SABAP2 in KwaZulu-Natal

Cards to Green for KZN

2012-01-20T07:48:00.000+02:00

It has been quite a while since I have added anything to this blog, so the change in the map alongside is quite marked.

While we have been slowly chipping away along the N3 axis, Zululand has been moving along in leaps and bounds. This has been mostly thanks to the concerted and well planned efforts by John and Kim Cox.
Perhaps the biggest news since the last post has been the return of cards in QDS 2731DD, which has for a long time been empty. Trish Strachan, Richard Johnstone, John and Kim Cox mounted a mini-expidition in early December 2012 and completed a number of empty pentads as well as completing second cards. So thanks to these four this QDS now has been quite well atlased.
As things stand at 20/01/2012, we have only 74 pentads of our 1296 for which we have no data. It would be really great if we could finish these pentads before the end of June 2012, or five fulls years of SABAP2.
Thanks to all have, and still are contributing to the project.

Summer Chameleon Challenge

2011-11-25T21:04:00.000+02:00

After a lengthy break from individual challenges, we have one for this summer. This challenge will contribute greatly towards the Cards-to-Green project as the points system is biased towards atlasing the more poorly covered pentads. I have taken the liberty of copying Doug Harebottles email below:

"Finally, we'd like to announce our summer mini-project - The Summer Chameleon, an individual challenge with the aim of allocating points to atlasers for making pentads change colour! We did this a few years back and, backed by popular demand, we have decided to do this again. The focus here is to go wide - more points are given for un-atlased pentads or pentads with few checklists and there are even bonus points awarded depending on what number checklist it is. The summer chameleon runs from the 19 November (so already some of you have points on the board) through to 15 February. There is a leaderboard on the homepage http://sabap2.adu.org.za) so you can track how you are doing and how others are doing.

This is how the point system will work:
15 points for making a pentad yellow (1st list),
12 points for making a pentad orange (2nd list),
10 for light green (4th list),
9 for dark green (7th list),
8 for light blue (11th list),
7 for dark blue (16th list),
6 for red (25th),
5 for purple (50th),
4 for pink (100th),

PLUS
5 points for every checklist for pentads with fewer than 7 checklists,
4 points for every checklist in a pentad with fewer than 16 checklists,
2 points for a checklist between 16 and 25 lists
1 point for each checklist in a pentad with more than 25 lists

... and we offer a bonus of 5 points for lists from pentads in Lesotho and the Northern Cape, provided they are lists 1 to 7.

KZN Atlas Report 3-Aug-11 to 17-Aug-11

2011-08-19T08:03:00.000+02:00

The big news is that we are at 88.7% coverage, with 90% now within imminent reach.
What is even more encouraging is that we are also steadily increasing our two and seven card coverage as well, having moved from 57.2% to 57.6% and 21.1% to 21.3% respectively.
These may not sound very high, but they represent 5 and 3 pentads, which if you do the multiplication, means 10 and 15 submissions. I know that this does not necessarily mean that there were 25 submissions for these 8 pentads, but the assumption is that there could have been 25 cards submitted. In fact in the last two weeks we had 87 cards submitted. So in effect we are not only breaking new ground and increasing depth of coverage, but also targeting that depth fairly well.
In the last two weeks we have had 18 submissions which have contributed to the 'Cards-to-Green' effort. This has moved us from needing 2 361 cards, to 2 343. The only movement has been in the 3 and 4 cards needed categories, i.e. pentads that had no or only 1 card.
Looking at total submissions, we averaging 8.1 cards submitted per day. For the last two weeks we had a submission rate of 7.7 cards and 4.7 cards per day for the respective weeks. It would seem that the cold weather in the last week has really affected submissions. With the onset of spring we also experiencing higher species totals, with 56.1 and 50.3 spp/card in the last two weeks against 45.6 and 52.0 spp/card in the previous fortnight.

KZN Atlas Report 8-Jun-11 to 3-Aug-11

2011-08-04T07:59:00.000+02:00

During these 56 days we have had 10 new pentads added to the KZN total. Leading the charge were John and Kim Cox who completed four of these, followed by Alan Manson who did three, and then Duncan McKenzie, Colin Gerrans and myself who did one each.

Moving to the 'Cards to Green' effort,I have not been keeping absolute track of who has been doing what, but the biggest movement has also been in the north east, and glancing through the lists, John & Kim Cox's names have been appearing very regularly.

At 8-Jun, KZN was short of 2 442 surveys to turn the entire province green on the coverage map. At 3-Aug we needed 56 cards less. Besides the 10 cards in new pentads, we also had 18 fewer pentads needing 3 cards. This is quite an achievement, because it means that we submitted 28 cards for pentads needing three cards. We now have 18 less, plus the ten that had no cover, i.e. for every pentad with no data that we submit a card for, we increase the number of pentads for which we need three cards.

For this reason we now have 8 more pentads which need two cards to turn green. We can pat ourselves on the back however, since we actually reduced the number of pentads that only need one card by three.

On average we have been submitting 1.4 cards per day that contribute towards the 'KZN Cards to Green' mini-project.

Just to put a geographic perspective for which degree squares these 81 cards to green have been submitted [the Degree Square followed by cards]:

2832 14
2831 12
2930 12
2730 8
2931 8
2632 7 [Only counting those in KZN]
2929 6 [Only counting those in KZN]
2830 5
2732 4
2731 2 [Only counting those in KZN]
2829 2 [Only counting those in KZN]
3029 1 [Only counting those in KZN]

If one looks at the accompanying map, you can see the development of a contigously atlased block stretching north from Mtunzini north along the N2. This could quite easily rival the block along the N3 stretching north-west from the coast.

Thanks to all who have are participating in the project, lets keep up the good work.

