Specialist Studies
Birds, Bats & Botany
Birds & Bats Unlimited offer rapid and intensive surveys with an emphasis on rare, threatened, endemic and collision-prone species.
In a collaborative move, Marlei and Rob joined forces with Stephanie Dippenaar (bat specialist) and Tania Anderson (ecologist) in order to expand the services they offer.
Collaborating with these knowledgeable specialists and deploying state-of-the-art satellite-tags allows us to follow cryptic, wide-ranging species and gain statistical data that can be used in risk-modelling.
Marlei Martins - Avian specialist
With a background in animal rehabilitation (avifaunal and terrestrial mammals), Marlei joined Rob in 2010 and led EIA trips to the Western, Eastern and rugged Northern Cape sites before jointly launching Birds Unlimited in 2011. An accomplished biologist, Marlei has exceptional organisational skills, is a dedicated conservationist and a specialist on baboon behaviour. She has decades of experience with seabird rescue and rehabilitation, particularly African Penguins. She was chosen as part of an elite 5-person team to work with oiled Rockhopper Penguins and Endangered Tristan Albatrosses on the remote island of Tristan da Cunha in 2011. Marlei makes herself available to teams that require an energetic, reliable and enthusiastic observer.
marlei.bushbaby@gmail.com
Stephanie Dippenaar - Bat specialist
Stephanie was involved in some of the first bat impact assessments related to wind energy in South Africa. She started her consultancy career in 2011 managing pre- and post construction bat monitoring programmes. She has completed courses in bat analysis software systems and bat handling as well as environmental assessment, veld management and biodiversity, and has the ability to provide an integrated approach to environmental issues. She worked at The University of Limpopo before joining the CSIR's Environmental Management Services group in 2004. There she was involved in environmental management projects, focusing amongst others, on renewable energy developments. She is involved in management plans for the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre and Elephant Management Plans at Camp Jabulani, Kapama Game Reserve. She teaches a post graduate course in environmental management at the University of Stellenbosch and has been a professional member of the South African Institute for Ecologists and Environmental Scientists since 2002.
sdippenaar@snowisp.com
Tania Anderson - Ecologist
Tania undertakes ecological surveys with emphasis on rare and threatened species, as well as intensive botanical surveys including detail on sensitive or threatened habitats and ecosystems, and plant species of conservation concern.​She has undertaken ecological and botanical specialist studies since 1995 to raise funds for research whilst she was employed at the McGregor Museum in Kimberley, Northern Cape. She is involved in a variety of environmental management projects, from mines and quarries and renewable energy facilities to biodiversity offsets and biodiversity surveys for conservation areas. She has a Masters degree in Environmental Management, is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist with SACNASP and has been consulting independently since 2013. Ongoing projects include long-term vegetation monitoring at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in the southern Kalahari, and various conservation projects with BirdLife South Africa in a voluntary capacity. She also designs and assists with the development of sustainable ecological gardens in urban landscapes to mimic the local natural habitats and encourage water conservation.
spothil@gmail.com
Dr Rob Simmons - Avian specialist
Rob has 30 years research experience in Namibia, South Africa, Angola, Sweden and Papua New Guinea; as well as birding experience throughout Canada and the UK. He holds a position at UCT's FitzPatrick Institute's Centre of Excellence as a Research Associate. Formerly employed in the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) as the country's state ornithologist, Rob has worked throughout Namibia as a wetlands biologist and ornithologist on shorebirds, flamingos, terns and its special endemic species. He is the lead author on the Red Data book of Namibia's threatened birds.
Rob was schooled in England, Canada and South Africa. He has undertaken specialised collaborative studies with Cambridge, Oxford, Uppsala, Stanford, Edinburgh and Sheffield Universities. He has authored and co-authored 100 papers and 60 popular articles, contributed to nine books or proceedings, and written an Oxford–published book on raptors in 2000. He has 20 years of EIA experience and is on the advisory board for the EWT/Birdlife SA's Birds and Renewable Energy Specialist Group (BARESG), and was nominated Birdlife South Africa's Species Guardian for the Black Harrier.
rob.simmons@uct.ac.za