Charlie the Peregrine Falcon

Charlie is a Peregrine Falcon that lives at the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre. He was raised by a falconer and imprinted on humans, which is why he cannot be released. Charlie is 13 years old now – quite old for a bird his size – but still possesses the incredible speed and agility his species is known for.

Charlie the Peregrine Falcon (photo by Joubert)

As a registered NGO receiving no government support, the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre relies heavily on donors, sponsors and the visiting public to fund their very important work. Their tiny staff compliment is responsible for the rehabilitation of between 80 and 200 birds of prey every year, all of them injured by or negatively impacted in another way by humans, and then releasing them back into the wild when they’ve recovered sufficiently. If you can’t visit them in person, please visit their website and, if you are able to, assist them in their efforts by making a donation (monetary or in kind).

Jester the Harris Hawk

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Jester is a Harris’s Hawk, a species native to the Americas. He’s found his way to the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre after being donated to it by a falconer. Being imprinted on humans and not being native to South Africa, he can never be released into the wild. Jester is an amazingly agile flier and very intelligent – traits that make his species formidable hunters in the wild.

Jester the Harris Hawk – not a species indigenous to South Africa

Jester the Harris Hawk (photo by Joubert) – not a species indigenous to South Africa

Jester the Harris Hawk – not a species indigenous to South Africa

Vinkel the Wood Owl

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Vinkel is a little Wood Owl that lives at the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre. When he was a little chick he fell out of his nest. Well-meaning humans picked him up and tried to hand-raise him, feeding him a mix of minced meat and – shockingly – cotton wool; a horribly incorrect tip they found on the internet, supposedly meant to simulate the hair and feathers that owls normally ingest and then regurgitate as owl pellets. As a result, little Vinkel’s growth was stunted and he imprinted on humans, meaning that he can never be released into the wild – thankfully he made it to Dullstroom in time for his life to be saved. I think it is also necessary to mention at this point that any little bird found out of its nest is best returned to it or as close as can be to its parents if at all possible – it is not true that the parent birds, of any species, will reject a chick because it “smells” of human.

Vinkel the Wood Owl (picture by Joubert)

Vinkel the Wood Owl

Vinkel the Wood Owl (picture by Joubert)

Vinkel the Wood Owl

Vinkel the Wood Owl (picture by Joubert)

Chewy the Harrier-Hawk

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Chewy is an African Harrier-Hawk that lives at the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre. Like Magdali, one of the centre’s duo of passionate managers, Chewy exchanged big city living for the romance of the countryside when she was sent to Dullstroom as a gift from the Lory Park Sanctuary in Johannesburg. Chewy’s quite a talkative lady, and treated us to a very interesting display of her flying and foraging abilities.

Chewy the Harrier Hawk

Chewy the Harrier Hawk (photo by Joubert)

Chewy the Harrier Hawk

Chewy the Harrier Hawk foraging for a snack inside a log

Chewy the Harrier Hawk foraging for a snack inside a log (photo by Joubert)

Chewy the Harrier Hawk foraging for a snack inside a log

Chewy the Harrier Hawk foraging for a snack inside a log (photo by Joubert)

Reward! Chewy the Harrier Hawk foraging for a snack inside a log. (photo by Joubert)

Dullstroom Bird Of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre

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This past Sunday Joubert and I had the immense privilege of visiting the Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre a stone’s throw away from the small and historic town of Dullstroom on the Mpumalanga Highveld. Tripadvisor rates it as the foremost attraction in Dullstroom – no small feat considering Dullstroom’s fame among local and international visitors alike as a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts where visitors are spoiled for choice.