Cards to Green for KZN

2011-06-23T07:57:00.000+02:00

This is the 'Cards to Green' map for KZN as at 22/06/2011.

We are slowly closing out the red pentads [those with no cards].

In fact, since 11/05/11 we have had 42 cards submitted that have improved this map, with 12 cards in new pentads and 12 second cards. This has meant that we now have 234 pentads that need 2 cards against 224 on 11/05. We have however reduced the number of pentads that need one card from 111 to 109, but considering that as the number of pentads that need 3 or four cards is reduced, this figure usually rises, we are doing pretty well.

An interesting stat is that over these 42 days we have averaged 1.6 cards per day for pentads with less than four cards.

Cards to Green for KZN

2011-05-12T07:56:00.000+02:00

This is the 'Cards to Green' map as at 11/05/2011.

We are progressing quite well, with an ever diminishing number of red pentads [those with no surveys].

The greatest recent effort has been Tim Wood, Don Leitch & Gavin Calverley's expedition based at Babanago, from where they surveyed 19 pentads, 15 of which were in blank pentads.
Atlasers who have also been chipping away at the red squares are:
Alan Manson who has done 5 new pentads since March, 4 in the Tugela Valley and one west of Bergville;
John & Kim Cox with 3 east of Imfolozi Park;
Iain Guthrie, Duncan McKenzie, Mike Cunningham and Peter Spence with one survey in various corners of the province.

Thanks also to the many atlasers who have been steadily chipping away to turn this map less colourful - our ultimate goal would be to turn this whole map blank. We have 168 pentads with no cards left in KZN, and to reach 4 cards for every pentad, we need another 2 486 cards.

Cards to Green Maps

2011-04-13T05:46:00.000+02:00

2011-04-08T12:32:00.000+02:00

I have had a request from Peter Nupen [the Western Cape co-ordinator] for this map for the Western Cape as well.

In keeping with stressing the importance of having at least four surveys for statistical analysis to be done for a pentad, I have created this map showing which pentads in KZN have four or less surveys.

The colours used are as follows:

RED pentads have no surveys, so another four are required;

YELLOW have one survey, so need another three;

GREEN have two, so only need another two;

BLUE have three so only require one more.

2011-04-07T07:39:00.000+02:00

The colours used are as follows:

RED pentads have no surveys, so another four are required;

YELLOW have one survey, so need another three;

GREEN have two, so only need another two;

BLUE have three so only require one more.

In an effort to ensure some seasonality in the coverage, I have also excluded all pentads with a survey returned for autumn [basically Mar, Apr or May].

So if you are getting out further afield this autumn, or in the string of public holidays coming up, please consider using this map to plan your birding.

Who has been Atlasing in KZN

2011-03-24T07:42:00.000+02:00

During the 100 days since the last time I worked these stats out, we have had 105 observers submit 939 cards, 61 of which were for new pentads and 64 were second cards.

This works out at 9.4 cards per day, 8.9 cards per observer and 0.61 new cards per day.

Leading the new card charge we had Tim Wood on 16, Alan Manson on 10, me with 7, and then Justin Nicolau, Maryke Bezuidenhout, Mike Bartlett & Trish Strachan all on five cards.

I lead the second card charge with 15, Tim wood with 12 and Iain Guthrie submitted 11.

Looking at the total cards submitted, Tim Wood submitted the most at very nearly a card a day, on 91, followed by John & Kim Cox with 58 and Iain Guthrie with 57.

Remaining Blank Pentads for KZN

2011-02-03T07:53:00.000+02:00

Temminck's Courser in Hilton, KZN

2010-12-09T14:05:00.000+02:00

Malcolm Robinson saw this Temminck's Courser in pentad 2930_3015 [at 29.51533S 30.3311E] on 8/12/10. A very good sighting for the KZN midlands [the next KZN record for SABAP2 is just north of the 28° line].

Who has been Atlasing in KZN

2010-12-09T07:39:00.000+02:00

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2010-12-09T07:38:00.000+02:00

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2010-11-25T07:44:00.000+02:00

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2010-10-29T07:54:00.000+02:00

2010-10-15T07:58:00.000+02:00

It's been a while since I last posted these stats, so here is an update for the period from 2-Aug-10 to 6-Oct-10.

I have ordered the list by the number of new cards per observer, then by the number of second card/pentad per observer and lastly by the number of cards returned for the period.

Thanks to all who have contributed.

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2010-10-15T07:52:00.000+02:00

Pentad and Priority QDGC Map for KZN

2010-09-17T07:56:00.000+02:00

Pentad and Priority QDGC Map for KZN

2010-08-26T07:52:00.000+02:00

Pentad and Priority QDGC Map for KZN

2010-08-19T07:51:00.000+02:00

KZN Priority QDGC's

2010-08-12T07:46:00.000+02:00

This week has seen some movement in 2831DA with Richard Johnstone adding two new pentads.

Otherwise there has been a continued assault on yellow pentads, with more turning orange.

Last Set of Submissions for KZN

2010-08-05T07:56:00.000+02:00

For the 32 day period from 1/07 to 2/08 we saw 247 cards submitted for KZN, 17 of which were for new pentads, while 16 were second cards for their respective pentads.

This equates to 7.7 cards per day, 4.6 cards per observer and 0.53 new cards per day. For the 44 days from 18/05 to 1/07, we also had 7.7 cards per day, slightly more cards per observer at 5.5 and less new pentads at 0.43 per day. So over the last month, we essentially we covered more new area, the same number of cards relatively, but with fewer observers.

Duncan McKenzie led the charge with 7 new pentads, followed by Alan Manson with 3 and Tim Wood with 2. Mr J Janse van Rensburg, Tessa White, Lawrie Chivers, Sharon Louw and David Maphisa all chipped in with one new pentad each.

