The internet, email and list servers can play an important role in tracking migration movements, by birders reporting sightings and dates. Broad front migration movements can be mapped, with good results such as seen in the hummingbird migrations in the United States of America.
With a little effort from the birders in Southern Africa and the rest of Africa, we could achieve similar results for the Migrating Kestrel project. As the kestrels arrive in Africa, so each person who first sees Lesser Kestrels can post their sightings to this web site, on a list server or send an email to me. Thus, as they arrive and move down Africa, so their movements would be recorded. Should we suddenly see kestrels pop up all over the country at the same time, then we could assume that their migration is fast and in a broad front, which is a lot more than what we know at present. The idea is to publish a map similar to the one below depicting arrival dates reported by birders across the country. We may expect to see the pattern of kestrels arriving in the north first, followed by a general movement southwards to the Western Cape.
Lesser Kestrels are ringed by several research groups in Europe during their breeding season, so try hard to check for rings next time you see a Lesser Kestrel. The research group in Israel use two rings - one aluminum ring (usually on right leg) and the other is a colour ring with two numbers and one letter (eg 67E) that can be read with binoculars or a telescope. The colours are white, yellow, green, black and red. If you see a ringed Lesser Kestrel, you can email the details to Brian van der Walt, or you can pass the information on to me.
Lesser Kestrel and Amur Falcon map showing last observation dates
This map shows dates when Lesser Kestrels (red dots and text) and Amur Falcons (blue dots and text) were seen by birders travelling in South Africa. Departure dates are more difficult to determine than arrival dates but it does give an indication on when the birds were still around. The data from the map is taken from the observations posted on the net below.
Click on the map to get a larger image.
Last observations - 2004/5 season
This project will only be launched in ernest in the 2005/6 season, but several people did post their sightings for the 2004/5 season, which I repeat on this page.
From Japie Claassens, who did a tour around the country at the time they were about to leave
2005-03-05 - Several hundred Lesser Kestrels from around 30 km south to 15km north of Hanover. Lesser Kestrels also seen around Springfontein, Trompsburg and Edenburg.
2005-03-06 - Amur Falcon seen east of Willem Pretorius Nature Reserve past Senekal, Paul Roux, Warden, Vrede until Ingogo. Singleton Western Redfooted Falcons seen mixed with Amur Falcons.
2005-03-07 - Amur Falcons seen long the road from Ingogo to the turn off to Blood River. None seen further south.
2005-03-16 - First Amur Falcons seen in the Phongola Nature Reserve at Golela. About 300 birds hunting next to the dam. Also saw a pair at the entrance to Ithala Game Reserve and around Louwsburg.
2005-03-17 - No migrating kestrels seen in Ithala Game Reserver.
2005-03-18 - Amur Falcons with singleton Western Redfooted Falcons seen around Vryheid and north towards Ingogo. Numbers at Ingogo much less than on 2005-03-06.
2005-03-19 - Single Amur Falcon near Ingogo, but thousands on the road between Volksrust and Wakkerstroom. Several hundred also seen on the Wakkerstroom/Amersfoort road.
2005-03-20 - Many Amur Falcons on the road from Ingogo to Bethlehem. After Bethlehem, the numbers thinned out and only singleton's seen south of Bloemfontein. At Hanover, there were only a few Amur Falcons (10-20 birds) and no Lesser Kestrels. South of Hanover, no more birds were seen.
We left home (Durbanville area) on 28 February 2005 at 03h30 in the morning and drove in the dark to about Laingsburg. We therefore only had daylight from Laingsburg / Beaufort West. We started seeing Lesser Kestrels, with the odd Amur Falcon in-between, from about Hanover to close to Bloemfontein, where we slept over for one night. The following morning we left at about 06h30 for the Kruger Park, turning off the N1 at Winburg and travelling through Senekal, Bethlehem, Warden, Vrede, Standerton, Ermelo, Lochiel, Badplaas, Baberton, Komatiepoort to Crocodile Bridge, where we stayed for 3 nights. That day we saw large numbers of Amur Falcon, although we saw some Lesser Kestrels around Winburg. We then moved to Letaba, where we stayed for 4 nights. We haven't seen any Lesser Kestrels in Kruger, and only saw Amur Falcon at Mopanie.
I can't remember having seen any Lesser Kestrels or Amur Falcon on the way back to Pretoria, but I did record Amur Falcon at Marievale and Suikerbosrand the following day. No further Lesser Kestrels after that (Pilansberg and then on to Augrabies via Rustenburg, Koster, Lichtenburg, Vryburg, Kuruman and Upington). After 2 nights at Augrabies we left for Beaufort West via Prieska, Britstown and Victoria West. The following morning we left for Cape Town with a "Kaapse draai" via Oudtshoorn and Route 62. We haven't seen any Lesser Kestrels on these drives either.
Kim Wright reported the following on capebirdnet:
I went out to Wellington on Saturday evening (12th March 2005) to see the Lesser Kestrels
that everybody has been talking about. I realized it was late in the season,
but was still hoping to see a few birds. We arrived at the site at about 6.00pm
and stayed until it got dark at about 7.30pm. It was a perfect, still evening.
It was very disappointing - I can only imagine they must have left already. Has
anybody else been out there lately?
The bird club had seen them the previously weekend, and no one reported seeing them after this date, so they must have left just before 12 March 2005.