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SESAW: Survival Estimates in Southern African Weavers, Aug 2009 - Dec 2012

Introduction

A new study has been launched to ring weavers in a way to maximise data for geographic variation in survival rates. Weavers are fairly easy to catch in large numbers, making them ideal candidates for large-scale studies. Species that could work well include Southern Red Bishops and Southern Masked Weavers. The key is to ring at sites where weavers are often recaptured. Ringers are able to contribute to this project in their normal ringing sessions.

Aims

To measure geographic variability in survival rates of weavers in southern Africa over 3.5 years (2009-2012).

Quick summary

Summary of totals (more results below) 14 March 2013

Species	Ringed	Recaptured	Rate
Cape Weaver	1245	151	12.1
Village Weaver	361	27	7.5
Southern Masked Weaver	5063	449	8.9
Spectacled Weaver	55	14	25.5
Lesser Masked Weaver	19	0	0.0
Yellow Weaver	19	6	31.6
Brown-throated Weaver	3	1	33.3
Red-billed Quelea	142	0	0.0
Red-headed Quelea	10	0	0.0
Southern Red Bishop	3373	572	17.0
Thick-billed Weaver	195	6	3.1
Yellow Bishop	90	16	17.8
	10485	1226	11.7

Methods

Ringers are encouraged to take part in this project. Please follow these guidelines:

sites: choose a site that can be ringed at regularly for 3 years, by you and/or a team of ringers (a network of sites within 5km of each other may be chosen as one grid site to increase the chance of recaptures (if the sites are further apart, they will be registered as new sites)
numbers: ideally you should expect to ring at least 50-100 weavers of one species at the site(s) every year (100-200 would be even better)
ring all weavers caught, even if not all of them can be measured (when large numbers are caught)
try to recapture as many ringed birds as possible (at least 10% every year would be good)
try to recapture the same ringed birds as often as possible (multiple recaptures of one bird are ideal; record all recaptures from one day after ringing)
chicks: a bonus would be if chicks could be ringed by carefully checking weaver nests during the breeding season at the ringing sites - hopefully training can be provided to ringers interested in this aspect (see related project in Cape Town here
data submission: submit the project data monthly (ie only the weaver records from the study site; submit all data to SAFRING separately) so that project progress can be monitored
additional data needed:
record your effort - net metres, hours (to nearest half hour) - record this in a table a new sheet in excel
record 2 additional columns in the ringing data:
Brood patch BP - yes or no - only need to fill in for females
Male plumage MP - full (for full breeding plumage), partial (if changing in or out of breeding plumage), or dull (for non breeding plumage) - only need to fill in for adult males
biometrics: whenever possible, record primary moult and the usual measurements (when there is time for only a few biometrics, the following are preferred for weavers: moult, wing, bill, mass
ringing frequency: monthly is recommended, but sites that you only visit in one season (or other regular frequencies) are possible, as long as you are racapturing weavers

Benefits for ringers who take part

You will be contributing valuable data!
You will be acknowledged in papers published and on the project web
There will be some prizes (categories still to be determined)
An attempt will be made to raise funds to reimburse ringers for rings used

To register for this project

Email Dieter Oschadleus with the following:
Your name & ringer's number (include other ringers if working in a team)
Site name and coordinates (1 or more sites, but within 5km of each other)
Weaver species that you expect to ring (50-100 or more per year) and retrap in sufficient numbers

Sites that have been registered

(as at 1 Feb 2010)