Iain Guthrie submitted the most second cards, 3, followed by Mr J Janse van Rensburg and Tim Wood with with 2 each. Sarah Burns, Pam Nicol, Tessa White and Alan Manson all chipped in with one card each.

Tim Wood submitted the most cards, 34, followed by Mr J Janse van Rensburg with 15 and Iain Guthrie and Johan Gouws with 14 each. Barry Porter and Duncan McKenzie both managed double figures with 12 and 10 respectively.

KZN Pentad and QDGC Map

2010-08-05T07:46:00.000+02:00

The map showing the KZN pentad coverage is looking better and better. We still have only one empty QDGC, 2731DD which lies SW of Mkuze.

Our other challenge is to continue turning the yellow pentads orange. The Durban Group, led by Tim Wood, has been doing some good work here, as you can see by the widening belt of orange coloured pentads north of the DBN-PMB axis.

KZN Card Submissions

2010-07-15T07:45:00.000+02:00

In the 44 days from 18 May to 1 July 2010, 337 cards were submitted for KZN. 19 of these were for new pentads, while 11 of them were the second card for a pentad.

This averages out to 7.7 cards / day, 5.5 cards / observer and 0.43 new pentads / day.

The the last reporting period [29 days from 19/04 to 18/05] had 8.2 cards / day, 4.7 cards / observer and 0.31 new pentads / day.

So we were half a card / day down, but with more cards / observer and more new cards / day.

Observers who covered new pentads were Alan Manson with 5, C Gerrans with 4, Brian Byers with 3, and then Tim Wood, Malcolm Robinson, Peter Spence, David Maphisa, Frank Rautenbach and Malcolm Rivett all with one.

Alan Manson completed the second pentad card for two pentads, while Barry Porter, Hanno Pretorius, Rina Pretorius, Dave Everard, Sharon Louw, Sarah Burns and Craig Symes all completed one second card each.

Tim Wood submitted the most cards during this period with 33, followed by Malcolm Robinson with 24, Johan Gouws 21 and Richard Johnstone and Derek Spencer with 16.

Well done and many thanks to all who are participating in the atlas.

KZN Card Submissions

2010-05-25T05:36:00.000+02:00

In the 29 days from 19-Apr to 18-May, 239 cards were submitted for pentads in KZN. There were nine new pentads covered. 51 observers made submissions.

This equates to 8.2 cards per day, 4.7 cards per observer and 0.3 new pentads per day. It is interesting to compare the submissions per day over the last few reporting periods:
19/04-18/05 [29 d]: 8.2 cards / day
29/03-19/04 [21 d]: 8.7 cards / day
15/03-29/03 [14 d]: 9.9 cards / day
17/02-15/03 [26 d]: 7.7 cards / day
11/01-14/02 [37 d]: 8.5 cards / day
05/12-11/01 [37 d]: 10.2 cards / day

What this does seem to indicate is that we have a fairly stable submission rate of between 8-10 cards / day for KZN.

What is noticeable in these stats is that new pentads are certainly much harder to get to. For the same period, the card submission rate for new pentads was as follows: 0.31, 0.71, 1.14, 1.00, 0.89 & 0.93.

The attached list is sorted [in descending order] by new pentad submissions, then by number of cards, then by Observer, which means that Alan Manson topped the list with 4 new pentads and 4 cards, followed by Tim Wood with 1/11, Duncan McKenzie with 1/10, Klaus Heyer with 1/3 and Frank Rautenbach with 1/3.

If we change the sort order to te number of cards submitted, new pentads and then name [again in descending order] we have: Johan Gouws on 21 cards with 0 new, Michael Lee 19/0, Trish Strachan 14/0, Richard Johnstone 12/0 and Tim Wood with 11/0.

Again, well done to all the many others who also contributed.

KZN Card Submissions

2010-04-24T05:49:00.000+02:00

These are the submissions for KZN pentads for the period 29 Mar to 19 Apr 2010.
In these 21 days we had 183 cards submitted, 15 of which were for new pentads, i.e. 8.7 cards a day and 0.71 new pentads a day.
48 observers submitted cards, which is 3.8 cards per observer.
In general we seem to be holding fairly steady in terms of card submissions and new pentads.
My question now is do I start keeping track of who is managing to do the second card for each pentad as well?

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2010-04-01T08:39:00.000+02:00

Since the last Priority QDGC posting, we now have only one empty core QDGC left in KZN. This thanks to Alan Manson's work in the COLLESSIE QDGC.

Our empty core QDGC is: 2731DD NGXONGWANE.

So please, if anyone is up in the Mkuze area, a little to your west, you have a choice of NINE empty pentads.

We only have 3 empty boundary QDGC's left, viz.:

2731AB MOOIPLAATS

2832BC ST LUCIA ESTUARY [EAST]

3028BB LEHLOHONOLO

From a pentad coverage point of view, Southern KZN is looking especially good with very nearly complete coverage. Now we just have to look at changing some of the yellow-coloured pentads to orange.

The N3 Axis from Mooi River to Durban is also looking quite good, slowly moving through the colours from blue, to red, to purple and ultimately to pink. Again we have to look at trying to expanding this coverage outwards, especially to the north.

Breakdown of Observers in KZN

2010-03-30T07:55:00.000+02:00

This graph gives a breakdown of how many KZN-based atlas observers live where, also classing them by the number of cards that they have submitted [nationally]. This was as at 29/03/2010.

For instance, there were 23 observers who had submitted one card, 6 in from the Midlands, 5 from Northern KZN, 5 from Port Natal, 1 from Sisonke [Southern KZN], 4 from Trogons [South Coast] and 2 from Zululand.

