Birding with a reason

When I first learnt of the Second South African Bird Atlassing Project (SABAP2), I must admit I found myself amongst many others that felt they could get more benefit spending their time differently. Although my father had been actively atlassing since the beginning of the project, the bug still didn't bite.


That was until I led a Wits Bird Club outing in search of the beautiful Yellowthroated Sandgrouse on the 23rd August 2008. The group leader, Mrs Gisela Ortner, delegated me to keep her birdlist as she atlassed the area surrounding the muddy little patch of water we were patiently waiting alongside. Thankfully, the Sandgrouse put in a great display, and everyone left happy.

Yellow-throated Sandgrouse pair

The following morning saw the group spending the morning birding on the Kedar Country Hotel property outside Rustenburg. My birdlist after 6 hours stood on 60 species, and this was to be my first list submitted towards SABAP2.

To date, I have submitted over 45 full protocol lists as well as over 20 adhoc lists. I have listed over 2800 records covering 327 different species.

You may ask the simple question: Why?

The answer is just as simple: Birding with a reason.

Gone are the days of visiting an area just to birdwatch. Now lists are kept, GPS co-ordinates noted, and plenty of birding is had!! These lists are submitted into the SABAP2 database, along with over 400 other observers' contributions, in a project aimed at improving our knowledge of bird distribution across the whole of South Africa.

Now an individual can contribute meaningfully towards an amazing project, and this gives me a reason to go out birding, knowing that I am making a difference.

For those looking for more information, visit http://sabap2.adu.org.za/, or hit the link on the righthand column.

Happy birding and atlassing!!!