Get out your bird books and binoculars for BirdLife KZN’s Regional Forum, taking place on September 10 at the Simbithi Eco-Estate in Ballito.
This bi-annual event will see an exciting gathering of like-minded birdwatchers, birders, conservation managers and scientists who will be talking about nothing but birds.
Nicolette Forbes, chairperson of BirdLife eThekwini KZN, invited “nature lovers and birders of KZN to get together to meet, listen to interesting talks on a variety of bird and nature-oriented topics, network and be part of a stimulating discussion”.
The event will commence with a short early-morning bird walk led by experienced guides on Simbithi estate, a haven for coastal forest birds. Forbes said that the walk “should serve as an informative taster to our KZN birds for anybody with a growing interest in learning bird identification and bird calls”.
Thereafter, several workshops will take place covering a range of topics from vultures, rewilding of two large and important reserves in KZN, the Babanango and Ukuwela, to Cape parrots, estuaries, rare bird recordings, BirdLife South Africa’s important People Empowerment Programme and regional conservation programmes like the South African Bird Atlas Programme and the Co-ordinated Waterbird Counts (CWAC).
Attendance at the KZN Forum is completely free with tea, coffee and biscuits provided.
There are restaurant facilities available on-site serving snacks or full meals. Forbes notes that space at the venue will be limited and that registration is required to reserve a place.
BirdLife eThekwini KZN was established in Durban in 1949 as the Natal Bird Club and is one of the oldest bird clubs in Africa. It is also one of the larger clubs affiliated to BirdLife South Africa, which in turn is the national partner of BirdLife International, the largest conservation organisation in the world.
BirdLife eThekwini KZN’s geographical area broadly covers the boundaries of the eThekwini Municipality on the subtropical east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, which is an area rich in bird diversity boasting 520 bird species occurring in an area stretching for 90km along the coastline and stretching inland to the foothills of the Drakensberg.
The mission of BirdLife eThekwini KZN is to promote the enjoyment, understanding, study and conservation of birds and the environment in the region, and to support BLSA in its similar objectives countrywide.
The six BirdLife KZN clubs meet bi-annually in February and in September for the weekend BirdLife Forum. The Saturday is devoted to avian conservation issues in the province with inputs from academics, conservationists, ornithologists, BLSA professional staff members and citizen scientists from all 6 clubs.
“Being a member of the club allows you to explore areas you may never go to, learn a lot about bird identification, behaviour and the natural environment, and contribute to conservation projects and most importantly by just being a member you act as an important member which counts to change legislation and policy to protect birds and their habitats,” said Forbes.
The club also has a new juniors division called BeKZN Fledglings specifically aimed at encouraging knowledge and interest in the next generation of birders.
Click here to register for the event.
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