 |
South African Bird ringing Unit |
| providing bird ringing services throughout southern Africa |
|
South African Bird ringing Unit |
| providing bird ringing services throughout southern Africa |
| Take survey | No thanks |
You can still register, but only camping is available at Barberspan!
Download the endemnity form here
Indemnity form for Barberspan: all attendees need to please print it out, fill it in and bring it with to Barberspan. Under
motivation for free entry write 'Barberspan Ringing Conference'. Leave staff names blank.
In years gone by, Barberspan was the site of South Africa’s only permanent ringing station. This large saline waterbody is fed by the Harts River, and has no outlet (hence the salinity). It acts as an oasis in the otherwise arid area of the Northwest Province and as such attracts large numbers and variety of ducks, herons, waders and other water and water-associated birds. In order to mark the renaissance of Barberspan as an ornithologial research station, a meeting is planned for all ringers and any other parties with an interest in ringing. This will not be primarily a training workshop, although there will be an opportunity for training and for interested parties to see ringing in action. Training in handling of species not commonly trapped by mistnet in SA, namely ducks and waders will take place under the guidance of experts in their fields. The reserve and surrounds offers varies habitats for ringing: arid scrub, grasslands, reedbeds, shoreline. Walk-in duck traps will be pre-baited to ensure catches. An interesting variety of birds can thus be seen and ringed.
Due to the fairly remote location of the conference venue, all ringers should stay at the venue, where a range of accommodation is available. There are some external accommodation options nearby, but the organizers cannot endorse these. For further advice about outside accommodation, contact the reserve manager Mr Sampie van der Merwe on telephone 053 9481842 or 0824439777, e-mail sampievm@lantic.net
The conference venue provides a range of fairly basic affordable accommodation in environmentally pleasing surroundings with ample opportunity for bird ringing around the formal conference proceedings. There are limited fully fitted beds in tourist quality houses (hereafter called luxury beds), several basic beds with mattresses but no bedding, several empty rooms where ringers can “camp” under a roof, and a huge camp site with power points. All registrants are urged to make provision where possible for their own refrigeration needs as fridge space is limited and the days can get hot. The three houses are each equipped with an electric stove with oven, a small domestic fridge and a kettle, but registrants need to supply their own cutlery, crockery, pots and pans etc.
Birding on foot is possible as there is no dangerous game on the property: the reserve is dedicated to bird conservation so there are no longer antelope on the property. There are also several bird hides. Barberspan is a highly sought after angling venue. For those of you who have never seen a springhare, this is the opportunity. There will be ample time for mistnetting and other trapping and ringing during the conference weekend. There is an ongoing project at Barberspan to restore the ringing station to its former glory, and ringing takes place at the site on a regular basis, so there is a distinct possiblity of obtaining retraps. Field rangers from NW Parks are being trained as ringers as part of an upliftment project, and NW Parks promises to be the first provincial Department of the Environment with previously disadvantaged qualified ringers in its employ. Several teams of overseas researchers have recently conducted projects at Barberspan. There will also be several attractive spot prizes for ringers sponsored by Ecotone, Poland.
The conference will attract top bird ringers, birders, biologists, researchers in the field of ornithology as well as conservation managers, and is expected to accommodate at least 60 delegates.
This is a request for submissions for both oral and poster presentations, dealing with all aspects of the ringing, including descriptions of projects, results and techniques. You are also invited to display the best of your photographic material especially of birds in the hand. Persons with requests to hear talks on specific subjects should contact the Local Organizing Committee at the e-mail address below with their proposals. A series of invited keynote speakers will cover topics of general interest.
Details of the programme will be made available on this website as the programme develops.
Monday 15 March - there will be ringing in the morning, but attendees may leave any time during the day.
Zephné Bernitz, Local Organizing Committee.
Contact details for queries: bernitz@iafrica.com; safring@adu.uct.ac.za
Click here to see location on google maps.