Blue Crane Satellite Tracking / Bird Matters Project Profile скачать в хорошем качестве

Blue Crane Satellite Tracking / Bird Matters Project Profile

Our National bird goes high tech in the Western Cape Ever wondered how, why and where our National Bird moves each day? The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), in partnership with the International Crane Foundation has launched a project in the Western Cape to understand how Blue Cranes use and move within the landscape of the Western Cape. Cranes are one of the oldest family of birds alive in the world today and the Blue Crane is a near endemic to South Africa, with only a small isolated population of less than 60 birds found in Namibia, The rest of the world’s population of approximately 25 000 to 30 000 birds are found within our borders. The southern tip of Africa is home to at least half of the world’s population of Blue Cranes; which is astounding considering Blue Cranes occurring in the Western Cape are a relatively ‘recent’ spectacle. Blue Cranes first moved into the region when much of the natural fynbos and renosterveld, which characterised the Western Cape, were replaced with agricultural wheat fields and pastures. The Blue Cranes’ adaptation to the agricultural landscape of the Western Cape is both a blessing and curse. It is a blessing in that farmers have coexisted with an increasing population of Blue Cranes for many decades and without doubt have significantly contributed to the protection of our National Bird. It is a curse as well in that climate change and socio-economic factors may drive or direct changes within the agricultural sector of the Western Cape, which could make Blue Cranes vulnerable. In addition to this, an increase in wind farm developments and associated power line infrastructure could pose a significant threat to a population that is already heavily impacted on by collisions with power lines. We therefore need to improve our understanding of how Blue Cranes move and use the agricultural landscape of the Western Cape from roosting, to where they feed and breed. Through this we aim to understand why they use certain areas and can therefore predict how potential changes in the landscape may influence or direct changes in the Blue Cranes’ use of the landscape. In partnership with the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of the University of Cape Town, the EWT have commenced with the fitting of satellite trackers onto adult Blue Cranes in the Western Cape. In August, they successfully caught four Blue Cranes in the Caledon area, under permit from CapeNature, and fitted trackers onto the birds. More than two weeks since they fitted the trackers, each bird is now showing a glimpse into their daily routine of moving from their evening roosts to foraging and in the future, onto and within their breeding sites. This research will significantly contribute to the understanding of fine scale movements of Blue Cranes within the Overberg and Swartland region of the Western Cape, which will enable effective conservation planning within the province. Each bird fitted with a tracker is also fitted with unique combination of leg mounted colour rings that allows field researchers to visually locate them. They look forward to the next few months when they fit the remainder of the trackers and the next few years where they can significantly increase our understanding of a hugely important population of our national bird. With knowledge comes power. Thank you to the Table Mountain Fund for their support of this valuable project, as well as our project partners University of Cape Town’s Percy FitzPatrick Institute, CapeNature and the Overberg Crane Group. By Tanya Smith, the EWT’s Regional Manager for the African Crane Conservation Programme