by Christian Hjorth, Knud Pedersen and Egon Østergaard
The Maremani Bird List is an overview of the bird species registered by Danish ornithologists in connection with 7 visits to the Maremani Nature Reserve (MNR) in South Africa during the period 2004-2015.
Conditions for the species counts in the MNR have differed, both with regard to the time of year and the length of the visits, as well as the number of observers during the individual visits. The geographical coverage of the reserve’s localities has also varied from one visit to another. The species lists from 2006 and 2009 have been changed in relation to the previously published lists. Individual species seen in the vicinity of the MNR, but outside the Foundation’s property, have not been included in our compilation.
The first count took place 3rd – 19th February 2004, when Jon Fjeldså, Zoological Museum, Copenhagen, stayed in the area. This 17 day visit is the longest to date with daily counts of bird species in the MNR, and 187 species were registered.
In 2005, Dana Borg and Jørgen Rabøl visited the MNR in the period 3rd – 6th July and registered 80 species, of which 18 were new for the area.
The first seminar for employees and Nature Council members connected with the Aage V. Jensen Foundation’s properties in Denmark was held in the MNR 18th – 25th February 2006. The 22 participants took part in excursions in the reserve during 4 days of this one-week stay, and 152 species were registered, of which 34 were new.
The second seminar, in which 19 persons participated, was held 14th – 24th February 2009. There were tours in the MNR on 6 days during this visit and 163 species were noted, of which 21 were new for the area.
In 2011, Else and Christian Hjorth, Ulla Jul Sørensen, Egon Østergaard and Inge and Knud Pedersen carried out targeted point counts at 24 sites in the MNR every day from 13th to 19th February. All species spotted between the 24 count points were also registered. This gave a total of 180 species, of which 20 were new.
The third seminar for the Aage V. Jensen Naturfond’s employees and Nature Council members was held in the MNR on 26th February – 6th March 2012. This seminar had 21 participants, and apart from a two-day excursion to the Kruger National Park, there were daily trips around the MNR. Of the 186 species registered during this stay, 14 were new for the area.
Finally the fourth seminar for the Aage V. Jensen Naturfond’s employees and Nature Council members was held in the MNR on 8th February – 17th February 2015. This seminar had 27 participants. There were daily trips in the morning and afternoon to different localities in the Maremani Nature Reserve except on 11th-12th February, when the group went for an excursion to the Kruger National Park. The total species list for the Maremani Nature Reserve during the 7 visits has now reached 304 species.
Bird List 2004 – 2015 (PDF 700 kb)
