The African Crane Conservation Programme Awarded Annually, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) awards staff and programmes for the work that they do over the year. In 2012, the EWT’s African Crane Conservation Programme was awarded the following:

• Programme of the Year• Tanya Smith was awarded

Conservation Achiever of the Year.• Cynthia Chigangaidze was awarded

Conservation Supporter of the Year.• Bradley Gibbons and Glenn Ramke

were presented with long term service awards.

Well done to the team!!

Bradley Gibbons: A celebration of his contribution to crane conservation

It is with a heavy heart that the EWT’s African Crane Conservation Programme’s team wishes Bradley Gibbons farewell in February. He has been an integral part of the team and crane conservation in South Africa for over 10 years. His passion, enthusiasm, dedication, light heartedness and incredible team skills have been core to his role within our team and for crane conservation in South Africa. And it is for this that we will remember Bradley for and celebrate the achievements he made.

Bradley joined the EWT as Field Officer for the Memel Crane Conservation Project in the Free State. Here, he created a solid foundation of awareness amongst landowners for both cranes and wetlands, a foundation that today is being used for the development of the Biodiversity Stewardship Programme in the area. It is thanks to the work conducted and the relationships that Bradley developed that landowners are as willing as they are to enter into the Programme.

Bradley then moved to the Karoo as the Field Officer for the Karoo Crane Conservation project in 2005. This move followed a strategic decision taken around the need for the EWT to better understand the Blue Crane situation in the Karoo and to develop relationships with landowners in the area: the Karoo holds the biggest global population of Blue Cranes in a natural habitat. Over the past 7 years, Bradley has achieved success in both these areas. I am not sure that there is a farmer in the Karoo that is not aware of Blue Cranes and of Bradley and his work; most of whom are incredibly supportive of the cranes and their conservation. We now also have a solid understanding of the Blue Crane population in the Karoo, and fantastic baseline information around their breeding and local movements. We also understand that the primary threats to Blue Cranes in the Karoo are power line collisions, potentially wind turbines and the potential fracking that is currently under discussion. These three key threats are being addressed by other Programmes within the EWT and this work will continue.

Bradley has provided a great foundation for all future work within the Karoo. We celebrate this success and wish him everything of the best for his future!

Crane Blog Address: http://endangeredwildlifetrust.wordpress.com

“AN E-NEWSLETTR OF THE EWT’S AFRICAN CRANE CONSERVATION &THREATENED GRASSLAND SPECIES PROGRAMMES”

Feb/March 2013

EDITORIALKerryn Morrison – Manager African Crane Conservation

Programme, an ICF/EWT Partnership Email: kerrynm@ewt.org.za

The Grus Grapevine

EditorialAll life on this planet, to a lesser or greater extent, is reliant on water and as W.H Auden said ‘Thousands have lived without love, not one without water’. This is not only true of people, but also of the environment and all biodiversity. Integrating the management of water, land and people will forever be a major challenge, not only in the 21st century but for century’s to come. Osiman touches on this in his article looking at ‘trade-off’s in conservation and Cobus highlights the role of ecosystem goods and services and how we as people take for granted the services, in particular, water provision and services, that are supplied to us by nature.

February is the month where wetlands around the world are celebrated for critical role they play in human and biodiversity well-being, and this year the theme for World Wetlands Day is ‘Wetlands take care of Water’. This year’s theme aims to raise awareness among people of the interdependence of water and wetlands. So it is therefore fitting that this month’s newsletter is largely related to wetlands and cranes.

I hope you enjoy this very informative edition that includes articles about the international workshop held in China on crane protection and sustainable agriculture, a note about a Leucistic Blue Crane sighted in the Western Cape, wetland conservation efforts, trials and tribulations and even our very own film stars in the KwaZulu-Natal grasslands. Finally, many of you will be interested to see the article from Samson Phakathi regarding the new exciting partnership between EWT’s TGSP and SA CAN to address the illegal dog hunting that is threatening the Oribi populations in South Africa.

More than 50 crane specialists from eleven countries and four continents met in Beijing and Yueyang, China on December 3-7 for the international workshop, Crane Protection and Sustainable Agriculture. Participants from China, South Korea, North Korea, Russia, Japan, Mongolia, the United States, Canada, India, Germany, and South Africa shared relevant knowledge and experiences relating to crane conservation, sustainable agriculture, and community development and involvement activities. About 30 others, primarily from academic and research institutions in China, also attended and participated in discussions. The workshop and associated meetings were organized by the Crane Specialist Group of Wetlands International – IUCN Species Survival Commission, the North East Asia Crane Working Group, Beijing Forestry University, BirdLife International, and the International Crane Foundation (ICF).

