New Agatha Bat Hawk Nest Site UPDATE

A few weeks ago the most recent nest platform and its supporting branch fell down. Ruan Viljoen from the Warriors Academy volunteered to erect a new platorm. The only suitable branch we found is 10m up. We sincerely hope the Bat Hawks accept the new platform.

These pictures show Ruan climbing the tree, attaching the platform in place and a final image of the platform decorated with a few sticks to entice the birds to make their nest there.

Thank you Ruan, hope we can put more nests platforms up.

Our Blog describing the original nest platform erection.

See the YouTube video of Ruan Viljoen climbing and attaching the platform.




Roberts Bird books: History of the naming of the Cape Parrot.

Using the Roberts bird books on my shelf I have tried to trace the emergence of the Cape Parrot name, as we know it today. I scanned the maps from the books. The caption on the map indicates which version of Roberts that the map comes from. I have also selected some of the information that helps place the thinking at that time. The name at the top of each “blurb” is the name used for that edition. The map of the Brown-necked Parrot from the Roberts Bird Guide 2nd edition still indicates that the Cape and Brown-necked parrots share a similar distribution. I will describe in a later post that this is no longer thought to be the case.

Roberts 3rd ed 1971

Brown-necked Parrot
Poicephalus robustus
Distribution: Alexandria forest eastwards to Natal and Zoutpansberg; Damaraland and Rhodesia northwards to West Africa and Tanzania. Habits: Not uncommon, but rather restricted in its habitat, being common in some areas and rare in others quite close by. Essentially a bird of the forests and thick bush.


Roberts 5th ed 1984

Cape Parrot(Brown-necked Parrot) Poicephalus robustus
Distribution: Africa S of Sahara; in s Africa confined to E, SE and Caprivi. Habitat: Evergreen and riverine forest, well developed woodland. Roosts and nests above 900 m in most of S Africa, but in Baobab and riverine woodland in Limpopo Valley; roosts singly, not in flocks. May fly over 100 km to feeding areas, usually lower-lying and coastal forests, using set flight paths; forages by clambering about high in trees.


Roberts 6th ed 1993

Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus
Status: Locally common to rare nomadic resident; seasonal migrant in n Zimbabwe, August to December. Vulnerable (RDB). Northern subspecies P. r. suahe- licus has grey head and probably discontinuous distribution, so could be separate species.


Roberts Bird Guide 1st ed 2007

Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus STATUS Rare and localised endemic with a total population of under 1000 birds (2004). Regarded as Endangered with numbers still decreasing due to low br success and losses to captive bird trade. Sedentary but undertakes long-distance feeding forays between forests. Usually in small flocks or family groups. HABITAT Afromontane forest; occasionally forages elsewhere, such as in pecan nut plantations.


Roberts Bird Guide 2nd ed 2016

Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus
Blurb almost identical to 1st edition Roberts Bird Guide


Roberts Bird Guide 2nd ed 2016

Brown-necked Parrot Poicephalus fuscicollis Habitat Riparian and lowland savanna, usually with Baobab trees; does not usually enter Afromontane forest in our region. Food Primarily kernels of unripe fruit from Marula (Sclerocarya), Mobola Plum (Parinari), Nyala-tree (Xanthocercis), and corkwoods (Commiphora); also fruit flesh. Br Nests high in Baobab cavities.




Birding on Dragonwyck Farm.

Walking and Birding

Our cottages are surrounded by plants selected to attract birds. This is perfect for the birders who prefer the birds to come to them. Over the years we have developed many trails. Some follow the streams and pass through riverine bush. Others take you into our forest. Concrete benches have been placed at spots where you can relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Walk the trails in the at first light and soak up the sounds of the morning bird chorus. Find a bench and wait for the birds to come to you while you sip your coffee. In the afternoons and evenings, the birding from your veranda can be very entertaining.

This is the map of all the walks on the farm. The total distance is about 4km. Because of the mountainous nature of the farm, only the roads are suitable for guests who have disabilities.

Bird Hide

We have recently built a bird hide in our house forest. Twenty years ago this area was a litchi orchard. We removed the litchis as the monkeys were not keen to share the fruit. We allowed the natural regrowth of local shrubs and trees and also planted selected specimen trees.

