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And so, I went on the American Birding Association Safari to SouthAfrica. That was easily fixed by adding a post-Safari trip to Eastern SouthAfrica, led by dashing Rockjumper guide Clayton Burne, to my itinerary. The small group was a good counterpart to the large, convivial ABA Safari group of 98 birders.
The history of Tembe Elephant Park in SouthAfrica is a slightly unusual one. The park was created as much to protect the local communities from marauding elephants with a hatred of dangerous humans and a lack of interest in the differences between nations as it was to protect the elephants.
Birdlife SouthAfrica has previously done two of these types of trips before, previously called Flock to Sea – Namibia in 2013 and Flock to Nowhere in 2017, in partnership with MSC Cruises. The marine protected area status was designated in 2013. It is an extremely popular fundraising project with an almost cult-like following.
I grew up in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – Cape Town, SouthAfrica. In fact, there is no other region in Africa that offers such a fantastic level of endemism in such an accessible location. An African Penguin peers protectively around its fluffy chick.
This is despite the fact that the Northern Bald Ibis was one of the earliest officially protected species, thanks to a decree by Archbishop Leonhard of Salzburg in 1504. This colony outlived dozens of others as it was protected by the local religious belief that the ibises migrated each year to guide Hajj pilgrims to Mecca.
The area surrounding Mankwe Dam is 500 square kilometres of protected acacia scrub, rock strewn hillsides, grasslands and kopjes, so with such a large area to draw from, pretty much anything can turn up. SouthAfrica’s Kruger National Park may get all the publicity, but I adore Pilanesberg for its intimacy, variety and accessibility.
Marabous occur throughout tropical and subtropical Africa from Zululand in northern SouthAfrica right up to the arid Sahel region fringing the Sahara Desert, avoiding the closed canopy rainforest zones of central and west Africa. They also prey on frogs and crabs.
4%: Mexico, West Papua (Indonesia), New Zealand, SouthAfrica, Kenya. A lot more needs to be done to protect and sustainably utilise that biodiversity, although with the Brazil’s current president, it seems highly unlikely. 6%: Antarctica, Argentina, Indonesia (including the votes for West Papua), India. 8%: Brazil, Panama.
In November 2018, I spent a few days birding in Cape Town, SouthAfrica. The species is endangered – hopefully, their appeal to tourists and the resulting revenue will contribute to its protection. While apparently not the safest of places, it is a great spot to see birds. Here are some of my sightings.
Tell me, what happens if we rip away hunting when hunting protects more wildlife land in Africa than national parks? Conservation is concerned about protecting populations, species, habitats, ecosystems. Take an example, Tembe Elephant Park in SouthAfrica. And that lions are really cute. I’m sorry.
While there is a lot left to be done when it comes to research and nature protection in many tropical countries, there are not that many jobs in that line of work, and ecotourism seem to be the industry of choice. SouthAfrica (755 / 842). Indonesia (1615 / 1603). Malaysia (702 / 781). Thailand (925 / 948). India (1180 / 1171).
The idea is that by engaging these communities, people would not only take pride and protect these sites, but also will see them as potential sources of revenue as visitors pay small entrance fees and spend money hiring services and purchasing goods from these communities. Official presentation of our team: The Zululanders from SouthAfrica.
But if they obeyed the rules, which may be too strict – in the Kruger Park in SouthAfrica, the limit is 50 km/h (31 mi/h) – they would not manage to show tourists much of the reserve in about three hours in the morning and the afternoon, which would reflect on their tip. Good to know.
Early starts are the rule when monitoring endagered species in Mkuze Game Reserve, in SouthAfrica, but there’s a particular urgency to this morning’s start. It’s 3:30 AM when the night’s relative tranquility is shattered by the ancient Landranger’s engine roaring to life.
Four teams with renowned birders from United States, SouthAfrica and United Kingdom will travel through the diverse and endemic bird rich region of Northern Peru, from May 12 thought May 20, 2014. Other stops included short visits with local authorities at the communities that own these sites and other bird habitat.
Two White Storks awaited us there, choosing to stay for the winter instead of wasting all those calories to fly down to SouthAfrica and back, and above us, seven young White-tailed Eagles were thermaling. The number of gulls had halved by now, but the weather had improved and was sunny and quite warm for this time of the year.
In this epic post, Patrick depicts just how dynamic the pelagic birding is off Cape Point in SouthAfrica. African Black Oystercatcher All in all, a pelagic trip off Cape Town is a memorable and unforgettable experience, certainly a ‘must do’ for any dedicated birder visiting SouthAfrica.
These Blasts From The Past Lakes, lightning, locusts and lizards Great Birding Sites From Great Birding Bloggers Anderson River Park Never Disappoints Birding Kuwait The Other Antigua About the Author James A life-long birder and native of SouthAfrica, James Currie has many years experience in the birding and wildlife tourism arenas.
Anderson River Park Never Disappoints Barbados The Other Antigua About the Author James A life-long birder and native of SouthAfrica, James Currie has many years experience in the birding and wildlife tourism arenas. These Blasts From The Past Sometimes you just have to smile! Oh, Yeah, I’m Going to Ecuador!
Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after SouthAfrica).
Finally, SouthAfrica has three 400+ hotspots, namely 1 Mkhuze Game Reserve 458 sp. I will not bother you with the entire list, but rather choose some of the essential birding areas for each of the three bird-richest countries of East Africa (having a choice, we’ll stay within the 500+ reserves). 3 Lake Manyara NP 573 sp.
