African Raptors

Ethiopia is a land-locked country located in the horn of Africa. It is the second most populous nation in Africa with over 85.2 million people and the tenth largest by area. Seventy-two species of raptors inhabit the country of which 31 are migrants and 41 are residents.  These raptors inhabit a wide range of habitats [...]

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  The decline of Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) population was brought to the attention of the raptor world in the early 1990s.  Information available showed declines of around 46% since the 1950s in their breeding grounds and of around 25% in their wintering areas.  Very little information was available at the time on the numbers [...]

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A few years ago Odette Curtis sent me some photos taken by Ann Koeslag of unusually plumaged breeding buzzards in the Tokai forest. I told her that the female looked like a rufous-morph Steppe Buzzard. I still feel that way. I visited the area in early June 2008 with Ann to look at the nesting [...]

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    The eastern slopes of Table Mountain, South Africa, were covered with pine trees until the widespread fires of summer 1999-2000. Though the Constantiaberg was hardly affected by the fires (while other areas were completely denuded of trees), there has been a determined deforestation effort in the area, taking the form of harvesting of [...]

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  I have set up this post primarily for the benefit of those who would like to contribute toward the above discussion. Raptor road surveys are conducted throughout the world. It makes sense to standardize a cost-efficient system where data are collected with the minimum of effort. Simon Thomsett and I have been collecting raptor road [...]

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