On 13 January 2012 Rory McDougall found a dead bird on the Great North Road in Zambia at 9h30. The road kill was an adult male Thick-billed Weaver with ring 4A46849. Rory forwarded the details to Zambian birders and Pete Leonard sent it to SAFRING. Rory wrote: "I was unaware these birds moved so far and wonder where it was ringed? I have found them breeding on Colin Streets farm on a dam on the Kaleya River approx 30kms as the crow flies from where this bird was killed, but I have never known anyone ring this species in the area? I am sure it will be an interesting recovery."

This bird was ringed as an immature on 7 July 2008 by Lizanne Roxburgh on Huntley Farm, 111km from the ring recovery site. As Rory pointed out, this is an interesting recovery, being the second longest movement known for the species. The longest was by an immature with ring 64308136 - it had moved 130 km along the Eastern Cape Coast in South Africa.

Related news items:
To read about the oldest Thick-billed Weaver, see here
To read about range expansion in the Thick-billed Weaver, see here

TREE, A.J. 2011. Origins, occurrence and movements of Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis in southern Africa. Marine Ornithology 39: 173–181.

Abstract. The Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis occurs throughout the coastal regions of southern Africa but tends to favour major bays, coastal lagoons and suitable river mouths. There is a great disparity in counts at any one locality from year to year. Overall austral summer population was estimated at 10 000–15 000 in a good year and probably <10 000 in a poor year. Banding recoveries indicated origins in western Europe (354 birds recovered) and, rarely, from the Black or Caspian seas (two birds recovered). Movements occur continuously within the subregion of southern Africa throughout summer, as indicated by varying counts and two within-season recoveries. The oldest bird recovered was in its 28th year. Recoveries of birds in their first year (23%) varied as to source: the highest recovery rates were for birds originating in Germany and Denmark, while the lowest rates were for birds originating in Britain (England/Scotland) and the Netherlands. The recovery rate increased from the second year of life. Most recoveries were of dead birds, with the majority of records indicating “found dead” with no further details. Band recoveries have varied in frequency over the last 80 years along different sections of coastline. Arrivals occur along the west coast from September to November for adults, but may continue through to March for young birds, with the last presumed breeding birds departing by early April. Small numbers of nonbreeders, up to 5 years old, may overwinter on the west coast, but very few were found at this time on south and east coasts. Migration is nocturnal or diurnal, inshore and normally at altitudes varying from 100 m to 300 m but may be much higher. Mass gains vary from about 25% to 45%, indicating short- to medium-hop migration. Within southern Africa there are a series of recognised staging localities that are used mainly for resting with limited, if any, feeding observed at most of them.

For a copy of the paper, email tony [at] zeane.com

Various aspects of weaver demography are being studied on the Cape Peninsula. The key factors are survival (and movements), which is being studied by ringing, and breeding which is being studied by monitoring colonies and ringing chicks. In the course of ringing weavers, other birds are caught too, like this juvenile Pied Crow (photo: Gabriel Jamie). To obtain data on survival and movements a large number of recaptures is needed, with ringing at a network of nearby sites. A full species list with numbers ringed and recaptured on the Cape Peninsula during 2011 may be seen here.

To see weaver colonies in PHOWN, (Photos of Weaver Nests) see here - choose one of the 4 species to see a map of records.

Take note of the following opportunities in the next 2 or 3 months:

23-27 Jan, UCT Summer School
"Citizen Science: Building An Early Warning System For Biodiversity"
There will be a talk on Ringing, as well as other ADU projects. More details here: Editorial on the ADU home page

7-10 Feb, Zululand ringing
I want to ring at sites from Richards Bay to Lake Teza. For previous ringing in this area, see news and trip report

11 Feb, ADU 20th anniversary celebration, National Botanical Gardens in Pietermaritzburg
Registration is now open for this event. Go here to sign up and see the program and other details. There is no charge and entrance to the gardens (if you do not have a BotSoc card) will be at the student rate (R8-00). There will be a talk on ringing and other ADU projects - ringers in Pmb and Durban are all encouraged to attend - register ASAP!

13-14 Mar, ringing at Landela near PE
Ringing prior to the Fitz/BLSA conference and BLSA AGM in Port Elizabeth. For previous ringing here, see here

17 Mar, Cape Recife ringing, PE
Several birding outings will happen as part of BLSA's annual meeting, including an early morning ringing session at Cape Recife, which is next to Pine Lodge where the BLSA AGM will be held. For previous ringing here, see here

Let me know soon if you are interested in any of the above events by emailing safring [at] adu.org.za (no need to email me for the 20th anniversary event - just register online).

ADU postdoc Fitsum Abadi Gebreselassie, ADU postdoc currently on a year's "leave of absence" in France, has co-authored another paper on Swiss birds; this time it is Hoopoes and Wrynecks. Fitsum's research interests lie in building population models, making use of all the different sources of information available through monitoring methods: ringing and retrap data, population counts, breeding productivity, etc. This form of population modelling is therefore known as "Integrated Population Models." For his postdoc in the ADU, Fitsum is building integrated population models for South African species such as the African Penguin, Cape Gannet and Peregrine Falcon. Fitsum is off in France learning new skills, sponsored by the Swiss National Science Foundation, and then in 2013 the Claude Leon Foundation will continue their support for his ongoing postdoc in the ADU.

The full reference for this newly published paper is. Schaub S, Reichlin TS, Abadi F, Kery M, Jenni L, Arlettaz R. 2012. The demographic drivers of local population dynamics in two rare migratory birds. Oecologia 168: 97–108.

Abstract: The exchange of individuals among populations can have strong effects on the dynamics and persistence of a given population. Yet, estimation of immigration rates remains one of the greatest challenges for animal demographers. Little empirical knowledge exists about the effects of immigration on population dynamics. New integrated population models fitted using Bayesian methods enable simultaneous estimation of fecundity, survival and immigration, as well as the growth rate of a population of interest. We applied this novel analytical framework to the demography of two populations of long-distance migratory birds, Hoopoe Upupa epops and wryneck Jynx torquilla, in a study area in south-western Switzerland. During 2002–2010, the hoopoe population increased annually by 11%, while the wryneck population remained fairly stable. Apparent juvenile and adult survival probability was nearly identical in both species, but fecundity and immigration were slightly higher in the hoopoe. Hoopoe population growth rate was strongly correlated with juvenile survival, fecundity and immigration, while that of wrynecks strongly correlated only with immigration. This indicates that demographic components impacting the arrival of new individuals into the populations were more important for their dynamics than demographic components affecting the loss of individuals. The finding that immigration plays a crucial role in the population growth rates of these two rare species emphasizes the need for a broad rather than local perspective for population studies, and the development of wide-scale conservation actions.

Copies of the pdf of the paper can be obtained from Les Underhill.