Pirates of Durban

The Kite numbers have dropped off significantly over the last two weeks or so, but in and around Durban we are still seeing the odd bird or two. Keeping an eye on their departure has been my primary goal this week and my daily atlassing activities have kept me going. Funny enough spending time constantly looking for the kites has actually relieved some of my eye strain which I suffer with due to the lack of breaks whilst in the office on my laptop. Yes I know I need to take regular breaks, but when the creative urge strikes it does not really like to take five or ten nimuntes here or there.

I have noticed that the Kites seem to almost funnel themselves into groups later in the day and when atlassing into the early evening I have seen small groups heading westwards flying inland. This has been almost as late 6:30 in the evening which is pretty dark, but I have a decent spotting scope which I use when birding from vantage points in decent passage or migration points. The Umgeni River Valley seem like one their transit highways and most evenings I have caught quite a few flying out above the river heading west. With Autumn drawing closer now and the days shortening it is sad to think that the kites will soon be gone, probably arriving in West or Central Africa in the tropical Spring. For me the kites are the epitome of a KwaZulu-Natal Summer comforting me with their constant presence. You can spend an afternoon on your balcony at home looking across the landscape and see the kites in pairs or singly deftly dextrous and spiralling around in courtship displays. I realise now that you can take them for granted, these wonderful birds. I must say the more adverserial part of me loves their plucky attitudes particularly when they corner Pied Crows and other large birds. They really are the pirates of the bird world. They will hunt for themselves, steal from others and forage across their territories with verve and vigour. Lets see whether they are still here over the weekend.

The dwindling numbers of migrating Yellow-billed Kites

The last few weeks of intermittent rain and humid spells with the ever-shortening sunlight has certainly opened the gateway to shifts in bird migration. The earlier sunsets and later sunrises have promoted many species to begin their migration to their wintering or summer grounds. One of my favourite raptors the rather ubiquitous Yellow-billed Kite or more fondly named, the YBK has all but disappeared, whilst seeing up to fifty or more birds in a day soaring and gliding over Durbans leafy suburbs, we now are lucky enough to see a couple in a day. As an avid amateur bird atlasser I have been keeping tabs on their departure and migration. Today I was lucky enough to see four different birds still active and pirating food from indignant Pied Crows. The YBK in question was a fairly large specimen and managed to snatch away some kind of meat. My only concern was that it took place at the back end of King George hospital. A specialist public hospital for the treatment of tuberclosis and related conditions.

I think the crows must have over-turned a dustbin outside the hospital kitchen and were fighting over the scraps. Lets just hope they were not some post-operative human waste. I expect that by the end of the week the YBK's would have all but migrated on out of Durban heading further North. For you South Africans, keep an eye out for them.

Here is an interesting YouTube video on Yellow-billed Kite feeding behaviour. Its fairly short and should be too long. The video quality is not the best, but you can see some interesting parent-fledgling interactions.