My birding journey started when I was six years old. The -parents of one of my nursery school mates offered to take me to the Kruger Park and introduce me to a world outside the big city. With my parents' blessing, I spent five days gawking at animals that I'd only ever seen in picture books.
On my return, it didn't take me long to convince my parents that we should put game reserves on our holiday itinerary. We didn't plunge into the deep end early on. It was a measured toe-dipping, as my family wasn't that keen on tents and self-catering, so we started with Londolozi Game Reserve, an upmarket private reserve in the Sabi Sands. Back in the days of political isolation, it was appropriately priced for South Africans so it was an affordable option and gave my parents the peace of mind that creature comforts would follow a few lion and elephant sightings. It wasn't a particularly brave first step, but it was a fortuitous one - and it probably changed my life. That may sound hyperbolic, but I am not sure that it is.
We were welcomed by our ranger Ian Thomas, a man of the bush who was happy to show this 'green' family the wonders of the African bushveld. He was the first of many rangers we'd experience during our subsequent years of interest in wildlife, but to this day we all agree that he was probably the best.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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.
