The Black Eagle is a fairly common resident of South Africa and is said to be one of the most thoroughly researched eagles in the country.
They are found at sea level from the Cape Province to the Drakensberg in Natal, in the North West Province and up into Africa. Mountain terrains with cliffs, rock ledges and caves are preferred as habitat by the black eagle, with the ledges providing nesting sites and abundant prey.
When the Watler Sisulu National Botanical Garden was established in 1982, the black eagles were already nesting on the cliffs next to the Witpoortjie Falls. Despite increasing urbanisation and development within their immediate hunting area, the pair breeding at the Gardens has stayed, regardless of their existence being challenged by influx of visitors, noise and lack of prey. The interference within and around the territory escalated with stray and domestic dogs and vagrans, who feed on the eagles’ principal prey, the dassie. The pair have had to adapt their prey base to include guinea fowl, francolin, red rock rabbit and in very desperate cases, chickens.
The Black Eagle Monitoring Project was initiated in 1992 with its aims being the following: educate and inform the public on black eagles, conserve and secure the black eagle pair in the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens and to monitor and obtain vital information on their breeding cycle.
In 1998, the Black Eagle Monitoring Group became affiliated to the Gardens and subsequently the project was renamed the Black Eagle Project Roodekrans and was registered as a non-profit organisation that consists of a 7-member committee and approximately 30 dedicated volunteer members. For the next three years since 2006, the project placed a ring on the juvenile eagle’s tarsus and took blood samples for correct sexing and DNA.
This project proves how much can be learned and achieved by the voluntary efforts of a passionate amateur team. The importance of preserving the ‘Black Eagles of Roodekrans’ will remain the top priority of the project. Monitoring will continue as it is only through a thorough knowledge of these raptors that any arising problems can be rectified.
A live camera was installed on the cliff watching over the nests of the black eagle pair. To view the feed from this camera, go to: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/africam-black-eagle.
The Black Eagles are a part of our South African heritage and we should all give our support to this project to ensure the survival of these spectacular birds!
Written by Marleen Theunissen
Creative writer at ATKA SA
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