CHASING LIFERS… a rewarding pursuit

It can take decades of birding to find your first Painted Snipe, but for Lester van Groeningen, it turned out to be one of the first major ticks on a reluctant trip to Botswana, with absolutely no interest in birding whatsoever. But, encouraged by his wife, Cheryl, Lester soon found himself noticing that the Hornbills along the way were all different. Some Greater Kestrels appeared, and his interest was stirring.

Once in Gaborone, they borrowed a pair of binoculars for walks on the golf course and that’s when things got really interesting. “We kept seeing more and more ‘colourful little birds’ and soon visited the nature reserve,” Lester recalls. “One startling crescendo of a Woodland Kingfisher and that Painted Snipe in a roadside puddle… we were hooked!”

Life soon turned to chasing new lifers, new pairs of binoculars, bird clubs and outings and everything birding. Lester’s job at the time involved overseas travel and he soon had a network of global birding friends. This included Eastern and Western USA, the UK and parts of Europe, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan. Work opportunities in north-eastern Brazil enabled many trips into the Atlantic Rain Forests, and also further afield to Panama and Mexico.

During this time, Lester and Cheryl had sold their house in KZN and upon their return to SA in 2014, they found themselves effectively homeless. Looking for the ultimate retirement spot, they explored every place from St Lucia in northern KZN right through to St Helena on the West Coast. In the end it was Hermanus that caught their fancy and the family settled there in late 2017.

Today Lester is an expert birder and professional guide. “From early on our birding activities involved guiding and education,” Lester explains. “As Vice Chairman of the Natal Bird Club, my focus was bird education involving courses and guiding at club outings. Guiding took a back seat while we were overseas, but soon after returning to SA, we joined the Dias Bird Club in Kentonon-Sea. Here we set up an ‘atlassing’ group with a bunch of keen birders which involved many outings from Mpekweni in the Northeast to San Souci near the Sundays River. We amassed a huge amount of data, and this ultimately enabled us to put together a 90-page bird finding document for this bird rich area.

“Since our move to Hermanus, we’ve joined the Stanford Bird Club and have explored the wonderful birding opportunities in the Overberg and beyond. During this time, I also completed the requirements as a FGASA nature guide and regional bird guide.”

According to Lester, birding in the Overberg is great, but very different from what they were used to in KZN. “The number of resident birds is lower, but this has made up for in the seemingly continuous arrival of scarce or ‘stray’ birds. And the excitement of shooting off to see some completely out of range bird can become rather addictive.”

“One area where the Overberg really shines, is the relative ease to find pelagic birds from the shore. This was a big surprise for us, and we have had many wonderful sightings of Albatrosses, Shearwaters and Petrels. Clearly, shorebird pelagic bird watching has been underrated and overlooked in the Overberg. Diversity of habitat is another strong feature of the Overberg and the large number of Southern African endemic species found here. One never knows what to expect next, and tracking down mega vagrants such as the Whinchat and Grey Wagtail have been highlights for us. Of course, finding Southern Africa’s first White Wagtail tops our list.”

With this wealth of experience, what is still on his wish list? “I guess the wish list becomes never-ending and that is the fun and excitement of birding. We have never birded in Mozambique nor the eastern part of Zimbabwe. There’s a lot of birds there that we’d love to chase.”

Lester knows just about every backroad in the Overberg and in Stanford Bird Club alone, his experience is invaluable as he guides us to the best spots at the most opportune time. When he joins an outing, his enthusiasm is simply infectious.

Lester and Cheryl operate Abundant Birding from Vermont, so if it’s an expert, or an ever-enthusiastic guide you’re after, look no further.