Have you ever wondered at the flocks of hawk-like birds sitting on telephone wires and poles along some of the roads in the eastern parts of SA?
Well, chances are you’ve spotted the Eastern Redfooted Kestrel. These birds arrive in SA in November after completing a spectacular annual migration from the East, and make their departure in March. They breed in eastern Siberia, Manchuria and northern China. To reach southern Africa they have to cross the Himalayas, India, and 3 000km of ocean before arriving at the east coast of Africa. Some farmers claim if the birds arrive late, the summer rains will fall later, and if they leave early, we’re in for an early, cold winter. The males (left) are characterised by two-tone grey plumage which is darker behind, red eye-ring, red legs and feet. Their underwings are white and grey. The female (right) has a white chest which is streaked with black blotches; her crown is grey and she has a white forehead and cheeks. The female has a black mask through the eye. Her eye-ring, legs and feet are orange-red. Eastern Redfooted Kestrels are considered farmers’ friends as they hunt over mainly cultivated land, searching for grasshoppers and crickets. While farmers are cutting lucerne, ploughing their lands and planting during summer, the birds sit on telephone poles to spot insects, fly, hover, and then drop down to take their prey. At night, thousands may gather to sleep at communal roosts. Sandy Stretton of Buffelsfontein farm near Molteno claims he ”counted” 12 000 Eastern Redfooted Kestrels roosting in Dordrecht in the Eastern Cape. – Tim and Sharon Salmon
