We share useful information at our monthly meeting before we listen to our speaker.

On this page you can read a round-up of that information. We hope you find this useful if you missed a meeting.

JUNE 2026

-This month’s outing is to Harold Porter Botanical Gardens, Rooiels and potentially the penguin colony in Betty’s Bay on 20th June. Meet at Vergelegen Plein, Somerset West at 07h00 to leave at 07h15. It is a hike. Entrance fee: R60 / R45.

-If anyone still has old bino’s they wish to donate towards Anton Fortuin, please take them to any of the committee members.

-Paardevlei outing on 13th of June – meet at Lorenzo Marx parking at 15h00

-If anyone is interested in joining the committee, we would be delighted to welcome new members. Please feel free to speak to any of the current committee members for more information.

MAY 2026

1. Saturday May 9: Bird watch / Count at Dick Dent. Meet at AGS Church, corner of Woltemade and Jennings Streets, Strand, at 15:00.
2. Saturday May 16: Outing to Tygerberg Nature Reserve. It is a hike, including uphill, can be physically challenging. Likely to be about 3 hours in the reserve. There is an entrance fee at the reserve. Meet at Habitat Centre, Somerset Mall, at 7:00 for carpooling, to leave shortly after 7.  (PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF MEETING TIME THAT WE COMMUNICATED AT THE MEETING).  We will be guided by a member of Tygerberg Bird Club.
3. Weekend away 16 – 18 October: Landmeterskop, Stanford. The accommodation is fully booked so if you want to attend please book somewhere else in Stanford area. If you want to join the boat trip on the Saturday please contact Maresa.
4. Binocular donations: If you have binos you are not using please bring to next meeting, they will be donated to Anton Fortuin and used by eco schools learners, encouraging them to get interested in birding and conservation.
5. Batis edition 114: For those that could not pick up their printed copies at the meeting, your copies will be taken to the Hospice Shop in Somerset Main Road on Saturday 9 May. Any queries please email batis.editor@gmail.com

APRIL 2026

– This month’s outing is on the 18th of April, and would have been to Lourensford, but they can’t accommodate us on that day. The alternative is Steenbras, we will have a field guide with us. More details to follow.

– Paardevlei count is on the 11th of April. On the same day, the Friends of Paardevlei are having an iNaturalist count. Their mission is also to have more people join the group; it is free. We will meet at Lorenzo Marx at 3 pm for the count.

– Weekend away this year will be 16 and 17 October, to Landmeterskop near Stanford. They have given us a special rate of R500 per person per night. There will be a boat ride on Saturday morning. Sakkie will make the deposit, and each person will organise their own payment. Final details to follow.

– Helderberg Nature Reserve extended its membership renewal deadline to the end of April due to system problems. Member will have to show their current card at the gate, and their name and number will be recorded by the staff on duty. On exiting, they will be asked to show their renewed card and be ticked off the list.

– Anton Fortuin is doing great work with the Eco Schools; he is working with Danie Ackerman School to encourage the children to become more interested in nature. If anyone has old binoculars they wish to donate, feel free to contact any of the committee members. Anton will keep the binoculars and hand them out when they go out on outings.

– Entrance fee. At the next meeting we will be implementing a R10 fee at the door. This will only apply to those members and visitors who are not wearing a name tag. Those who haven’t received a name tag yet can contact Sakkie. And those who have lost a name tag will have to pay a R10 fine. This is to assist us with the cost of the AV technician. As members have noticed, we have been working hard to improve the sound for everyone.

MARCH 2026

– Thank you to everyone who donated towels to the Kogelberg Biosphere Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitations Center. Link to their website https://kogelbergbiosphere.org.za/

– Dick Dent count on the 14th of March at 16:00. We meet at the parking area of AGS Church in Strand.

– Next outing will be on the 21st of March to Kirstenbosch. We’ll meet at the Habitat Centre at 6:30 to carpool together and leave at 06:45.

– The Marine Protected Area Count was on the 28th of February, 36 species were observed.

FEBRUARY 2026

– Since the beginning of last year, we acquired 34 new members.

– Next outing will be on the 21st of February, Van der Stel Pass and Swartriver. We’ll meet at Vergelegen Plein at 6:45 to leave at 07:00.

– Paardevlei count on the 14th of February. There is also the CWAC Count (waterbird count) on the same day, the idea is for everyone to meet at Paardevlei at 15:00 and split into groups to count: Dick Dent + Paardevlei and perhaps Macassar. Please attend if you can as we need more people to count all the areas.

– Also for the CWAC count, we have contacted Steenbras which has not been counted since 2005 and they are happy for us to count there. Wilene is planning to go on Monday 9 Feb, if you would like to join please contact Wilene.

– There is also the Marine Protected Area count, on the 28th of February. We will meet at the blue pipe on the beach at 07:00. This is a very imporatnt count for stats.

-Wader Bash at West Coast National Park on the 28th of February at the West Coast National Park. It’s R350 per vehicle, with a maximum of four people in a vehicle, this includes the entry fee. Guides are available and attendees can access parts of the park not always accessible. For more information about Wader Bash, and to book, please call Ettienne Kotze 0t 082 462 0523 or send an e-mail to waderbash2022.wcnp@gmail.com. 

– Batis Cover Competition: Thank you for everyone participating. The winner was Herman Meyer. Printed Batis not collected tonight will be at the Hospice Shop from Saturday 7 Feb.

– This year’s weekend away in October: Please let us know your ideas, need to accommodate about 30 people, not too far, with good birding and other activities.

– We are investigating professional audio/visual for our meetings.

– Membership fees are payable, please.

JANUARY 2026

Reminder to all members to renew their membership. Subs were due on January 1st 2026.

The annual club fees have not increased.

R160 per person or family per year for the Batis via e-mail.

• R220 per person or family per year for a hard copy of the Batis
• R1 945 per person or family for life membership with Batis via e-mail

Use your name as reference when paying by EFT. Sorry – no cash payments

Bank details:

Somerset West Bird Club

Absa – Account no 9016949256

Branch code 632005

Please email Sakkie your proof of payment at sakkie@krynauw.net

Life members and Honouree members do not need to renew.

• We visit Dick Dent on Sat 10 January at 16:00
• Sat 17 January is the first outing of the year. It will be to Strandfontein Sewerage Works and Rondevlei NR. Meet at Habitat Centre at 07:00 to carpool.
• CAR count is on 31 January