This gathering of crane specialists generated productive discussions to move crane conservation forward on a number of fronts:

• Workshop participants crafted a Call to Action: Recommendations for Expanding Sustainable Agriculture’s Benefits to Cranes, Wetlands, and People in Northeast Asia. This statement summarizes conclusions of the workshop, and asks governments, researchers, and those concerned with agriculture and crane or wetland conservation to implement a series of recommendations. The Call to Action will be posted on the ICF website (www.savingcranes.org). While the statement focuses on Northeast Asia, the message is pertinent to crane conservation in all parts of the world, and we encourage everyone to read and disseminate this widely.

• A portion of participants met to review the current outline and discuss content of a draft publication, Cranes and agriculture – a practical guide to conservationists and land managers for integrating crane conservation with agricultural activities. The publication will include chapters and case studies by authors from around the world and is scheduled to be completed this year. Jane Austin (USGS), Kerryn Morrison (Endangered Wildlife Trust), and Claire Mirande (ICF) led the discussions and are the leads on the publication.

• Participants from six countries held discussions on the status and conservation priorities for the red-crowned crane. Their work will be incorporated into a species assessment to be included as part of the Crane Conservation Plan.

• Preceding the workshop, 18 specialists met on December 1-2 to work on the Crane Conservation Plan being prepared by the Crane Specialist Group. The specialists reviewed draft actions and priorities for conservation of the world’s crane species as one step in de-veloping the Plan (an update to the 1996 Crane Action Plan); this publication will be com-pleted in 2014. Jim Harris (ICF and Chair of the Crane Specialist Group) and Claire Mirande (Program Officer) are leading this effort. If you have questions, contact Claire at: mirande@savingcranes.org).

• Following the workshop, 16 specialists met on December 8-9 to form a global network to reduce crane collisions with power lines. The session was organized by Megan Diamond , Endangered Wildlife Trust (South Africa). Megan and Gopi Sundar (ICF) are taking the lead in developing a guide to reduce threats of powerlines to cranes. Participants formed the new Crane-Powerline Working Group within the Crane Specialist Group. More information on this working group will be shared soon.

Funding for the meetings was provided by the China State Forestry Administration, Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Fifth Age of Man Foundation, Lufthansa, East Asian-Australasian Flyway Part-nership, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Dohmen Family Foundation, Endangered Wildlife Trust, and ICF members Hall Healy and Sara Simmonds.

Jane Austin author – USGSInternational Workshop on Crane Protection and Sustainable

Agriculture in China

While in Yueyang, workshop participants did get out for some time in the field. The city of Yueyang is located along the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake, the second largest freshwater wetland in China and critical habitat for a wide diversity of waterbirds, including Siberian, White-naped, Hooded, and Common Cranes. We learned about an organic farming program developed by the World Wildlife Fund to improve wetland and waterbird habitat while providing sustainable agriculture for area farmers. We birded on the shores of the East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve, toured the reserve’s visitors’ center, and visited the historic Junshan Island and Yueyang Tower for more birding. Our visit to Yueyang coincided with celebrations for the 7th Dongting Lake International Birds-Viewing Festival, and we were honored guests at the banquet and opening ceremonies.

Above: Spike Millington, Chief Executive of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway

Partnership, addresses the participants at the workshop opening.

Wetlands take care of water

The 2nd of February is International World Wetlands Day and this year the theme of the day is ‘Wetlands take care of water’ and the aim of the day is to draw attention to wetland habitats and the vital role they play in the environment and the human economy.Worldwide, and especially in South Africa, wetlands are under immense pressure. This habitat is being systematically destroyed by pollution, transformation by human activities, poor farming practices and climate change.

In South Africa’s rural areas, people are increasingly relying on wetlands for water provision. Wetlands are able to sustainably provide for humans, livestock and wildlife provided that care is taken to protect the catchments which feed these wetlands systems. Poor practices such as ploughing in wetlands and trenching should be avoided at all costs, along with the use of wetlands as dumping grounds for pollution and sewerage.

Wetlands contribute to the millennium development goals and various relevant South African environmental plans and policies. They also play a key role as a wildlife habitat, most notably for our crane species. Cranes are highly dependent on wetlands for their survival. All three of our crane species forage in wetlands. Grey Crowned Cranes, Wattled Cranes and occasionally Blue Cranes (South Africa’s National Bird) breed in wetlands and the most significant threat to these species has been the loss of their wetland habitat through unsustainable use of these important ecosystems.

