Southern African Forum (1 Viewer)

Dave Kennedy · Nov 5, 2008

Night Passage

For a couple of weeks or more, now, if I go out into my West Rand garden late at night and listen, I hear birds calling as they pass overhead. They utter piping calls, as one would expect from plover/lapwing/wader type birds. I believe that these are probably incoming migrants from the northern hemisphere. Any thoughts or opinions on what they might be?

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Sal · Nov 5, 2008

Dave Kennedy said:
For a couple of weeks or more, now, if I go out into my West Rand garden late at night and listen, I hear birds calling as they pass overhead. They utter piping calls, as one would expect from plover/lapwing/wader type birds. I believe that these are probably incoming migrants from the northern hemisphere. Any thoughts or opinions on what they might be?

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Thought, not opinion - Common Ringed Plovers? Isn't it getting a bit late now?

swiss7 · Nov 6, 2008

Hey guys, this forum is taking off! And most enjoyable reading about and seeing photos of your great birds. I've just put up an ID request in the ID Q&A forum..

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1327047#post1327047

comments would be welcome. Cheers, Damien

Sal · Nov 6, 2008

swiss7 said:
Hey guys, this forum is taking off! And most enjoyable reading about and seeing photos of your great birds. I've just put up an ID request in the ID Q&A forum..

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1327047#post1327047

comments would be welcome. Cheers, Damien

Hi Damein, good to see you here. I had a look at your pic posted in Q&A; a difficult one, I would say not a Bat Hawk. I gather you have been in South Africa recently - where did you go and what did you see?

alan carr · Nov 8, 2008

Dave Kennedy said:
For a couple of weeks or more, now, if I go out into my West Rand garden late at night and listen, I hear birds calling as they pass overhead. They utter piping calls, as one would expect from plover/lapwing/wader type birds. I believe that these are probably incoming migrants from the northern hemisphere. Any thoughts or opinions on what they might be?

Not local Dikkops??

Dave Kennedy · Nov 8, 2008

alan carr said:
Not local Dikkops??

Yes, Alan, I guess that's possible. I'm more familiar with the call of the water dikkop than the spotted dikkop, but if so, there must be quite a gang of them flying about.

And yes, to all the nitpickers out there, I am perfectly well aware that we are now supposed to refer to them as Thickknees. I happen to think that 'Thickknee' is just as stupid a name as 'Dikkop', and anyway, I thought that was why we had binomial scientific names - so it should not matter what we call them in terms of local usage.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

alan carr · Nov 9, 2008

Dave Kennedy said:
Yes, Alan, I guess that's possible. I'm more familiar with the call of the water dikkop than the spotted dikkop, but if so, there must be quite a gang of them flying about.

What made me think of dikkops is that there's a fairly large group living on the golf course fairly close to where I live. At night, they move into the suburbs, and on some nights they do make quite a racket.

Dave Kennedy said:
And yes, to all the nitpickers out there, I am perfectly well aware that we are now supposed to refer to them as Thickknees. I happen to think that 'Thickknee' is just as stupid a name as 'Dikkop', and anyway, I thought that was why we had binomial scientific names - so it should not matter what we call them in terms of local usage.

...as I've said before, I refuse to use the new names. For the dikkop, one could even go further and say it should be called a Stone Curlew...

lulie · Nov 9, 2008

Well Alan,
You couldn't really call it a stone curlew as that refers to burhinus oedicnemus. The two dikkop species or thick-knees found in southern africa are burhinus capensis (spotted) and burhinus vermiculatus (water)
I have just looked in The Birds of Africa volume 2 printed in 1986 and they refer to them as thick-knees
The name changes can be confusing and seem pointless but it doesn't really seem a big deal to me to get used to a couple of new ones occasionally. least it keeps you on your toes.
Lulie

Sal · Nov 9, 2008

lulie said:
Well Alan,
You couldn't really call it a stone curlew as that refers to burhinus oedicnemus. The two dikkop species or thick-knees found in southern africa are burhinus capensis (spotted) and burhinus vermiculatus (water)
I have just looked in The Birds of Africa volume 2 printed in 1986 and they refer to them as thick-knees
The name changes can be confusing and seem pointless but it doesn't really seem a big deal to me to get used to a couple of new ones occasionally. least it keeps you on your toes.
Lulie

I can't say I was excited about the name changes and they did seem pointless but I agree with you lulie, I find it is better to try and get to know them as many other people, including visitors to SA refer to them by the new names. So Dikkop (I love that name) or Thick-knees (I hate that name), I don't think it matters if you are happy; neither do I really think that people who try to use the new names are nit-picking! Sorry Dave!

alan carr · Nov 9, 2008

lulie said:
Well Alan,
You couldn't really call it a stone curlew as that refers to burhinus oedicnemus. The two dikkop species or thick-knees found in southern africa are burhinus capensis (spotted) and burhinus vermiculatus (water)

aha, but then it could be the spotted stone curlew

and the stone curlew looks very similar to the water dikkop - maybe we should change its name to water dikkop

lulie said:
I have just looked in The Birds of Africa volume 2 printed in 1986 and they refer to them as thick-knees
The name changes can be confusing and seem pointless but it doesn't really seem a big deal to me to get used to a couple of new ones occasionally. least it keeps you on your toes.
Lulie

Roberts 1984 (and the SA bird list of that year) still refers to them as dikkops (so do 99% of the non-birding fraternity). AFAIK, the Birds of Africa was not (a) South African publication(s), even though the editors had some SA affiliation. Warwick Tarboton, in his Waterbirds (1993), still referred to them as Dikkops.

