WHY ? You ask ......

WHY ? You ask ......

Is this bird really a country's Icon ? , did it really chase away Parktown prawns ?
DO WE REALLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS BIRD AMAZINGLY LOUD SCREECHING ?

Let me address a few things about this bird , and make no mistake , this website is about getting rid of them to such a degree that it would be possible to wake up with out the so called "Dawn Patrol" waking you up ..

The Hadada or Hadeda Ibis, Bostrychia hagedash, is a large (up to 76 cm long), dark brown ibis with a white "moustache", glossy greenish purple wings, a large black bill with a red stripe on the upper mandible, and blackish legs. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadada_Ibis)

It has a distinctively loud and recognisable haa-haa-haa-de-dah call that is often heard when the birds are flying or are startled, hence the name.

Widespread and common throughout its large range, the Hadada Ibis is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. (Thus if there is a few less we not too worried ? )

I would like to put it out there that these birds are very close to be a pest and as such I would like to know

• who can point me to numbers ? ,
• why are they a threatened species ? , on the Least concern list of IUCN .
• When do they become a pest ?,
• If they are how would one do selective " culling" ? ( I'm not for just shooting and killing them , key word here .."selective") .
• Give me PROOF !!!! , please don't speculate

I believe we had made it easy for them to exist in our towns and city's , with luscious greens that supply enough food and hardly any natural predator besides the occasional dog and human .Just cast your mind back 10 years ...The most loudest bird besides chickens was "Kwe" birds ...It was strange to see them in town ...( Pretoria ) NOW ... ?? Hadeda's every where ! ...THIS WAS NOT SO about 10 years ago ....

If people walk in the street and yell at each other , we get upset "noise" ,

If your neigbour's dogs bark to much or to loud we get upset "noise" ,

If a "Boom-Boom" taxi goes past it irritate us "noise" .....

Because these are birds we now suppose to think differently ... did noise somehow become good or different noise ???

We have become so conditioned to them that we actually see them as the "Call of Africa" (utter nonsense) , we see them as "Icons" and there is even guest houses in their names ..

I know I will get people upset with this site , I will get people that will agree ...If I offend you at all , I apologise , as much as you have the right to get upset , I have the right to voice my opinion ."To get offended is a choice of your own free will "

I CAN NOT BELIEVE I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS THE ABOVE VIEWS

Here is a possible solution ...

 It prefers to forage in moist areas with short grass where it can probe into the soft soil with its curved beak in search of sub-surface invertebrates. Hadeda ibises used to occur in large numbers on the airfield and are particularly difficult to scare off. Traditional scaring methods using visual deterrents and pyrotechnics were found to be ineffective against the ibises as they still flocked to the airfield. During mid 1999 a decision was taken to implement a long grass policy in the non-operational areas of the airfield. The implementation of the long grass policy has been effective in reducing Hadeda ibis numbers by as much as 80% at times. The graph (Fig. 3) illustrates the effectiveness of long grass on Hadeda ibis abundance before and after the implementation of the long grass policy
 

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I agree with some of what you say , but the Implementation might become a problem !!

Anthony

Anthony , Yes Indeed , I sure don't have the answers but really believe something has to be done ! Maybe Culling In Towns every few years ? But I do not particularly like the idea !

With


We have a family of them nesting in our tree in the garden. Aside from waking us up at the crack of dawn with their screeching, they also disturb us in the middle of the night when startled. I think they may actually chase other less pesky birds away as all I ever see in the garden these days is hadedas. I think controlled culling would be a good idea along with indian mynahs (we live in Durban).

Charles Long


The Common (Indian) Mynah is much more of a problem, as an exotic. Hadedas aren't the only birds that shouldn't really be in our gardens. Grey Go-away (grey louries) are not grassland birds, and shouldn't be in Johannesburg at all. They're here because of all the (exotic) trees we've planted, thereby changing the ecosystem from a grassland to a bushveld-type forest.

Joshua


Ney man they are usefull for the grass lands here in Kwazulu Natal.

Johann

Johan -- Thanks for your contribution ...however , I fail to see how they are useful at all , at the entry on to this page you will see I ask the Question about Park Town Prawns , Where is the PROOF for these statements ? FACT they are highly irritating birds ...No fact that the are useful at all in grasslands , how ? ...Please point me to the fact of your statement ... :~)

With

So what you suggesting ? We do selective culling on the Bergies here because they sometimes make a noise ? ( The Bergies is the People that live in the mountain down here in the Cape , for those that do not know ;) ) Joke people relax !! None the Less , I agree , These Birds is indeed a pain ! We have the White Ibis here as well ( I Think Australian one ? ) ... but at least not as bad as the Hadeda ...

