These habitats are home to diverse bird communities comprising many near-endemic and threatened species. However, this rich assemblage of birds is, in general, underappreciated by the public and underutilised by landowners as a source of revenue from avitourism. Birding is one of the fastest growing nature-based tourism activities worldwide and is experiencing similar growth in popularity in South Africa.
Ecotourism opportunities abound in the Steenkampsberg. Just to the north of Dullstroom, for example, is Verloren Valei Nature Reserve, which supports more than 150 bird species and is the only Ramsar site in Mpumalanga. Many local people, including landowners and historically disadvantaged groups, rely on tourism as their primary source of income. In 2012 the tourism and hospitality industry provided at least 1097 full-time and 208 part-time positions in Dullstroom and the surrounding area at a time when, according to the 2011 census, 558 people lived in the town and another 4664 lived in Sakhelwe.
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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.
