Crowned Eagles and Dads… Who are the best bird dads out there? – Bird Matters S01E08

A fun episode celebrating the best dads in the bird world and we share some great research on crowned eagles following an interview with Garth Batchelor.

Links to full videos that are promoted in this episode:
grace-clayton-fathers-day-origins
http://www.findmeagift.co.uk/fathers-day-gifts/history.html

Cook, Papa, Cook - lost 1928 silent comedy film
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OITJxh51z3Q

Abandoned Mines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in3lzLMdHCs

Emperor penguins - The Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth - BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfstYSUscBc

The Bowerbird s Grand Performance! - Life Story - BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XkPeN3AWIE

Bird Of Paradise Makes An Unforgettable First Impression - Animal Attraction - BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTmHtxJpEWE

Chaiyya Chaiyya (English Subtitles) - Dil Se... HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOYN9qNXmAw

World s Weirdest - Birds "Moonwalk" to Impress the Ladies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o42C6ajjqWg

(Hilarious) Andean flamingo mating dance | NATURE | "Andes The Dragon s Back"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW8GX2n4qbY

A male Peregrine brings a kill to the nest ledge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWNohs-MUwc

Baby Emperor Penguins Emerge from Their Shells | Nature on PBS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0u67Wk_hJ0
Cute Penguin Chick Refuses to Leave Dad s Pouch Even Though He s Too Big
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKQn5uG75gU

World s Weirdest - Weaver Home Security
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDAv2H_Sxwg

Young David Attenborough Looks for an Orangutan #AttenboroughWeek - Zoo Quest for a Dragon - BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=692fiaoJWy8

Harmless Lunatic and the Giant Egg - #AttenboroughWeek - Zoo Quest to Madagascar - BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV74Ihd2ctY

The Forgotten Voyage Alfred Russel Wallace and his discovery of evolution by natural selection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1eQ6DadodA

Garth Batchelor discusses the Mpumalanga's African Crowned Eagle Project. The Crowned Eagle is one of the largest Eagles in South Africa, (certainly one of the most powerful) which has been known to take the biggest prey of any Eagle in South Africa.

They live along the escarpment of Mpumalanga, occurring in forest areas. Very little is known about them. Throughout Africa their numbers are declining and they have just been declared a vulnerable species in South Africa, but currently the population is secure.

The Mpumalanga's African Crowned Eagle Project is trying to determine the number of nests along the escarpment and work out a strategy for conserving the population before it declines.

There are timber companies growing big forests in this area where the highest rainfall is about 1000mm's ... ideal for Eucalyptus and pine trees. The Eagles live largely in ravines in the plantations, which provide food and prey.

70% of their diet consists of antelope, mostly small Duiker, but they will even take prey up to the size of Bushbuck (20-30kg's) and so are formidable raptors.

They also occur in the bush veld where there are large trees along drainage lines, and there they feed mostly on Impala and in the mountainous areas, Klipspringer.

Fortunately the farmers in these areas are pretty comfortable on having these Eagles on the properties, and are mostly conserving the nest and the Eagles.

The biggest potential risk are emerging farmers, many of which are farming goats as they're easy animals to grow - but are also easy prey for the Crowned Eagles, especially the lambs. It's likely this issue will increase in the future.

This interview took place at Flock in Kruger 2016, the Birdlife South Africa AGM, which ran alongside the Learn About Birds Program, a combine Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology initiative.

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Take a look at these Peregrine Falcon chicks being fed by an attentive father…
And with penguins, after mom lays the eggs, she heads of for a couple of months in search of food – leaving dad in the winter darkness, holding the egg….. the fathers then raise the babies during the few months… The dad walks with the penguin baby tucked away and sheltered from the elements. Mom does eventually come home with food – about 2 months later…

And the weaverbird? The male dedicates so much time and effort to build the perfect home in the hope of attracting a woman – and then – if she doesn’t take him up on the offer – he trashes the nest. The better the construction – the better the chances of keeping the hatchlings safe…

David Attenborough as one of the founding fathers of wildlife awareness through documentaries…

And Alfred Russell Wallace, a bird collector in the 19th century. He independently came up with the idea of natural selection. But unlike Darwin, who was a staid country gentleman, Wallace spent his life in the tropics --- sometimes near death with malaria, chasing birds of paradise, and living an inspired, curious, insightful life.

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