To highlight the plight of our wetlands and the work the EWT is doing to reverse the decline and destruction of this habitat; we hosted various activities around the country in the month of February. In Southern Drakensberg of KwaZulu-Natal, the EWT’s ACCP and the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) hosted a wetland walk near Underberg on Saturday, the 2nd of February, to celebrate the area’s wetlands which are also habitat for all three of our crane species. As part of the Biodiversity Stewardship project, the African Crane Conservation Programme is conducting wetland assessments in the district. The aim of these assessments is to determine the state of wetlands, their functioning and to recommend rehabilitation actions if required. While some wetlands in the district have suffered historical damage and require rehabilitation, one of the wetlands assessed thus far, has scored an “A” rating – which means that it is still in a near natural state and completely functional. This is great news and we hope that our assessments in the future will reveal other wetlands that are worth celebrating.

In the KwaZulu-Natal midlands the EWT’s ACCP partnered with the Karkloof Conservancy to co-host a evening talk and dinner at the Karkloof Country Club on Thursday, the 7th of February, by world renowned crane expert, Dr George Archibald, from the International Crane Foundation (ICF). George gave a wonderful and inspiring talk on the ICF/EWT partnership’s work to conserve cranes and wetlands in Uganda, Kenya, Ethopia and Rwanda in recent years. Biologists have documented unfathomable declines of up to 80% in Grey Crowned Crane populations in East Africa, and this decline has mirrored the rapid decline in wetlands and grasslands over the last 30 to 40 years. George bought to life ‘East Africa’ through the stories of culture, trials and tribulations that come with conserving a species so closely associated with people in Africa. Over 150 people attended the evening, making this a record for public talks in the KZN midlands and thanks to the Karkloof Canopy Tours for sponsoring two tickets

HIGHVELD CRANE CONSERVATION PROJECTUrsula Franke – Regional Coordinator

Email: ursulaf@ewt.org.za

for a lucky draw prize. In Mpumalanga the EWT’s ACCP, Eastern Wetland Rehab (EWR) and Eco-club learners and teachers from Lake Chrissie Secondary School organised a wetland clean-up in Kwa-Chibikhulu, Chrissiesmeer on Friday, 8 February. These learners are our conservation ambassadors in the community. Steven Segang from the EWT gave a talk on wetlands and their importance to birds, including the cranes, and he was followed by Sibhudu Thomo from EWR who bought to life the importance of their wetland rehabilitation work. The talks were followed by a walk down to the wetland, which flows through the township and drains into Lake Chrissie, to do a litter clean-up.

Internally, the ACCP team also celebrated World Wetlands Day together on the 29th January when Tanya gave the team hands on experience in assessing the health of a wetland in the East Griqualand area of the Southern Drakensberg.

Above: ACCP team in wetland

What Do Cranes tell us about Environmental Goods and Services?

Wetland health assessments (known as Wet-Health assessments) conducted across KwaZulu- Natal by the Mondi Wetlands Project and the Endangered Wildlife Trust have confirmed that Wattled Crane nest sites are typically found in largely unaltered wetland systems, away from disturbance. These findings have focussed our attention even more on the links that exist

between intact ecosystems and the continued survival of the species in South Africa. Having wetlands and habitats that are functioning optimally has implications not only for cranes but also for people. Wetlands and grasslands are responsible for an immeasurable flow of goods and services that humans take for granted on a daily basis. The economic and social importance of wetlands are well understood, they provide clean water, reduce erosion, ensure winter base flows and attenuate flooding events. These services typically referred to as Ecosystems goods and services, can be quantified and valued and play an enormous, albeit consistently underplayed, role in our economy.

One would think that this fact alone would motivate people to conserve wetlands, but one would be wrong. These habitats (the most threatened habitat type in South Africa) have been immeasurably damaged over the past few decades. In the Southern Drakensberg, like many other areas in the country, these valuable natural assets have been gutted by countless furrows and drains. The ensuing damage done to many systems has not only led to the destruction of habitat for species like cranes but also caused a reduction of ecosystem services generated by wetlands.

There are many reasons why wetlands are still suffering damage to this day. Firstly, a single wetland often spans several properties. As a result, land owners higher up in the wetland may impact on wetlands without suffering any of the consequences experienced by downstream sections of the wetland. Secondly, wetlands are seen as areas in which farming activities can be expanded provided that water- logged areas can be laid dry. In the past many farmers viewed wetlands as wastelands, to make matters worse, government agricultural policy in the early part of the century encouraged transformation of wetlands for agricultural activities. Thirdly, wetlands are often viewed in isolation by people who forget that what happens in the catchment will also affect the wetland - often grassland and wetlands are actually a complex ecological continuum. Lastly, wetlands are essentially resilient systems and damage to them is often not fully understood or laid bare in the lifespan of a person. As result we don’t truly appreciate the impact of our actions on wetlands.

Hopefully a renewed interest in ecosystem services and goods will re -focus our attention on the vitally important role of wetlands and discourage destructive activities. This realisation is almost inevitable as our environment has to support a growing population and economy and we look towards catchments and wetlands to supply us with our most valuable resource: water.

