About Us
Welcome to Somerset West Bird Club – we are glad you’ve perched on our page and trust you’ll enjoy your visit.
History of the Club
Since 1989 our club has encouraged birding and conservation in the Helderberg region (Somerset West, Strand, Gordon’s Bay, Sir Lowry’s Pass and surrounding areas).
The club supports and promotes conservation especially with regard to birding issues in our area. The Club was a founder member of the Western Cape Birding Forum, which under the sponsorship of Birdlife SA coordinates Western Cape Bird Clubs and regional birding activities and conservation programmes.
We have worked actively with the Cape Town City Parks Department to revive the Dick Dent Bird Sanctuary as a worthwhile birding conservation site and a small wetland which is attractive for local and visiting birders. The Bird Rehabilitation Centre has also been supported by the Club. We still visit and count and record the bird life there, although the area has been disrupted by the work taking place around the Lourens River.
Somerset West Bird Club was also the founder of the Helderberg Environmental and Educational Project which financed transport for less privileged school children to visit and enjoy bird and wildlife educational programmes at the Helderberg Nature Reserve.
More recently we are getting involved in the development of Paardevlei as a great birding destination, since it was proclaimed a Nature Reserve. We visit and count the birds there regularly and this data palyed an important role in that campaign. Looking ahead we are excited to be involved in building one or more Hides at the vlei, including donating money, materials, time and expertise.
Club members take part in many bird counts such as the twice yearly Coordinated Avifaunal Counts (CAR counts) and CWAC (Waterbird counts), as well as bird atlassing.
Kelp Gull by Marinda Bruwer
The purpose of our club is to:
- Encourage anyone who has an interest in birds to find the joy of bird-watching and learn about the wonderful world of our feathered friends
- Support and promote conservation especially relating to birding issues in and around the Helderberg basin.
Good reasons to join the roost
- Enjoy birdwatching with like-minded people
- Expand your knowledge of birds and where to find them
- Enjoy regular outings and meetings
- Receive the Batis magazine published every quarter
- Download an example copy of the Batis below. If you enjoy it, why not join and receive the latest edition every quarter.
- Batis August 2024
How to join the roost
MEMBERSHIP subscriptions are due in January of each year. Our 2026 subscription is:
- Individual or family membership: R160 per year including an electronic copy of our quarterly magazine, the Batis, sent by eMail. There is also an option to receive a printed copy of the Batis for R220 per year.
- Life membership for individual or family: One-off payment of R1,945 including an electronic copy of Batis magazine sent by eMail
SWBC AGM 2026
We held our AGM on 5 February.
Somerset West Bird Club annual report
Chair: Willene van der Merwe
The year 2025 was a good one for the Somerset West bird club. We entered the digital age with a brand new website, we fought hard to upgrade the status of Paardevlei from common area to nature conservation area, and we gained many new members.
I want to thank all the loyal members who so regularly attend our meetings in the library hall, and who go along on outings. All speakers and outings are listed in the Batis, so I am not going to bore you with listing them again. I do want to make special mention of our weekend away at Kuifkop near Velddrift, because I think that was one of the best we’ve ever had.
We need to thank Bas Kothuis for all his hard work to find great speakers, and new ones at that for every year, and to thank Riël Tredoux for thinking of places for us to visit on birding outings, as there are many factors to keep in mind. He needs to consider how far we need to travel, how accessible the routes are, and which time of year is best for each area.
We are still doing our monthly bird counts at Dick Dent and Paardevlei, although Dick Dent is in a sad state of repair. I do not envisage any improvement of the site in the near future, and we might consider moving our efforts to the other side of the bridge where a lot of flood prevention work has been done. According to the landscape planner, many bird species have been seen there. The good news about Paardevlei is that there is a new manager for the whole area that includes the strandveld and dunes all the way to the marine protected area, and he is really on board to making the place a haven for birds and bird watchers. We will soon be meeting with the City delegates to determine where we will be putting up a bird hide, and where boardwalks are needed for paths that get soggy in winter. There will also be a discussion about which activities will be allowed there, to prevent the birds from being harrassed and to ensure peace and quiet.
A new Clearview fence will be put up from where the cattle are right to the entrance to Paardevlei precinct, which will keep out vagrants and people who think they can overnight there. I thank Sakkie Krynauw for his diligent work of many years doing the bird counts and submitting these to BIRP.
You all must agree that the club magazine, The Batis, has gone from strength to strength under the formidable hand of Marion Herholdt, and between her and our newest committee member Marné Volschenk, the club website has also gained momentum and is proving to be well worth the effort and money. I also want to thank Marné for adding her social media/graphic skills to our presence on social platforms.
We owe a lot to our members who do a lot of their work behind the scenes. I thank Bernice Green and the ladies who help her for her perfect organisation of the scrumptious eats and tea and coffee that we are served at every meeting. The funds gained from this help a lot towards covering silly things like bank fees and stationery. Less silly costs are the security guard and the renting of the hall. Good earnings are also coming from the raffle tickets that you so willingly buy and that Annamarie Krynauw is always on her post at the entrance with.
The treasurer job filled By Sakkie Krynauw is one that needs special mention.You all should have received his financial report, and would have seen that our finances are in excellent order. He has to beg you all to pay your subs, make sure all our expenses are paid, visit the bank with the cash after each meeting, and make sure speakers and hall and the security guard get paid. He has been doing this job for 14 years, and I think he deserves a round of applause.
Last but not least, I want to thank Freya Brett for her unstinting efforts in overseeing the 5 Eco schools in our area, and for taking a bus load of children (we paid for the bus) to the eco centre at the Helderberg Nature Reserve. She spent the entire month of December grading the files and documents the schools submitted to her. Each school has 5 projects per year, and they have to write a report on what they achieved. We are proud to have her as long-standing member of the committee and the club, and for the important work she is doing.