Ringer	Site	Prov	Species	Frequency
Alan Brooks, George Viljoen	Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens	GP	SMW	Monthly
Alan Brooks, George Viljoen	Kloofzicht Lodge	GP	SMW, RbQ,RB	Monthly
Alan Brooks	Roodekopjes near Brits	NW	SMW, SbW	every 2 months
Alan Brooks	Featherbrooke Estate	GP	SMW	Monthly
Arnold van der Westhuizen	Aliwal Golf Course & Islands Spa	EC	RB, RbQ	Monthly
Arnold van der Westhuizen	Betjeskraal Dam (Rouxville District)	FS	SMW,RB,RbQ	Monthly
Dawie	Bishop's Glen, BFN	FS	SMW,RB,RbQ	Monthly
Dirk, Karen & Stefan van Stuyvenberg	Moreletakloof	GP	SMW,RB,CW	Quarterly
Garth Aiston	Northern Sewage Works	KZ	SbW,SpW,YW,TbW,RB	Monthly
Garth Aiston	iPhithi Nature Reserve	KZ	SbW	Monthly
Grant Egen	Ruimsig Athletic Stadium	GP	SMW,RB	Monthly
Grant Egen	Honeydew View	GP	SMW,RB	Monthly
Jo Johnson, Margaret McCall & Lee Silks	Rocher Pan	WC	CW,SMW,RB	Oct & April
Karen Dixon, Alan Brooks	Kingfisher Nature Reserve	KZ	SMW,RB	Monthly
Lee Silks	Rocklands	WC	CW,SMW,RB [YrW]	Monthly
Margaret McCall	Goedeontmoeting	WC	CW,SMW,RB	Monthly
Margaret McCall	Groot Fisantekraal	WC	CW,SMW,RB	Monthly
Margaret McCall	Vierlanden reserve	WC	CW,SMW,RB	Monthly
Margaret McCall	Durbanville home	WC	CW,SMW,RB	Monthly
Neil Thomson, Maren Thomson & Gudrun Middendorff	Rykvoet Street Klein Windhoek	na	SMW,RB	Monthly
Pat Cochran, others	Montgomery Park East Johannesburg	GP	SMW,RB,TbW	Monthly
Pat Cochran	Wakkerstroom Amersfoort Bridge	MP	CW,SMW,RbQ,RB	6 weeks
Peter Dearlove	Dundee garden	KZ	SMW	Monthly
Rina Pretorius, Sylva Francis, Colin Williams, Nelda Williams	Newcastle sewage plant	KZ	SMW,RB	c 6 weeks
Zephne & Herman Bernitz	Greenside	MP	SMW,RB	6-8 weeks
Zephne & Herman Bernitz	Rondebosch farm, Middelburg	MP	CW,SMW,RB	6-8 weeks

Species abbrev: CW = Cape Weaver, RB = Southern Red Bishop, RbQ = Red-billed Quelea, SbW = Village Weaver, SMW = Southern Masked Weaver SpW = Spectacled Weaver TbW = Thick-billed Weaver YW = Yellow Weaver

Results Sep 2009 - 2012

Cape Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
31	Rocklands	189	25	13.2
32	Groot Fisantekraal	113	26	23.0
28	Goedeontmoeting	419	43	10.3
35	Durbanville home	118	39	33.1
38	Vierlanden reserve	39	0	0.0
48	Wakkerstroom Amersfoort Bridge	11	0	0.0
25	Rocher Pan Nature Reserve	257	9	3.5
6	Moreletakloof	44	9	20.5
94	Uitkamp Wetland, Durbanville	2	0	0.0
92	Clara Anna Fontein	14	0	0.0
99	Durbanville Nature Garden	35	0	0.0
81	Doordekraal Dam	4	0	0.0
Total		1245	151	12.1

Village Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
21	iPhithi Nature Reserve	6	1	16.7
22	Northern Sewage Works	221	22	10.0
74	Umhlanga Ponds	9	0	0.0
55	Roodekopjes	125	4	3.2
Total		361	27	7.5

Spectacled Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
60	Northern Sewage Works	19	6	31.6
72	Umhlanga Ponds	36	8	22.2
Total		55	14	25.5

Lesser Masked Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
73	Umhlanga Ponds	8	0	0.0
102	Rooiberg	10	0	0.0
86	Northern Sewage Works	1	0	0.0
Total		19	0	0.0

