Familiar Chat

Publication name	Publication Type	Description	File Attachment
Familiar Chat Back Issues-June 2011	Familiar Chat	Its a bitterly cold, unseasonably wet morning as I write this, making me think of global warming and the climate changes being experienced around the world. To keep a finger on the pulse of what is happening in Botswana’s bird world, please read Keddy’s report on page 5 and heed BLB’s plea to add your contribution to Bird Population Monitoring. Kabo Ditshane’s real life piece on page 4 tells us what birds meant to him as a small boy growing up in a village. It is thoughtprovoking and utterly honest. The articles on pages 2 and 8 reflect the growing interaction of BLB with children and rural communities - a good reflection of BLB’s core work. Keep warm & cheers ’til spring. Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_jun_2011.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-March 2011	Familiar Chat	This quarter’s Chat features two articles by Peter D’Arcy and one from Nicky Bousfield on bird ringing - a fascinating and hugely challenging activity. If anyone is interested in learning more about this or would like to join a ringing session, please contact Peter at darcybotswana@yahoo.com Also don’t miss Mike Brook’s interesting item on herons in Notwane and Bob Izzett’s delightful piece inspired by watching the goings on at his bird table at SSKA site office. An important request - If you are reading this, please drop me a line at the email below, sms me on 75652974. We need to know. Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_march_2011.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-September 2010	Familiar Chat	Our annual BLB dinner will be on Sat 25th September, 19:00 for 19:30 at the Gaborone Golf Club. The guest speaker will be Mark Anderson of BirdLife SA. The cost is P150 and all Members are invited to attend. It should be an excellent affair and is one of the main events on our calendar. Please buy your tickets early to avoid disappointment - on sale at the BLB Office in Kgale Siding or at the shop in the Craft Market, Broadhurst. There will be eight people to a table so you may reserve your table when purchasing your tickets. There are only 80 tickets, sold on a first come, first served basis. For paid up Members we have a camp planned from Thursday 30th September to Sunday 3rd October. The venue will be on the Limpopo River in the Tuli area. Interested Members please let Mike Goldsworthy know. See more details on page 9. Please renew your membership if you haven’t already done so. Your subscriptions are greatly appreciated and much needed and we ask that Members encourage new recruits to join BLB to further the cause of bird conservation in Botswana. Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_september_2010.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-June 2010	Familiar Chat	A highlight of the BitdLife Botswana year, and quickly becoming a tradition, is the annual World Migratory Bird Day celebrations. This year’s event was even bigger than last year, attracting more than 500 schoolchildren and nearly 50 teachers! Reaching the hearts and minds of our youngsters, the future custodians of our fragile planet, is of inestimable value. Please read Keddy’s report on page 2 and 3 to see the impact BLB is having. Well done Keddy! There are wonderful personal accounts of Member’s observations and successful interactions with our feathered friends, some of whom may have perished without human intervention, on pages 6 to 9. Please enjoy the stories and contribute your own for future publication in the Chat. It is these items that make the newsletter truly a members’ forum. Please renew your membership if you haven’t already done so. Your subscriptions are greatly appreciated and much needed and we ask that Members encourage new recruits to join BLB to further the cause of bird conservation in Botswana. Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_june_2010.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-March 2010	Familiar Chat	Despite the lack of unity and concrete agreements reached at the Copenhagen conference last December (UNFCCC), it seems a number of world leaders are seeing the light and there appears to be a renewed determination to make real changes to the way we do things (too little too late?). Never-the-less, please follow the news on page 6, and read about the CAP conference hosted by BirdLife Botswana in Kasane on page 8, where climate change was the overarching concern. On a more personal note, I am delighted to report seeing a Greyheaded Kingfisher near our new home in Mokolodi 1, only the second time I have seen it. The first was on the 1st November BLB Sunday walk in the Gabane area and I will never forget how excited Chris Brewster was to have spotted it – a rare visitor to Gaborone. Seeing its gorgeous chestnut breast and softest grey head again brought a great thrill to me. I probably wouldn’t have got the bino’s out to see it properly if I hadn’t attended that walk! Please renew your membership if you haven’t already done so and send me your F Chat contributions! Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_march_2010.