More than 10 000 hectares of grassland and an important water source area gain formal protection through a partnership-based conservation model. By Anton Crone – Oct 9, 2026 South Africa’s Eastern Cape highlands have a new national park, following the...

Writer, traveller and lifelong birder Justin Fox has spent decades chasing stories across landscapes both real and imagined. From childhood birding forays in dune forests and the haunting call of the fiery-necked nightjar to the avian inspirations behind his beloved...

As spring stirs across southern Africa, the September October 2026 edition explores one of the most powerful elements in nature: connection. Birds rarely exist in isolation. Their lives are woven into landscapes, seasons, plants, insects, mammals and, increasingly, people. Sometimes...

Rifumo Mathebula, Programme Director at Wild Shots Outreach, has been selected as one of the Obama Foundation’s 2026 African Leaders, recognising his work using photography and conservation to create opportunities for young people living alongside protected areas. The programme brings...

South Africa’s Bird of the Year campaign is returning for 2027, giving the public another chance to choose a species that will take centre stage in the country’s birding and conservation community. More than 10,000 people voted last year to...

A Zimbabwean recycling initiative that turns discarded plastic into construction material has won the 2026 Wilderness Impact Challenge, securing US$100,000 to expand its operations in Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls generates an estimated 100 tonnes of plastic waste each month, much of...

Swee Waxbills were the highlight of August on the Birdlife Calendar, and these little finches are more than what they eye can see! This pair was beautifully photographed by Dionne Miles.

Constitutional Court ruling ends a decade-long battle over controversial oil and gas exploration rights off South Africa’s Wild Coast. Anton Crone – Tue 18 August, 2026. South Africa’s Constitutional Court has brought an end to a decade-long legal battle over...

A ringed royal albatross photographed off Cape Point on 3 August 2026 raises questions about how to identify young birds of the two royal albatross species. Peter Ryan. In the good old days, there were Wandering and Royal Albatrosses. Then...

A beautifully illustrated new children’s book is hoping to inspire a lifelong love of nature by telling the story of one of South Africa’s rarest birds, the Black Harrier, BirdLife South Africa’s Bird of the Year for 2026. Published by...

24 July 2026 – Three community-led initiatives from Botswana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have been shortlisted for the 2026 Wilderness Impact Challenge, a competition that rewards innovative solutions that strengthen Africa’s conservation economy while improving livelihoods. The finalists were selected from...

Finding presence, healing, and community in the skies above the Garden Route By Stephan van Wyk As birders, we are intimately familiar with the thrill of the chase. We willingly drag ourselves out of bed at ungodly hours, pack our...

How a quest for one bird can open up entire worlds. Text Anton Crone Our goal was the Rosy-throated Longclaw, a species found nowhere else in South Africa save for the north-eastern corner of KwaZulu-Natal. It’s an ‘uncommon resident in...

South Africans Invited to Count Cranes

Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Greater Kruger – Sarah Barratt of Thornybush Game Lodge has been crowned Safari Guide of the Year (SGOTY) 2026 after five days of competition in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. Otto Scribante of Singita was named...

Nature’s quiet corners Some of the most memorable experiences in nature are not necessarily the dramatic ones. They are the quieter moments: a bird among flowering shrubs, the dawn chorus drifting across a river, or the discovery of a wild...