BirdLife eThekwini KZN

I am very pleased to report on the activities of our club since the last KZN Birds issue #69. The club held our 74th AGM on the 25 February 2023 at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club, and I am happy to say that it was a great success. In the words on the Welcome signs at the entrance it was a Flocking Fabulous affair. The club managed a bumper turnout with 153 members attending in person and a few visitors who immediately joined the club after the event. The flamingo theme was a hit, with everyone wearing a ‘touch of pink’ giving the room a lovely glow. It was wonderful to see so many members come together to celebrate our shared love of birds and nature.

Our guest speaker was James Hendry who did what he does so well - entertain and educate about the natural, wild world. James, Kirsten and their new daughter Ridley were given club membership as a thank you along with a Cape Parrot for Ridley and gift for James. A full report with all the prize winners is on our website (https://blpn.org/newstrip-reports/).

Flocking Fabulous

Welcome to BeKZN’s 74th AGM have some fun, Let’s get it done, en eat, drink & flamingle

Our junior club members were also acknowledged - Up and Coming Birders, Aj Morris and Lucca Morris (top) receive their gifts and certificates from Zach Simpson and Most Outstanding birders Matthew and Nathan van der Meulen (right) receive their awards from junior co-ordinator Marco Franchini.

David Allan stepped down as Honorary President at the AGM and we welcomed Steve Davis into the post in absentia as he was attending a work trip in India.

Membership continues to grow, and we now have just over 600 members. This is a testament to the hard work of our committee and the dedication of our members. I am proud to say that the new committee has already met twice since the AGM, and the portfolios are being grown, building on the work done last year.Our monthly birding diary continues to produce around 6-8 activities per month for members to choose from, with different themes providing a range of different activities. This allows our members to explore and discover new bird species while also enjoying the outdoors with choices between walks of various difficulties, Sitins, Weekends-Away and online talks, identification courses and other discussions.

The club also continues to participate in outreach events, and two committee members, Nicolette and Ticky Forbes, provided a filmed interview to a communications expert from one of our BirdLife partners, Nature Conservation Egypt. This is a great example of how we are collaborating with other organizations to spread the message of our club and its activities for birders and bird conservation. The club also had a stand at the Kloof Conservancy Open Gardens event and many of our club members attended the BirdLife KZN Forum in Ladysmith where a lot of fun, learning and birding was had by all. The club organised a BeKZN Bird Bus to assist members to get to the Forum and have a hassle free trip with transfers and lunches included.

The club continues to contribute to conservation in many ways, under Steve Davis’ co-ordination including regular bird counts conducted within the club calendar such as SABAP and CWAC, as well as other data collection and monitoring projects like Van Riebeek Park in partnership with eThekwini Municipality. We are also very proud of the financial contributions made to conservation this past year with a total of R85 000 being distributed to a range of projects, mainly those of BirdLife South Africa (Mouse Free Marion, Blue Swallow, Ntsikeni) but also to The Bateleurs and Westville Conservancy in support of Jubilee Park.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all our members for their continued support and participation in our club's activities. We look forward to another year of birding and conservation, and we invite all members to get involved and contribute to our shared mission.

Nicolette Forbes

Chair BirdLife eThekwini KZN and Chair BirdLife KZN Forum

The BeKZN bus all packed and ready to leave Durban.

Ticky and Nicolette Forbes led the bus trip and the group attended the talks, committee meeting and then birded and atlassed throughout the remainder of the weekend. The bus was lucky enough to be the only group to spot a serval in Ingula