Patch works: connecting plants, birds and people

Urban areas are usually not at the top of our lists of ‘must-see’ birding spots, and with good reason. With development burgeoning in a bid to accommodate the growing human population in cities, large areas of natural habitat have been transformed. The remaining fragments of habitat act as refugia for wildlife, but they are often isolated from other natural areas, limiting the movement of many animals, plant seeds, and bird species between these spots. The greater Cape Town area is a typical example of a human-dominated landscape, with small patches of natural habitat dotted among the suburbs, agricultural land, and industrial areas.