I disliked the way the SAOS went about the name changes in the 90s. I want Purple Gallinule, Plumcoloured Starling, Cape Robin, etc, back

Sal · Nov 9, 2008

alan carr said:
aha, but then it could be the spotted stone curlew

:-O :-O :-O

alan carr said:
I disliked the way the SAOS went about the name changes in the 90s. I want Purple Gallinule, Plumcoloured Starling, Cape Robin, etc, back

Oh yes, me too. But they will always be Purple Gallinules to me, or Cape Robins, even if I call them by the new names. What I want to know is why did, for example, the swamp hens in other countries not become gallinules?

Dave Kennedy · Nov 9, 2008

Sal said:
I can't say I was excited about the name changes and they did seem pointless but I agree with you lulie, I find it is better to try and get to know them as many other people, including visitors to SA refer to them by the new names. So Dikkop (I love that name) or Thick-knees (I hate that name), I don't think it matters if you are happy; neither do I really think that people who try to use the new names are nit-picking! Sorry Dave!

I never thought that my comment about dikkop/thickknee would raise so much discussion! And I would just like to make it clear that it is not those people who try to use the new names that are nitpickers - after all, I've changed my whole database to comply with the new names - I was referring to those who might have tried to "point out the error of my ways" in referring to thickknees as 'dikkops'. It's quite sad, really - many of the old names are really part of South Africa's history - spekvreter for the Familiar Chat is a good example, for apparently that little bird used to eat the fat used to grease wagon axles - and I think that many of us felt let down when those name changes took place with little or no consultation with Southern African birders.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Sal · Nov 9, 2008

Dave Kennedy said:
I never thought that my comment about dikkop/thickknee would raise so much discussion!

It's quite sad, really - many of the old names are really part of South Africa's history - spekvreter for the Familiar Chat is a good example, for apparently that little bird used to eat the fat used to grease wagon axles - and I think that many of us felt let down when those name changes took place with little or no consultation with Southern African birders.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

I think if you engender a bit of discussion that is great! I absolutely agree about the fact that SA birders should have been involved in the decisions about name changes, I think one of the things that so annoys us is the fact that these names were just imposed upon us.

Another example that comes to mind (after my Swamp-hen gripe) is the Village Weaver. I remember reading somewhere that this name originated in Kenya. Now surely SA had Spotted-backed Weavers before Kenya had Village Weavers in terms of names?

On another matter, I'm having to hold my Field Guide further and further away to read it, so I've just bought the SASOl Larger Illustrated Guide! Its heavier, but makes quite a difference and will be perfect for game reserves . . . .

alan carr · Nov 9, 2008

Dave Kennedy said:
and I think that many of us felt let down when those name changes took place with little or no consultation with Southern African birders.

My point exactly!

Sal said:
Another example that comes to mind (after my Swamp-hen gripe) is the Village Weaver. I remember reading somewhere that this name originated in Kenya. Now surely SA had Spotted-backed Weavers before Kenya had Village Weavers in terms of names?

...and the horror of the whole story was, there were more active birders (and bird researchers) in the Southern African sub-region than in the rest of Africa put together. Yet our names (which were around for longer) got thrown out because someone in Tring decided SA was not kosher at the time...

Sal · Nov 9, 2008

alan carr said:
My point exactly!

...and the horror of the whole story was, there were more active birders (and bird researchers) in the Southern African sub-region than in the rest of Africa put together. Yet our names (which were around for longer) got thrown out because someone in Tring decided SA was not kosher at the time...

Oh. I never thought of that. So it was political. So the changing of the names actually started a long time ago (in the 80s?)

Martin Hobbs · Nov 9, 2008

Sal said:
Oh. I never thought of that. So it was political. So the changing of the names actually started a long time ago (in the 80s?)

I only go back to 1993 with my Newman's and so I suppose if the name changes have been going back to the 80's the names I use would maybe annoy some people that go back much further. But this is my point, there will always be 'people' wanting to change names, as long as we know which birds we are talking about does it matter if we use the new or old (older) names?
I just have an issue if any of you use new names that I dont recognise. If any of you do I will ask..
As for the Dikkpos, I am sat in my lounge listening to a couple of Spotted Dikkops calling away as they do each evening/night. I will always know them as Dikkops... Thickknee is such an awfull name for a bird with so much charactor (and aggression)!

I suppose I should go out and buy a new version of Newmans..

Martin

Allan Hobbs · Nov 9, 2008

Sal said:
Oh. I never thought of that. So it was political. So the changing of the names actually started a long time ago (in the 80s?)

Perhaps we should rename Tring?

Allan

Sal · Nov 9, 2008

Allan Hobbs said:
Perhaps we should rename Tring?

Allan

:t:

lulie · Nov 10, 2008

Today i was out walking and thought I would check on the roosting spot for a verreaux's eagle owl I know of on our farm.
When I got there I could here a high pitched squawking that sounded more like a goshawk.
To my surprise I saw 3 pairs of pink eyelids blinking down at me. I couldn't tell if they where 2 adults and one juv or 3 juv's I don't like to get too close as they flush easily.
What ever the ratio they had clearly bred and it really cheered my day to see them.

Also saw two wahlbergs eagles sitting on nests. Its all happening here and we even had more rain, delisious stuff.

Sal · Nov 11, 2008

Wonderful! I love those owls (I think it's the pink eyelids!) but I have never see juveniles - well, not small ones anyway. And the sound they make is very Africa somehow. Like blowing through a big horn. I can remember following the sound along a river in Kruger; it took us fifteen minutes to find the owls! May be a few photographic opportunities when they are grown a bit if you have a big lens? And it sound like the two Wahlbergs might be breeding too? This must be a lovely time on your farm with the rain and new growth and things breeding and probably wild flowers as well.

Southern African Forum (1 Viewer)

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Body in the UK, heart in South Africa

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread