Botuin is a self-catering property on the edge of the Karoo town of Vanrhynsdorp. Olive groves, garden trees and nearby karoo vegetation provide for a wide diversity of bird species. A previous weekend visit showed the great potential for ringing here.
At the sewage works we put up some low nets between pans to catch the waders. We also put up duck nets which caught a Cape Teal. We found a farm road where larks were drinking at water puddles in the road, and thus caught some larks and other species, even though the nets were very exposed due to very low karoo vegetation.
The most ringed species were Cape Sparrow, Southern Masked Weaver, Cape Weaver and Southern Red Bishop. We ringed at 3 sites – the garden, the sewage works and along a farm road. Some of the species highlights were Cape Teal, the waders, the larks, Pearl-breasted Swallow and Rufous-eared Warbler.
Table – ringing totals by site (birds ringed or recaptured)
| Sp no | Species | Sewage | Botuin | Farm road | Totals |
| 98 | Cape Teal | 1 | 1 | ||
| 237 | Kittlitz’s Plover | 1 | 1 | ||
| 238 | Three-banded Plover | 1 | 1 | ||
| 245 | Blacksmith Lapwing | 1 | 1 | ||
| 253 | Little Stint | 3 | 3 | ||
| 317 | Laughing Dove | 4 | 4 | ||
| 318 | Namaqua Dove | 4 | 4 | ||
| 391 | White-backed Mousebird | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
| 392 | Red-faced Mousebird | 7 | 7 | ||
| 463 | Large-billed Lark | 1 | 1 | ||
| 485 | Grey-backed Sparrowlark | 6 | 6 | ||
| 488 | Red-capped Lark | 1 | 1 | ||
| 498 | Pearl-breasted Swallow | 1 | 1 | ||
| 509 | Brown-throated Martin | 2 | 2 | ||
| 544 | African Red-eyed Bulbul | 3 | 3 | ||
| 581 | Cape Robin-Chat | 3 | 3 | ||
| 583 | Karoo Scrub-Robin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 604 | Lesser Swamp-Warbler | 1 | 1 | ||
| 606 | African Reed-Warbler | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 619 | Rufous-eared Warbler | 1 | 1 | ||
| 653 | Namaqua Warbler | 1 | 1 | ||
| 658 | Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler | 1 | 1 | ||
| 665 | Fiscal Flycatcher | 1 | 1 | ||
| 686 | Cape Wagtail | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 707 | Common Fiscal | 1 | 1 | ||
| 722 | Bokmakierie | 1 | 1 | ||
| 760 | Southern Double-collared Sunbird | 1 | 1 | ||
| 784 | House Sparrow | 3 | 3 | ||
| 786 | Cape Sparrow | 6 | 19 | 25 | |
| 799 | Cape Weaver | 21 | 21 | ||
| 803 | Southern Masked Weaver | 13 | 11 | 24 | |
| 808 | Southern Red Bishop | 14 | 7 | 21 | |
| 865 | White-throated Canary | 4 | 2 | 6 | |
| 1104 | Karoo Thrush | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1172 | Cape White-eye | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4139 | Karoo Prinia | 1 | 1 | ||
| TOTALS | 49 | 100 | 14 | 163 |
Thanks to Salome for your great hospitality!