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-December 2009	Familiar Chat	Looking back at the 2009 birding year brings many happy recollections - many outstanding Sunday walks to out of the way places and many, many new faces, often from other parts of the world. Some folk are just passing through but most are in Botswana to add their expertise, share their experience and enrich lives - their own and others. International exchange and commitment to far-reaching reforms to slow global warming is easily the most important issue in the world today. Don’t miss the press release from BirdLife International on page 2 which spells out the 5 key actions BLI want the world’s political leaders, meeting in Copenhagen, to take. If you are reading this electronically, do double click on ‘click to advance’ below the adjacent bird for a delightful power point presentation on the persistence and resilience of birds — we have a lot to learn from these wonderful creatures that we love and need to protect in every way we can. I wish you all a happy and safe festive season and I hope to see you in 2010. Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_dec_09.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-September 2009	Familiar Chat	It’s funny how the collective mind works - just a few weeks ago, Mark and I were talking about the yellow morph of the Crimson-breasted Shrike and how we would love to see one. Then a BLB member, quite out of the blue, told me she thought she had seen one in Mokolodi, hotly poohpoohed (sp?) by her husband. Never-the-less every Sunday (Dogsday), on our walk through the Mokolodi bush we still look for it. Then in Maun, up pops the bird, photographed by Ken Oake, adjacent, and a huge amount of excitement is engendered when those who attended the BLB board meeting saw it too. See Ian White’s pic, taken on another day, on BLB’s Flickr site. I am yellow with envy. All I saw in the Cape was crows (oh and some fabulous flamingos). In this issue look out for the story on the predicament of Lake Natron’s flamingos on page 4 and the plight of vultures in Africa on page 7. It is up to us all to get involved with BLB initiatives such as Common Bird Monitoring (see page 8), Tickbird and the Familiar Chat, so please sign up, turn up and turn on for birds in Botswana! Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_sep_09.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-June 2009	Familiar Chat	The relatively serious content of this newsletter reflects the global concern for the state of the world and the importance of birds as indicators of it. In addition it reflects the growing change from a ‘social’ club to a scientific organization, part of a much larger international movement. Most content has been generated by staff and BirdLife International, however, I can’t stress enough the importance of our members young and old, new and longstanding, to the running and success of the organization. Therefore I ask yet again, for birds’ sake, for more of your stories, ideas and feedback. Don’t miss Keddy’s report on page 2, of the delightful World Migratory Bird Day celebrations, and Molebi’s reports on his travels to England on pages 5 and 6. On page 8 there is news on the latest Red Data lists. It is not all gloom - there have been some great conservation success stories - saving birds from extinction, giving hope and pointing the way forward. It is up to us all to get involved with BLB initiatives such as Common Bird Monitoring, Tickbird and the Familiar Chat! Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_jun_09.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-March 2009	Familiar Chat	Summer is on its way out and what a bumper season it has been! Wonderful rains have really soaked the ground and the bush is thick and full of fruit and berries. I don’t think I have ever seen so many varieties of butterflies and insects and of course that means a bumper year for birds with plentiful food for hungry babies. The Grewia bushes have put on an extra flush of flowers and fruit and many leaves are tightly wrapped with silk threads enclosing juicy larvae. The birds are having a good time! Harold writes of his trip to New Zealand, on page 3, and the silence of the forests there, quite different to Botswana where we are blessed with so much activity and birdsong. Don’t miss Nicky’s delightful notes from Francistown on page 5 — her insights into bird behaviour are based on a lifetime of close observation and love of birds. Protecting Africa’s IBAs, on page 8, talks of Kenya & Zambia, but relates closely to our own experiences and has messages for us too. In closing I once more ask for feedback and contributions. I really would love to hear from you. Eugenie Skelton — editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_mar_09.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-December 2008	Familiar Chat	2008 has come and almost gone ! The Board of BirdLife Botswana wish all our readers and supporters a most restful and happy Festive Season and good wishes for 2009. Even when times are tough, remember the birds and I promise you they will carry on singing and delighting us with their presence! In this issue, don’t miss the report on the wonderfully generous donation from Debswana’s Jwaneng Mine that will go a long way to help in the conservation of Botswana’s special bird, the Kori Bustard. Ikakanyeng Nyambe of the Cape Vulture Environmental Club writes on her lifealtering trip to Kenya on page 3, there are delightful items from members from pages 6 to 10 and the second special children’s page is on page 11. Don’t forget to send me your ideas and contributions - I would love some feedback! Eugenie Skelton - editor"	fc_dec_08.