This time I’ll be working with Wildlife ACT in Zululand, helping that NGO monitor wildlife in a range of reserves and parks in the east of SouthAfrica. There is no feeling in the world like knowing your helping something you care about, whether its sharks or puffins, protecting forests or reefs, advancing science or communities.
Kisiri, Tambo and another female white rhino were airlifted from Kruger National Park in SouthAfrica in 2001 through the efforts of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of rhinos.
This makes it a particularly exciting time in New Zealand as the Rugby World Cup begins in two days, and the competition is being held right here in New Zealand (I would imagine they might be more excited if they hadn’t just lost two matches to Australia and SouthAfrica, their big rivals in the Tri-Nations).
The program has been successful enough that some of the birds have been released back into protected areas in California, Arizona, and across the border in Baja, but the species is still far from out of the woods. Cape Vultures in SouthAfrica – Alex Lamoreaux, The Nemesis Bird. Old Wold Vultures.
Mlelani, Tambo and another female white rhino were airlifted from Kruger National Park in SouthAfrica in 2001 through the efforts of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of rhinos. (white, 9 and 3 black).
The Hadeda Ibis is apparently spreading in SouthAfrica and even thriving in places like Johannesburg, living at least partly on dog food. Thanks for pointing it out though. So, no real need to go to Pafuri to see it. It is smaller than the common buzzard, but with longer wings and tail ( source ). 300 birds (HBW). This is one of them.
On my recent visit to southern Africa I saw them in several parks and even outside some protected areas, and in some numbers too. Fortunately, after what happened in Asia conservation groups are alert to the risks and are working to protect them before things get dire.
So, it sometimes comes to SouthAfrica to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Reportedly, the Water Thick-knee sometimes locates its nest close to the nest of Nile crocodiles as this offers some protection. The Latin species name vermiculatus (worm-like) refers to the markings on the upperparts.
And, I started daydreaming about encountering something a little different, maybe a Horned Frog, Ceratophrys cornuta, a large, squat green and brown frog of South America, with a wide mouth large enough to eat other frogs as well as reptiles. There’s the Goliath frog from SouthAfrica—up to one foot in length and over 6 pounds in weight.
The South Island Robin , and the South Island Saddleback , have been split from their North Island counterparts, so it would be nice to wrap them up quickly. But he left me with a great list of where to’s for the balance of the Island, as well as Australia and SouthAfrica!
SouthAfrica: The Gotcha Award. Singapore is a densely populated city-state which still manages to protect a number of species. I failed to see a Southern Black Bustard on my last visit to West Coast National Park near Cape Town. So what did I do? I hired a guide to find one for me and I saw it.
Photo taken by Adam Riley in SouthAfrica. Image taken in SouthAfrica by Adam Riley. Image taken by Adam Riley in SouthAfrica. Their nests are also a messy structure due to protective thorns on the outside, but the interior is constructed of softer grasses. Photo taken by Adam Riley in Ghana.
Duncan is currently enjoying SouthAfrica but he got his BBOTY in before he left: As of today I have no idea what birds I will see in December in SouthAfrica. Once endangered, they lead happy, protected lives, oblivious to the tourists who love them. I also blogged about that dreamy day.
Hiking For The Heck of It Reason To Become a Bird Watcher #1: No Batteries Required Welcome Wednesday: Musings on a Big Year About the Author James A life-long birder and native of SouthAfrica, James Currie has many years experience in the birding and wildlife tourism arenas. The proposal from U.S.
When we were planning this trip, New Zealand, Australia, and most certainly SouthAfrica got all my attention. This remarkable area is best know for its huge wall that was used for centuries to protect the city from invasion, but for me, the Conwy RSPB refuge was fantastic. SouthAfrica species 219.
Nevertheless, only the most important news I did follow, those about the decision-making process on future sales of elephants and their ivory at a global wildlife summit in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica, the first such meeting since 2013. In Africa, one elephant is being killed every 15 minutes. And it gave me a hope.
Wikipedia also has an interesting paragraph hinting at observation bias in ornithologists: “At the continental scale, saddle-billed storks preferred protected areas that have a higher extent of open water compared to areas without the storks. “ The diet includes seeds, nuts, and nectar. This was an unpleasant surprise for a Ph.D.
After leaving Africa, I was fearing a real let down in my birding. New Zealand had been good, Australia was incredible, and SouthAfrica was almost life altering. With my Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) field guide in hand, off we set to put a few Scottish birds on the list. Where do you go from there?
I was in contact with a group of birders for whom I arranged and guided an annual tour to Africa. We already had SouthAfrica, Zambia and Uganda under our belts, but my clients’ request for the next year came right out of the blue: Ghana! Africa’s only rainforest canopy walkway in Kakum National Park.
He passively supports BirdLife in the Netherlands and SouthAfrica and actively in Portugal as treasurer of SPEA – Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves. The local community protects the swamp because it’s the home of their totem, the lungfish. He firmly believes in the necessity of birders to contribute to conservation.
… Tags: south-africa , Spotted Dikkop , stone curlews , thick-knees • Camping tents - Check out our pop up tents , family tents , and more! A multi-part trip report from Cape Town can be found at Redgannet, March 2011. … This post has been submitted to Bird Photography Weekly #134. Go check it out!
I have fond memories of watching flocks feeding on the open veld in SouthAfrica, where thousands spend the winter. The number breeding in Europe is almost certainly much reduced from what it was a century ago, but in Spain the birds are now valued and protected.
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