During my last couple of years at school, I developed a really strong passion for bird watching. This was first ignited by Tony Verboom, a very close school friend of mine, who took me off on one of his birding trips. We spent the morning at Rietvlei, a local wetland, crawling on our bellies, getting knee deep in mud and thoroughly filthy in our pursuit of lesser spotted thing-a-me-bobs. And I absolutely loved every minute of it, especially when a beautiful osprey flew over our heads.
My love of birds was kindled into a passion shortly after when dad and I went camping to Uilenkraal. I lay in the sand by the lagoon, with close views of gulls, terns and pied kingfishers. Later, to my utter delight, an African Fish Eagle appeared in the distance.
From then on, I lived and dreamed birds and cycled to the local birding spots every weekend in pursuit of new species (or ticks as we call them) in order to increase my life list. My favourite birding haunts included Rondevlei, Kirstenbosch Gardens and Devil's Peak.
Another favourite haunt was the Harold Botanical Gardens in Betties Bay for wonderful encounters with sunbirds and Ground Woodpeckers.
I also joined the Cape Town bird club. I loved the monthly get-togethers at the University of Cape Town to see presentations and amazing photos from people like Nico Myburgh. I remember vividly a wonderful weekend with the club at Swellendam.
In Std 9, I went on an unforgettable trip to Botswana (Okovango Delta and Chobe) where I saw birds like Gymnogene and Jacana. Our family also went to Natal including Midmar Dam and the Drakensberg, where I saw lots of new birds.
Dad really supported my hobby. He and I went on an incredible trip to Zululand (Umfolozi and Mkuzi wildlife reserves) where I saw many birds. My favourite memory is attracting a Green Coucal by playing its call on my tape recorder.
In matric, I went to Kruger National Park with a Colin, a close friend. I also went back to Zululand with Tony and his mum (Ndumu and Mkuzi) where I saw Pel's Fishing Owl and Narina Trogon.
They call us birds "twitchers" because when we see exciting new birds for the first time, we get so excited that our legs start to twitch and then our arms - so much so that it becomes hard to see through our binoculars.
Since my school days, birding has continued to be a passion and I have travelled the world in search of new ticks. My goal when I was young was to see 1000 birds in the wild. In 2007 at the age of 37, I achieved this target.
Memorable birds seen during this time
 |
| Redbreasted Sparrow Hawk, with Tony, on a school camp a few years before |
 |
| Black Eagle, slopes of Devil's Peak |
 |
| Pied Kingfisher |
 |
| Malachite Kingfisher, Rondevlei |
 |
| Sandwich Tern, Uilenskraal |
 |
| Curlew Sandpiper, Uilenskraal |
 |
| Blacksmith Plover |
 |
| Fish Eagle, Uilenskraal |
 |
| Blackshouldered Kite, Rondebosch Common |
 |
| Diederich Cuckoo, our garden |
 |
| Little Bittern, Rondevlei |
 |
| Burchell's Cuckoo |
 |
| Orange-breasted Sunbird, Kirstenbosch |
 |
| Cape Batis, Kirstenbosch |
 |
| Ground Woodpecker, Harold Botanical Garden |
 |
| Spotted Eagle Owl |
 |
| Half Collared Kingfisher, Natal |
 |
| Crowned Eagle, with Tony, Natal |
 |
| Palmnut Vulture with Tony, Natal |
 |
| Narina Trogon, Ndumu |
 |
| African Rail |
 |
| Green Coucal, with dad, Mkuzi |
 |
| Pel's Fishing Owl, with Tony, Ndumu |
 |
| African Finfoot, Nature's Valley |
 |
| European Bee-eater |
Favourite bird books