In his recent book, “Collapse” Jarred Diamond explains that many of the unexplained demises suffered by ancient societies were in part triggered or accelerated by environmental problems. He has the following to say: “This suspicion of unintended ecological suicide – ecocide- has been confirmed by discoveries made in recent decades by archaeologist,

SOUTHERN DRAKENSBERG / EASTERN GRIQUALAND STEWARDSHIP PRO-GRAMME

Cobus Theron, Project CoordinatorEmail: cobust@ewt.org.za

climatologists, historians, palaeontologists, and palynologists (Pollen Scientists).” It seems that the signs were either not foreseen or recognised by these past societies until it was too late.

This brings us back to cranes. In a water scarce country like South Africa where climate change issues are likely to compound our water dilemma, cranes bring us an unmistakable message. Both their fate and ours are closely tied to healthy catchments and wetlands. This message is not only one of doom and gloom but also one of opportunity. The fact that new Wattled Crane nesting sites are still being discovered from time to time also tells us that there are still opportunities to secure our natural water bearing assets. The real question is: will humans take the cranes message to heart?

Above: All people, of all races, ages and genders are reliant on wetlands for the supply of clean water all year round. Here Cobus drinks straight from a large 250 ha

wetland that supports two pairs of Wattled Cranes and several pairs of Grey Crowned Cranes.

Understanding trade-offs in conservation: Accepting the painful truths and unspoken compromises

It is logical to contextualise this essay by defining the term trade-off as applied in conservation first. The definition of trade-off from the Oxford Dictionary is “a balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible features”. In practical conservation terms, it essentially means two things - exchange and compromise. In any situation where a compromise has to be reached, there are gains and losses, perceived winners and losers and expectations to be fulfilled. A lot has been written and said about what it means to conserve. While some prefer to quote the descriptive definition of conservation; i.e. what it is, others are more interested in the functional definition of conservation; i.e. what conservation does. On many occasions, practitioners go to the extent of describing what people do, feel, risk, gain and lose to conserve. This is where the issue of trade-offs becomes apparent. There is an ongoing debate about trade-offs in conservation. In fact, day in, day out, conservationist deal with the issue of trade-offs. All the same, there is no standard rational answer to the question as to the extent to which we should compromise our needs as humans to save species and their habitats.

Applying the Oxford Dictionary definition of trade-off in the real conservation world exposes issues that we as conservationists would not readily accept. Issues that are even too ghastly to contemplate. There is a saying that the biggest trade-off that we make and will continue to make is to accept that humans and wildlife should share space and natural resources. We seldom preach the gospel of exclusion or elimination of humans from the conservation equation. It is now almost common knowledge that excluding humans in conservation is like going against conventional wisdom and invariably leads to failure to meet conservation goals. Conservation projects are designed to address threats to biodiversity and more often than not, these threats are human actions - avoidable and unavoidable actions. In the case of the African Crane Conservation Programme, the actions include land clearing, grazing livestock in wetlands and chasing cranes off agricultural fields. While we can write books about how, where and what to conserve, the issues boils down to one simple question: what actions should we allow and not allow to ensure species survival? In other words, it is a matter providing answers related to how humans and cranes can co-exist. One might jump to criticise this principle and argue that by accepting trade-offs, conservationists accept failure. On the contrary, by accepting that trade-offs are an integral part of conservation planning and implementation, one increases the chances of success whilst reducing the chances of failure. The tricky part is that accepting

COMMUNITY CONSERVATION PROGRAMMEOsiman Mabhachi, Community Project Coordinator

Email: osimanm@ewt.org.za

trade-offs is not a blanket solution to the challenges we face. For instance, providing start-up capital to enable a community to start a consolidated gardening project does not imply that crane breeding habitats will automatically and indefinitely remain undisturbed. The fact, therefore, is that accepting that trade-offs are necessary is a logical start, an entry point to win the hearts and minds of the people responsible for species decline and habitat loss.

The world over, conservationists strive to give conservation a human face. Every day we are confronted with a paradox – should we pursue a purely developmental pathway to achieve conservation results or should we rather choose a conservation pathway to develop. The challenges that we face are rarely presented as a matter of understanding trade-offs. Ironically our viewpoints on trade-offs defines our identity and characters. An organisation that places great emphasis on addressing the social and economic needs of stakeholders (rural communities, commercial farmers) earns a label reflecting how it is favourably perceived by the stakeholders. On the other hand, a conservation that adopts an exclusionist stance pursues radical animal welfare issues and blatantly blames humans for all the threats to biodiversity, gains a reputation as an anti-people and anti-development body. This example shows how the issue of trade-offs is applicable at organisational level. It is also an issue of concern for individuals, stakeholder groups and government agencies. Farmers on whose farms cranes breed are also part of the trade-off game. They make a sacrifice by keeping sections of their wetlands undisturbed so that cranes can use them for breeding. In return, they gain social status as custodians of national heritage. This is an exchange facilitated by conservationists and yet it is not viewed as such by many. At national level, the issue of conservation and development trade-offs is even more emotive and has great implications. The Ugandan example is a case in point. The country has a wetland policy which was enacted to protect wetlands. On the other hand, its agricultural policy was designed to address the

escalating demand for food due to an alarmingly high population growth rate and wetlands are inevitably target zones for increased agricultural production.

