Rules of the Challenge

The challenge is open to anyone, and challengers are invited to register with the organiser. A list of all participants shall be maintained on the web-site:

Most Important Rules:

1. If in doubt leave it out! The challenge is first and foremost about collecting reliable information on our birds. If there is any doubt at all - even 0.01% doubt, please do not include this record in your list!
2. Only submit your own sightings Second hand records are not permitted, as this degrades the data and complicates vetting.
3. Only one list per day per site or grid. Long weekend lists, or lists which cover more than one conservation area, or atlas grid unit, are not permitted.
4. Only include birds recorded FROM INSIDE THE BOUNDARIES of a conservation area in the list for a conservation area or inside the indicated grid unit. Birds recorded on the way there, or outside the gates must be recorded seperately on another list for a different grid unit.
5. All lists must include a observation start and finish time. Please try and estimate accurately how much time you actually spent birding in an area. This data is useful in analysing population and demographic trends.

Overall Objectives

Based on input from the ADU, and evaluation of the most important areas (with least data) we have compiled a list of over 150 conservation areas in the Pretoria area. In keeping with our past focus on the immediate Pretoria area, only list for the area within the 100km radius will be entered into the challange, although we would appreciate all the lists from anywhere in SA you can forward to the PCC.

Surprisingly little is known about many of these places, let alone the birds in them. The challenge will therefore include a pioneer category, where points are awarded to people that complete the information for different sites. This will enable the club to have a fuller, more comprehensive database on all the conservation areas in our area.

Lists recieved for BIRP sites will be forwarded in electronic format to the ADU.

Challenge Categories

We will shortly announce the prize catagories for 2003

Watch this space

Site information

Try to supply as much information possible regarding the area you visited.
Information required is:

• Controlling Authority
• Contact Person for arranging access
• Telephone number
• Size of area (hectares)
• Who has visited/Knows the area(from a birding point of view), and telephone number.
• Grid Reference (Quarter degree square) and within the quarter degree square, which sub-square.
• GPS waypoints of key landmarks in area.
• Map of the area, or description of boundaries.
• Conservation issues and description.
• Key birds (Red Data species, regional specials etc)
  

Listing a site.

The aim of the Conservation Challenge is to gather as much data as possible on all the protected sites in the area - defined as 100km from Pretoria. In order to ensure that the data is accurate and useful, the following guidelines should be followed:

• Please indicate the time you started birding in the area, and time finished. Lists should be based on at least two hours of birding, in a variety of habitats.
• Do not record birds from outside of the area.
• Please provide as much information as possible on numbers, breeding and any other interesting information gleaned from the outing.
  

The breeding status codes have been changed to allow more relevant breeding information to be obtained:

1. Breeding plumage
2. Coutship behaviour (breeding display flights or songs)
3. Nest building
4. Active breeding (sitting on eggs with nest, feeding chicks in nest, carrying food to nest, etc)
5. Post nesting behaviour (feeding juveniles, juveniles with adults, etc)
6. Past breeding evidence (bird in area with old nests, etc)

Add remarks about the observation in regards to:

• Indicate very specific location info (GPS if possible) on code 4 and 5 species.
• Any unusual behaviour
• Out of habitat
• Out of season
• Unusually large numbers
• Not seen in area for a while
• Colour variations
• Call imitations
  

Vetting Records

A committee has been elected from the most experienced birders in the bird clubs involved. These folk have been elected to help sift through mistaken identifications and genuine observations of rarities. Every observer will have unusual records scrutinised, from the most experienced to the beginner. It is unavoidable in a project of this nature that mistakes are made when identifying birds and these mistakes need to be sifted out for this project to have any value. Birds for which vetting will be done are those rated 4 or 5. Please also report other birds in atypical habitat, or unusual seasons, (ie European Bee-eaters breeding, Spotted Flycatcher in July, Puffback Shrike at Marievale.) Use the build in facility of the Listing program to send your unusual sightings reports to the vetting forum or phone Pieter van Zyl on 082 655 4251 to report these sightings. These should be reported within 24 hours of the observation.

All species recorded should be clearly identified either by sight or by sound, participants should keep a record of those species identified by Sound alone. However, the primary focus of this challenge should be to see the bird and attempts should be made to see all species, except in cases where this normally does not aid ID or where conservation is of concern.

See also the Code of Conduct