Image by JANDRÉ PETRUS VERSTER, text by FAYE KNIGHT Every year Birdlife South Africa releases a calendar that showcases fantastic photography of some fan favourite birds. The photographs featured in this year’s calendar were entered into the Birdlife South Africa Photography Competition in 2025 which helped raise awareness and funds for conservation efforts and provided...
Birding is often portrayed as a gentle, solitary pursuit, binoculars raised and voices lowered. Yet behind this calm exterior lies one of the most significant nature-based activities in the United States, both culturally and economically. According to Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis, released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS),...
South Africa is on the verge of taking great strides towards establishing the country’s first bird observatory at the Khoisan Karoo Conservancy in Northern Cape province. The project is driven by Mr PC Ferreira who has made enormous progress in conservation at his nature reserve, now his passion and enthusiasm may soon make his bird...
By Alan Lee The National Biodiversity Assessment 2025 (NBA) was launched on 9 December 2025 by an array of governmental luminaries, including Deputy Minister Bernice Swarts. The NBA marks a major milestone for biodiversity science and conservation in South Africa. Produced by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) together with more than a hundred...
By Anton Crone I visited Mauritius some years ago. By then I had already read The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions by David Quammen, an exceptional exploration of how isolation shapes evolution, and how it also makes islands hotspots for extinction. But I wasn’t in Mauritius for its ecology....
Editor of African Birdlife magazine Anton Crone conducted an interview with debut author and conservation biologist Lovelater Sebele discussing her new title, Through the Eyes of Vultures. Sebele takes readers through the strife and ever-changing landscapes that vultures face each day. Through the eyes of this misunderstood species, she brings science and conservation to the...
Cape Town (08 December 2025) – The Western Cape has added 47 000 hectares to its conservation estate through the declaration of two new nature reserves and the expansion of two others. This major boost to the province’s protected areas creates vital space for Cape mountain zebras to breed and improves protection for a wide range...
By Faye Knight – The coastline of southern Africa has been facing an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) since July 2025, specifically in the Western Cape and Gqeberha regions and marking this outbreak to be the first since April 2024. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) has played...
Calling all bird-enthusiasts, nature-lovers and friendly competitive teams: this year (on 6 December 2025) the team at BirdLife South Africa are once again calling you to take part in their annual Birding Big Day. It’s simple: register your team, pick your patch (either a 50 km radius or a more relaxed 6 km radius), get...
With fewer than 340 individuals thought to be left in the wild, the Botha’s Lark could become the first bird in mainland Africa to go extinct in modern memory, but recent breakthrough discoveries are giving conservationists hope. 18 November 2025, Johannesburg, South Africa – A resident of South Africa’s high-altitude grasslands, the Botha’s Lark (Spizocorys fringillaris)...
