ANIMAL RELEASE IN FINSBURY
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We've had a good relationship with the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre (visit their website www.birdsofprey.co.za) near the lovely little town after which it is named, since the initial Covid lockdown in early twenty-twenty. I'm sure you all know of the place, since most of you drive past it on the way here from the Big Smoke. Many of you have even visited and enjoyed one of their spectacular demonstrations, where you get to see some of our most magnificent raptors up close.
Our relationship began in late March twenty-twenty, while we were in the first of the COVID-19 lockdowns, David, our staff supervisor, found a wounded Cape Eagle Owl at Cochy-Bundhu (unit 1). We noticed it was wounded but it could still fly, albeit very weakly. After attempts to feed it with trapped rats failed, Don contacted the Dullstroom centre and Magdali Theron, a passionate animal protector, came all the way out here to collect the owl. Unfortunately, the owl was past saving and died two days later. (refer my blog: FINSBURY AUTUMN WILDLIFE, posted 25 April 2020)
Then, more recently, during last year's winter, the Twiggs' from "the Crofts" (unit 19) found the carcass of a Cape Vulture on the Spekboom river. I recovered the carcass, and because they are such an endangered and iconic species, I contacted the Dullstroom centre to report it. Once again, Magdali came over to Lydenburg where I met her and handed over the carcass for a post-mortem to discover the cause of death. There was a crack on its beak which was characteristic of the wound suffered by these birds after a collision with power lines, which we have running over the Spekboom at the spot where it was found. (refer my blog of WINTER 2023, posted on 17 October 2023)
And so, Magdali contacted Don quite recently and requested that they be allowed to release a pair of Serval and a Cuckoo Hawk on the estate. Don naturally agreed it was a good idea and so, on February thirteenth, Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre arrived here with a young sibling pair of Serval cats and a beautiful Cuckoo Hawk.
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Firstly, we met them at the Spekboom parking by the picnic spot, where they released the Cuckoo Hawk, Aviceda cuculoides, which was quite something to witness! While Magdali was introducing her colleagues and we were chit-chatting, the bird rudely reminded us of why we were here by thrashing around impatiently in its cage!
The hawk was brought to the rehab center over a year prior with a broken wing, a sure death sentence to any flying bird. Magdali had spent over a year nursing the bird back to health and had decided it was time to try releasing it. She was worried that the wing was not going to be strong enough.
When she opened the cage, the Cuckoo Hawk did not hesitate and alighted with powerful wingbeats into the clear afternoon. I enjoyed Magdali's jubilation the most of all! I asked her if she was sad, looking for a tear or two, but no, she was over-the-moon. A very selfless person, she is.
In the photo from left is: the Cuckoo Hawk, just as it took off; Magdali; one of her colleagues; and David, our supervisor. Then, in the top photo, if you look center bottom-left, you will see the Cuckoo Hawk gaining height as it begins turning towards "The Crofts" (unit 19).
They are quite secretive and tend to remain still when perched, even if one ventures quite close, which would very quickly chase away other smaller raptors. They spend their time perched in trees and bushes searching for the more cryptic of the prey animals like chameleons, Katydids and grasshoppers, which are all well camouflaged. They are also quite small and resemble a large grey cuckoo in flight, and are therefore easily overlooked.
So, when next fishing and walking along the Spekboom, keep a look out for the Cuckoo Hawk. It would be so good to get to see it a bit. Let us know if you do.
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Then we moved on into the depths of Hidden Valley (South/ern Valley), our "wilderness area" of the estate, to the parking for the Rock Kestrel Trail and Olinia waterfall walk. There we were to release the pair of Serval.
The Serval are siblings, a brother and a sister, brought in by concerned folks that found them alone in the bush, around a year previously. This is quite sad because, although the folks were well-intentioned, it was a very bad thing to do, because their mother was probably out hunting and surely did return to where she had stashed her cubs, never to see them again. Magdali says that this sort of thing happens quite regularly, involving many different species.
The estimated week-old sibling cubs were fed with milk bottles for about three weeks until they were ready to be weaned, all this time being kept as far from human contact as possible. They were then released to the care of an enclosed older Serval pair that were permanent residents (previously being too exposed to humans so unreleasable in the wild) so as to avoid human contact while they sharpened their hunting and social skills, until they were old enough to disperse from their mother in a natural situation, which is about a year.
And so, we come to mid-February, after a year, to the release of the cats. As it should be, these Serval were extremely skittish of people, and you can see in the photo, the sister is curious and wants to exit the hokkie, but the bigger brother, at the back, just stares at me.
Finally, the sister cat bolted in the direction she was looking in the photo, which was directly in front of Mike Beaumont, before disappearing into the nearby bracken fern. It took a little more persuasion to get the brother cat out, but when he emerged, he shot off to the same bracken patch and they moved quickly off together towards the Klipdrif stream nearby.
between the cats because they will try entering the system like any other youngsters would, and I hope we can be of similar help in the future.
