Sustainability may start at home, but many environmental challenges require the cooperation of multiple countries – and international agreements help to create a framework for such collaboration. For example, diverse nations, sometimes at opposite ends of the globe, share a responsibility to care for and protect migratory species and their habitats. The Convention on the…
Flock At Sea Again! in April 2017 will have some special guests. The team from the Ocean View Association for People with Disabilities (OVAPD) centre that makes our bird-scaring lines will be joining us on board, thanks to holding albithe generous sponsorship of Rand Merchant Bank. The OVAPD centre runs the Tori Line project as…
Through a series of workshops, the Common Oceans Tuna Project aims to reduce the impacts of pelagic (tuna) longline fisheries on albatross and petrel populations and ensure that the implementation of best-practice seabird by-catch measures is accelerated. Read about the latest National Awareness Workshop in October, which was aimed at government officials, fishing industry representatives…
The Wilge River runs through the grasslands of the beautiful eastern Free State, an area that contains many threatened bird species and is an important water catchment. Its formal protection is a matter of urgency, which is why BirdLife South Africa and partners are undertaking the Wilge Stewardship Project. Grasslands are not universally appreciated, especially…
The Kruger Bird & Wildlife ChallengeIn support of the White-winged Flufftail 6th to 15th February 2019 (10 days) We are thrilled to launch an epic birding and wildlife event that promises to provide: first class birding in one of the world’s great untouched wildernesses; South Africa’s jewel, the Kruger National Park, which we will explore…
After the great success that was Flock at Sea AGAIN! 2017, the BirdLife South Africa staff have returned to shore and planning is well under way for next year’s Flock on the West Coast. Featuring the bi-annual Learn About Birds (LAB) symposium, the event will take place from 7 to 11 March 2018 and will…
The BirdLife South Africa staff meeting, held from 23 to 25 May 2017, had a change of venue this year and took place at the picturesque Sea Villa Glen Craig Conference Venue in Pringle Bay, Western Cape. This annual meeting gives the 38 BirdLife South Africa staff and interns a chance to discuss the progress…
Steve’s poem: Out on the limitless ocean Nothing to see but the waves: Ever changing, peaking, subsiding, All the same but each detail different. Cairns upon hills upon mountains, Rolling, swirling, constantly in motion. Now smooth, now rough, Now blue, now white, Wind whipping the spray along. Then, from far off comes serenity, A Wandering…
2016 was a very busy year for the Avitourism & Special Projects Programme, which has been involved in the East Atlantic Flyway Initiative, partner development work in southern Africa and the State of South Africa’s Birds Report and regional Red List publications, as well as the revived BirdLife South Africa Bird Guide Training Project. We…
The Events Programme over the past 12 months was as versatile as ever and new twists to familiar themes proved to be very popular. On behalf of everyone at BirdLife South Africa, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who supported our Events Programme for making this year a great one. With…
BirdLife South Africa hosted the annual Owl Awards on 6 October at Beechwood Gardens, Johannesburg. We would like to congratulate the award recipients, who were all very deserving of an award for their outstanding contributions to the conservation of our country’s birds and their habitats. Front row, from left to right: James Wade Lee (Owlet),…
In early August 2015, BirdLife South Africa’s staff moved into Isdell House, our new head office in Dunkeld West, Johannesburg. For some time it had been our intention to move into more suitable headquarters. The previous office, Lewis House, in Randburg, no longer suited the organisation’s needs, mainly because of office space and parking constraints.…
BirdLife South Africa, Rand Water (Water Wise) and Eskom hosted the annual Flufftail Festival at Cresta Shopping Centre from 2-8 February 2016. The Flufftail Festival is linked to World Wetlands Day, a global event celebrating wetlands worldwide on 2 February. The aim of the Flufftail Festival was to raise awareness about a critical resource (water), threatened habitat (wetlands) and endangered birds (especially the White-winged Flufftail). With the drought gripping our country in 2016, there was no better time to be raising awareness about water.
The biennial LAB, co-hosted by BirdLife South Africa and the Percy FitzPatrick Institute for African Ornithology, held at Skukuza, Kruger National Park (9 – 11 March 2016), offered a full programme. Presentations covered a variety of scientific and conservation-related topics, including summaries of research and report-backs on ongoing studies. Two workshops began proceedings on the…
