SASOLBURG. – The Vaal Bird Club is organising a practical introduction to bird identification on Saturday morning, October 6.
The club especially hopes to attract young people, but young and old can join, and families are welcome too.
This introduction will be held in the form of a guided bird-watching walk at Boschenvaal, just outside Sasolburg on the Vaal River. The group will meet at Zaaiman Motors, Sasolburg (just off the R59), at 07:00.
Each guide, one of the Vaal Bird Club members, will lead a small group of participants and spend one to two hours spotting and identifying the birds occurring at Boschenvaal.
This is a wonderful venue as there are different habitats: trees and bushes, grass veld and the river. After the walk everybody will assemble at the Boschenvaal marina for feedback and a brief discussion on bird identification tips and tricks.
Participation is free of charge, but you need to register before Wednesday, October 3 as the organisers need to get permission for everybody to enter Boschenvaal. English and Afrikaans guides will be available. Bring something to drink, a snack, a hat, sunscreen and a bird book and binoculars (if you have some, if not, come in any case).
Contact Rina de Klerk on (016) 982 2730 to register or to obtain further information.
The idea of the outreach is to attract future birders who in the past did not have the courage to participate in the club activities, either because they feel that they do not know birds well enough, or that they do not know anybody in the bird club.