So if you like the environment you can
do various things – like take your litter home with you after a
picnic – or dedicate your entire life to wildlife rehabilitation.
It's the later path that Dennis and family have taken with Radical
Raptors – a large-bird rehabilitation and education centre just
outside Plettenberg Bay.
I was down that way to bolster a sample
of Cape Sugarbird measurements courtesy of Mark Brown's research
program near Natures Valley, assisted by Minke Witteveen. Their big
news of the day was that a Forest Buzzard released from Radical
Raptors two weeks prior had just been spotted in Nature's Valley,
showing that the rehabilitation process works.
More excitingly for me – there was
another Forest Buzzard due to be released that afternoon. Minke took
us (me and a group of interns) along to show us the ropes with raptor
ringing. This bird of mixed fortunes had been unlucky enough to be
hit by a vehicle two weeks earlier, but lucky enough for this to
happen right outside Radical Raptors. Dennis to the rescue... luckily
there were no broken bones and it seemed to be a case of only severe
concussion.
Super dooper exciting, once Minke had
weighed and measured the bird I was allowed to release him. Strangely
enough, given the sharp beak made for tearing flesh, these birds
don't bite. They won't hesitate to sink their powerful talons into
you given the chance though! With a gentle push into the air he took
flight and made his way strongly to some nearby pine trees. Yay!
Everyone safe and unscathed.
Dennis normally puts on 3 shows a day,
but it being mid-winter and mid-week there was no-one around for the
1pm show. However, he insisted that he give us a demonstration.
Pretty soon we had a Yellow-billed Kite, Spotted Eagle-owl and Jackal
Buzzard whooshing over our heads, while Dennis narrated the special
traits of each of these feathered beauties. The birds glide from
perch to perch, enticed by juicy morsels of meat. We even had the
birds alight upon us (should we wish to enjoy this privileged
contact!).
For me, the most awesome display was
put on by a young Cape Vulture. His begging display was really
intimidating – wings hunched, head down, accompanied by a constant
dragon-like roaring. But the shear size of this bird up close was
something to behold – something you don't appreciate when you see
them soaring in the thermals way overhead. Of course, very few of
these birds remain as they have been all put poisoned out of our
ecosystems by farmers targeting jackal and other predators using
illegal methods.
The birds that are on display are all
birds that would not be able to adjust to the wild. These range from
Black Eagle Bella, with damaged wing, to Storm – the Bateleur with
cataracts. There is also an owl that thinks it is a human and will
woo you to share his nest box. Owls are disappearing from the woods
around human environments due to the use of rodent baits, that poison
the rats, and then the birds that eat them. To do something about
that Dennis now offers an eco-friendly pest control service, using a
squadron of Harris Hawks to frighten away flocks of European
Starlings or Rock Doves. Definitely a service worth using if you have
a pest problem.
Point is – Radical Raptors is much
more than just a gimmicky tourist trap along the garden route, its an
initiative that needs to be supported and a must-see attraction along
the garden route, and you don't have to take my word for it has a 5
star rating with TripAdvisor.
Radical Raptors website: www.radicalraptors.co.za
No comments:
Post a Comment