Tzaneen’s Bat Hawks receive a new nest platform
Although Bat Hawks are masters of acrobatic flight, they have a reputation of being notoriously poor nest builders.
LIMPOPO – Many birdwatchers from across the world have come to see the Bat Hawks at Agatha near Tzaneen.
According to Derek Engelbrecht, there are only a few places in Africa where this rare bird of prey can be seen, and Agatha is one of those.
“The Bat Hawk is an iconic species that is not common throughout its range. They can be tough to find if you don’t know where they roost as individuals typically roost high up among the dense leafy parts of tall trees during the day. At dusk, however, they do their common name justice as they exchange their slumberous daytime appearance and transform into a highly agile aerial pursuer of bats and, if the opportunity presents itself, small birds. It has a relatively small window of opportunity for foraging during the twilight hours of dusk and dawn, but its huge gape allows it to hastily swallow its prey in flight before homing onto its next target.”
Given their highly specialised hunting behaviour, these birds occur naturally at very low densities and have a highly localised distribution, even in suitable habitats.
Although Bat Hawks are masters of acrobatic flight, they have a reputation of being notoriously poor nest builders.
To help improve their breeding success, generations of passionate birders have, since the 1960s, provided artificial nest platforms to provide some stability for their nests.
“The last artificial nest platform at Agatha was installed in 2010, and this pair used it successfully since then. Unfortunately, the branch on which the nest platform was secured came crashing down early in 2024. Local bird guide David Letsoalo alerted the local birding community to this,” Engelbrecht said.
Birdlife Polokwane initiated a fundraising campaign to install a new nest platform. Heinrich and Abrie Muller of Limpopo Scaffolding came to the party and offered their expertise and a 25m cherry picker to enable the club to reach the necessary heights to secure a new artificial nest platform. The nesting platform was donated by Anton Hough of NTY Steel Works.
“The race was on to have the platform installed before they started nesting, usually in September. On September 3, the team set off from Polokwane to Agatha to install the new nesting platform. We were greeted by the resident pair performing a courtship display in flight, so we knew we had to get the job done on the day as breeding seemed to be imminent.”
Birdlife Polokwane would like to thank everyone who donated money towards this very worthy project. Also, a special thanks go to Letsoalo and his numerous contacts for their contributions. Finally, this conservation project would not have been possible without the assistance of Limpopo Scaffolding, who kindly donated their equipment to enable us to install the new nest platform.
Interesting information:
• Common and scientific name: Bat Hawk Macheiramphus alcinus.
• Distribution: Throughout the tropical woodlands and forests of Africa, but highly localised and at very low densities. There are two other subspecies in south-east Asia and New Guinea, but there is uncertainty if those represent the same species.
• Diet: Mainly small, insectivorous bats, but also small birds up to the size of a dove. It is mainly crepuscular, meaning it hunts mainly at dusk or dawn, but sometimes its foraging hours extend into the early evening, especially if there is sufficient light, like a full moon. In some cities and suburbs, they are attracted to well-lit areas where they can be seen hunting insectivorous bats feeding on insects attracted to bats.
• Movements: The late Tony Harris put small radio trackers on a pair at Agatha in the 1980s, and it was found that the pair flew as far as the Letaba River at Letsitele where they were feeding on bats feeding on insects over the river.
• Breeding: They start laying in September or October, usually only a single egg. They have a very long incubation period of 50–53 days and a nestling period of 60 days. Breeding success varies, but many natural nests are lost during storms or strong winds.
• A longstanding tradition: The first nest platform at Agatha was installed in 1968, by the late well-known local Tzaneen birder, Archie van Reenen. Archie’s 10-year-old son, Frank, was hoisted up a tree in a mealie bag to install the nest platform.
Other facts:
• The Tzaneen region has always been a reliable spot for Bat Hawks. In the early 2010s, we were aware of four nesting pairs. These nests were, on average, 14.5 km apart.
• The Agatha nest is the only one in the Greater Tzaneen region we are currently aware of. We know of at least two other pairs but haven’t found their nests yet. At present, there are only four known nesting pairs in South Africa, all in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
For more information:
Derek Engelbrecht
faunagalore@gmail.com
