At the beginning of these adventures I mentioned the Chev Fleetline that had an identity crisis and was ever-present at all our early outings no matter how rough the terrain.  Also present was a Peugeot 404 belonging to the chairman of the club at the time.  Peter, an ex-Kenyan, had started birding as a hobby he could share with his son John who later became Ornithologist at the Windhoek museum.

  These two adopted any schoolboy who was interested in birds, taking them along as camp assistants.  These lads were “allowed” to put up tents, make fires and keep Peter supplied with food and drink in exchange for being included in adventures all over the Transvaal, as it was then, trapping raptors (birds of prey) and generally noting what birds were present in certain areas.  I was given a lift to my first camp (of which more later) in this car, wedging myself between traps and other essential items of equipment.  The traps were beehive shape and made of chicken wire.  Two or three mice were kept in this trap and loops of fishing line were threaded through the mesh of the trap.  While travelling along the road at some speed a raptor would be spotted sitting on the overhead wires and the trap would be flung out of the car.  We stopped a little further on and waited until the unsuspecting bird pounced on the mouse only to find his feet entangled in the loops of line.  These mice must have become quite used to this adventure as they were kept for some years by the trappers.  I was lucky enough to be present when a Black shouldered Kite (Blouvalkie) was caught in this manner.  It lay on its back in its captor’s arms with its beak wide open . seemingly in a silent cry for help with its charcoal rimmed red eyes staring.  It was a beautiful little creature and I found it sad to see it lose its ferocious dignity in this way.  It flapped off, however, none the worse for wear after it had been weighed and measurements taken.

Another form of trapping birds is enjoyed by some birders. This is mist netting and is a process in which very fine mesh netting is suspended between two light aluminium poles placed across a favourite flight path.  The birds become entangled in this net and have to be removed fairly quickly so that they don’t injure themselves in their struggles to free get free. They are then put in canvas bags until they can be processed.  Measurements are taken of weight, wing length, and moult  and they are fitted with rings printed with information which is sent to a central bank of information where it is kept until the bird is retrapped or found dead.  A great deal may be learnt about the movements and general health of the bird population in this way.   

With this aspect of birding out of the way we can ponder on why any otherwise sane and proper individuals should take part in this hobby. It is a hobby that is growing ever-more popular and even fashionable, and the picture of dignified citizens walking about in the veld “twitching” while looking for “lifers” quite boggles the mind.