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Our Mission...
Newsflash
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Sunday, 05 June 2011

Our Mission and Values at GBT... Here at GBT we hope to foster an interest in all things birding, and in so doing, also create a deep and abiding respect for our natural environment. We do so without taking ourselves too serioulsy, but we do take the state of our environment very seriously. We share our knowledge and our passion for all things birding willingly and enthusiastically.

 
WINNER OF THE DECEMBER 2011 TOTW!
The Sociable Nest
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Saturday, 04 February 2012

CONGRATULATIONS TO TONY FARIA FOR WINNING THE GLOBALBIRDTREKKERS FLICKR BIRD PHOTO OF THE WEEK CONTEST FOR DECEMBER 2011!

 ARROW-MARKED BABBLER BY TONY FARIA

ARROW-MARKED BABBLER

 


 
TOTW
The Sociable Nest
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Saturday, 04 February 2012

In line with world wetlands day..

The theme of the week is: DUCK!!

You can submit your photos in either the Trekkie's Forums or in the relevant GBT Flickr Group Discussion . Remember a winner is selected each month end.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6038/6231401621_c68a32ae23.jpg
Yellow-billed Duck by roelofvdb, on Flickr


 
WORLD WETLANDS DAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2012
Newsflash
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Thursday, 02 February 2012

WORDL WETLANDS DAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2012

 
Photo Contest #36 Winners!
The Sociable Nest
Written by Candice Swarts   
Tuesday, 24 January 2012

Photo Contest #36

Theme: Seabirds

First place is a awarded to Sean Browne with 21 points!

Arctic Tern

 

Jay Stotts comes in second place with a total of 12 points!Untitled

 

Congratulations to Sean and Jay!


 
FBOTW
The Sociable Nest
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Monday, 23 January 2012

Bearded Helmetcrest

BEARDED HELMETCREST BY JOSE IVAN CANO MARIN

If you would like to see more of Jose's photos, have a look here >

or on the website: www.ecoandes.org

 

About the photo...

Taken in Colombia.

Camera Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 250 mm
ISO Speed 800

 

About the bird species...

The Bearded Helmetcrest (Oxypogon guerinii) is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, known as páramo.

Measuring 114 mm (4.5 in) in length, it is a small hummingbird with a very small 8 mm (0.3 in) bill.

The Bearded Helmetcrest is found in the Andes, ranging from altitudes of 3600 to 4500 m (12000–15000 ft) in Venezuela, and 3200 to 5200 m (10500 to 17000 ft) in Colombia.

Source: Wikipedia


 
latest news from the little rahab center; Jake's story...
The Sociable Nest
Written by Meryl Cochrane   
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Hi,
A quick update.
Our foxes are thriving! They have dug a hole under the gate and have made a den under some thick bushes at the back of the cottage. We take them for walks around the farm every morning, they love it and hang around waiting for us to go. We have a new tiny female grysbokkie, she is cute and we've named her Poppy. In these pics she is getting to know the big ones. This young Black Eagle was picked up on a farm outside Robertson. She is a chick from this season but has no 'pope's nose' so no tail feathers! This is a birth defect so she is not releasable! I have sent her to Hank at Eagle Encounters where she will be well cared for. I am not skilled enough to care for a bird such as this! Jake is fine and seems content with his life
 
regards
Meryl   
 
Bat-eared Foxes  Jake and new bokkie
 
Bat-eared Foxes  Black Eagle
 
Black Eagle  civet
 
 

 
Photo Contest #35 Winners!
The Sociable Nest
Written by Candice Swarts   
Tuesday, 27 December 2011

Photo Contest #35

Theme: Your Favourtie Bird

 First place is a awarded to Mark Schultz with 16 points!

 Trout for Dinner

Peet van Schalkwyk came in second place with 9 points!

African Fish-Eagle

Madhawa Karunaratne also came in second place with 9 points!

Common Kingfisher

 Congratulations to the three winners!


 
J.K Nature Guiding-latest trip report
The Sociable Nest
Written by John Kinghorn   
Friday, 16 December 2011
"We set off on Saturday 3 December with huge objectives in mind. Firstly ton twitch the hectic rarity that was sighted here in the form of Pectoral Sandpiper and secondly to twitch another less common species in the form of Yellow Wagtail.

