BIRD GUIDES 
Bird guides Alpha Dladla (left) and Sipho Ndlovu
The Park’s prolific birdlife is providing outdoor education and work for two young St Lucia birdlovers, Alpha Dladla and Sipho Ndlovu.
Born in Mtubatuba, Alpha, 28, worked for six years as a honorary officer for EKZNW before being employed by Leisure Eco-Tours as a field guide, taking school groups and others around the five walking trails in the Park. He attended a Birdlife course in Wakkerstroom and then decided to form his own organisation along with several others.
He was joined by a friend, Ingwavuma-born Sipho, 25, and they now offer birding to tourists at local guest houses. Zulani Guest House helped them with green T-shirts, and they are writing a booklet on the trails. They are looking for funding for a computer to enable them to print information leaflets to promote their venture.
“Tourists sometimes get lost because of the hippo tracks so we want
to write the signage and explain how long the trails take and what to look
out for,” says Alpha.
“The Park has such a wide variety of ecosystems, each with distinctive
bird species, though my favourite is the nerina trogan which is easy to
call. Our aim is also job creation and we want to encourage other young
people to get into tourism. "
* To join a bird trail, contact Alpha on 084 7166310.
Waterbird counts
Caroline Fox and Ricky Taylor
Waterbird counts are internationally recognized as a tool to monitor the
health of wetlands.
So, in summer and winter, EKZNW undertakes counts in the Park and adjacent
wetlands linked to estuarine system. These form part of the national CWAC
(Coordinated Waterbird Counts) scheme which feeds into the African Waterfowl
Census programme.
Data is used to indicate ecological condition of the wetlands and to provide
early warning of adverse changes. It is also available to researchers.
The 21 sites are counted within a month (January and July) using forms supplied
by the Avian Demography Unit of the University of Cape Town. Cape Town.
The counts are adapted to each site i.e. boating at Kosi Bay, vehicle beach
driving on from Cape Vidal to Sodwana, and telescope spotting from vantage
points.
They are then submitted to the ADU and used to compile the SA report as
well as the African census. Copies are kept at the St Lucia research office
and distributed to management and research staff.
Sites in the Park include the Kosi Bay Lake System, the St Lucia lake system,
the Ku Shengeza Pan in the Coastal Forest Reserve, Mkhuze’s Neshe
and Nsumo pans. Those outside the Park include Lake Mfutululu in the Monzi
area, and Mavuya Pan on the Umfolozi Flats.
Last winter’s count totalled 12 672 birds with flamingo the most abundant,
(28%), mainly in the St Lucia estuary where conditions are ideal: low lake
levels and medium to high salinity.
The next largest group were the ducks (23%), concentrated in the Nsumo and
Mavuya pans. Waders made up 19%, mainly in the St Lucia estuary with 924
avocets and 310 blackwinged stilts; these feed on crustaceans, insects and
worms.
White pelicans made up the 4th largest group (8%). Adults with 456 almost-fledged
young were counted at Selley’s Lake in the St Lucia estuary. Adults
were also observed in Nsumo pan.
Of interest were large numbers of whitefronted plovers along the coastline
from Cape Vidal to Sodwana – 360 were counted (8 of which were chicks)
the highest recorded since the counts began in 1995. The St Lucia Sanctuary
was closed to beach driving in 1999.
Breeding was also observed for a number of other species including the dabchick,
darter, purple heron, black crake, purple gallinule, moorhen, African jacana,
pied and giant kingfisher, hadeda ibis, Egyptian goose and African spoonbill.