The hide was made using old creosote poles and corrugated roofing sheets found in our shed.

This is the view from inside the hide

The forest trees and grass in front of the hide.

Birds photographed from the hide.




Birders Cottage Bird Photographs: Brendan Ryan

Brendan Ryan has visited Magoebaskloof Birders Cottage several times. These photographs are from his last visit in 2022.




Birders Cottage Bird Photographs: Conrad Visser

These excellent photographs were taken by Conrad Visser in the winter of 2021 in our Limpopo Escarpment Forest. The conditions were cold and mostly overcast. The Yellow-bellied Greenbul is a first for me on the farm. The other birds are typically seen when ever you go out birding. The SABAP2 pentad that covers the farm.




Black Sparrowhawk nesting in giant Eucalypt near Woodbush Forest

This morning, 19 September, I took a drive to the tallest planted tree in the world. David Letsoalo a local bird guide had given me directions to a Black Sparrowhawk nest located just behind the tallest tree. I found the nest without any difficulty but there was no sign of the birds. According to Roberts Bird Guide 2, their peak nesting season is July-September. This Black Sparrowhawk nest is so high that there is no chance to get a view into the nest, the Sparrowhawks could well be in residence. According to David, Crowned Eagles are also nesting in this copse of giant Eucalypts. They were calling but I could not find their nest.

Other birds I heard calling: Narina Trogon, Barratt’s Warbler, Terrestrial Brownbul, African Emerald Cuckoo, Sombre Greenbul.



These trees were planted in 1906 by Mr Eastwood. My blog article gives some background as to why these Eucalyptus trees were planted so many years ago. Although Eucalypts provide us with much needed poles and saw wood they are highly invasive and threaten our water resources. Here is a very interesting Link.




Rain Shadow Birding Route

The Rain Shadow Birding Route, as its name implies, is very dry compared to the Woodbush Forest and Magoebaskloof Birders Cottage only about 15km to the north east. I have assigned the beginning of the route as the point where the Annies Fortune road drops down in the dry Ga-Molepo region. The end of the route is where it joins the R71. The route runs through mostly commercial cattle farming area. The route passes an interesting Prickly Pear plantation, reinforcing the dryness of the area. The vegetation is acacia thornveld. In winter, the flowering aloes provide lots of colour.



The route covers part of the SABAP2 pentad 2355_2950 wherein 212 bird species have been recorded over the years.

My suggestion for birding is that you drive slowly until you hear a bird calling. Stop, park on the side of the road and walk up and down the road. Please do not go through fences to follow a bird! You might be approached by a farmer checking up on a strange car. This is a public, road so birders are well within their rights to use the road.

Beginning of Rain Shadow Route
The start of the Rain Shadow Birding Route.
Aloes and acacia thorn.typical of the area.

