The act of looking for something that may or may not be there enables you to take in so much more. Such is the reward of birding.
When I was younger, I would associate the brochure' image of a destination as a guarantee I would see it 'just so, when actually the only guarantee was disappointment. The Kruger article by Richard Flack in the July/ August 2023 issue, particularly his stunning photo of the Racket-tailed Roller, reminded me of this. I have visited Pafuri and travelled up and down that heartbreaking road on four occasions to find that elusive bird, with no success. I know many birders can relate; on one of those trips I crossed paths with a forlorn-looking Phalaborwa businessman who, having heard of a sighting, had driven straight from the office. Still wearing his tie, he gazed out of his car window, scanning the trees. A 600mm lens lay across his lap, ready for action. But, like me, he was unsuccessful.
It relates to the joy of fishing. The act of dangling a line, not knowing if you'll catch anything, gives you the space and time to contemplate, to take in everything around you and be giddily happy with it. After a number of trips to the bush, I've come to enjoy this approach to travel.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September/October 2023 من African Birdlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September/October 2023 من African Birdlife.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
