African harrier-hawks are spreading across Cape Town

An unusual bird of prey is finding a home in Cape Town, with nests now recorded from Simon’s Town to Durbanville. From leafy residential streets to densely built-up neighbourhoods and the city centre, the **African harrier-hawk **is becoming an increasingly interesting part of the Mother City’s urban wildlife.

The species, also known as the Gymnogene, was not known to breed in metropolitan Cape Town until the early 2000s. Now, a University of Cape Town (UCT) research project is investigating how the bird has established itself across the city and what makes the urban environment suitable for raising its young.

The findings could offer valuable insight into how wildlife adapts to expanding cities, particularly as habitat loss threatens birds of prey in parts of Africa.

UCT researchers turn to Cape Town residents for help

The growing presence of African harrier-hawks has prompted the Cape Urban African Harrier-Hawk Project to investigate where the birds nest, what they eat and how successfully they breed in an urban setting.

Master’s student Lorcan McHarry is leading the research with the University of Cape Town’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology.

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Since researchers appealed to the public for sightings in September, they have received more than 1 000 reports and confirmed 13 nests within just a few weeks.

However, these discoveries do not represent the total number of breeding pairs in Cape Town. Researchers believe additional nests remain undiscovered, making public participation an important part of the project.

Residents can help fill those gaps by reporting sightings and sharing photographs or videos that could reveal where the birds are nesting.

What makes this bird so well suited to city life?

Unlike many other birds of prey, the African harrier-hawk has physical adaptations that allow it to reach food hidden in tight spaces.

Its narrow skull helps it access confined areas, while its legs can bend in both directions at the intertarsal joint. This unusual flexibility allows the bird to reach into nest holes and retrieve eggs or chicks.

The species can also move slowly through dense tree canopies and cling to tree trunks, weaver colonies and buildings while searching for food.

In Cape Town, these abilities open up a variety of potential feeding sites, including roof cavities, gutters, spaces beneath solar panels, palm trees and ornamental trees.

The birds have been observed feeding on a range of prey, including young weavers, pigeons and starlings, as well as rats, lizards and insects.

Researchers plan to record what the birds bring back to their nests to establish whether their diets differ between greener suburbs and more heavily built-up areas.

This could help explain how the species makes use of different parts of the city and whether certain urban environments offer better opportunities for feeding and breeding.

Why the nesting locations matter

Cape Town’s mix of residential neighbourhoods, mature trees and built-up spaces provides researchers with an opportunity to study how a bird of prey responds to an urban environment.

The African harrier-hawk’s ability to search for food in places other raptors may struggle to access is one possible advantage. However, researchers still need to establish which environmental conditions support successful breeding.

The first phase of the study will examine the trees the birds select for nesting, the conditions surrounding those sites and how their choices compare with nesting behaviour in natural habitats.

Researchers will also investigate breeding patterns, including when the birds lay their eggs, clutch sizes, hatching success and how many chicks survive to leave the nest.

Climate is another important consideration.

Much of the published research on African harrier-hawks comes from regions with summer rainfall. Cape Town, by contrast, has a Mediterranean climate characterised by winter rainfall.

The team wants to determine whether the birds have adjusted their breeding season to suit the Western Cape’s different climatic conditions.

Future research could include GPS tracking to map the birds’ movements and territories, as well as further investigations into how urbanisation affects their diet and breeding success.

Cape Town’s growing urban wildlife story

African harrier-hawks are not the only birds of prey making use of urban environments.

Black sparrowhawks are already well established in Cape Town, while crowned eagles breed in Durban’s suburbs. Peregrine falcons are also increasingly using city buildings as alternatives to natural cliff faces.

Together, these examples highlight an important question for urban conservation: how can cities accommodate wildlife while continuing to develop?

For the African harrier-hawk, Cape Town presents an opportunity to investigate that question more closely.

Although the species is classified as Least Concern globally, its population is suspected of declining in parts of its range. Long-term road surveys have also documented substantial declines among many African raptors outside protected areas, with declines exceeding 50% reported for the African harrier-hawk in several regions.

Habitat loss remains a major concern.

Understanding why the birds are breeding across Cape Town could therefore help researchers identify the conditions that allow them to survive and reproduce in an increasingly urbanised landscape.

How to report an African harrier-hawk sighting

Cape Town residents who spot a possible nest can contribute directly to the research by reporting their observations through the Cape Urban African Harrier-Hawk Project.

Photographs and short videos are particularly useful when accompanied by the location of the sighting.

Residents should look out for birds carrying sticks, repeatedly visiting the same tree, carrying food or regularly appearing as a pair in one area. Large stick nests high in tall trees, including gum trees, may also be worth reporting.

However, protecting the birds is just as important as locating them.

The research team advises residents to observe nesting birds from a distance and avoid climbing trees, flying drones near nests or playing calls and recordings to attract them. Exact nest locations should be shared directly with the project rather than posted publicly.

Anyone planning to prune or remove a tree should also check for active nests first and, where possible, wait until the breeding season has ended.

With more than 1 000 public reports already received, Cape Town residents are helping researchers uncover a part of the city’s wildlife story that might otherwise remain hidden among its trees and buildings.

The next step is to understand not only where these birds are nesting, but what their growing presence can teach us about protecting wildlife in South Africa’s changing urban landscapes.

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**Picture: **Charmain / Pexels

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