This birdlist below is taken from the SABAP2 website for pentad 2355_2950

  Ref Common group Common species Genus Species
1 622 Apalis Bar-throated Apalis thoracica
2 625 Apalis Yellow-breasted Apalis flavida
3 533 Babbler Arrow-marked Turdoides jardineii
4 432 Barbet Acacia Pied Tricholaema leucomelas
5 431 Barbet Black-collared Lybius torquatus
6 439 Barbet Crested Trachyphonus vaillantii
7 672 Batis Cape Batis capensis
8 673 Batis Chinspot Batis molitor
9 404 Bee-eater European Merops apiaster
10 410 Bee-eater Little Merops pusillus
11 808 Bishop Southern Red Euplectes orix
12 810 Bishop Yellow Euplectes capensis
13 709 Boubou Southern Laniarius ferrugineus
14 546 Brownbul Terrestrial Phyllastrephus terrestris
15 731 Brubru Brubru Nilaus afer
16 545 Bulbul Dark-capped Pycnonotus tricolor
17 872 Bunting Cinnamon-breasted Emberiza tahapisi
18 874 Bunting Golden-breasted Emberiza flaviventris
19 720 Bush-shrike Black-fronted Telophorus nigrifrons
20 721 Bush-shrike Gorgeous Telophorus quadricolor
21 723 Bush-shrike Grey-headed Malaconotus blanchoti
22 717 Bush-shrike Olive Telophorus olivaceus
23 719 Bush-shrike Orange-breasted Telophorus sulfureopectus
24 155 Buzzard Forest Buteo trizonatus
25 152 Buzzard Jackal Buteo rufofuscus
26 144 Buzzard Lizard Kaupifalco monogrammicus
27 154 Buzzard Steppe Buteo vulpinus
28 627 Camaroptera Green-backed Camaroptera brachyura
29 628 Camaroptera Grey-backed Camaroptera brevicaudata
30 863 Canary Brimstone Crithagra sulphuratus
31 857 Canary Cape Serinus canicollis
32 866 Canary Yellow Crithagra flaviventris
33 859 Canary Yellow-fronted Crithagra mozambicus
34 570 Chat Familiar Cercomela familiaris
35 647 Cisticola Croaking Cisticola natalensis
36 648 Cisticola Lazy Cisticola aberrans
37 646 Cisticola Levaillant’s Cisticola tinniens
38 642 Cisticola Rattling Cisticola chiniana
39 644 Cisticola Red-faced Cisticola erythrops
40 639 Cisticola Wailing Cisticola lais
41 629 Cisticola Zitting Cisticola juncidis
42 212 Coot Red-knobbed Fulica cristata
43 50 Cormorant Reed Phalacrocorax africanus
44 4131 Coucal Burchell’s Centropus burchellii
45 203 Crake Black Amaurornis flavirostris
46 621 Crombec Long-billed Sylvietta rufescens
47 522 Crow Pied Corvus albus
48 341 Cuckoo African Cuculus gularis
49 344 Cuckoo Black Cuculus clamosus
50 352 Cuckoo Diderick Chrysococcyx caprius
51 348 Cuckoo Jacobin Clamator jacobinus
52 351 Cuckoo Klaas’s Chrysococcyx klaas
53 347 Cuckoo Levaillant’s Clamator levaillantii
54 343 Cuckoo Red-chested Cuculus solitarius
55 513 Cuckoo-shrike Black Campephaga flava
56 317 Dove Laughing Streptopelia senegalensis
57 314 Dove Red-eyed Streptopelia semitorquata
58 940 Dove Rock Columba livia
59 319 Dove Tambourine Turtur tympanistria
60 517 Drongo Fork-tailed Dicrurus adsimilis
61 143 Eagle African Crowned Stephanoaetus coronatus
62 138 Eagle Long-crested Lophaetus occipitalis
63 134 Eagle Tawny Aquila rapax
64 368 Eagle-owl Spotted Bubo africanus
65 61 Egret Cattle Bubulcus ibis
66 601 Eremomela Burnt-necked Eremomela usticollis
67 114 Falcon Lanner Falco biarmicus
68 833 Firefinch African Lagonosticta rubricata
69 835 Firefinch Jameson’s Lagonosticta rhodopareia
70 837 Firefinch Red-billed Lagonosticta senegala
71 707 Fiscal Common (Southern) Lanius collaris
72 149 Fish-eagle African Haliaeetus vocifer
73 655 Flycatcher African Dusky Muscicapa adusta
