Anthony
Anthony , Yes Indeed , I sure don't have the answers but really believe something has to be done ! Maybe Culling In Towns every few years ? But I do not particularly like the idea !
With
We have a family of them nesting in our tree in the garden. Aside from waking us up at the crack of dawn with their screeching, they also disturb us in the middle of the night when startled. I think they may actually chase other less pesky birds away as all I ever see in the garden these days is hadedas. I think controlled culling would be a good idea along with indian mynahs (we live in Durban).
Charles Long
The Common (Indian) Mynah is much more of a problem, as an exotic. Hadedas aren't the only birds that shouldn't really be in our gardens. Grey Go-away (grey louries) are not grassland birds, and shouldn't be in Johannesburg at all. They're here because of all the (exotic) trees we've planted, thereby changing the ecosystem from a grassland to a bushveld-type forest.
Joshua
Ney man they are usefull for the grass lands here in Kwazulu Natal.
Johann
Johan -- Thanks for your contribution ...however , I fail to see how they are useful at all , at the entry on to this page you will see I ask the Question about Park Town Prawns , Where is the PROOF for these statements ? FACT they are highly irritating birds ...No fact that the are useful at all in grasslands , how ? ...Please point me to the fact of your statement ... :~)
With
So what you suggesting ? We do selective culling on the Bergies here because they sometimes make a noise ? ( The Bergies is the People that live in the mountain down here in the Cape , for those that do not know ;) ) Joke people relax !! None the Less , I agree , These Birds is indeed a pain ! We have the White Ibis here as well ( I Think Australian one ? ) ... but at least not as bad as the Hadeda ...
Marius Bekker
If it is mostly about the noise Hadeda’s make I suggest eradicating pop/rock addicts first (they are humans), also some of my neighbours dogs and drivers or Harley Davidson’s. I hate noise but strangely I find the noise of a Hadeda quite funny.
I even play a recording to get my Kerry Blue Terrier all worked up!
Leon
Hi there,
I'm actually doing my Msc on this bird, as part of the hadeda project that you have as a link at the end of your page. Is the noise the only concern you have over this bird? I do sympathise with you in that regard -- they are definitely noisy when leaving and returning to the roost site!
Many of the comments giving reasons why they are so numerous in cities and towns are correct; the irrigation of grasses and the planting of (mostly alien) trees provide perfect roost sites and foraging sites. It's actually quite interesting, because they've filled a niche that as up to now, no other bird had filled.
They have numerous natural enemies; water mongooses, cats, birds of prey and even snakes. Many birds actually choose to construct nests next to them, because hadedas have such a loud screech, they are somewhat of an early warning alarm against potential predators.
I'd just like to ask for the objective proof on them being classified as "highly irritating birds"...
Greg DuckWorth
Hi Greg and thanks for your input ! ;)
Yes , the noise is the problem and the time they make this at :~( ...the bird in general is not irritating ....
Your comment that they are filling a niche that no other bird had filled then prove the fact that they where indeed not in towns and city's 10 years or so ago ... Do we see them as a bird that filled a niche or as an Invading species ?? (similar to Indian Mynah).
Natural enemies do not extend in to town I think ...No Water Mongooses , less snakes and cats in general that I've seen will not really catch them (to big)...anyway it seems these enemies are not doing a great job !
I do appreciate you writing here and giving your input , you really are so far the only real expert I spoke to about the Hadeda...
If you do read here again , can you maybe enlighten us to the status on the endangered Species list ..Why are they on there ...etc etc etc ...
The idea of this site is to garner proof and facts ...to them being highly irritating birds ....I'm indeed trying to be objective , as much as one can be with them screeching next to your window in the morning ...Did they screech this morning , yes ...FACT
With
Hi again,
Thanks for your comments! You're right in that they haven't been in cities and towns for a long period of time. They are increasing their range, and this range expansion is almost entirely facilitated by urbanisation. Whereas their range before the 50's was confined to areas receiving abundant year round rainfall, they are able to now persist in cities and towns because people artificially water gardens and sportsfields. They aren't invasive to South Africa, because they always did occur here, naturally (unlike the myna, which occurred naturally in India initially, thereafter spread to Aus and SA).
Birds of prey are actually pretty abundant in cities and towns, and actively predate on hadedas. Really only the chicks, though, because the adults are too large.