Facts and figures make issues easier to understand. There have been attempts to quantify and qualify trade-offs so that they can factored into the conservation planning processes. Whilst some aspects concerning the trade-offs are straightforward and quantifiable, others are too abstract to be presented in numerical terms. A typical examples is the hectares of wetland that have to be protected (left uncultivated to be exact) to ensure that a specific number of breeding pairs can breed successfully. Though the wetland area can be presented in hectares (ha) and the pairs in absolute numbers, one might argue that it is not just the hectares of wetland, but the quality of habitat defined by the vegetation characteristics and surface water hydrology. Another dimension is the location of the wetland sites – whether the hectares of wetland are located in the main crane breeding region or in an area where just a few pairs are found. These numbers are viewed from the conservationists’ perspective. To the landowner, what would matter is the opportunity cost of keeping wetlands as wetlands and avoiding converting them into dammed areas. Building on from the example of farmers that gain social status as custodians, the quantification process is not applicable. In weighing the trade-offs before agreeing or disagreeing to be a custodian, the farmers might consider reputation of the body that gives them custodian boards or any other social recognition. In this case it is not about numbers but some cognitive issues (reputation, relationships, norms etc). There is also a temporal dimension to the issue of trade-offs. When does one pledge to compromise? Is it a once-off issue or how many times should a pledge to compromise be repeated? It is clear from these examples and questions that the trade-offs cannot be separated from the issues of costs and benefits in conservation.

There is a growing recognition in the conservation sector that conservation entails trade-offs. Whilst accepting that we deal with trade-offs everyday might sound like a pessimistic view that stifles positive thinking, it is critical that we accept that focusing on trade-offs leads to the consideration of a wide range of positive and negative effects associated with conservation initiatives. As they say, “conservation is about human behaviour”, understanding trade-offs from the perspective of different stakeholders helps conservationists understand how conservation projects are perceived. This provides opportunities to avoid actions that will lead to loss of credibility and focus on actions that spur the world to act.

Getting breeding on the ground: Crane breeding trials and tribulations stage 1

Each year our field researchers go in search of crane nest sites so that we can monitor breeding behaviour of some pairs. As producing young perpetuates the species, it is a crucial aspect of their life cycle that conservationists should understand. Having found a mate and formed a pair bond, pairs usually return to the same nest site each year. This is lucky for us because this behaviour makes it easier for the field biologists to find the breeding pairs at the start of each breeding season. Sadly, cranes face a variety of hazards and during each stage of their breeding cycle, adults must overcome numerous difficulties so that they can eventually see their chick fledge. In the next few GRUS editions I will describe some of the difficulties that breeding cranes experience: starting with the non-starters.

Not all pairs manage to breed every year. Breeding places birds under a great deal of physical strain and birds attempting to breed while in poor body condition may be risking

their lives. Possibly, cranes that skip breeding for a year do so because they are in poor body condition; postponing breeding rather than risking death and never breeding again. Poor body condition can be caused by adverse environmental conditions causing inadequate food supplies. But body condition is influenced by many other factors. Poor body condition may also be due to difficulties experienced while growing (like an under nourished child growing into an adult of below average health) or their genetic makeup (some individuals simply have more hardy bodies than others).

Some cranes may be forced to skip a breeding season because their mate died or found another partner (and they may need a season or more to find a replacement partner). Others may return to find their nest site

drastically altered and unsuitable for breeding. For example, low rainfall may cause wetlands, which are essential for nesting and rearing young, to dry. Human developments can cause too much disturbance at a nest site or even destroy a nest site so pairs would need to look elsewhere for a new nesting site. With a loss in wetland areas and suitable breeding habitats, competition for the reduced number of nesting sites could prevent some pairs from even finding a nest site. Loss of nest sites also has potential to affect the pair bond because some birds use the nest site as a means of relocating their partner. With no nest site they may have no idea where to find their mate.

Who thought it easy for cranes to go into the business of reproduction? Well, the elementary stages are fraught with difficulties but some hardy pairs do manage to lay. During incubation they will experience a whole new suit of challenges: Watch this space!

