DELHEIM

This little chap has a deformed beak; nevertheless he looks pretty fat and healthy!  We think it is the Common Fiscal (Lanius collaris), a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also sometimes named Fiscal Shrike, as well as Jackie Hangman or Butcher Bird due to its habit of impaling its prey on acacia thorns to store the food for later consumption.

Photographed at Delheim by Johan Mocke.

Further to our blog report on the “mystery buzzard”  at Delheim (http://bit.ly/i7eF4z), we have the following update:

Pam Bruce-Brand had informed us that the latest Africa Birds and Birding Magazine October/November 2010 Vol 15 No 5 has an article on these mystery birds titled “Mixed Messages” pg 35 – see article here:  Mystery Buzzards.

The photographer, Johan Mocke, sent the photo and information to one of the authors of the article, Jessie Walton, who replied thusly:

 “Dear Johan, thank you so much for sending it on. Extremely helpful. And a pretty good photo, in spite of the head, as it shows the underside well. Yes, it is certainly one of our strange looking birds, and I think fairly close to where we had the one nest site last year (on Rustenberg farm, the Idas Valley side). If you get any further photos it would be very helpful. Any info, in fact.

With just two of us working on the project we have an enormous area to cover!

If you are prepared to keep a few notes of when and where you see buzzards, and any specific behaviour (hunting, displaying, calling), it would be very much appreciated.

These birds are very variable, from very pale to dark chocolate.  Most people will classify them as ‘Steppe’ or ‘Forest’, but Rob and I think one cannot differentiate that easily; hence we lump them all as ‘Mystery’ buzzards.

Once again, thank you ~ Jessie Walton”

Last night we hosted the Unesco-recognised Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve meeting at Delheim. It was open for public participation and interested parties raised concern about future development in the Stellenbosch winelands and community.

Delheim falls in the buffer zone and borders core conservation areas and will work with the guidelines of this wonderful intitiative to fight for urban edge to remain as it is indicated on the spacial development plans submitted.

Our conservancy has grown from 5 to 17 members over the past year and now covers 1 200 ha of some of the best fynbos in the Cape. We are busy with a fire management plan which will give us the tools to do block burns on the Simonsberg mountain – a strategy which should help protect fynbos.