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Author: Les Underhill

Prof Les Underhill was Director of the Animal Demography Unit (ADU) at the University of Cape Town from its start in 1991 until he retired. Although citizen science in biology is Les’s passion, his academic background is in mathematical statistics. He was awarded his PhD in abstract multivariate analyses in 1973 at UCT and what he likes to say about his PhD is that he solved a problem that no one has ever had. He soon grasped that this was not the field to which he wanted to devote his life, so he retrained himself as an applied statistician, solving real-world problems.
Archive/Bird ringing/Birding/Birds

Bird ringing at Strandfontein Sewage Works : 24 May 2026

Posted on 07/06/2026 by Les Underhill

On 24 May 2026, we were bird ringing at the Strandfontein Sewage Works at a different spot to where we were eight days ago, on 16 May! Relevant permissions were...

Archive/Birds/Citizen Science/Monitoring/Trip report

Counting African Oystercatchers on Robben Island : 17 May 2026

Posted on 18/05/2026 by Les Underhill

The African Oystercatchers on the coastline of Robben Island have been counted about 190 times since 2001. The earliest counts were of around 150 birds. The end...

Archive/Bird ringing/Birding/Birds/Citizen Science/Trip report

Bird ringing at Strandfontein Sewage Works : 16 May 2026

Posted on 16/05/2026 by Les Underhill

We grabbed the opportunity presented by a calm Saturday morning to do bird ringing at the Strandfontein Sewage Works (relevant permissions having been obtained)...

Archive/Biodiversity/Bird ringing/Birds/Citizen Science/Trip report

Bird ringing at Frogmore Estate/Zandvlei : 9 May 2026

Posted on 10/05/2026 by Les Underhill

Frogmore Estate is a suburb of Cape Town, a few kilometres north of Muizenberg, and bordering on Zandvlei. The Zandvlei Trust plays a key role in the conservati...

Archive/Birds

Bird ringing at Nuwejaars Wetlands SMA : 12 to 16 April 2026

Posted on 29/04/2026 by Les Underhill

This was our 12th bird ringing expedition to the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area. We arrived into a wet and windy few days at the end of what had bee...

Archive

Bird ringing at Zandvlei, brunch at Marina da Gama : 20 December 2025

Posted on 23/12/2025 by Les Underhill

Saturday. 20 December. was the Open Day for bird ringing. We had two locations arranged for the ringing, so that there was space for everyone. At sunrise, we di...

Archive

Open Day for bird ringing at Grotto Bay Private Nature Reserve : 29 November 2025

Posted on 30/11/2025 by Les Underhill

There is no record of the number of people who attended the Open Day for bird ringing at Grotto Bay, but it was probably roughly 40, both residents and visitors...

Archive

Bird ringing at Zandvlei, brunch at Marina da Gama : 20 December 2025

Posted on 23/11/2025 by Les Underhill

Ringers, plus family and friends, trainees and would-be trainees are invited to the end-of-year event on Saturday 20 December 2025. We will be bird ringing at Z...

Archive/Biodiversity/Bird ringing/Birds/Citizen Science/Data and statistics/Monitoring/News/Robben Island/Site report/Where

African Oystercatcher monitoring on Robben Island : 2025 to 2026

Posted on 12/11/2025 by Les Underhill

Introduction We have been monitoring the breeding of the African Oystercatchers Haematopos moquini on Robben Island since the summer of 2001/02. We have also mo...

Archive/Bird ringing/Birds/Citizen Science/Nuwejaars Wetlands/Site report

Connecting to nature via bird ringing : Nuwejaars Wetlands : 2 to 7 November 2025

Posted on 09/11/2025 by Les Underhill

“How do we get people interested in the environment?” “How do people get connected to nature?” This gallery of photos, taken at the Nuwe...

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  • Home
  • Departments
    • Bird Ringing
      • Introduction
      • Ringing history
      • The Value of Bird Ringing
    • Biodiversity Observations
    • Research Training
      • Introduction
      • Research Themes
      • Study Sites
      • Logistics
    • Science and Ecology Specialist Consulting
    • Citizen Science – Biodiversity Conservation & Research
  • About
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    • Contact us
  • News
    • Archive
    • BDI Research
  • Upcoming BDI events
  • Biodiversity Projects
    • Bird species
    • Atlas of Frogs & Toads
    • Atlas of Dragonflies & Damselflies
    • Atlas of Butterflies & Moths
    • Atlas of African Neuroptera and Megaloptera
    • Bird Feeder Project

Recent posts

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    Cover image of African Black […]
  • Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata)
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  • Cape Teal (Anas capensis)
    Cover image of Cape Teal by Gerald […]
  • Ringers’ Symposium : 6 to 12 November 2…
    The Biodiversity and Development Institute […]
  • Cinnamon-breasted Bunting (Emberiza tahapisi)
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The Biodiversity & Development Institute is a non-profit company registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission of South Africa (CIPC), Reg. No. 2015/136344/08.
Registration in terms of the Non-Profit Organisations Act: 302-671 NPO.


Directors:
Prof Les Underhill, Ms Sue Gie, Jorn Das
les@thebdi.org
072 062 1140


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