Yellow Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
60	Northern Sewage Works	19	6	31.6
75	Umhlanga Ponds	54	17	31.5
Total		19	6	31.6

Brown-throated Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
76	Umhlanga Ponds	3	1	33.3
Total		3	1	33.3

Southern Masked Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
16	Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens	59	8	13.6
11	Kloofzicht Lodge	45	6	13.3
64	Featherbrooke Estate	13	1	7.7
17	Dundee garden	48	0	0.0
1	Rykvoet Street Klein Windhoek	331	129	39.0	walk-in trap
9	Greenside	15	0	0.0
29	Goedeontmoeting	208	21	10.1
33	Groot Fisantekraal	38	6	15.8
36	Durbanville home	49	12	24.5
39	Vierlanden reserve	66	11	16.7
41	Betjeskraal Dam, Rouxville	13	0	0.0
45	Islands Spa, Aliwal North	22	0	0.0
46	Montgomery Park East & W	584	49	8.4
49	Wakkerstroom Amersfoort Bridge	32	0	0.0
7	Moreletakloof	632	55	8.7
14	Kingfisher N.R.	1342	56	4.2
26	Rocher Pan Nature Reserve	69	4	5.8
54	Roodekopjes	140	27	19.3
56	Rocklands	131	23	17.6
66	Honeydew View	2	0	0.0
82	Doordekraal Dam	12	1	8.3
87	Durbanville Nature Garden	47	0	0.0
95	Uitkamp Wetland, Durbanville	7	0	0.0
93	Clara Anna Fontein	2	0	0.0
103	Rooiberg	6	0	0.0
104	Southdowns	90	0	0.0
44	Ruimsig Stadium	1060	40	3.8
Total		5063	449	8.9

Red-billed Quelea

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
42	Betjeskraal Dam, Rouxville	4	0	0.0
23	Islands Spa, Aliwal North	18	0	0.0
69	Roodekopjes	12	0	0.0
100	Umhlanga Ponds	22	0	0.0
105	Southdowns	63	0	0.0
50	Wakkerstroom Amersfoort Bridge	23	0	0.0
Total		142	0	0.0

Red-headed Quelea

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
77	Umhlanga Ponds	10	0	0.0
Total		10	0	0.0

Southern Red Bishop

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
2	Rykvoet Street Klein Windhoek	822	394	47.9	walk-in trap
10	Greenside	8	0	0.0
13	Kloofzicht Lodge	55	4	7.3
30	Goedeontmoeting	587	36	6.1
34	Groot Fisantekraal	109	6	5.5
37	Durbanville home	5	0	0.0
40	Vierlanden reserve	130	8	6.2
43	Betjeskraal Dam, Rouxville	3	0	0.0
24	Islands Spa, Aliwal North	78	0	0.0
51	Wakkerstroom Amersfoort Bridge	6	0	0.0
52	Ruimsig Stadium	469	38	8.1
8	Moreletakloof	181	22	12.2
15	Kingfisher N.R.	169	21	12.4
27	Rocher Pan Nature Reserve	26	0	0.0
57	Rocklands	383	9	2.3
62	Northern Sewage Works	16	0	0.0
67	Honeydew View	57	1	1.8
78	Umhlanga Ponds	2	0	0.0
96	Uitkamp Wetland, Durbanville	7	1	14.3
83	Doordekraal Dam	15	1	6.7
106	Southdowns	129	0	0.0
47	Montgomery Park East & W	116	31	26.7
Total		3373	572	17.0

Yellow Bishop

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
58	Rocklands	47	7	14.9
71	Goedeontmoeting	17	2	11.8
79	Vierlanden Reserve	4	0	0.0
84	Doordekraal Dam	0	1	0.0
98	Groot Fisantekraal	15	6	40.0
97	Uitkamp Wetland, Durbanville	6	0	0.0
80	Durbanville home	1	0	0.0
Total		90	16	17.8

