SAFRING Wakkerstroom National Ringing Training Course

1-8 December 2001

This event was held for the second time at BirdLife South Africa's Wetland Centre at Wakkerstroom, Mpumulanga and was as successful as the previous one held here (December 2000) and the first one held at Witsand Nature Reserve in the Northern Cape (March 2000).


BirdLife South Africa's Wetland Centre

Attendees at a lecture

The course was attended by 35 participants, including ringers and trainees, coming from as far as Zimbabwe and Germany, as well as different parts of South Africa.

Every morning attendees left at around 4 am to put up mistnets in the vlei, forest or other sites.


Extracting birds from mistnets at the Wakkerstroom vlei

Ringing table with interested bystanders!

Cliff Swallow colonies around Wakkerstroom were enthusiastically tackled again, with many being retrapped from the ringing sessions exactly one year ago.


Dries with his team mistnetting Cliff Swallows

Ringed Cliff Swallow

A large number of weavers, bishops and widows were ringed. The males in breeding plumage are easily identified, while the females provide more of a challenge.


Adult male Masked Weaver

Female Redshouldered Widow (left) and female Red Bishop (right)

With mistnetting there is always the possibility of exciting or unusual captures, like the African Marsh Harrier that got away, and the Hottentot Teal that didn't!


Hottentot Teal

Dries Nel again led an outing to ring Bald Ibis chicks with metal and colour rings. Birders and ringers in Natal and Mpumulanga are requested to look out for these colour ringed birds and to report any sightings to SAFRING.


Ringed adult Bald Ibis

Colour ringed Bald Ibis chick, after being returned to its nest

Pied Starlings around the BirdLife homestead at Wakkerstroom have also been colour ringed by Steven Piper.


Colour ringed adult Pied Starling

If you are interested in attending a ringing workshop, watch our web page for details.

List of birds ringed, 1-8 December 2001, with a comparison of the 2002 Wakkerstroom workshop

Below are the totals for the two ringing workshops at Wakkerstroom. Ringing occurred at the wetland, forest and scrub areas on nearby farms, Cliff Swallows breeding on bridges within 10 km or so, and a Bald Ibis colony 40 km north of Wakkerstroom. The effort and specific sites varied in the 2 years. The number of ringers and trainees was 35 in 2001 instead of the nearly 60 of 2000, thus resulting in a lower total number of birds ringed. The top five birds ringed in both years were the same, i.e. Red Bishop, Cliff Swallow, Masked Weaver, African Marsh Warbler and Cape White-eye respectively. The numbers of these 5 species were higher in 2000, except for the African Marsh Warbler because of Kobie Raijmaker's superb efforts at targeting warblers more effectively in 2001.

