co.za). She will send you a registration form and following that an invoice for the symposium registration fees.
ORGANISING COMMITTEE
Prof Les Underhill les@thebdi.org
Dr Dieter Oschadleus doschadleus@gmail.com
Mrs Susan Gie susan@gie.co.za
