What makes for a good birding destination? Well, desirable birds are obviously a prime ingredient and that’s achievable throughout most of South Africa. But, as a tour guide, when I set up birding safaris for international birders, there’s a lot more to take into account. Birding venues suitable for international birders have many more boxes to be ticked than those that might meet the requirements of more ‘casual’ local birders, who may well be happy with a roof-top tent in a camp site. When a group touches down on African soil to kick off a trip (and hopefully that will start happening again soon), you need to know that you’ve got all the dietary intricacies covered, decent, budget-appropriate accommodation lined up, plenty of activities suitable for different levels of physical ability to keep them occupied, and a range of birds on hand that will satisfy all birders, from the beginner to the keen lister. For me, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and St Lucia in northeastern KwaZulu-Natal meet all those needs.
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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.
