Time out
African Birdlife|November/December 2021
VIEW FROM A HIDE
MITCH REARDON
Time out

Early in October 2020, shortly after quarantine restrictions on interprovincial travel were lifted following the harrowing first wave of Covid-19 lockdowns, I drove north to the Kalahari. After months of hiding out at home, I felt an urgent need to reconnect with deep nature and the Kalahari is one of the planet’s ever-diminishing number of naturally quiet places. Natural quiet doesn’t mean total silence; rather, it’s the sounds of nature without any mechanical noise. Science has empirically verified that quiet places are a balm with the power to heal, but there’s a trick to crossing the divide between human and wild environments: nothing must impede direct access to nature’s soothing sights and euphonies.

My destination was Marrick Safaris, 10 kilometres south-west of Kimberley, the Northern Cape’s raffish provincial capital. In 1994 the Datnow family converted Marrick’s 3000 hectares from domestic farming to ecotourism and it’s where I go when I seek to immerse myself in wild country without being plagued by onerous rules and regulations. Though Marrick is not far from the iconic mining town’s bustle, the marks of civilization’s violent collision with earth’s ecosystems are surprisingly inconspicuous here and, unlike some once-wild places, it’s not overrun by hordes of tourists.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November/December 2021-Ausgabe von African Birdlife.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der November/December 2021-Ausgabe von African Birdlife.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS AFRICAN BIRDLIFEAlle anzeigen
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
African Birdlife

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.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
footloose IN FYNBOS
African Birdlife

footloose IN FYNBOS

The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
Living forwards
African Birdlife

Living forwards

How photographing birds helps me face adversity

time-read
10 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
CAPE crusade
African Birdlife

CAPE crusade

The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
water & WINGS
African Birdlife

water & WINGS

WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.

time-read
1 min  |
May/June 2024
winter wanderer
African Birdlife

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.

time-read
1 min  |
May/June 2024
when perfect isn't enough
African Birdlife

when perfect isn't enough

Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
Southern SIGHTINGS
African Birdlife

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.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
flood impact on wetland birds
African Birdlife

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.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
May/June 2024
a star is born
African Birdlife

a star is born

It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
May/June 2024