Joubert with Daphne, the Spotted Eagle Owl

With tourism being the lifeblood of the picturesque town, restrictions on travel imposed in recent months, however necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19, had a devastating effect on the local economy. As a registered NGO receiving no government support, the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre relies heavily on donors, sponsors and the visiting public to fund their very important work. Their tiny staff compliment is responsible for the rehabilitation of between 80 and 200 birds of prey every year, all of them injured by or negatively impacted in another way by humans, and then releasing them back into the wild when they’ve recovered sufficiently. Only non-indigenous birds, those whose injuries are too severe to permit a fully self-sufficient life in the wild or those that are hopelessly imprinted on humans remain at the centre permanently. The love and passion these people have for their job is absolutely inspiring. If you can’t visit them in person, please visit their website and, if you are able to, assist them in their efforts by making a donation (monetary or in kind). The way Libra, an immature Bateleur that was severely injured by a vehicle a year ago, seeks comfort from handler Magdali Theron in the picture below will leave you in no doubt just how vital the work of the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre is.

Libra and Magdali

Apart from the fact that it was our first chance to escape from South Africa’s heavily industrialised Gauteng Province in almost six months or that we were able to marvel at the most majestic birds of prey from close quarters, the trip was both long-awaited and memorable for another reason: being tutored by accomplished wildlife photographer Hannes Rossouw in the art of taking photographs of birds in flight. Thanks to Hannes’ unending patience and skill as an educator we hope we’ll be able to have many more images like these gracing the pages of de Wets Wild in future.

Ashanti the Verreaux’s Eagle (photo by Joubert)

Ashanti the Verreaux’s Eagle

Chewy the Harrier Hawk (photo by Joubert)

Chewy the Harrier Hawk foraging for a snack inside a log

Daphne, the Spotted Eagle Owl (photo by Joubert)

Daphne the Spotted Eagle Owl

Hali the Fish Eagle (photo by Joubert)

Hali the Fish Eagle

Jester the Harris Hawk (photo by Joubert) – not a species indigenous to South Africa

Jester the Harris Hawk – not a species indigenous to South Africa

Rooney the Secretary Bird

As you can imagine, after spending most of the daylight hours at the centre, we came back to Pretoria with hundreds of photo’s. In the coming days we will be using those images to tell you the stories of ten of the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre’s most charismatic residents. And be sure to look out for Joubert’s images in the mix; under Hannes’ expert tutelage his photographic skills have become even more impressive (I know, I am biased).

Black-crowned Tchagra

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Tchagra senegalus

The Black-crowned Tchagra is a shy bird of the shrike-family that inhabits wetter savanna and woodland-type habitats and feeds mainly on insects and other small prey, which occasionally includes lizards, snakes and frogs. They are also quick to utilise well-planted parks and gardens.

Black-crowned Tchagras form monogamous, territorial pairs, nesting in cup-shaped constructions they build together in bushes and trees during an extended breeding season that spans most of spring, summer and autumn. The female takes most of the responsibility for incubating the clutch of 1-4 eggs over a two-week period, with the chicks fledging when only two weeks old but staying with their parents for quite some time after. Fully grown Black-crowned Tchagras weigh around 50g and measure about 21cm in length.

In South Africa, Black-crowned Tchagras are found from the Eastern Cape, through most of Kwazulu-Natal and into Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West. They’re also widely distributed over sub-Saharan Africa, with isolated populations along the Barbary Coast of North Africa and the southern reaches of the Arabian Peninsula. The IUCN lists the species as being of least concern.

Black-crowned Tchagra

Black-crowned Tchagra (Photo by Joubert)

Black-crowned Tchagra

You might enjoy this short video of a Black-crowned Tchagra singing its melodious song:

Variable Skink

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Trachylepis varia

The Variable Skink is a lizard found in grassland and savanna habitats, and especially rocky areas there-in, and distributed (in South Africa) from the coastal Eastern Cape through Kwazulu-Natal, the Free State and Gauteng to the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. They feed on insects and other invertebrates. Females give birth to as many as 10 babies in the summer months. They grow quickly; maturing at about 8 months of age (when they measure around 6cm in length, tail excluded) with a life expectancy of only about two years, or even less.

