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 those relationships are obvious, like the symbiotic relationship between the oxpecker and the buffalo. Others are so obscure or complex that they can often be ignored, from a Green Tinkerbird using mistletoe seeds to decorate its nest to a Fork-tailed Drongo fooling other birds into dropping their prey.
On a trip to Hwange National Park hosted by Wilderness, I found that the most memorable safari moments weren’t the Big Five or the birds themselves, but the invisible threads linking birds, wildlife, environments, communites and tourists into a single living system.
Connection drives conservation: A passionate Garden Route birding communty engaging with goverment to make real change. Citizen scientists uploading photographs which are transforming ornithological research. Collaboration in developing better tracking technology to reveal the movements of Black Harriers with unprecedented detail. Safari operators working closely with grass roots communities to secure livelihoods and wildlife. Decades of collaboration have produced inspiring conservation successes, proving that meaningful change happens when organisations, researchers, volunteers and local communities work together.
At a time when the natural world can seem increasingly fragmented, nature reminds us that everything is connected. The more we understand and appreciate those connections, the better equipped we are to protect them.
I hope you enjoy this latest edition, now available on shelves, and through our subscription service.
Anton Crone, Editor