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-September 2008	Familiar Chat	It has been a year since I took over the reins of the Familiar Chat and to herald the season of rebirth I decided to cast off the old feathers and bring in a new look! Hope you like it. I just love Spring with its promise of more birds, lots of breeding activity and the freshness of new flowers and foliage.. The sunbirds are thrilled too, twittering amongst the Acacia mellifera (meaning honey-bearing) and Aloe marlothii blooms and the Magpie (Longtailed) Shrikes are a delight with their musical whistling delivered from the tops of tall trees. In this issue, don’t miss the new children’s page or Pete’s report on the Trans-Okavango Bird Transect carried out last spring. The first report from our strong new branch in Jwaneng is on page 7 and we are delighted that Ghanzi now has a branch too, under the leadership of Lorraine Boast (from Cheetah Conservation), and Kasane is under the new leadership of Lyn Francey and Pete Laver. To all our BirdLife branches, may you grow from strength to strength and we hope to see many of you at the Annual Dinner on the 18th October. See the adjacent column for details. Don’t forget to send me your ideas and contributions - I would love some feedback! Eugenie Skelton editor NEW FOR KIDS! Our first page specially for younger readers, features on page 11. Our thanks go to Doreen McColaugh for her ongoing dedication to Environmental Education in Botswana - there can be no one better to produce our children’s page! September 2008 Newsletter of BirdLife Botswana Familiar Chat IF ANYONE CAN CAN BLB Annual Dinner At the Hesters, Mogorosi, Plot 30A, Notwane 19:00 for 19:30 Saturday 18 October 2008 Smart casual P160 per head Guest speaker: Graham McCulloch Ten Years of Boom & Bust - Extraordinary Bird Behaviour on Sua Pan Tickets available at the BLB shop, and Crafts, in the Craft Centre, Broadhurst . Numbers are limited so please buy your tickets early TRANS-OKAVANGO BIRD TRANSECT 2 FOLLOW YOUR BEAK 4 BIRDLIFE PROJECTS 6 JWANENG BRANCH TAKES OFF 7 ‘A WALK IN THE PARK’ 9 KIDS AND BIRDS 11 STAFF NEWS 12 BRANCH NEWS 14 COMMITTEE 15 In This Issue NEWS FROM BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL5 September is the month of the Trans-Okavango Bird Transect. This annual scientific expedition is the brainchild of Maun businessman, Lars Elvenes, and provides the opportunity for BirdLife Botswana and the Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre to collect monitoring data from throughout the length of the Okavango Delta. The Okavango Delta is regarded as an Important Bird Area (IBA) following BirdLife International criteria: It supports significant populations of globally threatened birds such as the Wattled Crane, African Skimmer and Slaty Egret It supports significant populations of birds with small ranges or restricted to limited habitats e.g. Greater Swamp Warbler, Arnot’s Chat, Coppery-tailed Coucal, Chirping Cisticola etc. It supports large numbers of congregatory waterbirds, and has more than 0,05% of the global populations of some species such as Great White Pelican, African Darter, African Openbill, Marabou Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, African PygmyGoose and Lesser Jacana. The Trans-Okavango Bird Transect provides an opportunity to monitor many of these key bird species. Globally threatened birds Information was collected on every globally threatened bird seen; however sightings of Wattled Cranes and Slaty Egrets were relatively few. Comprehensive and very useful information was obtained on the African Skimmers which breed at this time of the year – on exposed sandbanks mainly along the panhandle but other sites were identified along the Phillipo Channel and at Xigera Lagoon too. When breeding, this species is susceptible to disturbance from boats unless the drivers take care to avoid creating a wake which can sweep over the sandbanks and flood the nests. Numerous new breeding sites were identified during the transect. The Trans-Okav"	fc_sep_08.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-June 2008	Familiar Chat	With the winter solstice almost here, we are half way through winter already! The current mild temperatures make birding a pleasure, so do get out as much as you can and submit your bird sightings to our Tickbird website. By following the easy steps in Pete’s article on p 3 even the most technologically challenged readers can make a real contribution to bird conservation in Botswana. BLB is looking for a dynamic, capable young person to market the organization. The candidate will preferably be a Batswana citizen with good communication skills, be selfmotivated, presentable and dynamic. Contact Harold Hester for more information. Details p 12 Mike Goldsworthy has had beautiful membership badges made, sponsored by Magnum Freight. These are available at the Broadhurst shop (Members P50, Life Members free). Do purchase them and wear them proudly. Please renew your membership if you haven’t done so (it runs from Jan to Dec). A form is available on the website or page 13 of the previous newsletter. I greatly welcome all contributions or ideas as the newsletter needs to reflect members’ interests as well as being informative on BirdLife matters! Forthcoming editions will feature a special children’s section to reflect our growing number of young members. Eugenie Skelton – editor skelton@home.co.bw	fc_jun_08.