A video showing large numbers of Abdim’s storks feeding in a ploughed field on a farm in North West, shared by the well-known environmentalist Dave Pepler, has sparked lively discussion.
Dave Pepler, director of the Academy for Environmental Leadership, recently shared the video, filmed by Renier Swart of the farm Jala Jala in the Schweizer-Reneke/Migdol area in North West from his tractor.
Pepler says these birds are generalist feeders that prey on things like cutworms, crickets, grasshoppers, larvae and cocoons, and cultivated fields are a good place to find their prey. It is the smallest stork species in South Africa. They migrate within Africa – once the Southern African summer is over, they head north to the tropics, and return in spring.
Swart, who farms with grain and sheep, says the behaviour seen in the video is a common sight in this part of the country. He finds it encouraging to see how nature adapts to modern farming practices and coexists in symbiosis with agriculture. From the cab of his tractor, he often observes how the birds watch one another’s movements, as well as environmental cues, such as clouds of dust rising in the air, signalling that ploughing is taking place and that easy feeding opportunities are available.
“If they see one bird swooping down on a spot, the others also fly there to see what is available to eat. That’s how many birds gather in one place to feed,” he says. Birds such as marabou storks also watch for smoke. “They then fly to those areas to catch, for example, lizards and snakes that have escaped the flames or are injured.”
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Farming in Partnership With Nature
Swart says he and his wife, Wanda, run an environmentally friendly commercial farming operation and make extensive use of ecological pest control to limit pesticide use as far as possible. “With a little thought, and by living closer to nature, we can use many of the natural enemies of pests and diseases to control them,” he says.
Grain fields provide abundant food for mice and rats, which in turn attract birds of prey. Maize, sunflower and soya bean fields provide food for insects, which attract a wide variety of bird species. “All stork species are useful to us – the Abdim’s stork and the white stork, which were very rare in the past and are now being seen more often here, and, of course, the black stork.”
Swart says small heron species are also very important to farming, as they are highly effective at controlling grasshoppers and worms. Swallows during the day and bats at night also play a major role in controlling mosquitoes, midges and moths. “It is important that we protect them too.”
Owls, kites and eagles are just as vital to the ecosystem. “These are birds we see regularly here.”
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Rodent Control
Swart says many farmers have increasingly adopted no-till practices over the past decade. As a result, Highveld gerbils and springhares – rodents that dig burrows in fields – are becoming a growing problem.
“No-till methods involve clearing the fields, leaving the stubble intact, and planting only with planters at planting time. Fields are kept clean mainly by spraying, and ploughing is no longer done.”
Highveld gerbils are nocturnal, and their primary natural enemies are owls and snakes. “Planting a 1,5m or 2m white-painted pole near a gerbil colony provides a perch for owls, allowing them to wait for the rodents to emerge from their burrows before diving down to catch them,” Swart says.
Snakes help to control not only Highveld gerbils but also springhares and ground squirrels, which tend to dig up seeds during planting time. “We have rinkhals, puff adders and various cobra species in the area. Snakes often make their homes in gerbil burrows, where they eat large numbers of these rodents and can completely wipe out colonies.”
He says they do not kill snakes on the farm. “For us, it is very important to protect the snakes we encounter in the fields, especially when the fields are being worked. Often, you will find large puff adders or rinkhals lying in the sun near gerbil burrows. It is a welcome sight, because I know they eat many of those rodents.”
Predator Species
Predators such as jackal, caracal and serval, which are increasingly found in the area, are also very useful to farmers, Swart says. “We farm with sheep too, and sometimes we have problem animals that need to be removed through selective hunting. Ultimately, though, jackals are beneficial for farmers.”
Jackals prey on springhares, Cape hares and scrub hares, all of which feed on grain, as well as Highveld gerbils, which they dig out from their burrows.
“All these predator species are important to us, and we try to protect them and live alongside them.”
Several mongoose species occur in the area too. They feed on large numbers of insects, including ground weevils, white grubs, moths and worms. Yellow mongooses in particular are mainly insectivores, and Swart regularly sees insect remains in their dung in the fields.
Terrestrial Birds
There are also numerous guinea fowl on the farm, which roost in large camel thorn trees or on electricity pylons.
“At one time, I also believed the myth that guinea fowl eat sunflower seeds,” Swart says. “After shooting a guinea fowl in a field one day, he found its crop was full of ground weevils. Anyone who plants sunflowers knows how destructive ground weevils are to germinating plants. Many farmers have had to replant hundreds of hectares because of them. By contrast, guinea fowl and francolins consume far more harmful insects than the limited damage they cause to germinating grain.”
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