A feeling of euphoria runs through me as our plane tilts, its wings slicing through cumulus as the familiar scene of azure waters beckons below. Once through customs, we make our way down to the harbour and drive through the bustling little town of Vilanculos, a journey that always delivers a heady infusion of African aromas coupled with a humidity that delights the senses.
After a short stop at the local store for supplies, we arrive at the outstretched beach, a wispy line of tall coconut trees swaying gently in the wind and a few friendly hawkers beady-eyed for a quick deal. As we board Curlew Two for the short trip across the bay we are greeted warmly by Skipper Simiao. The tide is out as we weave through aqua-green channels interspersed with a myriad of everchanging, snaking sandbars, so often ribboned with a mix of terns, cormorants and Common Whimbrels – a timeless scene so characteristic of this Bazaruto Archipelago in southern Mozambique.
At last, the verdant, miombo-forested peninsula of San Sebastian lies before us. It is to be an exciting week ahead searching for shorebirds – a veritable smorgasbord of species and sheer density of numbers that the Sanctuary has recently become well known for.
Esta historia es de la edición July/August 2023 de African Birdlife.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición July/August 2023 de African Birdlife.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
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.
