Glendower Magoebaskloof Birds and Forest Festival

The annual Glendower Magoebaskloof Birds and Forest Festival took place in the magnificent Woodbush indigenous forest along BirdLife South Africa's Greater Limpopo Birding Route this past weekend (13-15 November 2009). Although there were reduced participant attendance following last year's event, the Festival successfully raised a total of R 20 000 to go towards bird guide training in Limpopo Province.

The weather supported our activities for most of the weekend and when it wouldn't, we nevertheless kept warm and in high spirits thanks to Glendower Whisky.

Participants at the Glendower Magoebaskloof Birds and Forest Festival were lucky enough to be guided by some of the finest community bird guides in South Africa, amongst them David Letsoalo , Samson Mulaudzi and Paul Nkhumane . With the perfect setting and the expert guide's intimate knowledge of the surrounding indigenous forest, we managed to do some unbelievable birding.

Some of the birds spotted over the weekend were; Bat Hawk, Narina Trogon, Orange Ground-thrush, Cape Parrots, Olive Bush Shrike, Black-fronted Bush Shrike, Knysna Turaco, Emerald Cuckoo, Yellow-streaked Greenbul and Grey Cuckooshrike to name a few.

The event also proved to be exceptionally informative as guest speakers; Mark Anderson, the Director of BirdLife South Africa, André Botha from the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Derek Solomon a professional birder and field guide presented an interesting array of talks and discussions between the birding excursions and excellent meals at the Magoebaskloof Hotel.

The absolute pleasure of exploring indigenous forest and the birds that thrive in this particular biome is an experience not to be missed or overlooked by anyone. Limpopo offers some of the best and most exciting birding in South Africa and with an excellent road network and experienced bird guides scattered throughout the Province, there is no reason not to pack the bird book and binoculars and set off on an exploration expedition.