Regarding the status on the endangered species list; I don't know where you got that from? I think you are just misinterpreting the IUCN species list; this list attempts to show the current status of a species, and the list ranges from extinct to least concern. Every species in the world will fall into some category on this list. Hadedas are of least concern; they are not endangered, or threatened. They are protected, though, in the sense that you cannot kill them without special permission. So don't get any funny ideas :)
Thanks for your comments! You're right in that they haven't been in cities and towns for a long period of time. They are increasing their range, and this range expansion is almost entirely facilitated by urbanisation. Whereas their range before the 50's was confined to areas receiving abundant year round rainfall, they are able to now persist in cities and towns because people artificially water gardens and sportsfields. They aren't invasive to South Africa, because they always did occur here, naturally (unlike the myna, which occurred naturally in India initially, thereafter spread to Aus and SA).
Birds of prey are actually pretty abundant in cities and towns, and actively predate on hadedas. Really only the chicks, though, because the adults are too large.
Regarding the status on the endangered species list; I don't know where you got that from? I think you are just misinterpreting the IUCN species list; this list attempts to show the current status of a species, and the list ranges from extinct to least concern. Every species in the world will fall into some category on this list. Hadedas are of least concern; they are not endangered, or threatened. They are protected, though, in the sense that you cannot kill them without special permission. So don't get any funny ideas :)
Greg Duckworth
Hi guy. Interesting discussion! The one thing i would like to say is that Hadeda's are uniquely South African. Hearing there cries (even at 2 in the morning) reminds me that I am living in Africa. Would we be complaining if we hear baboon cries or lion roars? I am dead against any culling. I bet you that there cries have scared some would be criminals and may have even saved some lives. (a bit dramatic but I really think these birds are a part of our heritage.)
Gan
I hate them - they crap in my pool filling it with phosphates which can only be removed by emptying the pool, they crap over everything in my yard (car, boat, driveway, garden furniture etc). They make a huge noise all day - soemtimes I cant even speak on the phone!. Teh flock is increasing in size and I cant seem to get rid of them - any advice? I ahve even considered shooting and poisoning them
...the worst is that at sunrise they fly through the burglar motion detectors in the garden and set the alarm off giving me a heart attack every morning. I now dont switch the beams on - which compromises my family security
Ziggy
I Move these comments from website to this Blog ..... The future home of Hadeda Away ...
Leave your Comments here and Vote on poll ....( Top Left of Page )
Click On Comments .....................
Posts
We Really need a Solution .... Down at the Coast the people want to start Culling Monkeys ..... Now that idea I do not like .... a real Conundrum is'nt it .... Monkeys ...Birds .... Just because we see them as a Plague ....
ReplyDeleteI think Hadedas are lovely birds and is the one bird I miss the most. I used to live down the South Coast (i now live in the Uk) and we had hundreds of haredas and monkeys around our area. In particular because we lived opposite a green belt but lived right in Port Shepstone. You guys are moaning about a beautiful part of nature! The monkeys annoyed us stealing all our mangos and coming into our house and stealing stuff but so what they are animals! The hadedas make a noise but so what?! It is refreshing knowing we can still be part of nature whilst living in a subburban area. A pair of hadedas used to nest in our tree and often a baby would fall out so we used to get a very long ladder and climb our very tall tree to put them back in the nest. On one occassion one was coughing up blood so we took him to a bird protection place where he could be looked after. They swam in our pool which I found delightful to watch (as well as the kingfishers) and one used to sit right outside my room and HAAAR at me in the morning...
ReplyDeletedoes this bother me no, in fact I miss it. I would love to be living back in SA where nature is around you and part of your life. I would even go as far to say that hadedas are one of my favourite birds and are beautiful and magestic! If you feel so strongly about the Hadedas MOVE! Go live in a grey dull city in london or something where you can enjoy your superficial life!
They're beautiful and I love the sound. It's the sound of a world, echoing across the velds and fields. Like the voices of dinosaurs! On the ground they're rather shy and dignified.
ReplyDeleteBut even if I didn't like it that wouldn't mean I'd want to kill them.
I hate these birds and am thinking of starting my own selective culling. Starting with the ones in my gargen.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone tried using a water jet on them? they roost in a tree in our garden and apart from waking us up, seem to wake our baby up which is very annoying! They weren't here last year, and we don't really want to kill them... just chase them away!
