Secretarybird ringing and tagging - Gauteng

Late in August, the ornithologist from Gauteng Nature Conservation, Craig Whittington-Jones, asked me to assist with the ringing and tagging of two Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius nestlings. The chicks were well-grown and about two weeks from fledging from their nest in the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve near Heidelberg. The purpose of fitting these birds with tags is very much the same as for the almost 1700 vultures that we have marked in the same manner in southern Africa over the last 3 seasons, namely to attempt to monitor the movements of the young birds once they have fledged and start foraging for themselves.


A rehabilitated Secretarybird that I fitted with tags at the FreeMe Rehabilitation Centre in Fourways, Johannesburg about 2 years ago was released in the Dinokeng-area north of Pretoria a few days later. This bird was spotted at the OR Thambo International Airport about 3 months later and approximately 70kms from where it was released! Fortunately, it didn't stay there long before moving off again. It clearly realised the threat of being sucked into an airliner engine and decided to make a hasty departure.

As raptors go, Secretarybirds are really a pleasure to work with as they are generally timid and not at all aggressive once you have them in hand. However, it is often quite a struggle to get to the birds in the nest as they prefer to build their large platform-nests on flat-topped thorny trees and shrubs that are quite a challenge to access. This nest was no exception, but we finally managed to get the chicks and bring them down to the ground where they could be ringed, tagged and measured before being returned to the nest. The entire process, once the chicks were on the ground, took no more than 10 minutes.

The two ladies in the group ooh-ed and aah-ed about the incredibly long eyelashes that these birds have. Rocky Horror Picture Show, eat your heart out!

Once the work was completed, I carefully returned the two chicks back to the nest. I was also able to collect quite a few pellets that these birds regurgitate and also found a large eggshell that was handed to Craig. Analysis of the pellets can provide valuable information on the food that the parents bring to the nest to feed the chicks with. We were back in Johannesburg in less than 2.5 hours, not a bad day-trip and a fantastic excuse to get out of the smoggy city!