After a 2.5 hour drive, a few toilet stops and an unfortunate road kill sighting we arrived at Mkhombo Dam, with 7/8's of cloud cover and what looked to be like some Cumulo Nimbus Clouds Building in the North. We headed straight for the shoreline and stopped every few meters to scan for the elusive wader. With no luck and just a few sightings of Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper we were still Pectoral'less. 

As the clouds started to clear up we said a prayer or two and and furthered our searches up to the 4km mark where we entered a large field area where a massive heard of cows were grazing. Perfect Yellow Wagtail habitat we said to one another and lone behold the first cow we scanned produced a single bird fluttering at its feet. Tick!
 
Yellow Wagtail


We then proceeded towards the waters edge yet again as to our right their seemed to be a lot of wader activity. We were having no luck with only sightings of the common waders until all of a sudden to our left we heard an abrupt chhhhrp and a flap and landing right in front of us was a Pectoral Sandpiper. Tick!
 
Pectoral Sandpiper

The Group was incredibly excited about the sighting and the fact that we had managed to tick both target species for the day was just a bonus.

On our way back we decided to go the Rust De Winter route in the hope to tick off Lesser Kestrel which tend to like this area and are normally seen hunting off the telephone wires. Lone behold, a few kilometers down the road, we had to apply some serious brakes and reverse to admire a magnificent Lesser Kestrel. This was the cherry on the top for the trip as it was also our Junior Head Guides 500th bird on his life list. 
 
Lesser Kestrel


So all in all a magnificent day out birding with guests pleased and guides happy.

Regards,

John Kinghorn

J.K Nature Guiding-Head Guide
083 517-5471
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


 

JK Nature Training

 


 
The Guide's Tale...
The Sociable Nest
Written by Leon Marais   
Sunday, 11 December 2011

Gorongosa: Welcome to the Lion House!

 

Casa dos Leoes.

The Antiga Casa dos Leões, or The Lion House, is nothing more than a small square concrete building, derelict and pock-marked with bullet holes, standing on the edge of a vast green plain. Animals such as Common Waterbuck, Common Reedbuck, Oribi, Warthog and Yellow Baboon dot the plain, while birds crowd the depressions where water lies leftover from the last rainy season, and untold numbers of swallows swarm overhead. It’s a great scene, classical Africa, and somehow the derelict building adds incredible weight to it all. It’s a testament to the history of the Park and the country as a whole, and actually seeing the concrete ruin brings it all home that I’m finally here, in Parc Nacional Da Gorongosa, Mozambique.

Ok, so there weren’t any Lions on the roof of the building, but I’d seen coverage of Gorongosa on television, complete with a pride of Lions on the roof of the Casa dos Leões, and something about the place appealed to me deeply. The building itself was in fact part of a restaurant and park headquarters, built by the Portuguese in the colonial days, but soon abandoned as it was built on a seasonal floodplain which renders much of the park off-limits during the summer wet season. We were at the Lion House on our first morning drive with Rob from Explore Gorongosa, a privately-run ‘eco-camp’ within the National Park. I was accompanied by three birders and wildlife enthusiasts from the United Kingdom, and our goal was to see some of the region’s special birds such as the Green-headed Oriole of Mount Gorongosa, and, on a more basic level, to be part of something new and exciting and to experience something of the pioneering spirit of the place. I’ve written a detailed trip report (you can download the report at http://lawsons-africa.co.za/trip-reports-a-25.html?osCsid=03669dce472c47db1decff58e361505b), including all the bird and animal records for our week-long stay, but I didn’t really have room there to say what I actually thought of Gorongosa.

In one short sentence, Gorongosa was mind-blowing. I’ve visited most of Southern Africa’s big name game parks – Etosha, Chobe, Mana Pools, the Kgalagadi, Kruger and the like – and Gorongosa is without a doubt the most scenic and breathtaking of them all. It’s classical Africa, with wide open vistas; flocks of snow-white Cattle Egrets floating down among herds of animals spread across the vast plains; seasonal pans teeming with water birds (in one view I counted at least 15 Saddle-billed Storks); forests of yellow-green Fever Trees under breath-taking afternoon cloudscapes; dense, jungle-like Borassus Palm savannah where herds of elephants hide… Gorongosa is aptly described as “Africa’s Lost Eden” by National Geographic and is a must for birders, photographers and general Africa aficionados alike.

