Select Blue Cranes in the Overberg are being fitted with solar-powered satellite tracking devices, in a project that aims to better understand crane movements and potential threats to Blue Cranes.
The new project is run by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), and is supported by the University of Cape Town, CapeNature and the Overberg Crane Group. It is being funded by the Table Mountain Fund, an associated Trust of WWF-South Africa.
Through this new project, conservationists will be able to monitor Blue Cranes actively and 24-hours a day. This will allow conservationists to react to Blue Crane threats like wind farms and power line collisions, making use of empirical data.
The tracking devices are small, and are placed on the back of the Blue Cranes. They have small solar panels with small batteries, to allow continuous data to be collected.
The project already fitted some tracking devices during 2015. However, the cool and cloudy Overberg spring led to breaks in data, when solar panels didn’t get sufficient sun. This issue has been rectified now, after the device was redesigned to include larger and more effective solar panels.
In the past, the Overberg Crane Group and partners led a project through which Blue Crane chicks had rings placed on their legs. The chicks were caught just before they could fly and fitted with a combination of colour rings as well as a metal SAFRING (South African Bird Ringing Unit) ring identifying each individual bird.
It is still important to report sightings of colour-ringed birds to the Overberg Crane Group and to SAFRING (www.safring.adu.org.za). This enables the OCG to calculate the age of the bird and to find out where the bird hatched. Over time much has been learnt about the movement of cranes, as well as causes of mortality.
Almost half the Blue Cranes total population of about 25,000 birds are found in the Overberg. Blue Cranes are listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
For more information, contact Tanya Smith, Southern Africa Regional Coordinator, at tanyas@ewt.org.za.