SAFRING, the South African Bird Ringing Unit, administers bird ringing within southern Africa, and throughout most of the rest of Africa, supplying rings and services to volunteer and professional bird ringers. SAFRING curates all the ringing records and maintains close links with ringing schemes. It performs a critical function for bird research in the region
SAFRING received primary ringing data from 123 bird ringers during 2024, but ringers continue to submit data for 2024, so this number is likely to increase slightly. A total of 7 new SAFRING ringers were registered in the calendar year. Thus far for 2024, primary ringing data were received from 8 African countries, with resighting or recapture data of ringed birds from another 5 countries, mostly in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Social media
Membership numbers of our SAFRING Registered Ringers Facebook group grew from 72 to 84. A variety of topics were discussed this year, including selling and donating rings and ringing equipment, tips for obtaining regional permits, trapping methods for particular species, and website and data uploading issues. We also used this group to obtain responses to a survey created to improve website functionality.
Our public Facebook group continues to be both a valuable source of information and an effective platform from which to share information about resightings of live and recoveries of dead ringed birds. During 2024, membership of this group grew from 1455 to 1566. We had 76 posts published to the group by ringers, members of the public, and group administrators, and these posts garnered 271 comments and 695 reactions. The value of this group is visible in the multiple reports of ringed birds from members of the public. A member of the public in Belarus, for example, who reported a sighting of a Common Tern, was excited to hear from us that the bird had been ringed by a SAFRING ringer just two months before in Senegal, which is 5672 km away.
At the end of June 2024, Kim-Kelly Hunt unfortunately left SAFRING to pursue teaching. Kim was an integral part of SAFRING for 4 years, and the main link between SAFRING and the SAFRING ringers. Kim started at SAFRING in 2019 as an NRF-funded intern and transitioned into the SAFRING data manager role in 2022. We thank her for all her years of service at SAFRING.
SAFRING team 2024
A/Prof. Robert Thomson (Co-ordinator, FIAO, UCT)
Janine Dunlop (Niven Librarian, FIAO, UCT)
Kim Kelly Hunt (Research and Data Manager) (Jan-Jun)
Michael Brooks (FIAO, UCT, SAFRING website maintenance)
SAFRING Steering Committee members:
Zephne Bernitz; Mark Brown (UKZN); Ursula Bryson (FIAO RA); Tammy Caine (FreeMe Wildlife); Brent Coverdale (KZN Wildlife); Johan de Jager (BirdLife North Gauteng); Chris du Plooy (BirdLife North Gauteng); Peter Hamming (Southern African Wildlife College); Alan Lee (BirdLife SA); Katta Ludynia (SANCCOB); Craig Nattrass (Vulpro; Wits Bird Club); Gareth Tate (EWT).