Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

The past two months have been filled with one thing: the thesis! I was spending countless hours in front of computer screens analyzing data, reading, and writing.  My home office was very comfortable, which helped in this tough time. I often birded from my desk adding Golden-crowned Kinglet and a juvenile Cooper's Hawk to my yard list. It was very nice to have the support of my family and friends during this time. This visit  home was filled with weddings, meals, elk, dancing, and birding. I take it all in, because some of these freedoms I will not have when I move back to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Next year, the project has grown to include the southern end of the former Transkei. I will be travelling further to my field sites and will be using different methods. I am excited for the challenge and feel recharged after the thesis. I am eager to learn more and exploring more of South Africa!

Here is to 2014!

Spencer at the home office. 

International Vulture Awareness Day 2013

Tomorrow is an international holiday! It is International Vulture Awareness Day. When you wake up tomorrow, take in a breath of fresh air and notice the absence of rotten meat smell (unless you forgot about that week old chicken in the fridge or you are a stay at home butcher). Life on earth would be very stinky if these obligate scavengers were not around. 

If you're not in the meat industry or drive in areas with lots of road kill, you may forget about vultures and their eating habits. Therefore, I wanted to share the following picture. It was taken this past weekend on my monitoring trip to Msikaba Cape Vulture Colony in Mkambati Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape Province. To put it in context, this was on a Saturday. This day is reserved for celebrations and ceremonies in the amaXhosa communities. This time of year (September, October) are perfect for large traditional ceremonies in rural communities in South Africa because it is not too warm or cold. These ceremonies normally involve the slaughtering of a cow. Since people in these areas rarely have refrigerators, the animal must be eaten immediately. However, not all parts of the animal will be eaten and the leftovers are 'thrown away'. These leftovers are then cleaned up by dogs and vultures. So check out this photo of  'leftovers' and a group of over 20 Cape Vultures eyeing it up. Too cool! 

Cape Vultures by 'leftover' meat in the former Transkei, South Africa. Photo by A.R. Rakotoarivelo.