Record the following details each time you see a bird and at each 2-km stop if birds are seen.

1. KM READING: from the odometer. Please zero your odometer at the start of your count.

   Backtracks or detours: Please use a line of the roadcount form to record the km readings at the beginning and end of each detour or backtrack e.g. ‘Detour from 10 km to 20 km’. Continue your route without adjusting your odometer. This is so that we can adjust the km reading for data capture.

2. SPECIES: All cranes (Wattled, Crowned, Blue), all bustards (Ludwig’s, Stanley’s, Kori) all Korhaans (e.g. Black, Whitequilled, Karoo, Blue, Whitebellied, Blackbellied), all storks (particularly White), Ground Hornbill, Secretarybird, Bald Ibis, Blackheaded Heron, Spurwinged Goose, and any other bird which has been identified as relevant in your area. Note that CAR is designed to count birds on the ground. Aerial species such as raptors should generally not be included in the count because they distract from searching the ground, but can be included if there are sufficient observers in a vehicle to be able to allocate the different types of searching to different people. Use the abbreviations for species given on the roadcount form.
3. COUNT: Count the number of birds seen. Cranes, bustards and storks frequently form quite widely dispersed flocks, so take care to scan around carefully in all directions with binoculars to make sure that you have seen all the birds present in the area. There is no limit to the distance from the road that the birds should be to be counted; in other words, birds that are near the road or at a great distance get counted in the same manner.

   Age Classes: Especially in the case of cranes please decide whether they are adults (A), juveniles (J) or chicks (C) and record the numbers of each in separate columns. In the case of Blue Cranes; adults have a long tail, juveniles have a short tail and chicks are downy. In Crowned Cranes the juveniles have a shorter crest and no gular wattles, while the Wattled Crane juveniles have a white crown and the wattles are smaller than those of an adult. These age classes should be applied to all other species where possible, but if you cannot distinguish between the age classes, just record the total number of individuals in the first column (A). In general “chicks” are defined as downy, and “juveniles” are young feathered birds which are noticeably smaller than adults and/or have immature plumage.

4. HABITAT: The habitat occupied by all birds should be recorded. Sometimes dispersed flocks will have individuals on different habitat types. Count the number of birds on each habitat type separately and enter each group on a new line on the form, giving the same odometer reading for each line. This will allow habitat use to be recorded accurately.

   There are nine major habitat categories:

   1. bare: a recently ploughed field in which crops have not yet sprouted. (Abbreviate to ‘bare’.)
   2. crops: a field of growing crops, e.g. maize, wheat, oats, barley. If possible specify what type. (Abbreviate to ‘crops’.)
   3. stubble: a field in which the crop has been cut or harvested which is characterised by thick, cut dry stalks. (Abbreviate to ‘stubble’.)
   4. pasture: a field of broad-leaved pasture(e.g. lucerne, clover, medics, etc) or ‘unnatural’ grassland which has been planted specifically for grazing purposes. Please note: A pasture is neither a natural grassland nor the remnants of a cultivated crop. Pastures are usually monocultures of one type of plant, and often appear lush. Natural grasslands, on the other hand, have a diverse mix of plant species. (Abbreviate to ‘pasture’.)
   5. mown pasture: field which is usually green, with cut grass or lucerne, which may be lying on the ground or may have been baled and removed. The field is clearly grass, not a cereal crop, and has clearly been mown. Please note: This category is usually applicable in the grassland biome only. (Abbreviate to ‘mown’.)
   6. natural vegetation/veld: includes all types of indigenous natural vegetation, e.g. natural grasslands (applicable to the grassland biome, e.g. parts of the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal), natural fynbos/renosterveld (applicable in the southwestern Cape) and natural Karooveld. (Abbreviate to ‘veld’.)
   7. burnt grassland: recently burnt and still black. (Abbreviate to ‘burnt’.)
   8. fallow land: land which is not being actively cultivated, but has been ploughed in the past. Weeds and some pioneer indigenous vegetation may be evident, and there may be a few remnants of stubble if the land has been fallow for only a year or two. This category is distinct from natural vegetation in that there is not the same diversity of indigenous plants, the structure of the vegetation is obviously not the same as unploughed veld, and signs of past ploughing are evident (e.g. run-off lines, ridging, piles of stones). Fallow land may also be used for grazing, but is distinct from pasture as defined above. (Abbreviate to ‘fallow’.)
   9. wetland: includes dams, pans, rivers, vleis etc. (Abbreviate to ‘wetland’.)
   10. other: any habitat that does not fall into any of the above categories. Please specify.
5. CLOSE TO: Blue Cranes frequently congregate at feedlots, which are piles of stock feed, either strewn directly on the ground or in troughs. They also gather at water troughs and wetlands such as pans, dams, vleis and rivers. Other species may also display similar tendencies or be attracted to other features in the landscape. Note this down in the CLOSE TO column if you see birds associated with such features, otherwise leave blank.

   N.B. The following columns need be filled in only for the three cranes, i.e. Blue, Crowned and Wattled Cranes, and the three large bustards, i.e. Kori, Stanley’s and Ludwig’s Bustard.

6. ACTIVITY: Record the activities that the birds are in engaged in at the time of observation. Use the following four categories:
   1. inactive: e.g. standing, preening, loafing etc.
   2. feeding: i.e. actually eating or walking along looking for food.
   3. flying: i.e. airborne.
   4. breeding: i.e. dancing, mating, incubating, etc. Do not disturb any bird seen incubating, but note the number of chicks if you see any.

   Usually, all flock members are engaged in the same activity, but if not, write down all the relevant activities in the same block. You don’t need to count how many are engaged in each activity.

7. SIDE OF ROAD: Please always write L or R in this column to indicate whether the birds were on the left hand side of the road or on the right. Some farms have lands on both sides of the road, and in some areas there are no farm numbers, so the information helps to narrow down the locality of the sighting. Please note: Routes must always be driven in the same direction.
8. FARM NUMBERS: This information replaces the marking of the position of birds on your route map. Use your 1:250 000 topo-cadastral map to find the number of the farm on which the birds are situated. To do this, work out where you are on your route map using the distance you have traveled and the scale provided (note that 2 cm = 5 km). The farm number often appears after the farm name given on the map, but in some cases there is only a number. Please do NOT backtrack to find the name of the farm. The farm names which are on the gates are often different from those on the map and they keep changing, whereas those on the map do not change! Record this number on your roadcount form

   Please note: There are numbers on the map with a dot next to them; these are spot heights and not farm numbers. There are also numbers with a triangle next to them; these are trig beacons and not farm numbers. In some areas there is communal land with no farm boundaries or numbers indicated; in such cases leave this column blank. The following example should help you in finding the correct numbers.

   
9. COLOUR RINGS: For Colour-ringed birds please write down the sequence of the colour rings from top to bottom (e.g. red over blue) in the section provided and mark the line on the roadcount form with an asterisk. Please note: the right and left legs of the bird are decided as if you were the bird.

FINISHING

1. Fill in the time when you completed your route. (This should usually be in the early afternoon. You are welcome to take a break before the end of the route, but you must indicate this break (when and for how long) clearly on your form).
2. Calculate the length of your route, i.e. subtract any detours or backtracks from your odometer reading, and fill the distance in on your form. Make sure all the details required are completed and fill in any information of interest or comments in the section provided.
3. Make a copy of your form (in case it gets lost in the post).
4. Send the completed forms to your Precinct Organizer as soon after the count as possible.
5. If you were unable to do the count at the last minute, or have any problems or queries, please contact your Precinct Organizer.

And most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Donella Young and James Harrison
Project Coordinator and Project Manager