ReplyDeleteThey are an absolute pain in the ass, they wake me up, are constant noise pollution from dusk to dawn. They even scare my dogs! I'm not one for killing of animals (some humans maybe) (joke) but when one already battles with sleep depredation it is by no means a joke to have the little you have interrupted by screeching in your garden. People can do horrible things when they haven't slept in days. And can anyone answer me this, why is it SO bad all of a sudden, this year esp, I've never noticed it AS MUCH as I do now...
ReplyDeleteAnyone who likes these things doesn't know what it's like to be woken up by such a racket at 4.45 everyday. It's ridiculous, I spend the day tired and find it extremely difficult to cope with stress because these damn things have kept me out of sleep. They need to be eradicated, and all the animal lovers etc out there can go move to the bush if they disagree.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who aren't bothered by these things, lucky you, and it's easy for you to talk about animal rights etc. However, sleep deprivation as a result of these things has affected my energy levels, I'm so damn tired and I'm much more irritable and have caused pain and harm to people in my life as a result of it. People rights come before animal rights, and they are not mutually exclusive anyway... we can drive these things away and so that they, and we, can live in peace (once again I am not speaking to the unaffected here). Or else we have to make a plan which may include erradicating at least some of them. People's rights.
ReplyDeleteAnd to Greg Duckworth, who seems to get a hard on about his knowledge of hadedas lol, you really sound like a fag, try being woken up by these things every day.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly is a Hadeda Plague in JoBurg: Hadedas are not indigenous to Gauteng. They naturally occur at the forest edges in Natal. When we cleared these for sugar plantations many found their way to the north and now love the older gardens in Gauteng with tall trees.
ReplyDeleteThe noise they create is one problem, but the mess 70 hadedas make is unbelieveable. My flock of about 8 has grown to over 70+ and the racket they generate you simply can't imagine. The mess below the trees also kills off smaller plants and i would love to find a way to remove or scare them off permanently. There is a bird sactuary close-by but clearly it also has become over populated.
I am now shooting them, I hate them, their crapping all over, their stupid noise! Now I have a telescopic sight on the pellet gun and its an easy headshot. No more noise :)
ReplyDeleteI hate them, they are a total pest. I do not have a pellet gun otherwise I would happily shoot them. I contacted the noise pollution people and was told that they are "protected" why, I cannot imagine, as they are prolific and hardly endangered! They are nesting in our neighbour's tree and start screeching at 4am every morning. I have now resorted to earplugs. I have contacted an organisation who do ultrasonic sound to scare them off. I am hoping this will work. It is a device which you aim at the tree and ultimately the sound bugs them to such an extent that they eventually leave. Will see what happens.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteWe have a little baby who is woken up regularly by the Screeching Hadedas. How effective is the Ultra Sound?
We need to do something. My wife has laid the pellet gun on the bed and said: "no sex until the're dead!"
they are a pest and i agree shoot them so i can sleep
ReplyDeleteNothing is more infuriating that when they wake babies or small children in a house where the parents are already sleep deprived! The pre-dawn cacophony is too much, and their numbers have proliferated in urban gardens due to lack of natural predators.
ReplyDeleteAny feedback on the ultrasonic sound (ref post on Dec 14th)?
shoot one or two and the soon dont come back
ReplyDeleteI find the Hadeda's most fascinating. They're funny, curious yet skittish. Camera shy and like to tease puppies. I have a couple living in my yard, they like to rest under a particularly thorny bush where they watch our comings and goings. The sound they make is loud, but no more irritating than that of the 'Piet my vrou' or the 'que' birds or the ones that sound like they're laughing.. it's nature's music, time humans embraced the wonderful sounds instead of trying to destroy them.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't some of you start your own "Hadeda appreciation" website?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I also don't like these birds, there's one single %^$^% hadeda that wakes us up every morning, sitting on our roof, with no nest nearby. He just randomly chose our roof, probably (tongue in cheek) because we moved away from our previous home that had a hadeda international airport 50m away, get the idea?..., so this is getting personal.
