Past Club Events
Past Club Outings
Outing March 2025 – Strandfontein and Zandvlei
On March 15 2025 we visited Strandfontein and Zandvlei.
On the water pans we enjoyed lovely views of flamingos, pelicans, geese, ducks, terns and gulls although waders were a bit scarce. Tap the heading to read more.
Outing February 2025 – Delheim Estate
On February 15 2025 we visited Delheim Estate in Stellenbosch.
We had the opportunity to visit areas not normally accessible to the public, but even around the restaurant and wine cellar there is always plenty to be seen.
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End of Year Function
Our Year End Function was held at Jessie Walton’s farm and nursery in Elgin.
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November 2024 Lourensford
Due to the winter rains and the damage to the roads we were not permitted to drive on our own, but Lourensford offered us a tractor and trailer with seating for 20 people. On Saturday 16 November 2024 the 20 people with the quickest reaction time on Riël’s message about the number limit, departed with the tractor and trailer for a great outing. It was our first November visit to Lourensford; the previous two were in autumn. It was great to be there at a different time of the year.
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October 2024 Grootvadersbosch NR
Our annual outing in 2024 was to Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve near Barrydale. Run by Cape Nature, the reserve describes itself on its website as one of the lesser known, which perhaps explained why I had never heard of it before. It is a place to go if you love peace and quiet and don’t mind (or actively enjoy) being out of signal for long periods of time.
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September 2024 Delheim Bird Walk
On September 28 2024 the Club was privileged to be invited to walk at Delheim Estate, Stellenbosch, in areas not usually accessible to the public. We were hosted by Nora who owns and lives on the estate, is a birder herself and keen to let others enjoy the beauty and the birds of the area. To that end she is in discussion with BirdLife South Africa about opening a birdwatching trail, and we were the lucky first visitors.
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August 2024 – Van der Stel Pass and Rooiels
We departed from Vergelegen Plein on a cloudy day, with a group of 13 heading towards Van Der Stel Pass. As we traveled through Elgin and into Grabouw, we spotted a fish eagle and saw 20 Guinea fowl amidst the stunning scenery on our way to Villiersdorp. We passed the beginning of the Tweewaterskloof Dam, which was full, and travelled through Vyeboom which is a farming community known for its Secretarybirds.
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Past Club Meetings
Monthly Meeting March 2025 – CAR Crane Count
On 6 March 2025 at our monthly meeting, Bas introduced us to Donella Young, a dedicated zoologist and biologist who played an important part in the now disbanded Animal Demography Unit at UCT. She has been involved with the Coordinated Avifaunal Roadcounts (CARs), where volunteers count and record Cranes and other large birds in specified areas, since the 1990s. Donella shared with us the journey of the CAR counts and how we can participate.
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Monthly Meeting February 2025 – Birds of Socotra
Socotra? Where is that? At our February meeting we found out more about this little-known destination close to Yemen. As well as birds Willene found goats (lots of goats), mosques, camels, and frankincense.
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Monthly Meeting January 2025 – Quiz Night
It was Quiz Time again at our first meeting of 2025, which was on the second Thursday of the month (the 9th).
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Monthly Meeting December 2024 – Photography Evening
On Thursday 5th December 2024 we hosted our very popular Photography Evening where members had the opportunity to show us their favourite pictures taken throughout the year and tell us the stories behind them.
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November 2024 – Chile & Patagonia
Rose Mills, a club member and past Committee member, enthralled us with her talk on a visit to Chile in September 2024. I am sure I am not the only one who felt like jumping on a plane there as soon as possible, despite it being a 30-hour trip (although apparently shorter but pricier routes are now available!)
September is a good time to go as it’s early in the season (less busy) and less windy than usual although it is colder as well. Rose chose the destination because she loved trekking in Nepal and was looking for a similar experience; she definitely was not disappointed by the landscape and above all the kind, friendly and humble people. It was not strictly a birding trip, but the country has many endemics and a great variety of species.
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October 2024 – Birds of New Zealand
Aotearoa is better known to us as New Zealand and John Magner having married a ‘Kiwi’ has visited the country many times. His talk this month focussed on the South Island which most of us would recognise on a map; what was more surprising was to hear that NZ is made up of over 600 islands and has a coastline of over 15,000km.
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September 2024 – Birds of Kenya
At our September meeting we welcomed club member Nick Liebenberg whose talk was titled ’The Flying Bassetts’. We were intrigued as to the meaning of the name, and were picturing arial canines; it turned out to be the name of the group Nick travels with. He describes himself as the weakest link in the group, but I suspect he is being modest.
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August 2024: African Penguins at De Hoop
In August we welcomed Christina Hagen from De Hoop Nature Reserve to update us on the African penguin colony.
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