Alternatively we can see that in the Midlands we have 6 who submitted 1 card, 4 have submitted 2-4 cards, six 5-9 cards, three 10-19, five 20-49, three 50-99, two 100-149, another two 150-199 and last but not least, one observer who has submitted between 400-499 cards.

If one assumes that observers who have submitted 5 or more cards can be said to be regular atlassers, then of the 240 people who reside in KZN that have registered, 84 [or 35%] of them have gone on to atlas regularly. It is also interesting to note that only 127 people [of the 240 who have registered], have actually gone on to submit a card, i.e. only 53%. In other words 53% of the people who have registered have actually gone on to try their hand at atlassing, while only 35% have gone on to submit more than 5 cards.

Last Set of Submissions for KZN

2010-03-30T07:54:00.000+02:00

The list on the left are the card submissions for KZN pentads for the period 17/02/10 to 15/03/10.

During these 26 days we had 201 cards submitted, 26 of which were for new pentads. We averaged 7.7 cards / day, with 3.5 cards / observer, and 1.0 cards per new pentad per day.

The three observers who submitted the most cards, were Iain Guthrie with 24, Tim Wood with 16 and Mr J Claassen with 15.

Alan Manson and Trish Strachan submitted cards for 7 new pentads each, while Iain Guthrie, Barry Porter and Brian Byers submitted 2 cards each for new pentads.

These are the submissions for the fortnight from 15 - 29/03/10.

35 observers submitted 138 cards, 16 of which were for new pentads. This works out to an average of 9.9 cards / day, 1.1 new pentads / day and 3.9 cards / observer.

Trish Strachan and Ms L van Deventer submitted 15 cards each, Tim Wood 13 cards and Iain Guthrie 12 cards.

Trish submitted cards for 12 new pentads, Malcolm Rivett 2, and Ernst Retief and Alan Manson 1 each.

Thanks to all who contributed, and keep up the good work.

Last 37 Days Cards for KZN

2010-02-25T07:53:00.000+02:00

316 cards were submitted between 11 January 2010 and 17 February 2010 by 68 observers. 33 cards were for new pentads.

This equates to 8.5 cards / day, 4.6 cards / observer and 0.89 new pentads / day.

Well done and many thanks to all who contributed.

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2010-02-12T07:33:00.000+02:00

The QDGC colours have changed again slightly since the last post. This time Barry Porter has added a pentad in 3029DD, so we are now down to three boundary QDGC's, along with our two core QDGC's that are still empty.

Northern KZN have also moved 2730CB from 33% coverage to more than 33%.

Well done to all involved with these efforts.

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2010-01-27T07:33:00.000+02:00

Since the last time that I posted these maps on the 20th of November 2009, we have progressed to only two core QDGC's with no cover in KZN.

Many thanks to Sharon Louw for filling in a pentad in 2830BD FORT LOUIS and Alan Manson for filling in a pentad 2731DC NONGOMA.

This means that we only have two core pentads left: 2731DD NGXONGWANE & 2830DA COLLESSIE.

The other QDGC's left are all boundary QDGC's:

2731AB: mostly in Swaziland [1 pentad partly in KZN]

2832BC: 8.4 ha of mostly beach just North of Mission Rocks, rest is Indian Ocean

3028BB: mostly Eastern Cape & some Lesotho [1 pentad partly in KZN]

3029DD: mostly Eastern Cape [2 pentads partly in KZN]

I must also mention the great work done by Northern Natal, Rina Pretorius and Klaus Heyer especially, and Alan Manson [from the Midlands], who have filled in an incredible number of gaps in the north-west of KZN. This work has changed a number of QDGC's to lighter [or no] colour on these maps.

There has also been some lightening of the QDGC colours in Zululand, despite the tragic passing of Pete Outhwaite. Well done to Richard Johnstone, Johan Gouws, Frank Rautenbach and Ben Baxter especially.

Southern KZN has also seen some movement, thanks to Barry Porter and Trish Strachan for their hard work.

I must also mention that a number of other birders have helped push KZN along smartly this summer, Tim Woods and Iain Guthrie deserve a mention here. Many thanks to all the others who have helped as well, even if I have not mentioned you specifically.

Last 15 days Submissions

2009-12-05T11:30:00.000+02:00

The last fifteen days saw 40 observers submit 147 cards for KZN. 14 of these cards were for new pentads.
This equates to 9.8 cards per day and 3.7 cards per observer.
As matter of interest over the last few periods for which I have statistics [ending 5/12/09; 20/11/09; 5/11/09 & 19/10/09], we have been averaging 9.8; 9.9; 9.5 & 11.3 cards/day respectively, with 3.7; 3.9, 3.8 & 3.4 cards/observer. As can be seen we seem to have a fairly regular submission rate, even with a constant change in observers.
Looking at the new pentads covered per day, the values change quite considerably over the same period: 0.93; 1.33; 1.18 & 0.53. We seem to have hit a peak in cards for new areas from 5/11/09 to 20/11/09, where we had 1.33 cards/day for new pentads. As can be expected this is likely to tail off, as we now have 61.5% of KZN covered.

Priority QDGC's in KZN (again)

2009-11-20T17:11:00.000+02:00

Here are two maps of showing the priority QDGC's in KZN. The first map shows only the QDGC's, while the second has the pentad coverage as at 07h00 this morning.
We now have only FOUR core QDGC's with no coverage:

2731DC NONGOMA
2731DD NGXONGWANE
2830BD FORT LOUIS
2830DA COLLESSIE

There are also four boundary QDGC's with no coverage:

2731AB - mostly in Swaziland
2832BC - which 400m of beach and some dune forest north of Mission Rocks at St Lucia
3028BB - mostly Eastern Cape with some Lesotho
3029DD - Eastern Cape, but has three pentads touching KZN.