Birding:

In terms of the birding, the speculifer race of the Green-headed Oriole, which is endemic to Mount Gorongosa, is the undisputed star of the list, and in fact many hard-core birding groups only visit the mountain, skipping out the National Park altogether. Well, we weren’t quite as hard-core as that, and actually spent enough time in the region to enjoy it for what it is while at the same time adding a few specials to our list. We were very lucky with the Oriole, getting some great views on the forest edge rather than in the forest itself, where the canopy is 60 feet above your head. Overall we recorded 211 bird species, which is not bad considering that 90% of our time was spent in one general location. I really enjoyed the ‘epic’ birding around the lagoons and pans, where one could sit for long periods of time observing the bird behaviour and scanning for new species. Some of our group were a little disappointed in not bagging a few of the other specials such as Black-and-White Flycatcher and Chestnut-fronted Helmet-Shrike, but overall everyone really enjoyed the birding experience. For me one thing was clear, and that was that I need to spend more time there to get an accurate picture of the birding scenario. I’m not qualified to make scientific statements, but to me it seems that the huge numbers of Baboons could be having an effect on the numbers of smaller birds, and that brings me to the mammals.

Game viewing:

I would describe the game viewing as good, but somewhat unbalanced. The most numerous species are Common Waterbuck, Common Reedbuck, Oribi, Warthog and Yellow Baboon, and these are abundant. I’m certainly not used to seeing Oribi in large numbers, and the Baboons seem unusually brazen due to the lack of medium-sized predators. Leopards are scarce to non-existent, probably hunted out for their skins, and without them the Baboons seem to have lost their ties to trees and other forms of cover, spending a lot of time right out in the open on the floodplain. They also seem to move around quite a bit at night, which is pretty much unheard of in the Kruger National Park. Warthogs have also benefited from the lack of medium-sized predators, as have Bushpigs, which are also to be seen feeding out in the open floodplain during the day. There are Lions in the reserve, though we didn’t see any, and without many large prey animals such as Buffalo, Zebra and Wildebeest, the Lions probably prey on Warthogs and other smaller species quite a bit, thus behaving more like Leopards than Lions. Cheetah have recently been reintroduced, though of the four original animals only two remain – we saw one of them – but it seems to be an ideal environment for Cheetah to hunt in, with plenty of small antelope feeding on the edge of the floodplain where there’s cover for the Cheetah to stalk and open space for them to run down their quarry. Without Leopards the smaller predators have been able to flourish, and we saw two Servals, Large Grey Mongoose (a lifer for me), Water Mongoose (only the second sighting for me) and had many sightings of Civet and Large-spotted Genet. We saw large herds of Elephants, but kept our distance as they can be very aggressive, which is understandable after years of war and heavy poaching. So overall the game viewing was good, but to me it seems that there are certain imbalances in the whole food chain, which again is not surprising when considering the poaching and mass commercial hunting of previous years. Many people are working hard on the restoration project, so hopefully balance will be restored in the future.

The Bitter-Sweet Nature of it all:

Where once there was forest.

It is very encouraging to see and learn about the transformation of Gorongosa, from battle ground and killing field to a functioning National Park which is attracting a lot of international attention. When people with vision and ability get involved, great things can happen – watch the National Geographic film entitled “Africa’s Lost Eden” and you’ll be left feeling very upbeat about conservation in Africa. However, there’s a yang to the yin of the reconstruction of Gorongosa. The National Park is obviously part of a greater ecosystem, one which is under increasing pressure from man. On the main road from Beira, a large town not too far away, every second or third truck is hauling huge logs for export. On the outskirts of the town large yards are stacked with thousands upon thousands of these logs, where they are cut into thick planks and exported, some say to China. I’m not sure where they are coming from, or where they are going, but somewhere there’s deforestation occurring on a large scale. I’m also not sure about regulations and sustainability, but to the tourist concerned about the environment, it leaves a sickening hollow in the guts. In addition, there’s the charcoal trade which is contributing to the deforestation. In between the heavy trucks hauling giant logs are smaller trucks hauling bags of charcoal to the towns and cities. Cleared areas become machambas, or subsistence agriculture plots, where the locals eke a living out of the now dry red earth. This cut and farm system is occurring high up on the slopes of Mount Gorongosa, which is the water source for the National Park, and thus the entire Lake Urema system is under threat. Throw in talk of a Chinese gold mine in the escarpment to the west of the park, and you have the same bag of threats facing Mapungubwe National Park, Selous, the Serengeti and many other ‘protected’ areas.

