Participants: Anthony van Zyl, Andrew Jenkins, Lucia Rodrigues
Time scale: Longterm
Study area: The Cape Peninsula extending from Cape Point to the Constantiaberg-Silvermine-Muizenberg Range.
Objectives
Measure:
The first data for this project was collected in 1990. However, data for full seasons were only collected in 1993/94 and then from the 1999/2000 season. There are between 14 and 30 known pairs of kestrels breeding in the study area and this number varies from season to season.
Methods
Observations are made at known or suspected breeding sites in the study area from the end of August until the end of the breeding season in December or January. Observations are normally not longer than several hours at each site. Active sites are checked to determine clutch and brood size. The chicks are ringed with metal numbered rings from SAFRING when about 20 days old. Some basic measurements including culmen, tarsus, wing and tail lengths are taken of the chicks. They are also weighed. The age of the chicks are determined by using these measurements in growth formulae when the age of the chicks is not known. An attempt is made to color mark the adults when possible, mostly after the chicks have fledged the nest.
Results
Kestrel sightings
Rock Kestrel sightings were made from the end of 2004 to September 2005. This has provided a database of information that can be used to find new Rock Kestrel pairs in the greater Cape Town area. See the map of Rock Kestrel sightings on the Cape Peninsula for further information and analysis.