Birding for a Good Cause

1/29/2023

As part of Birdlife South Africa's Birding Big Day in December, teams of intrepid "twitchers" had 24 hours to record all bird species they saw or heard in their local environment. Wilderness Safaris participated strongly by creating eight teams of four to show off their birding skills for a good cause. Participants included staff from Botswana, Rwanda and South Africa.  

The competition was intense with some eager birders claiming they already knew secret locations for spotting rarities before the big day!

The team led by Craig Glatthaar (Wilderness' Head of Sales for America), which included Classic Africa's own Jacques Proust, tallied a count of 156 in Cape Town! The overall winner was team Lone Swallow in the Wilderness, which achieved a bird count of 191 in KwaZulu Natal, just beating the formidable Abu Camp team in Botswana.

Team "Wilderness Bindo" with Jacques Proust second from left

Craig's team tackled the day with a new birding app called Bïndo, which allows birders to log sightings in real-time, create lists and challenges, all while following other birders and sharing their experiences. Bïndo identifies what birds are in one's current location, which results in quicker logging and easier identification. Craig and Jacques were joined by Jacques' brother Nicolas, and Bindo creator, Rob. They began the day at 4:30am and continued until 10:30pm, traversing a prescribed 50km area.

 Highlights from Birding Big Day included the buff-spotted flufftail, bank cormorant, Agulhas long-billed lark, African emerald cuckoo, white-starred robin, Narina trogon, blue-mantled crested flycatcher and tambourine dove.

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