Grassland and wetland species make the perfect film stars !

Earlier this year crew from Homebrew Films were hosted by the Threatened Grassland Species Programme and the African Crane Conservation Programme in order to capture the wonders of life within the endangered ‘Midlands Mist-belt Grassland’ area in KwaZulu-Natal, for KykNET’s ‘Groen’. The main focus of the filming was to capture the elegance and cryptic nature of the Blue Swallow, one of South Africa’s most endangered bird species, the Oribi antelope (vulnerable), the midlands Dwarf Chameleon and the three crane species.

Filming in mist-belt grasslands, where these species occurs, proved to be quite challenging with mist and rain rolling in unexpectedly through-out the shoot, however after approximately 4 days spent with a pair of Blue Swallows the team managed to obtain never seen before footage of adult Blue Swallows feeding three chicks in a large sinkhole. Great footage was also obtained of Oribi in their natural, ever depleting habitat. Finally two days was spent filming the three crane species, with the highlight being the capture, colour ringing and release of a large Wattled Crane chick within the grasslands of the KZN Crane Foundations’ Bill Barnes Crane and Oribi Nature Reserve.

DRAKENSBERG CRANE CONSERVATION PROJECTTanya Smith, Regional Coordinator

Email: tanyas@ewt.org.za

Crane Science and ResearchGenevieve Jones, Monitoring and Research Coordinator

Email: genevievej@ewt.org.za

Above: : KykNET’s ‘Groen’ filmcrew record the colour ringing and data recording of a 11 week old Wattled Crane chick

Above: Members of EWT and the ‘Groen’ presenter, David Peppler release the Wattled Crane chick back to the parents

Throughout the few days, the presenter, Dave Peppler, highlighted the integral role farmers play in conserving the species of the mist-belt grasslands as many of the species, especially cranes, cannot be protected in Nature Reserves due to the large distances the species covers. This message was reinforced by the fact that all of the flocks of cranes were filmed on working farms with activity and food production part of the environment that these species need to tolerate in order to survive.

This filming and subsequent airing of the episodes are fitting for the month of February that celebrates wetlands around the world as our grasslands and wetlands are woven together in a web of ecosystem design and delivery....together they supply us the water that gives us life on this planet and in this country.

Well into 2013 and hopefully so far it has been a good start to the year for all our supporters and readers.

From Wakkerstroom the news is of a wet highveld town. After the excellent, early rains, it tapered off and at times was quite dry but every time we got a bit worried, some rain would fall keeping spirits and water levels high.The mid-weekend of January produced three days of set-in rain which was lovely – soft, soaking rain. During a short respite, I took a slippery, sliding trip around the wetland checking on how Grey Crowned Cranes coped with this weather. As expected, they just carry on regardless even though water levels in the wetland are enough to do some serious canoeing. Ann, who accompanied me remarked at the end of the short trip, which took us through lots of mud and puddles, that (my work bakkie) “Fordie is now back in its designer gear”!

At present the Wakkerstroom wetland Crownies are doing quite well and should they all fledge their chicks, it would be regarded as a “good season”. The six pairs that have young, mostly between a quarter and half grown – have 8 chicks, one pair lost its chick, another pair are nesting for a second time, two pairs that normally nest have not done so and there is a new pair that still has chicks while another new pair with 2 chicks has not been seen for some weeks.

Who knows?One thinks that after years and years of monitoring pairs and flocks of cranes, you have a good idea of what is going on – and then along comes a season that makes you realise that one can

“CHIT CHAT CORNER” FROM WAKKERSTROOMGlenn Ramke, Regional Coordinator

Email: glennr@ewt.org.za

never be sure of anything in nature and to keep you on your toes – One nest I went to for accurate co-ords had a chick that had just hatched with a half a shell still there. When I went to check on the pair a week later, there were two chicks! All I can think was that the first hatched chick was moved by the parents into longer grass around the nest as I approached.

On a visit to a regular pair of Grey Crowned Cranes that I had heard but not seen, I was delighted to see one and eventually the tiniest little chick – I was bit concerned that there was only one adult and wondered if one was still on the nest. I went the following day and again there was one adult and chick then after some 45 minutes the other adult flew in from a long way off. I have never seen just one adult tending such a small chick for so long - in other such instances the chicks have been a lot bigger.In most cases the “off duty” mate of a pair is at least in sight of the nest. However this season I saw both a Blue and Crownie well out of sight of the nest. A single Blue I was watching, eventually took off and I followed along the road – it landed near the one on the nest almost a kilometre away and with no line of sight to the nest at all.

One of my favourite... pairs of Blue Cranes is one that I never see on a nest. But every year when I go to the area to check on this very successful pair, I get onto the back of my Ford, and within a short time, I hear them calling and then see the family. I like to think they are telling me that they are there and all is well yet again!