74 665 Flycatcher Fiscal Sigelus silens
75 661 Flycatcher Marico Bradornis mariquensis
76 662 Flycatcher Pale Bradornis pallidus
77 664 Flycatcher Southern Black Melaenornis pammelaina
78 654 Flycatcher Spotted Muscicapa striata
79 174 Francolin Crested Dendroperdix sephaena
80 177 Francolin Shelley’s Scleroptila shelleyi
81 339 Go-away-bird Grey Corythaixoides concolor
82 89 Goose Egyptian Alopochen aegyptiacus
83 618 Grassbird Cape Sphenoeacus afer
84 551 Greenbul Sombre Andropadus importunus
85 550 Greenbul Yellow-bellied Chlorocichla flaviventris
86 547 Greenbul Yellow-streaked Phyllastrephus flavostriatus
87 192 Guineafowl Helmeted Numida meleagris
88 72 Hamerkop Hamerkop Scopus umbretta
89 171 Harrier-Hawk African Polyboroides typus
90 141 Hawk-eagle African Aquila spilogaster
91 55 Heron Black-headed Ardea melanocephala
92 115 Hobby Eurasian Falco subbuteo
93 440 Honeyguide Greater Indicator indicator
94 442 Honeyguide Lesser Indicator minor
95 441 Honeyguide Scaly-throated Indicator variegatus
96 418 Hoopoe African Upupa africana
97 426 Hornbill Southern Yellow-billed Tockus leucomelas
98 507 House-martin Common Delichon urbicum
99 84 Ibis Hadeda Bostrychia hagedash
100 849 Indigobird Dusky Vidua funerea
101 851 Indigobird Village Vidua chalybeata
102 123 Kestrel Rock Falco rupicolus
103 402 Kingfisher Brown-hooded Halcyon albiventris
104 130 Kite Black-shouldered Elanus caeruleus
105 129 Kite Yellow-billed Milvus aegyptius
106 458 Lark Rufous-naped Mirafra africana
107 703 Longclaw Cape Macronyx capensis
108 823 Mannikin Bronze Spermestes cucullatus
109 506 Martin Rock Hirundo fuligula
110 803 Masked-weaver Southern Ploceus velatus
111 392 Mousebird Red-faced Urocolius indicus
112 390 Mousebird Speckled Colius striatus
113 734 Myna Common Acridotheres tristis
114 637 Neddicky Neddicky Cisticola fulvicapilla
115 373 Nightjar Fiery-necked Caprimulgus pectoralis
116 372 Nightjar Rufous-cheeked Caprimulgus rufigena
117 312 Olive-pigeon African Columba arquatrix
118 521 Oriole Black-headed Oriolus larvatus
119 359 Owl Barn Tyto alba
120 748 Oxpecker Red-billed Buphagus erythrorhynchus
121 387 Palm-swift African Cypsiurus parvus
122 682 Paradise-flycatcher African Terpsiphone viridis
123 852 Paradise-whydah Long-tailed Vidua paradisaea
124 531 Penduline-tit Cape Anthoscopus minutus
125 311 Pigeon Speckled Columba guinea
126 692 Pipit African Anthus cinnamomeus
127 699 Pipit Bushveld Anthus caffer
128 10877 Pipit Nicholson’s Anthus nicholsoni
129 696 Pipit Striped Anthus lineiventris
130 650 Prinia Black-chested Prinia flavicans
131 1049 Prinia Drakensberg Prinia hypoxantha
132 649 Prinia Tawny-flanked Prinia subflava
133 712 Puffback Black-backed Dryoscopus cubla
134 830 Pytilia Green-winged Pytilia melba
135 805 Quelea Red-billed Quelea quelea
136 524 Raven White-necked Corvus albicollis
137 603 Reed-warbler Great Acrocephalus arundinaceus
138 589 Robin White-starred Pogonocichla stellata
139 581 Robin-chat Cape Cossypha caffra
140 579 Robin-chat Red-capped Cossypha natalensis
141 580 Robin-chat White-browed Cossypha heuglini
142 582 Robin-chat White-throated Cossypha humeralis
143 412 Roller European Coracias garrulus
144 511 Saw-wing Black (Southern race) Psalidoprocne holomelaena
145 421 Scimitarbill Common Rhinopomastus cyanomelas
146 586 Scrub-robin Kalahari Cercotrichas paena
147 588 Scrub-robin White-browed Cercotrichas leucophrys
