Fly free, Joe Grosel: Messages of remembrance
Friends pay tribute to Joe 'Birdman' Grosel who passed away on August 14 after a battle with Covid-19.
POLOKWANE – Joe Grosel, who is also known as the birdman, unfortunately passed away on Saturday (August 14) after a battle with Covid-19. He left his wife, Lisa and daughters, Robyn, Eden and Jade behind.
Joe’s friends Derek Engelbrecht and Lisa Martus said that Joe’s achievements are impossible to sum up in a few lines.
“He was a registered professional natural scientist, author of several scientific papers, he served as an advisor on many ornithological platforms and was a professional ecologist and environmental impact assessment consultant. His professionalism, integrity, high morals and ethical values set him aside as one of the unsung heroes of our world,” Derek said.
Lisa added that Joe was always able to see the bigger picture of how everything is inextricably linked.
“He did his Masters on the short-clawed lark, a species which held a special place in his heart. Joe even saw to it that the short-clawed lark was included on the Polokwane Coat of Arms. He also named the Birdlife Polokwane newsletter The Lark and designed its logo. He had an incredible knowledge of birds and was always willing to share it with others.”
Joe was involved in the inception of the Soutpansberg Birding Route in 2003, which expanded into the Limpopo birding routes. Together with Ben de Boer and Derek Englebrecht, Joe had the responsibility to train, mentor, inspire and encourage the Limpopo bird guides. Derek remembers Joe had an amazing ability to relay information about the environment in a simple and interesting way, lighting a spark for conservation in many people’s hearts.
“He lived and breathed birds and so this humble, modest man made a profound impact as a naturalist around the world.”
For the past seven years Joe and his wife Lisa were involved with the African Division of Field Guides International, and acted as the tour coordinators for Southern Africa. Joe was also pivotal in birding training through the Rupert Foundation and Tracker Academy for their emerging trackers.
Alex van den Heever from the Tracker Academy said: “Joe was one of the few ornithologists who understood birding from the tracker’s perspective.”
As a result, Joe was approached by BirdLife South Africa and the ecotraining team to produce online ornithological training modules, making his work accessible to guides and trackers all around the world. In August 2017, Joe joined the South African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) and in 2009 he became a member of the Limpopo Regional Atlas Committee. Joe became regional atlas coordinator in 2014, and one of his main goals was to improve coverage in Limpopo.
Joe served as chairperson of Birdlife Polokwane for many years. In 2019, he stepped down as chairperson but remained on the committee as an honorary president. He took Birdlife Polokwane from a relatively obscure little interest group to one of the model bird clubs in the country. Visitors such as BirdLife South Africa CEO Mark Anderson, chairperson of SABAP2 Les Underhill, and the SABAP2 steering committee member Ernst Retief all remarked how much they enjoyed the meeting Joe and how well the club was doing under his leadership.
Joe was also an active supporter of the SANParks Honorary Rangers and led many groups through the Mapungubwe and Kruger National Park.
Read more about Joe in Review.