Marius Bekker


If it is mostly about the noise Hadeda’s make I suggest eradicating pop/rock addicts first (they are humans), also some of my neighbours dogs and drivers or Harley Davidson’s. I hate noise but strangely I find the noise of a Hadeda quite funny.
I even play a recording to get my Kerry Blue Terrier all worked up!

Leon



Hi there,

I'm actually doing my Msc on this bird, as part of the hadeda project that you have as a link at the end of your page. Is the noise the only concern you have over this bird? I do sympathise with you in that regard -- they are definitely noisy when leaving and returning to the roost site!

Many of the comments giving reasons why they are so numerous in cities and towns are correct; the irrigation of grasses and the planting of (mostly alien) trees provide perfect roost sites and foraging sites. It's actually quite interesting, because they've filled a niche that as up to now, no other bird had filled.

They have numerous natural enemies; water mongooses, cats, birds of prey and even snakes. Many birds actually choose to construct nests next to them, because hadedas have such a loud screech, they are somewhat of an early warning alarm against potential predators.

I'd just like to ask for the objective proof on them being classified as "highly irritating birds"...

Greg DuckWorth



Hi Greg and thanks for your input ! ;)

Yes , the noise is the problem and the time they make this at :~( ...the bird in general is not irritating ....

Your comment that they are filling a niche that no other bird had filled then prove the fact that they where indeed not in towns and city's 10 years or so ago ... Do we see them as a bird that filled a niche or as an Invading species ?? (similar to Indian Mynah).

Natural enemies do not extend in to town I think ...No Water Mongooses , less snakes and cats in general that I've seen will not really catch them (to big)...anyway it seems these enemies are not doing a great job !

I do appreciate you writing here and giving your input , you really are so far the only real expert I spoke to about the Hadeda...

If you do read here again , can you maybe enlighten us to the status on the endangered Species list ..Why are they on there ...etc etc etc ...

The idea of this site is to garner proof and facts ...to them being highly irritating birds ....I'm indeed trying to be objective , as much as one can be with them screeching next to your window in the morning ...Did they screech this morning , yes ...FACT

With

Hi again,

Thanks for your comments! You're right in that they haven't been in cities and towns for a long period of time. They are increasing their range, and this range expansion is almost entirely facilitated by urbanisation. Whereas their range before the 50's was confined to areas receiving abundant year round rainfall, they are able to now persist in cities and towns because people artificially water gardens and sportsfields. They aren't invasive to South Africa, because they always did occur here, naturally (unlike the myna, which occurred naturally in India initially, thereafter spread to Aus and SA).

Birds of prey are actually pretty abundant in cities and towns, and actively predate on hadedas. Really only the chicks, though, because the adults are too large.

Regarding the status on the endangered species list; I don't know where you got that from? I think you are just misinterpreting the IUCN species list; this list attempts to show the current status of a species, and the list ranges from extinct to least concern. Every species in the world will fall into some category on this list. Hadedas are of least concern; they are not endangered, or threatened. They are protected, though, in the sense that you cannot kill them without special permission. So don't get any funny ideas :)

Greg Duckworth

Hi guy. Interesting discussion! The one thing i would like to say is that Hadeda's are uniquely South African. Hearing there cries (even at 2 in the morning) reminds me that I am living in Africa. Would we be complaining if we hear baboon cries or lion roars? I am dead against any culling. I bet you that there cries have scared some would be criminals and may have even saved some lives. (a bit dramatic but I really think these birds are a part of our heritage.)

Gan

I hate them - they crap in my pool filling it with phosphates which can only be removed by emptying the pool, they crap over everything in my yard (car, boat, driveway, garden furniture etc). They make a huge noise all day - soemtimes I cant even speak on the phone!. Teh flock is increasing in size and I cant seem to get rid of them - any advice? I ahve even considered shooting and poisoning them

...the worst is that at sunrise they fly through the burglar motion detectors in the garden and set the alarm off giving me a heart attack every morning. I now dont switch the beams on - which compromises my family security

Ziggy

I Move these comments from website to this Blog ..... The future home of Hadeda Away ...

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