Above: Adult Blue Crane moves away from the nest to draw attention away from the nest

A delightful break –Thanks to George Archibald sponsoring us to travel as a group to the Middleburg area of the Karoo, we enjoyed a few days with our colleague, Bradley Gibbons on his home turf. We ringed some Blue Crane chicks, spent a couple of hours at the very interesting little village of

Nieu Bethesda visiting the Owl House and museum with a good collection of artefacts from that historic area, then quenched our thirst – which in the 42 degree temperature, was almost unquenchable – at the little brewery. Back at our accommodation, we prepared a good braai and the sad part of our trip then had to be overcome as we said farewell to Bradley whose project in the Karoo has been closed. It was a super day to share and hopefully he will remember that and his years with the Karoo cranes with fond memories, as we will remember him as a dear and devoted, passionate and dedicated colleague who we all hope very soon finds something new and interesting to turn his mind and skills to. En route to the Karoo, we picked up a flock of 31 Wattled Cranes – an amazing sight and a bit further on, 129 Blue’s!

Sadly leaving Bradley behind, the rest of us moved to the Underberg area for meetings, wetland surveys and a fun morning canoeing down the Imzimkulu River. From the heat of the Karoo to the relief of a cooler clime was something of a change and after the one morning of enough pleasant hours to enjoy being on the water, it was rain, rain and more rain – which did make sitting in meetings that much easier!

It was great to once again have time together although two of our team were unable to be there, it was still a valuable and enjoyable time. We really do have a team of great people and it was good be together.

Good bye from Bradley

My year started off by seeing 2 Blue Cranes on 1 January 2013 on my in-laws farm in an area where I’ve never seen them before – in typical valley bushveld habitat that is surrounded by trees and shrubs!!! I was really amazed to see that!!! I had to take a photo of these cranes, as I couldn’t believe my eyes and it is below.

Above: Photo of the 2 cranes I saw on New Year’s Day

It was great to have colleagues from ACCP visit me in the Karoo in January 2013. We went to the Nieu-Bethesda village and ringed a Blue Crane chick on the way there. The following day we spent on a farm between Middelburg and Graaff-Reinet and it was wonderful having people from the USA and George Archibald from the International Crane Foundation. We were able to see Blue Cranes and a chick was also ringed on the farm.

Above: The group from ACCP and the USA at the farm between

Middelburg and Graaff-Reinet

I have been in the Karoo since March 2005 and I will miss monitoring the Blue Cranes in the Karoo. I will be leaving the Endangered Wildlife Trust and would like to thank colleagues, sponsors, farmers, farm workers and people from other organisations or departments who I have worked with. I have enjoyed working with you all and it will be great if you can stay in contact with me.

My cell phone number is +27 82 566 5803 and my email address is: Bradley@intekom.co.zaI hope it will be a good year for the cranes and goodbye to everyone and take care!

KAROO CRANE CONSERVATION PROJECTBradley Gibbons, Regional Coordinator

Email: bradleyg@ewt.org.za

Moving between beautiful landscapes

In this crane article you will learn more about people and crane stories across different places. As cranes move between areas looking for suitable places, at times for winter and other times for breeding and flocking, so do people. Sometimes we need to make and accept changes especially when it means you will be now settling with three Southern African crane species including the Blue Crane, Grey Crowned and Wattled Crane on the highveld.

After working with communities on cranes and habitat in the North West Province, I was challenged to move across to the Mpumalanga highveld for the same position and now you will be hearing more on stories round the Crhissiesmeer, Sheepmoor and Steenkampsberg areas. About five schools have been visited already to meet with educators and to introduce the cranes wetland and community’s project and the response has been very positive. Some of the schools have been contacted before and it so exciting to learn that even those who were not looking forward to work with us, are now very interested and committed to working with me.

February is the wetland month and as part of the celebration it is vital for us to highlight importance of wetlands to cranes and communities. You will learn more about that on the following articles and even more stories and other activities. Besides wetlands under threat already, Mpumalanga is being affected by numerous issues including mining, alien invasive plants, illegal hunting with dogs and agriculture. These are all that we need to bear in mind as we work with communities in our respective areas for securing crane habitat and biodiversity.

To be continued….

I received a phone call from one of our TBC members, Linda De Kock, about this strange coloured bird that was amongst the Blue Cranes. She, Marie and Jane were birding on a farm close to Durbanville where they counted 72 Cranes and one of them was pure white!!!!!!!!!! They described the bird and one’s first thought is that it was a White Stork but these ladies are

not beginners anymore and excluded that species early on in their observations. They said it looked like a Blue Crane and it flew with them as well. A flight pic was sent to me and it definitely looked like a leucistic Blue Crane.