148 867 Seedeater Streaky-headed Crithagra gularis
149 711 Shrike Crimson-breasted Laniarius atrococcineus
150 706 Shrike Lesser Grey Lanius minor
151 708 Shrike Red-backed Lanius collurio
152 146 Snake-eagle Black-chested Circaetus pectoralis
153 786 Sparrow Cape Passer melanurus
154 784 Sparrow House Passer domesticus
155 4142 Sparrow Southern Grey-headed Passer diffusus
156 780 Sparrow-weaver White-browed Plocepasser mahali
157 159 Sparrowhawk Black Accipiter melanoleucus
158 183 Spurfowl Natal Pternistis natalensis
159 185 Spurfowl Swainson’s Pternistis swainsonii
160 737 Starling Cape Glossy Lamprotornis nitens
161 745 Starling Red-winged Onychognathus morio
162 736 Starling Violet-backed Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
163 576 Stonechat African Saxicola torquatus
164 77 Stork Woolly-necked Ciconia episcopus
165 772 Sunbird Amethyst Chalcomitra amethystina
166 771 Sunbird Collared Hedydipna collaris
167 758 Sunbird Greater Double-collared Cinnyris afer
168 755 Sunbird Marico Cinnyris mariquensis
169 760 Sunbird Southern Double-collared Cinnyris chalybeus
170 763 Sunbird White-bellied Cinnyris talatala
171 493 Swallow Barn Hirundo rustica
172 502 Swallow Greater Striped Hirundo cucullata
173 503 Swallow Lesser Striped Hirundo abyssinica
174 498 Swallow Pearl-breasted Hirundo dimidiata
175 495 Swallow White-throated Hirundo albigularis
176 380 Swift African Black Apus barbatus
177 383 Swift White-rumped Apus caffer
178 715 Tchagra Black-crowned Tchagra senegalus
179 714 Tchagra Brown-crowned Tchagra australis
180 275 Thick-knee Spotted Burhinus capensis
181 1104 Thrush Karoo Turdus smithi
182 552 Thrush Kurrichane Turdus libonyanus
183 437 Tinkerbird Yellow-fronted Pogoniulus chrysoconus
184 527 Tit Southern Black Parus niger
185 658 Tit-babbler Chestnut-vented Parisoma subcaeruleum
186 393 Trogon Narina Apaloderma narina
187 4133 Turaco Knysna Tauraco corythaix
188 337 Turaco Purple-crested Gallirex porphyreolophus
189 316 Turtle-dove Cape Streptopelia capicola
190 686 Wagtail Cape Motacilla capensis
191 610 Warbler Barratt’s Bradypterus barratti
192 666 Warbler Dark-capped Yellow Chloropeta natalensis
193 595 Warbler Garden Sylvia borin
194 607 Warbler Marsh Acrocephalus palustris
195 597 Warbler Olive-tree Hippolais olivetorum
196 599 Warbler Willow Phylloscopus trochilus
197 841 Waxbill Black-faced Estrilda erythronotos
198 839 Waxbill Blue Uraeginthus angolensis
199 843 Waxbill Common Estrilda astrild
200 838 Waxbill Orange-breasted Amandava subflava
201 825 Waxbill Swee Coccopygia melanotis
202 840 Waxbill Violet-eared Granatina granatina
203 799 Weaver Cape Ploceus capensis
204 801 Weaver Golden Ploceus xanthops
205 791 Weaver Spectacled Ploceus ocularis
206 797 Weaver Village Ploceus cucullatus
207 1172 White-eye Cape Zosterops virens
208 846 Whydah Pin-tailed Vidua macroura
209 847 Whydah Shaft-tailed Vidua regia
210 813 Widowbird Red-collared Euplectes ardens
211 814 Widowbird White-winged Euplectes albonotatus
212 320 Wood-dove Blue-spotted Turtur afer
213 321 Wood-dove Emerald-spotted Turtur chalcospilos
214 419 Wood-hoopoe Green Phoeniculus purpureus
215 362 Wood-owl African Strix woodfordii
216 450 Woodpecker Cardinal Dendropicos fuscescens
217 447 Woodpecker Golden-tailed Campethera abingoni
218 452 Woodpecker Olive Dendropicos griseocephalus
219 453 Wryneck Red-throated Jynx ruficollis