Variable skink

Variable Skink

Green Wood-Hoopoe

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Phoeniculus purpureus

The Green Wood-Hoopoe, also known as the Red-billed Wood-Hoopoe, is a bird renowned in these parts for their “crazy cackling” call, often given in a choir by the whole group. They occur widely in South Africa, being absent only from most of the Northern and Western Cape Provinces, and are also widely distributed over much of sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of the equatorial forests. The IUCN lists the Green Wood-Hoopoe as being of least concern, whilst noting that the loss of prime habitat is causing a decline in certain populations. Some introduced starlings compete with the Green Wood-Hoopoe for nests, especially in urban settings where these exotics flourish.

Green Wood-Hoopoes are common in suburban gardens and parks, but their natural habitat preference ranges from open savannas to dense woodlands and riverine forests. Green Wood-Hoopoes mostly forage in the trees and occasionally on the ground or termite mounds, poking behind loose bark and inside crevices for insects and small reptiles or amphibians and, irregularly, snacking on nectar, seeds and fruits.

Moving around in territorial family groups of up to 14 consisting of a dominant pair and several helpers, Green Wood-Hoopoes breed in holes in trees (usually abandoned by other birds and never created by themselves) at any time of year, with the dominant female incubating a clutch of 2 to 5 eggs over a 3 week period. Both she and the chicks are provided food by the rest of the group, who is also very protective of the nest and will fearlessly attack any intruders. The hatchlings leave the nest when they’re about a month old but are cared for with great dedication by the other group members until they’re about four or five months old. Adult Green Wood-Hoopoes measure around 35cm in length and weigh about 80g.

Green, or Red-billed, Wood-Hoopoe

Green, or Red-billed, Wood-Hoopoe

Green, or Red-billed, Wood Hoopoe

Green, or Red-billed, Wood-hoopoe

Green, or Red-billed, Wood-hoopoes

Green Wood-hoopoe

Green Wood-hoopoe (photo by Joubert)

Green Woodhoopoe

Tree Creeper Scorpion

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Opisthacanthus asper

The large and strikingly coloured Tree Creeper Scorpion occurs in savanna habitats in northern Kwazulu-Natal, through the Lowveld and along the Limpopo Valley into the Bushveld, where they live in trees (being especially fond of the Knobthorn), bushes and fallen logs. By day they hide in the crevices in trees and behind bark and by night they use these hide-outs to ambush passing prey or actively go hunting in and near their home trees. For this reason hanging clothes and shoes from trees where the Tree Creeper occurs is not to be advised – while they are quite docile in nature and their venom is too weak to be medically significant a sting from these 10cm long scorpions, half of which is the tail, can be quite painful (so I hear). Male Tree Creepers tap their pincers on the bark to warn a female that he is not prey and won’t approach closer until it is clear that the female will not attack when they want to mate.

Tree Creeper Scorpion

Non-venomous Tree Creeper Scorpion (notice slender tail and large pincers)

Red-backed Shrike

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Lanius collurio

Red-backed Shrikes visit South Africa in our summer months, arriving from late October with the last individuals leaving again by April. While here, they can be seen in all our provinces, though they’re much more common on the eastern side of the country than the arid west. Apart from South Africa, they also spend their non-breeding season over much of the rest of southern, central and eastern Africa, departing back to their northern breeding grounds in Europe and Asia with the onset of warmer weather there. The IUCN considers this species to be of least concern, estimating a total population of at least 24-million.

In our southern climes the Red-backed Shrike inhabits more open habitats ranging from open scrublands and grassveld to a variety of savanna and woodland associations. They are mainly insectivorous in their diet, though they will also prey on smaller birds, rodents and lizards if the opportunity presents itself. Such larger prey is often impaled on a thorn or barbed wire, which is why the Red-backed Shrike (like several others of its family) are also known as “butcher birds”.

Males are more conspicuous than females thanks to their more colourful plumage and preference for more open areas. Adults measure about 18cm in length.