NumberNameLatin name20012000
82Bald IbisGeronticus calvus55
84Hadeda IbisBostrychia hagedash 1
96Yellowbilled DuckAnas undulata1 
99Hottentot TealAnas hottentota1 
130Blackshouldered KiteElanus caeruleus 1
152Jackal BuzzardButeo rufofuscus1 
154Steppe BuzzardButeo buteo 2
189Common QuailCoturnix coturnix 4
247Wattled PloverVanellus senegallus 1
316Cape Turtle DoveStreptopelia capicola12
317Laughing DoveStreptopelia senegalensis43
322Cinnamon DoveAplopelia larvata23
343Redchested CuckooCuculus solitarius 1
344Black CuckooCuculus clamosus 2
351Klaas's CuckooChrysococcyx klaas1 
352Diederik CuckooChrysococcyx caprius2 
367Cape Eagle OwlBubo capensis 2
368Spotted Eagle OwlBubo africanus 4
383Whiterumped SwiftApus caffer1017
385Little SwiftApus affinis12
390Speckled MousebirdColius striatus116
395Giant KingfisherCeryle maxima2 
397Malachite KingfisherAlcedo cristata54
431Blackcollared BarbetLybius torquatus410
440Greater HoneyguideIndicator indicator1 
442Lesser HoneyguideIndicator minor1 
443Sharpbilled HoneyguideProdotiscus regulus13
445Ground WoodpeckerGeocolaptes olivaceus1 
450Cardinal WoodpeckerDendropicos fuscescens 2
452Olive WoodpeckerMesopicos griseocephalus32
453Redthroated WryneckJynx ruficollis 1
474Spikeheeled LarkChersomanes albofasciata 1
493European SwallowHirundo rustica181
495Whitethroated SwallowHirundo albigularis1810
502Greater Striped SwallowHirundo cucullata45
504South African Cliff SwallowHirundo spilodera196305
506Rock MartinHirundo fuligula2 
508Sand MartinRiparia riparia2 
510Banded MartinRiparia cincta24
517Forktailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilis 2
521Blackheaded OrioleOriolus larvatus11
527Southern Black TitParus niger2 
542Bush BlackcapLioptilus nigricapillus1120
545Blackeyed BulbulPycnonotus barbatus1427
551Sombre BulbulAndropadus importunus 2
552Kurrichane ThrushTurdus libonyana 1
553Olive ThrushTurdus olivaceus917
569Buffstreaked ChatOenanthe bifasciata 1
573Mocking ChatThamnolaea cinnamomeiventris1 
575Anteating ChatMyrmecocichla formicivora51
576StonechatSaxicola torquata3 
578Chorister RobinCossypha dichroa115
581Cape RobinCossypha caffra3355
589Starred RobinPogonocichla stellata526
595Garden WarblerSylvia borin21
599Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus510
604Cape Reed WarblerAcrocephalus gracilirostris1813
606African Marsh WarblerAcrocephalus baeticatus13284
607European Marsh WarblerAcrocephalus palustris 3
608European Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus42
609African Sedge WarblerBradypterus baboecala3924
610Barratt's WarblerBradypterus barratti 7
618GrassbirdSphenoeacus afer41
622Barthroated ApalisApalis thoracica914
627Bleating WarblerCamaroptera brachyura1 
629Fantailed CisticolaCisticola juncidis126
634Ayres' CisticolaCisticola ayresii13
635Palecrowned CisticolaCisticola brunnescens29
637NeddickyCisticola fulvicapilla11
642Rattling CisticolaCisticola chiniana 1
646Levaillant's CisticolaCisticola tinniens2813
648Lazy CisticolaCisticola aberrans23
1049Drakensberg PriniaPrinia hypoxantha38
655Dusky FlycatcherMuscicapa adusta1 
665Fiscal FlycatcherSigelus silens12
666Yellow WarblerChloropeta natalensis53
671Yellowthroated WarblerPhylloscopus ruficapillus27
672Cape BatisBatis capensis910
682Paradise FlycatcherTerpsiphone viridis79
686Cape WagtailMotacilla capensis2 
688Longtailed WagtailMotacilla clara2 
692Grassveld PipitAnthus cinnamomeus12
701Yellowbreasted PipitHemimacronyx chloris 3
703Orangethroated LongclawMacronyx capensis22
707Fiscal ShrikeLanius collaris512
708Redbacked ShrikeLanius collurio1 
709Southern BoubouLaniarius ferrugineus13
712PuffbackDryoscopus cubla1 
717Olive Bush ShrikeTelophorus olivaceus31
722BokmakierieTelophorus zeylonus12
734Indian MynaAcridotheres tristis 1
735Wattled StarlingCreatophora cinerea 1
736Plumcoloured StarlingCinnyricinclus leucogaster 3
745Redwinged StarlingOnychognathus morio1 
746Pied StarlingSpreo bicolor616
751Malachite SunbirdNectarinia famosa82
758Greater Doublecollared SunbirdNectarinia afra28
760Lesser Doublecollared SunbirdNectarinia chalybea69
772Black SunbirdNectarinia amethystina 4
775Cape White-eyeZosterops pallidus5468
787Southern Greyheaded SparrowPasser diffusus41
788Yellowthroated SparrowPetronia superciliaris11
799Cape WeaverPloceus capensis4843
803Masked WeaverPloceus velatus149110
805Redbilled QueleaQuelea quelea 12
808Red BishopEuplectes orix422550
812Golden BishopEuplectes afer519
813Redcollared WidowEuplectes ardens611
816Redshouldered WidowEuplectes axillaris4918
818Longtailed WidowEuplectes progne4628
833Bluebilled FirefinchLagonosticta rubricata12
843Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild1223
846Pintailed WhydahVidua macroura34
854Cuckoo FinchAnomalospiza imberbis1 
857Cape CanarySerinus canicollis68
858Forest CanarySerinus scotops27
859Yelloweyed CanarySerinus mozambicus 2
874Goldenbreasted BuntingEmberiza flaviventris 3
 Total ringed 15231795