First Forester in Woodbush

The Woodbush Forest is my prime forest birding spot here in Magoebaskloof. The book BETWEEN WOODBUSH AND WOLKBERG  Googoo Thompson’s Story by B Wongtschowski, is the story of Googoo Thompsons life. Her father was the first forester assigned to the Woodbush Forest. I have extracted, verbatim, those aspects of Mr Arthur K. Eastwood’s life relating to his days as a forester in the Woodbush area of Magoebaskloof. for this post. The book is out of print.

Arrival at Haenertsburg and Early Life in the Woodbush

Woodbush Forest Home

“Upon our arrival in the afternoon at the Haenertsburg Hotel, we transferred from the coach to our donkey-cart which was waiting for us. We spent the night in Stanford’s Bush near the Fauconniers’ farm,Waterval. The cart, covered with tarpaulin, had an inside framework with riempies drawn across, which served as an excellent bed for Mother and Father. This was known by the Boers as a katel. I slept under the bucksail in the front part of the cart on a small stretcher that was folded up during the day. However, I often preferred simply to sleep under the wagon, as did Father.”

“Father’s main duty as Government Forestry Officer was to survey the rain forests of the Woodbush that were not owned by farmers, for transfer to the Department of Forestry. The South African Republic had granted so-called “Burgher Right” — and  “Occupation-farms” in an attempt to control the movement of Blacks and settle the land. Those farms had already been surveyed. He had no jurisdiction over the indiscriminate felling of trees on such occupied land. However, there were patches of forest that were not owned by anyone and thus an area of about thirty five square miles was surveyed by him in about three years.”

“If you have a close look at the old photograph of our whole set-up you can also see a little wooden box on four white legs. This was a simple meteorological outfit, and next to this was a rain-gauge. Each day, at 8 a.m., minimum and maximum temperatures for the day were recorded, together with remarks describing the kind of clouds in the sky and whether or not it was misty. In Father’s absence, Mother had to do this little job. Coming from the top of Magoebaskloof, all these buildings were situated just before the turn-off to the Forest Drive that leads to the Debegeni Falls on the left-hand side, in a square which today boasts high cypress trees. These were originally planted by Mother and kept trimmed like a hedge.”

The First Woodcutters

“On several occasions we were told by Mr Brits about the Sekhukhune campaign and its connection with the first settlers in the Woodbush. On the 2nd of December 1879 the British Army under Sir Garnet Wolseley routed and captured the Pedi Paramount Chief. Sir Garnet used a big contingent of Swazi soldiers, together with the 94th regiment and the 13th Light Infantry from Perth. When the campaign was over, five soldiers from the 13th Light Infantry deserted and found shelter in the Woodbush. The names of these original five woodcutters were Woodward, Smith, Schnell, Ruthven and Taylor. They earned a living by felling timber which was badly required for railway sleepers, building houses and wagons. There was a great demand from the fast-growing town of Pretoria. The timber was also sold in Pietersburg and to a lesser extent on market days at Houtboschdorp.”

A few verses in Totius’s poem “Trekkersweé” seem to refer to our Woodbush.

“Die hout was geelhout wat gesaag

is in die Houtbosbergse kuil,

vandaar met moeite uitgedraag

en oral in die land verruil.”

“The word of untold timber resources soon spread as far afield as Knysna, and not long afterwards the village was teeming with oxwagons, sellers and buyers. These arrivals swelled the number of white settlers, who had to buy sugar and material for clothing, but otherwise managed to live entirely off the land. They shot bushpig, duiker, bush-buck, gathered wild spinach and grew mealies from which they cooked their porridge. They even made their own coffee from the husks of mealies.” “The first five woodcutters were soon followed by others who had heard about the beautiful yellowwood planks which had been offered on the market square in Pretoria and a sort of” Timber Rush” set in. A ruthless decimation of the forests took place between the years 1880 and 1890.

Sawing up the logs

“Apart from the giant Yellowwoods, Vaalbos, Bitter Almond (Waggon Wood), Black and White Iron Wood, Water Wood — used mainly for furniture — Stinkwood, Boekenhout, many other trees fell to the woodcutters’ axes. As soon as a tree was felled, it was marked and became the property of the woodcutter. It was reduced to boards by means of pitsaws. Two men operated these saws, one above the pit to draw the saw up and the other within the pit to draw the blade down. To ensure that the sawing was straight, a length of twine plucked like a violin string and when released it left an imprint of charcoal. The entire log was marked in this way and reduced to planks of 3 inches or l1/2 inches in thickness. Trees that were too hard for the sawblades to cut into boards were left to rot on the ground. This applied particularly to Iron Wcod”