Who Has Been Atlassing in KZN

2009-11-11T06:58:00.000+02:00

In the period 19 October to 5 of November 2009, we have had 162 cards submitted for KZN, 20 of which were for new pentads. There were 43 observers who submitted cards.

This works out to 9.5 cards per day over 17 days, at 3.8 cards per observer. Of course some people managed more cards, Tim wood managed a staggering 26 cards, while Rina Pretorius managed a to cover whopping 8 new pentads.

In the last reporting period of 15 days, 4/10 to 19/10, we had 49 observers submitting 169 cards, only 8 of which were for new pentads. [11.3 cards/days at 3.4 cards/observer].

Well done to all who are participating, every contribution is valuable.

Prioity QDGC's in KZN

2009-10-10T09:01:00.000+02:00

These are the QDGC's with absolutely no pentads covered as at 8 October 2009.

The biggest gap still remains at Pomeroy, Collessie & Fort Louis (2830CB, DA & BD respectively).

The two empty QDGC's west of Mkuze are 2731DC & DD, Nongoma and Ngxongwane.

East of St Lucia is the empty QDGC 2832BC. The problem with this one is that there is only 0.18 km² of land in this QDGC, in one pentad. This lies just North of Mission Rocks.

This is the same map as above, I have simply added in the pentad coverage layer as it stood at 8 October 2009.

For for some more maps regarding SABAP 2 and the comparison with SABAP1 look at http://colinsbirds.blogspot.com/

KZN Atlassing

2009-10-03T15:20:00.000+02:00

This last stats period of 17 days, which included the long weekend saw 51 observers submit 152 cards for KZN, of which 17 were for new pentads. Put another way we averaged 8.9 cards a day and three cards per observer.

Who Has Been Atlassing in KZN

2009-09-16T19:55:00.000+02:00

In the 12 days since I last ran the numbers, we have had 32 observers submit 92 cards, 8 of which were for new pentads. This averages out at 7.7 cards per day and 2.9 cards per observer.

If we look at a breakdown of how many observers submitted cards:

11 of us submitted 1 card,
8 - 2 cards,
4 - 3 cards,
4 - 4 cards,
2 - 5 cards,
1 - 6 cards,
1 - 10 cards & lastly Johan Gouws with 11 cards, 4 of which were for new pentads.

SABAP2 vs SABAP1

2009-09-04T15:33:00.000+02:00

I thought that since we are now 26 months into the project it would be interesting to compare where we are now, against what SABAP1 showed.
The only stats that I do have are the numbers of cards submitted and the species totals, so I looked briefly at the latter. [I am not certainly not going to open the whole 1 vs 2 debate here. There are definitely pros & cons for each protocol, but 26 months into SABAP2, I do not think that we are are going to change much on it project now].

There are now 6 KZN QDGC's where the SABAP2 species counts are higher than those of SABAP1.

Five of these are courtesy of Duncan McKenzie's very hard work around Vryheid. I know SABAP is a team effort, but Duncan has virtually single-handedly achievded higher Atlas species totals, than what was achieved the first time round. The best of these is 2730DD VRYHEID with a total of 294 against a previous total of 169, or 125 better. The other 4 Northern KZN QDGCs average 24 better than last time.
Interestingly, the first [and only] Southern KZN SABAP2 QDGC to surpass the last effort is 2930DB INANDA, with a total of 19 better than last time. This happened during my last stats update period, ie in the 18 days from 17/08/09 to 4/09/09.

What should be noted about all of these QDGC's is that the SABAP1 cover in these areas was not that good. If we look at most of the rest of KZN, where the cover was often a lot better, the picture is not as rosy.

If one now adds 10 to the SABAP2 total, then there would be an additional 2 QDGC's where the totals are the same or higher than SABAP1. Adding 20 species renders the same result.

If 30 is added, then we are up to 11 [or another 5 to the original 6].
If 40 is added, then we are up to 17.
If 50 is added, then we are up to 28.
If 60 is added, then we are up to 39.
If 70 is added, then we are up to 54.
If 80 is added, then we are up to 68.
If 90 is added, then we are up to 81.
If 100 is added, then we are up to 94.

At which stage I gave up. I counted 169 QDGC's as falling in or on the KZN border.
In a nutshell, if we added between 90 to 100 species to the current totals, we would have only 50% of the QDGC's that are the same or better off for SABAP2..

I then looked at some of the bigger centres or hotspots:
Durban had 355 species recorded in SABAP1 while we have a total of 294, or 61 behind;
PMB had 349 against a current total of 287, or 62 behind;
Empangeni: 319 against 255 (-64);
Ndumu: 388 vs 208 (-155);
Mkuzi (2732CA): 405 vs 266 (-139);
(2732CB): 399 vs 316 (-83);
Spioenkop: 287 vs 216 (-71);
Weenen: 298 vs 212 (-86);
Hlabisa: 262 vs 169 (-93);
Hluhluwe: 379 vs 287 (-92);
Mfolozi: 340 vs 207 (-133) and
Port Shepstone: 331 vs 211 (-120).

Priority Areas for KZN

2009-09-04T15:15:00.000+02:00

This is the priority map for KZN as at 4 September 2009.

We have a little movement, or lessening of garish pinks, in our biggiest problem area, since the last time I posted this map.

Our biggest problem remains the area streching from Pomeroy through to Mahlabatini, with six empty QDGC's.

What is also surprising, is how little has been done around Itala GR. While the coverage in the GR itself has improved in recent weeks, three of the QDGC's that Itala straddles, have only a single pentad covered.

To sum up we only have eight QDGC's wholly within KZN that have no coverage, and four along our boundaries. (Of these latter QDGC's, one hardly even has an entire pentad on land).

