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Cover of Birdwatching in Southern Africa: Finding, Identifying and Recording Birds

Birdwatching in Southern Africa: Finding, Identifying and Recording Birds

Hybrid Learning Solutions · e-book

R149 incl. VAT

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About this book

A practical, South African guide to watching and identifying wild birds, for complete beginners, garden birders, families, pensioners and people with limited mobility, travellers to parks and reserves, school and community groups, and young people who want to become bird guides. Twelve chapters follow a nurse in Pietermaritzburg birding her walks and a local dam, a retired couple in Bloemfontein birding from their car, from hides and on a Kgalagadi trip, and a young man in Jozini working towards becoming a community bird guide, with advice from a bird guide of thirty years near Phalaborwa: why southern Africa is one of the best places in the world for birds, and what birding really costs; binoculars, what 8×42 means and how to choose, test and use them; the parts of a bird and the order of looking; identifying birds by plumage, behaviour, habitat, range maps and season, and when to write "not sure"; learning calls and songs, and using playback rarely or not at all; the birds of gardens, towns and wetlands; the birds of grassland, bushveld, forest, fynbos, the Karoo and Kalahari, and the coast, and the threatened birds of each; migration and planning and costing a birding trip, with park rules and safety; a bird-friendly garden, with water, indigenous plants, safe feeding and fewer window strikes; photographing birds ethically; recording birds for the bird atlas and reporting poisonings; and bird clubs, guiding and your next steps. Park rules, species statuses and programmes are taught in general terms, dated, so you always check with the park or the organisation. 26 diagrams and photographs, worked examples, practice exercises with answers, and a birding notebook: a kit list and binocular check, field sketches, a call log, a garden and patch list, a habitat checklist, a trip plan, a bird-friendly garden plan, a photography code, a recording log, a personal birding plan, a glossary, where to get help, and 144 Exam prep questions. A Skills Series title. No binocular, camera, app or field guide brands are named or recommended. Lecturers: a free Facilitator Guide (session plans built around a birding notebook, safe outings, no playback or nest visits in class, teaching notes and every answer) is available to colleges registered with HybridE. To register your college, contact Thandeka on 073 431 6763.

What is inside

  1. Chapter 1: Why Watch Birds?
  2. Chapter 2: Binoculars and Kit
  3. Chapter 3: The Parts of a Bird and How to Look
  4. Chapter 4: Identifying Birds
  5. Chapter 5: Calls and Songs
  6. Chapter 6: Birds of Garden, Town and Wetland
  7. Chapter 7: Birds of Grassland, Bushveld, Forest, Fynbos, Karoo and Coast
  8. Chapter 8: Seasons, Migration and Planning a Birding Trip
  9. Chapter 9: A Bird-Friendly Garden
  10. Chapter 10: Photographing Birds Ethically
  11. Chapter 11: Recording Birds and Citizen Science
  12. Chapter 12: Clubs, Guiding and Your Next Steps
  13. Appendix

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