Iron Wood fence posts

“Father helped to enforce the law that made the felling of young Iron Wood trees in the forest strictly forbidden. However, in 1910 Lionel Phillips wished to have his recently acquired farm, named “Broederstroom Stud Farm”, fenced into paddocks. It was specified in the contract that the straining posts of the fences were to be of Iron Wood with a minimum diameter of 9 inches at the base, tapering in diameter of 7 inches at the top. Father at this time was farming Clear Waters, after abandoning his work with the Forestry Department; in 1907, but being anxious to earn some extra money undertook the fencing job. He consulted old Mr Brits, who confirmed that there were indeed hundreds of unused felled Iron Wood the forest. Father thereupon sought and gained permission from Pretoria to split poles from felled trees in the Longbos near Broedstroom. Old Brits was promised sixpence for every pole that Father split. The trees had to be dug out literally from twenty years of mould and compost. After scraping away the cambrium layer, Father was able to obtain no less than 36 poles from the heart core of a single tree The mind boggles at the size of the trees which were doomed to rot by the greedy woodcutters. Some of the fencing poles Father erected still stand to this day. “

“At the end of 1906 Father took three months’ leave, which we spent on our newly acquired farm Broedersdrift. Before he left the Forestry Department, they sent up a man called Berry, who was a trained surveyor, to check on the work that Daddy had done. To our pride, he found that his work has been extremely accurate. Father was succeeded by the first qualified forester in the Woodbush, Charles Edward Lane-Poole,* who had trained at the French Forestry School at Nancy and had spent 1906 at the South African Forestry School at Tokai Mr Legat instructed Lane-Poole to plant gum trees in the open space between the indigenous Kiaat (Pterocarpus angolenses) in a forest on Middelkop, where the tea plantations are now. As an alternative Lane-Poole suggested young Pterocarpus or other indigenous trees like Bitter Almond, Yellowwood, Vaalbos or Essenhoutbos. It was a practice he had observed in Burma on a private visit before coming to South Africa; between the existing large Teaks young teak trees were planted, and in time the old ones were felled. In this way the young trees eventually took over and the forests were re-established. However, he had to do as he was told. His annual reports of 1907/08 and 1908/9 make fascinating reading. In 1910 a disagreement over introducing exotics brought Lane- Pool’s work with the Transvaal Forestry Department to an end. “






New Agatha Bat Hawk Nest Site

Where is the Bat hawk Nesting Site

Important notice: This nest has fallen down but efforts are being made to put a platform back in the original position.

The New Agatha Bat Hawk nest site is about a 30 minute drive from Magoebaskloof Birders Cottage. Google maps link https://goo.gl/maps/ Keep a look out for the SAFCOL Woodbush Plantation (Agatha) signboard. Turn right onto the dirt road. Drive under a avenue of massive gum trees then a gap and then a second avenue of gum trees. In the fifth tree of the second set of gum trees you will find the Bat Hawk nest first discovered in 1967.



The Bat Hawk nest is on a branch facing the opposite side of the road, about 25m up. Note the metal frame that underpins the nest.

Usually you will find one or both of the birds sitting quietly on a branch high up in one of the adjacent gum trees. Early morning and early evening will probably find the birds off on a hunt. Recently the birds have been reported to be roosting in the adjacent pine tree plantations!

History of the Bat Hawk Nest Site

The New Agatha Bat Hawks were first noticed by Dave Steyn in 1967 whilst collecting Eucalyptus seeds in the course of his work for the Department of Forestry. Over the next few years Archie van Reenen and Peter Williams noticed that the Bat Hawk nest was never completed. Even a slight wind would blow the nest down. Probably because gum trees have very smooth bark and they had chosen a very wide fork in the tree.

Agatha Bat Hawk Nest Site

Frank van Reenen, Archie’s 10 year old son, was hauled up 25m to the branch in a mielie-meal bag. In the picture he can be seen attaching a platform of chicken wire to the branch. He was hauled up a second time to place some sticks that had previously fallen off the nest on the wire platform.

Agatha Bat Hawk Nest putting up the platform

Within two days they continued building the nest and 1969 was the first year the birds had a successful breeding season. Bat Hawks have been breeding at the same site ever since.

Source: FOR THE LOVE OF BIRDS by ARCHIE VAN REENEN