Geoff Lockwood celebrates the arrival of fairy flycatcher in Delta Park
Acting executive officer at Delta Environmental Centre, Geoff Lockwood, said the fairy flycatcher is one of his favourite endemics.
As winter sets in, Delta Park has become a temporary home for a new visitor: the fairy flycatcher. This small, subtly coloured bird has captured the attention of birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts in the park. Geoff Lockwood, the acting executive officer at Delta Environmental Centre, shared insights into the significance of this arrival.
Lockwood, a naturalist with over four decades of experience living in Delta Park, reflected on his lifelong passion for birds. “My father was very keen on the outdoors so, we spent a lot of time camping and going to Kruger.”
Lockwood’s experience has broadened his appreciation for all aspects of nature. “Because I spend so much time outdoors, my interest has broadened to plants, spiders, butterflies and all sorts of things. But I’ve just been lucky to be in the park because it is one of the more interesting birding spots in Joburg.”
Winter migration patterns significantly influence the local bird population. “The birds that fly in like the bee-eaters, the swallows and the cuckoo, are generally not replaced by the fairy flycatchers which tend to arrive here in winter. In summer, I would expect to see between 65 and 70 bird species and that’s down to between 55 and 60 now.”
The decline in bird variety is tied to the seasonal changes in insect activity. “The birds that have left are typically insectivorous and going into winter, your insect activity patterns change completely. Everything is dormant. So, there’s just not the food availability that there would normally be during the summer months and birds have to go looking somewhere else.”
The fairy flycatcher, now gracing Delta Park, is a remarkable sight. “Fairy flycatchers are tiny. It’s grey, black and white. If you get a good look at them, there’s salmon pink on the centre of the chest and also on the throat.” He admired their behaviour, saying, “They are so active. Flycatchers is a kind of generic term, and these birds belong to a tiny little family of birds worldwide called the fairy fly.”
Unique in their feeding habits, these birds do not conform to typical flycatcher behaviour. “They don’t feed by sitting on a perch and then fly out to catch a passing insect. These guys are around in the branches and picking off insects and their larvae on the actual foliage and twigs and branches.”
Lockwood highlighted their distinctive tail movements and calls. “It flicks its folded tail off to one side and then opens the tail as though you were fanning a handful of playing cards. It fans it open and then closes it on the other side, and then flicks it back to the middle position. The tail is this beautiful pattern of black and white.”
He added, “Their call is sort of high-pitched and buzzy. It’s certainly not something that people write poems about. But I just love it. The whole package works for me.”
Changes in migration patterns over the years have been noticeable. “There’ve been changes in arrival times of birds and departure times. There have also been changes in the kinds of birds that we see around Johannesburg and the numbers in which we see them.”
Factors like lawn mowing frequency and human activity in parks also impact bird populations. “In Delta Park, the mowing frequency of our lawns has slid out. It used to be twice a month, and now it’s, if we’re lucky, once every 40 days. The birds that prefer short grass have become less common in Delta Park.
“Another thing that impacts them is the increased movement in the park. They constantly have to fly off to get away from people and dogs.”
Lockwood expresses concern over declining aerial insect populations. “What is worrying is that we seem to be seeing an overall decline in aerial insects. The number of swallows has decreased. We have a couple of scary conservation crises in South Africa regarding our bird life.”
He encouraged community involvement through the South African Bird Atlas Project. “Once you join, you literally just record the birds in your garden on an Atlas card regularly. When you submit your Atlas cards, they get analysed and we can notice changes and take action.”
For those looking to contribute, Lockwood suggested visiting BirdLife South Africa’s website. “Have a look at some of these conservation priority stories on the website and you can donate, fundraise or spread the word on something that catches your attention.”
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