I made arrangements to go out there on Sunday afternoon (6th January) to try to get some better pics as this was unusual. Got to the site at the back of the farm and there it was amongst the 60odd Blue Cranes. It certainly stood out in the wheat stubble. We approached the birds in the vehicle as they seemed to be very skittish. I took a few pics as well as a video as they took flight. It seemed all pure crisp white except the head and neck. Even the tertials were white. On the video the flight of the bird seemed different, even laboured. Why?

I spoke to Donella Young (CAR at ADU) and she informed me that this may be only the 2nd sighting of leucistic Blue Crane. They have noted this rare occurrence with Wattled Cranes.Excellent that our members had the foresight to report such a sighting of our National Bird!!!!!!!I will post the pics on the TBC website, facebook and the Swartland facebook as well as send it to the ADU leucistic site.

Above: Leucistic Blue Crane

NORTH WEST COMMUNITY CONSERVATION PROJECTSteven Segang - Community Field Officer

Email: stevens@ewt.org.za

Brian VanderwaltLeucistic Blue Crane spotted in the Western Cape

THE EWT PARTNERS WITH SA CAN TO REVERSE THE PLIGHT OF THE ORIBI

The Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) Threatened Grassland Species Programme (TGSP) has entered into an exciting partnership with the South Africa Community Action Network (SA CAN) that will assist the EWT in bringing an end to illegal dog hunting of Oribi.

The Oribi, a highly specialised antelope inhabiting Africa’s temperate grasslands, has been classified as Endangered in South Africa’s latest Red

Data Book for Mammals because of its rapid decline in recent years. The greatest threat to the Oribi is the relentless destruction of their habitat and the persistent persecution of the species through dog hunting.

SA Can is a patriotic business with a vision and strategy for a crime-free South Africa and is similar to the USA’s 911. They bring hands on safety and service delivery solutions in emergency situations to South Africans while empowering the community to a lifestyle of crime prevention and safety. SA CAN’s aim is to integrate all of South Africa’s emergency services units with each other by using every resource available to promote excellent results. SA CAN is committed to harnessing the community into real crime prevention and assisting SAPS with vital crime fighting information.SA CAN will be utilising its vast community network in the fight against illegal hunting and wildlife smuggling.

The EWT and SA CAN will be educating communities within the grassland habitats of the Oribi about the species and the threat posed by illegal hunting. We will be encouraging community members to alert SA CAN to all instances of suspicious hunting activity via the sms and phone lines developed by SA CAN. In this way we hope to make a real difference to the decline of the Oribi.

THREATENED GRASSLAND SPECIES PROGRAMME Samson Phakathi - TGSP Field Officer

Email: samsonp@ewt.org.za

NEWSLETTER INFORMATIONThe Grus Grapevine is the monthly newsletter of crane conservation efforts and the conservation of threatened grassland species of the EWT. The Grus Grapevine aims to

encourage national, regional and global participative networking and the exchange of crane and habitat conservation news, ideas and information.

The Grus Grapevine is compiled and edited by Kerryn Morrison. To send a news items or a question, e-mail crane@ewt.org.za

If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please send an e-mail to crane@ewt.org.za with the message “Unsubscribe Grus”.

The features in this newsletter represent various projects and individuals involved with cranes and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the EWT or the editors of this newsletter.

ORGANISATIONAL INFORMATIONVision for crane conservation within the EWT:

The harmonious coexistence of natural crane populations and people on the same land.

Vision for the threatened grasslands species programme within the EWT:The main aim/goal of the EWT-TGSP is to develop an ecosystems approach towards grasslands conservation by implementing conservation actions for priority areas within grasslands by

focusing on priority species.

Mission for crane conservation within the EWT:Ensuring the survival of South Africa’s three crane species, their natural habitats and associated

biodiversity, by promoting an improved understanding of crane biology, identifying and mitigating human induced threats, encouraging participation and cooperation of communities and institutions, for the benefit of cranes and people.

For more information about crane conservation within the EWT :WEB PAGE : www.ewt.org.za/cranes

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND DONORS

AgricolAmarula Cream

BateleursColumbus Zoo and Aquariam

Cranefield CollegeDohmen Family Foundation

EskomIQ Foundation

Jemli Media Solutions (Pty) Ltd.Lufthansa

Les Amis Du Parc Des OiseauxMazda Wildlife Fund

MillstreamMondi

NCT Forestry Co-Operative Limited.North Carolina Zoo

North West Hunters AssociationOrient Express Safaris

Parc des OiseauxPG Bison

Rand Merchant BankSamara Private Game Reserve

Senqu ClothingThe Rufford Small Grants Foundation

Virgo StorageWhitley Fund for Nature