Active Atlassers in KZN

2009-09-04T15:06:00.000+02:00

The list alongside is a summary of who has submitted cards for pentads in KZN from 17/08/2009 to 4/09/2009.
Iain Guthrie submitted 14 cards, followed by Tim Wood, Malcolm Robinson and Johan Gouws with 11 each.
To be completely provincial, it has taken an out-of-towner, Mr S Terblanche to submit THREE cards for pentads with no cover, all in our empty Tugela Basin. As per usual, Alan Manson is once again near the top in terms of new pentads covered.
It is encouraging to see that in 18 days, 47 observers submitted 170 cards, ie we averaged 9.4 cards / day.

QDS's to Atlas

2009-08-14T13:00:00.000+02:00

The latest coverage map shows some improvement to the last one posted.

We have one empty QDS less, and a few more with additional pentads covered.

The north-east is the area we need to be concentrating on.

Priority QDGC's in KZN

2009-07-30T06:02:00.000+02:00

The map alongside shows the priority Quarter Degree Grid Cells (QDGC) in KZN.
The dark pink are those in which no pentads have been covered, the light pink with only one, and the cyn ones with two.
The SABAP2 target is to have at least three pentads covered by next year.

So if anyone is heading to any of these areas, please consider atlassing in one of these QDGC's.

Last Week's Submissions

2009-07-26T17:45:00.000+02:00

This last week saw 22 observers submitting 41 cards, 6 of which were for new pentads. This is against 24 observers submitting 76 cards, 8 of which were for new pentads.

This week's champion atlasser is Tim Wood with 5 cards, followed by Barry Porter and Richard Johnstone each submitting 4 cards. Dave Everard and Iain Guthrie covered 2 new pentads each.

[I think that the rest of us also deserve a mention for taking the time to submit atlas cards and helping to keep the atlassing effort going in KZN].

Who Has Been Busy

2009-07-18T16:34:00.000+02:00

Hopefully I will be back into a weekly update routine again now that the holidays are over.

This last week saw 24 observers submit 76 cards, 8 of which were for new pentads.
Duncan McKenzie led the charge with 14 cards, 5 of which were for new pentads. Sharon Louw, Alan Manson & Johan Gous submitted the other three cards for new pentads.
Good to see a mix of stalwart observers week after week as well as a number of visitors who submitted cards.

Who Has Been Atlassing in KZN

2009-07-12T17:00:00.000+02:00

Since it has been 2½ weeks since I last managed an update, I will not compare this set of stats with the last, just what has been covered.
41 of us have submitted 122 cards, 15 of which were for pentads that had not been covered before. Michael Lee submitted the most cards, closely followed by Trish Strachan. Alan Manson covered the most new area, with four new pentads.
Good to see that so many people have been active, even though we are now well into the middle of winter.

KZN Boundary Bash

2009-06-29T12:00:00.000+02:00

Hi Everyone,

Under downloads(Boundary Bash Pentads)you will find a list of KZN Border pentads that have not been atlased yet. Iain Guthrie, kindly put this list together, he has just had a back op and is house bound for a few weeks, so here is a challenge to all those wonderful atlasers out there who would like to see KZN completely "ATLASED IN" We are going to call this the "Boundary Bash" Iain will keep tabs on how many of these border pentads are done, I think we should aim to have them done by the end of 2009?

There is a link to the species recorded in SABAP1 for the Quarter degree square that pentad is in. These pentads are grouped into borders with Eastern Cape, Lesotho, Free state, Mpumalanga, Swaziland, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean!

Regards, "House bound" Iain

This Weeks Atlassers

2009-06-25T19:54:00.000+02:00

This weeks sees a climb to 31 observers submitting 79 cards over the last six days. 22 cards were for new pentads.
This is up from 22 observers, 51 cards and 5 new pentads last week.
I suspect that there was a bit of a lag after the long weekend, ie some cards were only submitted after last Wednesday, when I last did the numbers.
It is very encouraging to see that there are new, and different names on the list, as well as the stalwarts.
Well done everybody.

This Weeks Atlassers

2009-06-17T20:07:00.000+02:00

This last week saw a drop in submissions in all three categories, though I may have drawn the stats a day early, as some observers may have not gotten their long weekend returns in yet.
In any event we have one less observer than last week, 38 cards less and 8 new pentads fewer.
On the positive side, we appear to have some new names on our observer list. So a big welcome to them, and many happy hours atlassing.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am finding it more and more difficult getting to pentads with no cover, either distance or access wise. Put another way, the pentads with no cover are either further away, or ones that I am less inclined to visit, usually because of safety or poor roads.
On a happier note, I find that I have been enjoying my winter birding, what birds are around are definitely showing well, or is it simply a lack of vegetation?

Some Atlas Targets [Again!]

2009-06-17T19:25:00.000+02:00

KZN does look healthy. Our provincial average is above 90%, with two areas now having closed out all Quarter Degree Squares. Sisonke [Southern KZN] has not very far to go, being above 95%. North, Zululand and Trogons [South Coast] are all in the 85-90% band, so some work to do there.

This target is really part of the Chamaeleon Challenge [see http://sabap2.adu.org.za/challenge_wc2009_splurb.php]. The thrust of this challenge is to change the colour of pentads on the coverage map [the number of cards returned for each pentad are represented by various colours]. Extra points for the challenge are scored if the colour changes from light to dark greem, i.e. if you return the seventh card for a pentad.
On the provincial level we are drawing away from the March-09 target of 13% [of the pentads with cards having more than seven cards]. We are now a touch under 16%. Northern KZN has the most to do, but is showing encouraging upward movement.

GATHERING FOR KZN ATLASERS & FRIENDS

2009-06-11T19:23:00.000+02:00

During July Doug Harebottle (SABAP2 Project Manager) is attending a conference in KZN, after the conference he will be available from 25th July - 29th July.

