The Chamberlain Guide To Birding Gauteng 2
It’s hard to believe it’s been 16 years since the first edition of ‘Birding Gauteng’ was published. Much has changed in the last two decades, and we hope that birders will agree that this modern new edition was worth the wait (after many years of the book being out of print). One major change that we’ve noticed is the effect that the first book had on the local birding scene! We suspect that many birders might be surprised to learn that such popular sites as Mkhombo Dam (p. 232), the Devon area (p. 280), Wilge River Valley (p. 215) and the Vlaklaagte Grasslands (p. 204) were all ‘pioneered’ when we did the field work for the first edition. These sites, and many others, have now become firm favourites in the birding community. While you could formerly go an entire weekend without bumping into another birder, popular sites are abuzz with birders on weekends, with traffic jams on Zaagkuil or at Marievale if rarities are around! We hope that the book played a small part in inspiring a love for birds in more people, and a passion for conserving birds and their habitats.
Birding itself has also changed. Modern technology in the form of superior digital photography, smartphone apps, AI identification, satellite navigation, birding social media and incredible online and print resources have all helped to elevate birding to the next level. One advantage is that in this edition we don’t have to take up valuable space with directions—instead we have provided pins for the starting points, and trust that birders will be able to get there using Google Maps or similar. In terms of the layout, we’ve opted for a more modern, visual and less text-heavy approach: bigger photos, less intimidating text and, we daresay, a little more playfulness. And we’re sure you’ll agree that the photographs (90% of which are by author Dylan Vasapolli) are far more striking than some of those we were able to source 20 years ago. We have left out specific sections on habitat, instead incorporating this information into the site introductions where we deemed it to be important; likewise, seasonal tips are only mentioned where they are particularly relevant. All the maps (now with contours!) have been painstakingly redrawn. Information on accommodation, contact details, restaurants, telephone numbers and facilities is more streamlined (because, let’s face it, Google is going to serve you better in that regard anyway).
Predictably, we as a species have continued to spread at an unsustainable rate. Consequently the remaining natural habitat has become increasingly fragmented, limited and degraded since Birding Gauteng was first published. While reviewing the book, we frequently found ourselves disheartened to discover previously prime birding territory now lost. However, we chose to focus on the positive and celebrate the incredible diversity of birds that are still thriving in this beautiful part of Africa. Nevertheless, a number of sites have been omitted due to security concerns, changes in access or a decline in the birding. Others, particularly those that were in the previous book’s Further Afield chapter (e.g. Mapungubwe, Memel, Harrismith, Barberspan and Bloemhof Dam) still offer sublime birding, but were omitted in favour of new sites such as Kruger, Mkhuze and St Lucia in this edition. Many brand new stakeouts are here published for the first time. Let’s hope these will bring brilliant birding for many years to come!