I’ll end off with a story told by Rob of Explore Gorongosa, and apologies if I don’t have it quite correct but the point is made: a lady who had lived in Beira during the Portuguese colonial days had the opportunity to revisit Gorongosa recently, having not been to the area since leaving when the troubles started in the early 1980’s. She knew someone who was part of the restoration project, and confided that she was looking forward to the drive up from Beira, where one had to turn on the vehicle headlights during the day as the road passed through a closed-canopy forest that cut off most of the daylight. When she actually got there however, she was struck silent. The road passes through nothing more than scrub and bush interspersed with fields of maize. There’s absolutely no sign that there was ever a forest there….

The photo below is of the Antigo Miradouro dos Hipopotomus, at one time a bustling little restaurant overlooking Lake Urema. Again this old ruin adds a forlorn element to the natural landscape. To see more photos from our Gorongosa trip have a look at the Latest Safari Gallery page on the Lawson's Blog page.

Antigo Miradouro dos Hipopotomus.

 

 

 

 

Lawson's Birding, Wildlife&Custom Safaris

 


 
SASOL Birds of Southern Africa IV
Latest Bird Guides by STRUIK
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Tuesday, 26 July 2011

SASOL Birds of Southern Africa IV


 

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa remains the region’s most comprehensively illustrated and trusted field guide. This fourth edition has been greatly improved by the addition of group introductions, calendar bars showing species’ occurrence and breeding periods, a section on ‘how to use this book’, as well as sonograms depicting the calls of tricky bird groups.

The newly designed plates are meticulously illustrated, with labels pinpointing key differentiating features. Distribution maps show the relative abundance of a species in the region and also indicate resident or migrant status.

Written by top birders, this authoritative and comprehensive identification guide is invaluable to all birders.

Click here to visit the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV website. 

Also Available in a PVC cover edition - 9781770079274 | R 260.00
Ook Beskikbaar in Afrikaans



About the Author - Ian Sinclair

Ian Sinclair is recognised as one of Africa’s foremost field birders and has lead many expeditions to find and research birds. He is the most published author on the birds of Africa and its adjacent islands and has written over 20 bird books.

...[more about Ian Sinclair]

About the Author - Phil Hockey

Phil Hockey is Director at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town. He is a recognised authority on the biology of southern African birds, and is Editor-in-chief of the 7th edition of Roberts Birds of Southern Africa.

...[more about Phil Hockey]

About the Author - Peter Ryan

Peter Ryan is an Associate Professor at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town and is currently serving as president of BirdLife South Africa. He has written several books.

...[more about Peter Ryan]

About the Author - Warwick Tarboton

Warwick Tarboton is a well-known bird expert and writer who has produced a number of well-received books.

...[more about Warwick Tarboton]

About the Illustrator - Norman Arlott

Norman Arlott is a highly accomplished, award-winning illustrator based in England. His work has appeared in over 150 books, magazines and on many British Commonwealth postage stamps. His fondness for African birds stems from several visits to the region over the past 35 years.  He is currently writing and illustrating a series of bird guides for Europe, North Ameri ...[more about Norman Arlott]

» Author: Ian Sinclair; Phil Hockey; Peter Ryan; Warwick Tarboton
» Illustrator: Norman Arlott
» Title: Sasol Birds of Southern Africa IV
» ISBN: 9781770079250
» Format: Softcover
» Release Date: October 2011
» Imprint: Nature
» Pages: 464
» Price: R240.00
Buy Now   Read the Media Reviews

 



 
Magical Malawi: Birding, Cultural and Wildlife Tour not to be missed!
The Sociable Nest
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Friday, 16 September 2011

People here is a wonderful opportunity being offered from Africa Geographic Expeditions along with our very own Vanga as a guide wink

The small landlocked nation of Malawi has to be one of the top birding destinations in Africa. Added to the diverse avian life is a wonderful blend of culture, wildlife and scenic landscapes that makes safe travelling through this country a pleasure. Malawi further affords incredible birding opportunities and is home to several Southern Rift endemics and many species restricted to south-central Africa.