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-March 2008	Familiar Chat	The new year has continued to bring wonderful rain and with it a population explosion of seemingly everything. Of course that means a great breeding season for birds and indeed this summer has meant countless hours watching the comings and goings in the garden. The berries and caterpillars on the Grewia bushes, the clear vantage point from the half dead Peltophorum africanum and our small pond have been constant favourites for the birds and hence brought great birding to our doorstep. My camera record reveals that in an hour a pair of Crombecs brought at least 6 insects to their nestling, including a moth, a spider, a caterpillar and several grubs. The Diderick Cuckoos continue to harass the Weavers and we see a Sparrow feeding a large and persistent Diderick baby! The Hoopoes have taken to our lawn, the thrushes are back and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Marico Sunbirds. Everyone in the bird world seems to have babies and to be terribly busy. Anyway, I hope you have all enjoyed this birding summer as much as I have. Please renew your membership if you haven’t already done so (it runs from Jan to Dec each year). A form is available on page 13. Remember too that, as ever, I greatly welcome contributions or suggestions. This is your newsletter and needs to reflect your birding interests, observations and ideas as well as being informative on Birdlife matters! Eugenie Skelton – editor skelton@home.co.bw.	fc_mar_08.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-December 2007	Familiar Chat	Another year is nearly over and perhaps it is a good time to reflect on the status of birds in Botswana. The pressures on habitat are ever increasing and the proposed sugar cane plantation near Kasane is perhaps the greatest threat. 10,000 hectares of prime Chobe Forest presently supports several bird species endemic to the region, including the Miombo Rock Thrush, Green-capped Eremomela, Stierling’s (Barred) Wren-warbler and the Black-eared Seed-eater (Canary). It is here that a group of South African farmers propose to clear the Miombo and Baikaeia woodland to grow sugar cane, a product that is already in surplus world-wide. Birdlife Botswana has made its standpoint clear and will do everything in its power to prevent the destruction of this important conservation area. Thankfully good rain has fallen over much of the country which bodes well for all flora and fauna as of course everything is interdependent. In our garden it seems to be a good breeding season for birds with the Familiar Chats having reared two families in the same storeroom boxes as they did last year. The Diderick Cuckoos are even more vocal than last year, the Weavers have built numerous nests high up in the Acacias, the Green–winged Pytilias have nested in the pergola creeper and the so the list goes on. Please renew your membership as it runs from January to December each year. A form is available on page 11. Remember too, that we greatly welcome contributions or suggestions. This is your newsletter and needs to reflect your birding interests, observations and ideas as well as being informative on Birdlife matters! My email address is skelton@home.co.bw. Eugenie Skelton - editor	fc_dec_07.pdf
Familiar Chat Back Issues-September 2007	Familiar Chat	Another year is nearly over and perhaps it is a good time to reflect on the status of birds in Botswana. The pressures on habitat are ever increasing and the proposed sugar cane plantation near Kasane is perhaps the greatest threat. 10,000 hectares of prime Chobe Forest presently supports several bird species endemic to the region, including the Miombo Rock Thrush, Green-capped Eremomela, Stierling’s (Barred) Wren-warbler and the Black-eared Seed-eater (Canary). It is here that a group of South African farmers propose to clear the Miombo and Baikaeia woodland to grow sugar cane, a product that is already in surplus world-wide. Birdlife Botswana has made its standpoint clear and will do everything in its power to prevent the destruction of this important conservation area. Thankfully good rain has fallen over much of the country which bodes well for all flora and fauna as of course everything is interdependent. In our garden it seems to be a good breeding season for birds with the Familiar Chats having reared two families in the same storeroom boxes as they did last year. The Diderick Cuckoos are even more vocal than last year, the Weavers have built numerous nests high up in the Acacias, the Green–winged Pytilias have nested in the pergola creeper and the so the list goes on. Please renew your membership as it runs from January to December each year. A form is available on page 11. Remember too, that we greatly welcome contributions or suggestions. This is your newsletter and needs to reflect your birding interests, observations and ideas as well as being informative on Birdlife matters! My email address is skelton@home.co.bw. Eugenie Skelton - editor "	fc_sep_07.pdf

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