Thick-billed Weaver

Spsite	Loc	Ringed	Retrap	Rate	Notes
53	Moreletakloof	168	4	2.4
61	Northern Sewage Works	2	1	50.0
68	Kingfisher N.R.	3	0	0.0
85	iPhithi Nature Reserve	1	0	0.0
59	Montgomery Park East	21	1	4.8
Total		195	6	3.1

Top recapture rates in different provinces where at least 100 Southern Masked Weavers were ringed in 1 year

The table below shows the top recapture rates for several provinces. Ideally for this project ringers will try to increase the recapture rate instead of only trying to ring as many birds as possible.
Note: these are not automatically registered sites. They are examples of recapture rates that can be achieved.

Coordinates	Locality	Province	Year	Ring	Retrap	Retrap/ring (%)
3341S 1836E	Goedeontmoeting Farm, Malmesbury District	WC	2001	120	31	25.8
2644S 2749E	SW5 Vanderbijlpark	GP	2006	102	14	13.7
3002S 2403E	Dwaalhoek farm	NC	2002	239	27	11.3
2745S 3000E	Newcastle sewage plant	KZ	2007	112	12	10.7
2234S 1705E	Windhoek Grand Center Car Park, Windhoek	na	2008	154	13	8.4
2645S 2706E	OPM Prozesky Bird Sanctuary, Potchefstroom	NW	2007	135	11	8.1
2720S 3008E	Amersfoort bridge, Wakkerstroom	MP	2001	128	10	7.8
2116S 2731E	Francistown Sewerage ponds	bw	2002	126	6	4.8
2810S 2818E	Bethlehem LNR, Loch Lamond	FS	2005	146	6	4.1

Monthly totals of birds ringed

[data will appear once data has been submitted]

Acknowledgements
Ringers

News items relating to this project

SESAW at 10000 records!

2012-11-09 (292)

Photos: top SESAW species - adult male Southern Masked Weaver, Southern Red Bishop, and Cape Weaver

In just over 3 years SESAW has reached 10000 weavers ringed and over 1000 recaptured. The top three species in terms of birds ringed are Southern Masked Weaver (4941), Southern Red Bishop (3192), and Cape Weaver (1140). The recapture rates for these species is Southern Red Bishop (16.5%), Cape Weaver (12.5%) and Southern Masked Weaver (8.6%). This result is surprising because Cape Weavers move more than Southern Masked Weavers. However, looking at recapture rates for known adult males and females, shows low recapture rates for all three species of both sexes. This could be due to these adults becoming 'net-shy' as they quickly learn to avoid the nets or traps.

The top 10 data contributors over the last 3 years are: Margaret McCall (photo left), Grant Egen, Neil Thomson, Karen Dixon, Lee Silks, Alan Brooks, Pat Cochran, Garth Aiston, Gerrie Jansen van Rensburg, and Karen van Stuyvenberg. Thanks to all participants for your commitment!

About SESAW:

SESAW (Survival Estimates in Southern African Weavers) is a project to study survival rates in weavers as these are often the most caught birds during general ringing. The project started in August 2009 and will run for at least three years before starting to analyse the data. A critical aspect of the project is recording if females have brrod patches or not, and recording males in full or partial breeding plumage - this will allow the analysis of definite adult males and females in addition to a general analysis.

All news items relating to this project

The headers below refer to Weaver News items featuring SESAW. Click on a header to see the News item, which includes the full news item. (The number in brackets is the date that the news item appeared on Weaver Watch).

SESAW at 10000 records! (2012-11-09)
SESAW update (2011-12-05)
SESAW - weavers in the balance (2010-07-02)
SESAW: Survival Estimates in Southern African Weavers (2010-02-01)
SESAW: Survival Estimates in Southern African Weavers (2009-10-14)
Weaver survival rates - new project for ringers (2009-08-04)

All Weaver Watch news items