A special 8-day trip has been put together for this December to explore the extraordinary montane area of Nyika National Park in the north of the country with its wide range of birding habitats, from miombo woodland, wetlands and montane forest pockets to high-altitude grasslands.  "Rolling, folding grass-covered country; deep in the heart of Africa and filled with animals of Africa, yet covered with the grasses, the flowers, the colours of Europe"...This is how Lauren’s Van der Post flamboyantly described the scenic splendour of the Nyika Plateau in his 1949 expedition to Malawi, documented in his book Venture to the Interior. Anyone visiting today will find that very little has changed. Three full days are available to explore the delights of Nyika. Notable summer grassland species present include Montane Widowbird, Blue Swallow (largest breeding population in Africa with around 300 pairs!), Black-lored and Churring Cisticola, Angola Swallow, White-headed Saw-wing, Hildebrandt’s Francolin, Mountain Yellow Warbler and Montagu’s Harrier. Other specialities include Augur Buzzard, Red-winged Francolin (endemic sub-species), Bar-tailed Trogon, Dusky Turtle Dove, Southern Mountain Greenbul, Chapin’s Apalis, Scarlet-tufted Sunbird, Moustached Tinkerbird, Fülleborn’s Black Boubou, White-chested Alethe, Rwenzori and Pennant-winged Nightjar, Malawi Batis, Wallers Starling, Tree Pipit, White-winged Black Tit, Jackson’s Pipit and Olive-flanked Robin-Chat to mention just a few! In miombo woodland areas of Nyika chances are very good in finding specials such as Rufous-bellied Tit, Souza’s Shrike, Collared Flycatcher, the stunning White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Pale-billed Hornbill, Woodland Pipit, Spotted Creeper, Whyte’s Barbet and Miombo Pied Barbet. Birding is interspersed with ample mammal viewing and photographic opportunities of impressive herds of eland and roan antelope, Crawshay’s zebra, bushbuck, bushpig, side-striped jackal, spotted hyaena, leopard, serval and even possibly elephant! In summer, the botany is an added highlight. Nyika is one of Africa’s hidden gems!


Nyika is not the only exciting birding destination on this trip however. We will also visit the Viphya Plateau – part of the second largest montane complex in Malawi. Although much of this region is commercial plantations there are still some wonderful tracts of miombo and mixed woodland as well as open wetlands and forest at Luwawa itself. The birding is extremely productive and target species are many here and include Short-winged Cisticola, Moustached Grass-Warbler, Evergreen Forest-Warbler, Bronzy Sunbird, Cabanis’s Bunting, Bertrand’s Weaver, Red-rumped Swallow, Eurasian Marsh Harrier and White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher.


After the heady heights of Nyika and the Viphya then travel down to the central lakeshore of one of Africa’s Great Lakes – Lake Malawi. Bird watching in lowland forest is very productive and can produce many new species on this itinerary. These could include Blue-spotted Wood-dove, East Coast Akalat, Narina Trogon, Green Twinspot, Palmnut Vulture, Green Malkoha, African Barred Owlet and African Broadbill. A juvenile Pel’s Fishing-Owl was even recently seen in the large trees of the lodge where we will be staying here! Snorkelling amongst the Lake’s equally famous cichlids is another possibility. Interesting mammals could include four-toed elephant shrew, mutable sun squirrel and samango monkey.


After the main trip an optional 5-day extension takes in the Zomba Plateau and the lush lowlands of Liwonde National Park. Zomba Mountain, a huge granite outcrop rising to over 2000 metres offers open mountain grassland, pristine forest and tranquil streams. Target species include Scarce Swift, Mountain Wagtail, European Blackcap and the highly localised White-winged Apalis and Tchyolo Alethe. Undoubtedly another top birding spot in Malawi, Liwonde’s wide range of habitat includes the languid Shire Rive with its extensive floodplains, deciduous thicket, riverine forest, seasonal wetlands and mopane woodland – over 350 bird species have been recorded here. The park simply abounds with specials including Lilian’s Lovebird, Brown-breasted Barbet, White-backed Night-Heron, Spur-winged Lapwing, Bat Hawk, Dickinson’s Kestrel, Pel’s Fishing-Owl, Gull-billed Tern, Speckle-throated Woodpecker, Collared Palm-thrush, Eastern Nicator, Bohm’s Bee-eater and Livingstone’s Flycatcher. There is even a shot at African Pitta depending on the rains!! This Park also boasts good mammal densities including healthy numbers of African elephant, waterbuck, sable antelope, buffalo and black rhino. Two full days are allocated to explore the tapestry of habitats and ecotones found here. Activities include walking, birding and game viewing drives in open 4X4 vehicles and boat trips on the Shire River itself.


Malawi is very different to birding other regions in Africa. Prices for this trip are also very reasonable considering where we are staying! Drop a mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for a detailed itinerary and prices. Group size is limited to six people only and three have confirmed already so space is rather limited! Hoping you can join us for this very special exploration of Malawi!