SO.........this is what the plan is..........................

Saturday 25th July, evening meeting (Some where down the South Coast)

Sunday 26th July there will be a function for atlasers at Umgeni Reserve (WESSA) in Howick. We will have an early lunch braai (bring your own food and drinks). This gathering is to celebrate our achievements in atlasing close to 50% of the 1278 pentads. This will be a time when we can socialise with other atlasers, hear some exciting atlas stories and share experiences. Doug will give us a presentation and feed back on the project, as well as answer any of the questions that folk may have.
Please let me know if you will be able to attend. We will be charging a small fee of R30 per person for the use of the facilities. For those who live close to the venue we may organise to atlas a local pentad !!
Monday 27th and 28th Doug and I will be travelling to Zululand and Eshowe areas. Meetings and venues still in planning stages.
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE

This week's Atlassers

2009-06-11T13:07:00.000+02:00

Here is a summary of the atlas card submissions for the last week.
To summarise: we had 23 observers who submitted 89 cards, 13 of which were for new pentads.
This is against 20 observers last week who submitted 62 cards, 23 of which were for new pentads.

[Wednesday 10 June 2009]

SABAP2 Coverage SHP File

2009-06-11T13:06:00.000+02:00

I was thinking about the easiest way of planning an atlas trip, and if one is using a GIS viewer like Christine [or if you are lucky enough, ArcView], it did occur to me that if the most recent coverage and species richness data were available in SHP file format, it would really make life a whole lot easier.
So instead of instead of trying to get back to sleep this morning, I downloaded the pentad shp file off the SABAP2 web site. I also copied all of the Gap Analysis data for KZN off the web and into Excel. I then manipulated these data in Excel to create a dbf file [a format that ArcView uses], joined this onto the pentad shp file and copied to a new shp, and presto the result is alongside.
So if anyone is using GIS for their atlas trip planning, and would like a relatively up-to-date shp file with all the data (plus some quarter coverage info) from the SABAP2 website, contact me.
[The shp file displayed on the image here is only 74KB when zipped].

[Friday 5 June 2009]

SABAP2 Targets

2009-06-11T13:05:00.000+02:00

The following graphs are summaries of where the respective KZN Bird Clubs are with respect to achieving the stated SABAP2 targets.

This target is to cover at least one pentad in every Quarter Degree Square in KZN. The idea was to have covered at least one pentad for 60% of the QDS's (equivalent to a 1:50 000 topo map sheet), by the end of March. All areas were already beyond this in January 2009.
Most notable is that this week Port Natal achieved 100% coverage.

This target is to cover one third of the pentads in each QDS. The interim target was to be at 33% at the end of March 2009. Again KZN was at the fortunate position to be above this in January already, though Northern KZN just managed this. What is most encouraging is that is the KZN line (labelled Total) has only been level for three reporting periods between January and now, otherwise we have had a steady upward climb, with Trogons (South Coast) at the top of the tree with 78%.

The last two targets are a little strange in that the wider our coverage is, the poorer we fair, provided we do not follow up and re-visit pentads. SABAP2's interim target for March was to be at 50%.
Only two clubs failed to reach this target, with Northern KZN being most disadvantaged simply because they have a very larg area coupled to the fewest birders. Trogons are an interesting case because they were well ahead, but then dipped below as they expanded their coverage, climbed back up as they do follow ups, and then dip below as their cover broadens again.
Overall as a province we have been on a downward trend as our coverage increases. North, Trogons, Sisonke & Midlands are all only slightly better off now, than they were at the beginning of January.

This target, like the last, is harder to achieve as coverage increases. The interim target was to be at 13% at then end of March. As a province we did achieve the interim target.
What is very encouraging, is that unlike the last target we are on an upward trend, with no club being worse off now than they were at the beginning of the year. I suspect that we can thank those atlassers who are diligently atlas their home and adjacent pentads. (Also thos who plan their atlassing according to the pentad charts, links on the right).
All of these graphs are in the QDS Summary with Project Targets file. A link to this file is on the right.

[Wednesday 3 June 2009]

Who has been atlassing in KZN

2009-06-11T13:04:00.000+02:00

The adjacent table lists the observers who have submitted cards for pentads within KZN over the last week. Note that some of these cards are for periods before this last week.

To summarise: 20 observers submitted 62 cards, 23 of which were for new pentads.

[Wednesday 3 June 2009]

Pentad Chart for Kruger National Park

2009-06-11T13:03:00.000+02:00

A pentad chart is now available for KNP for those who would like to plan their atlassing within the park.
The format is as per the post below, except that the QDS responsibilty is shown at province level, ie either LP for Limpopo or MP for Mpumalanga, and the park boundaries are shown in a broad dark green line.
If anyone would like a copy please contact me by leaving a comment below.

Using the Pentad Charts

2009-06-11T13:02:00.000+02:00

This pentad chart was designed by Peter Spence as an aid to planning atlas trips. It is essentially a map showing pentads grouped by Quarter Degree Squares.
The nine pentads per QDS are surrounded by a dark black line for the boundary of the QDS, which is also equivalent to a 1:50 000 topographic map. The 1:50K map code is shown at the top left of this dark black box, with the name at the top centre and the club in whose area of responsibility the map falls on the top right [where M = Midlands, N = North, P = Port Natal, S= Sisonke, T= Trogons & Z = Zululand].
The dark red line is the degree boundary. In the illustrated example the whole of 2930 is shown.