The Hadedas in my area are affecting my health by robbing me of 1 or 2 hours sleep every night. I love animals and hate to see them suffer, but at this point I am so stressed by these birds that I would buy an air rifle and shoot them if it wasn't illegal. I find it hilarious that people are comparing the noise of the hadeda to dogs and other birds. Are you kidding? The volume of 1 hadeda is much higher then any other animal in the suburbs, and its not just 1 of them, its multiple hadedas screeching in harmony. If you have had hadedas roosting in a tree in your garden you will know what I'm talking about. Imagine a few cars parked outside your window and at 4:30 (yes as early as 4:30) the hooters are blown. Now you have the picture. You don't just wake up.... you wake up with your heart pounding.
ReplyDeleteAnyway here is a trick which helps to a degree. Every evening I scan the trees in my garden with a torch. If I see a hadeda, I throw stones until they fly away. Usually they stay away for the rest of the summer. It seems that they are quite intelligent. Unfortunately this just moves them to the neighbor's tree which is only a slight improvement because they are so loud.
I Cannot agree more with Belinda Dobie. I love these birds and also they are Gods creatures just sharing this earth with us and for those who just wants to cull innocent creatures dont be so greedy and learn how to share. There is no better sound for me when i hear their cries coming to roost for the night in the Flamboyant tree in my garden and roaming around the garden during the day for food.
ReplyDeleteI can not agree more with Belinda "it's nature's music, time humans embraced the wonderful sounds instead of trying to destroy them."
A Toerien
Beautiful birds, you fools have little regard for nature, idiots.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most hilarious thread I have ever ever read in my while life. I'm an environmental scientist and I think you should shoot them and next time you eat chicken you can think about your animal rights and hadeda feelings
ReplyDeleteGet help from Oscar Pistorius !
ReplyDeleteits there crapping all over my patio that is driving me nuts!!! I am googling how to get rid of them nicely I don't want to shoot them we have about 20 in our yard everyday and that means 20 to 40 huge bird craps all over the place .. they drink out of my pool so that is one of the reasons they are always in my garden
ReplyDeletecan they be eaten?
ReplyDeleteAny solutions from anyone to get rid of these pests ? All I know, a BB gun does nothing to get rid of them. They just stay right there on their post and carry on making a noise. Do the Bird repeller - eagle eye - work to get rid of them ?
ReplyDeleteHi, I am glad for your website, different views from the affected and unaffected, which is what we all should be entitled to speak as freely without getting into any trouble. I have a neighbor that lets out his property, he has tree that the hadedas roost in, all I asked politely that he please trim the tree so that they can find another tree to roost in, He has plenty trees at the rear of the house. this tree is in the front of his house and close to my bedroom window, from2-3AM daily these birds wake me up with the racket of a noise they make. he then said he cannot as the hadedas are apparently protected under the provincial law. I did NOT ask he kill any of the birds, I asked to trim the top of the tree trim. They are huge birds and often like HIGH trees to roost in. Will the peoples rights come before animal rights in this case ASI am only asking for cause for them to find alternate roosting.
ReplyDeleteThere is no shortage of this pest. Feel free to eradicate as many as you can reach.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip to get rid of Hadedas:
ReplyDeleteI am not fond of the Hadedas personally. I do not wish to harm them intentionally, even though I sometimes wish I had a shot gun at times when I'm trying to talk to someone, or sleep, etc.
I learned that a good way to repel the blighters is to hang small mirror balls around the garden which catches the sunlight and the dancing lights frighten them off. Hang them in the trees, on posts, under the roof overhang, anywhere. Also, old CD's too. I have done this for a year now and have not had them in my garden since. Maybe one or two come in but they don't stay very long. I even hung them in trees where they usually roost and sing a chorus to the neighborhood all day. A strong laser beam also sends them scattering very quickly. They don't like that, especially in low light conditions. Loud claps chase them too. Slap two planks together.
The CD's also work well for vervet monkeys too. Try it and see. Good luck.
The Hadeda is a noisy pest! It belongs in India, no-where else. They invaded everywhere even the most remote natural game reserves. I am busy making an power ultrasonic repelling system to chase them away.
ReplyDeleteNeed to get rid of them as they are now affecting my dogs health. Had to rush him to hospital tonight for hemorrhagic gastro and now will be worried about heart worm. Any ideas
ReplyDeleteI think we should have a certain month in a year to reduce the population of hadedas.
ReplyDeleteThey increase very fast .
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ReplyDelete