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All photos and text by Martin Benadie


 
Latest on the forums...
Newsflash
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Thursday, 11 August 2011

SEE THE LATEST FOOTAGE FROM THE BIRDCAM!

latest from the birdcam!

Re: Guinea Pig's European Birding adventures.

Trip Report: Kgomo, Zaagkuil, Wolfhuiskraal & MCPA Dam

Re: What did you see today? (4)

 
PHOWN
Birds and Birding news..
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Friday, 12 August 2011
Thanks for submitting PHOWN (Photos of Weaver Nests) records!
With over 1000 records in the first year (and a bit), the project is going well.
The summaries and navigation on the PHOWN web site has improved, so take a look at http://weavers.adu.org.za/phown.php if you have not visited recently.

New records are most welcome (and needed - there are not too many records for any species!) , but it would be really great if you could also send regular repeats of a colony near you. It is fun seeing how the size of a weaver colony changes, and even if it doesn't change, we would like to know this and it is still fun watching the activities at a breeding colony.

Read more about setting up a gazetteer for Repeats at the latest news item at http://weavers.adu.org.za (or at this permanent link: http://weavers.adu.org.za/newstable.php?id=135). Repeats are easier to submit than new colonies if you use the gazetteer function. The news item also shows an example of a colony and how its size has changed over the last year.

How often should you record repeat counts of a colony? This is entirely up to you. You can submit repeats on a daily, weekly, monthly or random basis. If you submit repeats regularly but skip some, that does not matter - simply continue when you can.

Dieter

-- 
Dr Dieter Oschadleus
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it (or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Bird-ringing Coordinator, SAFRING
Animal Demography Unit tel: (021) 650-2421
University of Cape Town fax: (021) 650-3434
Rondebosch 7701 RSA After-hours: 083-285-6889
SAFRING http://safring.adu.org.za
Weavers http://weavers.adu.org.za



 
Help save the Cape Parrot
Newsflash
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Monday, 27 June 2011
HELP THE WILD BIRD TRUST SAVE SOUTH AFRICA'S "GREEN-AND-GOLD" NATIONAL PARROT BY SENDING AN SMS...SMS "parrot" to 38774 and donate R10 to Cape Parrot conservation[Promotion only in South Africa]
HELP US SAVE SOUTH AFRICA'S "GREEN-AND-GOLD" NATIONAL PARROT BY SENDING AN SMS......

SMS "parrot" to 38774 and donate R10 to Cape Parrot conservation!

[Promotion only in South Africa]
 
LBJ's Made Simple
Latest Bird Guides by STRUIK
Written by globalbirdtrekkers.org   
Friday, 17 June 2011

LBJ's Made Simple

LBJs Made Simple

LBJ's Made Simple

LBJs made simple is an important new guide to the cryptic little birds that are universally known as ‘little brown jobs’.

Using colour coding and careful design, the reader is systematically guided through the initial sorting stages: from family group, to ‘visual group’ within the family, and finally to the species. Illustrations with pointers show characteristic features of each species, summarised in an ‘At a glance’ box. Concise text describes visual clues as well as other key ID criteria, such as size, habitat, habits, call and similar-looking and -sounding birds. A distribution map shows range, and each species is linked by track number to its call on the accompanying CD. Identification depends on successfully matching a given number of the bird’s features – in some cases, just a single convincing diagnostic trait.

Painstakingly conceived and designed, this guide will have wide appeal for serious birders and keen amateurs alike – anyone who wants to be able to tell one LBJ from another.



About the Author - Doug Newman
Doug Newman is an electrical engineer and has had a keen interest in birds, particularly bird calls, from a young age. He is also co-founder of www.simplybirding.com. Newman has produced this collection of bird sounds to accompany the highly successful Bird Calls for Beginners. ...[more about Doug Newman]

About the Author - Gordon King
Gordon King's IT training, specifically in data methodology, has helped with the design of various birding projects. Co-founder of the Simply Birding website, he has been published in magazines, including Babble & Chat, and has a passion for photography. ...[more about Gordon King]

» Author: Doug Newman; Gordon King
» Title: LBJ's Made Simple
» ISBN: 9781770077997
» Format: Softcover
» Release Date: June 2011
» Imprint: Nature
» Pages: 136
» Price:

R180.00

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Bird Watchers to Explore Colombia Vol. 1
Favourite Birding Spots
Written by www.joseivancanomarin.com   
Saturday, 18 June 2011

 Bird Watchers to Explore Colombia Vol.1

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