The pentads are coloured according to how many cards have been returned. White pentads have no cover, yellow pentads one card, orange pentads 2 to 10 cards and dark orange pentads have more than ten cards returned.
In addition, the following data are displayed in each pentad:

Pentad code in top left;
If the pentad falls on any IBA or PA this is on the top right [IBA's higher priority than PA's];
Pentad name in bold on the next line;
The next line reflects the cards returned per quarter. The quarters read: SON :DJF:MAM:JJA. I did try to follow the seasons as best possible.
The last line reflects the total number of cards for the pentad in bold black on the left, and the total species recorded in bold blue on the right.

The idea is obviously to get to all white pentads first. If this is not possible, try to get to a yellow pentad, preferably during a quarter that has no card. This principle then applies for the next two colour pentads as well.
These charts are generally updated on a weekly basis and can be downloaded from the links on the right.

GPS Pentad Tracks - Atlasing made easier

2009-05-08T17:21:00.000+02:00

To all those techno people out there, please check out Ernst Retief''s blog (see link)

Ernst spent hours setting up these tracks , DOWNLOAD for FREE

Many thanks Ernst for all your hard work

ATLASING made easier with pentad tracks !!!!!

Target Atlassing

2009-04-30T09:58:00.004+02:00

This map shows the half degree squares in KZN, or touching KZN that do not have coverage in four or more pentads. The is the first of the stated targets for SABAP2, as published on the web site
(http://sabap2.adu.org.za/show_barometers.php)
The red lines are a rough indication of the Bird Club areas of responsibility.
To summarise:
Zululand have four Half Degree Squares with below target coverage
[2632D, 2731A, 2831A, 2832B];
Port Natal have one [2931B];
and Sisonke have two [3027B, 3027D]. (Though in fairness to Sisonke, if we use the new provincial boundaries, these two HDS's are outside KZN).
So if anyone is planning any sort of atlassing trip further afield, please have a look at these half degree squares first.

Colin Summersgill

Let's Light a LAMP for SABAP2

2009-03-05T21:48:00.001+02:00

LAMP, the Long Autumn Migration Project, starts 1 March

LAMP is like BASH, the Big Atlasing Summer Holiday, which atlasers did in December and January. LAMP is the SABAP2 challenge for the autumn months, from the beginning of March until the end of May. Whereas the emphasis in BASH was unashamedly "wide" first, and "deep" second, LAMP is the other way round. Autumn is one of the key periods for SABAP2. One of the objectives for SABAP2 is to help us to define the timing of migration. We live in an era of climate change, and one predictions is that the timing of migration will change. For most of our migrants, autumn is the departure period. Atlasing, SABAP2-style, is the most brilliant way to monitor departure. As migrants depart, they get fewer and fewer and it takes longer and longer before you encounter them, and then you realize, gosh, it is three weeks since last I had a Barn Swallow on my list.
The three months March-pril-May represent the only opportunity we will ever have to quantify migrant departure in the autumn of 2009. The best way to do this is go "deep" and to make repeated checklists for pentads.
We still want our atlasers to go wide, to reach the unatlased and underatlased pentads. But particularly in autumn (and spring) there is huge value in going deep, and that is what LAMP is all about.
We hope that there will be more than 200 pentads with at least 5 lists each, 50 pentads with at least 10 lists and 10 pentads with at least 15 lists.
How about setting yourself the target of doing your favourite pentad every weekend this autumn?
Les.

Marabou's, incidentally

2009-02-27T05:34:00.000+02:00

Anyone from KZN following the irruption (eruption?) of Marabou Storks across the Westren Cape on SABirdNet, should also be on the lookout here in KZN.

Some years back (after SABAP1 and before SABAP2), there were a pair of Marabous that hung out at the free range piggery just off the R33 North of PMB (just after the Wartburg turn-off). In conversation with the piggery owner, he stated that they often went off foraging in newly tilled sugar fields, where nice ripe pig manure had been spread.

I have seen a single Marabou at the piggery again in recent months - which was reported to SABAP2 as an incidental. Last Saturday (21/02/09) I then saw a single bird stalking (or should that read storking) across a newly tilled sugar field, where nice ripe pig manure had been spread. This practice has been growing considerably across the KZN Midlands sugar belt of late. (One wonders if the sugar that we are now growing can still be considered kosher or labelled halaal?)

The gist of my now rather long-winded post is that if you should happen to be out and about in this area, look out for Marabou's in any newly tilled field.

Birding with a Purpose

2009-02-24T17:53:00.000+02:00

SABAP2 BIRDING WITH A PURPOSE

SABAP2 (Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2) was formally launched on 1 July 2007. This project is an atlas project involving Birdlife South Africa (BLSA) Animal Demography Unit (ADU) at the University of Cape Town and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), and is a follow-up from the first bird atlas project (SABAP) which took place from 1987-1991. It aims to determine the impacts of environmental change on the distribution and abundance of bird species in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. It also aims to promote the public awareness of birds and update distribution maps in the field guides.

There are 1278 pentads (small defined survey areas) to atlas in KZN. To date (24th February 2009) we have atlased 490 pentads, that’s 38.3% coverage. A total of 1862 cards have been submitted for these pentads comprising 109.675 records.

We need as much help as possible with this very exciting project. If you are a birder, enjoy new challenges and would like to make your birding contribute to long-term bird conservation in southern Africa please consider getting involved. I will gladly organise for someone to visit you, set up the software, give you a lesson on how to atlas and submit cards. It is really easy.

The user-friendly software can downloaded from the SABAP2 website
http://sabap2.adu.org.za

If you don’t have a computer - there are manual forms that one can use to submit information. I am also happy to submit cards on your behalf if you email or fax me the relevant information.

Atlasing is fun; new places to visit, new birds to list and new people to meet.

Trish Strachan
Atlas activities Coordinator for KZN
Fax: 0866 853754
Mobile: 082 411 2708
E-mail: sabap2.kzn@futurenet.co.za