The bird club serving greater Durban and KZN
and a proud affiliate of BirdLife South Africa
Birdlife eThekwini KZN was established in Durban in 1949 as the Natal Bird Club and as such is one of the oldest bird clubs in Africa. It is also one of the larger clubs affiliated to Birdlife South Africa, which in turn is the national partner of Birdlife International, the largest conservation organisation in the world. As an affiliate club Birdlife eThekwini KZN , shares the goals of BLSA as they relate to conservation of birds and habitats within KZN and therefore the club plays an important role in conservation, as well as influencing various aspects of birding in KZN and southern Africa.
1. OUR AREA
The clubs geographical area broadly covers the boundaries of the eThekwini Municipality on the subtropical east coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa but many of our members go way beyond the municipal borders. Our club activities also stretch right across KZN with walks, workshops, weekends away and atlas trips. It is an area rich in bird diversity with 520 species occurring in an area stretching for 90 km along the coastline and stretching inland to the foothills of the Drakensberg.
2. OUR MISSION AND GOALS
The Mission of Birdlife eThekwini KZN is to promote the Enjoyment, Understanding, Study and Conservation of Birds and the Environment in the region, and to support BLSA in its similar objectives countrywide. The goals of the club support this mission through the co-ordination of a variety of activities for club members including meetings, presentations, bird outings locally and further afield and through support and participation of citizen science and research projects.
3. REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY
The six BirdLife KZN clubs meet bi-annually in February and September for the weekend BirdLife Forum. The Saturday is devoted to avian conservation issues in the province with inputs from academics, conservationists, ornithologists, BLSA professional staff members and citizen scientists made up of members from all 6 clubs. The Sunday is the Chairs’ Forum where the six club chairs, as well as others involved in BirdLife projects, meet to solve problems, share information and keep the communication channels open. All members are welcome to the Saturday Forum meeting. At the February meeting, a Chair of Forum is elected as well as a Chair of the Chairs’ Forum. Other elections include that of BLSA Council representative for all 6 of the KZN clubs and Treasurer of Forum.
Looking for Cecily Salmon. We were together at Star of the Sea, Manguzi, where I taught in 1985.
Sheila! Contact me on cecily1909@gmail.com Would love to reconnect!
Hi
My son and I would like to join Saturday 27 March @06h00 BEKZN WALKS!
uMBOGOVANGO NATURE RESERVE with Sithembiso Blessing Majoka but I can’t register online. Apologies if I’m doing it wrong but this is my first time.
I will be in Durban for a few days in August and was wondering if I could get ahold of a local birding guide for 3 to 4 days of bird photography around Durban. If someone could contact me I would be appreciative,
Please could you give me the contact details for someone to talk to our garden club about attracting birds to their gardens and what products should be avoided to protect birds that visit our gardens. Many thanks.
Hi
My son is a kern amateur bird watcher and will be visiting from Gauteng. Do you have any social outings that one could do without being a member?
Thanks
Sharon
Dear Sharon yes absolutely possible – he is welcome to attend – please look at our Activities 2021 page and he can book a place on a walk or even join an online talk or discussion. Non members pay R30 to attend a walk-payable by eft
Hi! I’ve got a relative that is moving into a smaller place and have a lot of bird life magazines she is looking to give back. Please contact me if you’re interested.
Hello I’m an amateur bird watcher and am not interested in joining a birdwatching club just yet. I do though would like to report sightings of birds noted in my area which I have not seen before. I have recently spotted to different types of ealges in our residential area (Queensburgh), which I have not seen before. I’ve been watching birds in this area for over 30 years and have noticed how some birds have arrived and stay and others merely spotted as a once off. Some birds that have been in the area for years have gradually disappeared. Would a bird club be interested in such information?
Dear Drew – thank you for your message. The members do share sightings with each other via our club communication channels such as our group email service and WhatsApp and distributions and occurrences are often discussed. I would really recommend you consider joining so you can be part of the conversation. The online membership form on this website takes two minutes – http://www.blpn.org/online-form and I would suggest you read our page on the Lockdown challenge as well as this reported what members were seeing in their urban areas. https://blpn.org/blpns-lockdown-bird-count/
Do you have 2021 calendars. If so where can I get and how much? I need 2
I am in Durban North
Many Thanks
Colin Henderson
Dear Colin thank you for your query but unfortunately we are sold out. all were gone by the end of October but please look out for the 2022 calendar ads as it promises to be even more spectacular.
Hi. Please let me know how to join and dues & where to pay subs. My son and i are very interested. Where do you meet & when. Thank you. Looking forward to meeting you.
Alan & Jason Archer.
Dear Alan and Jason – please visit our online application form on this site https://blpn.org/membership/online-form
and you will see the costs of membership as well. If you are just joining the local club please ensure you add the R15 affiliation fee as indicated. If you both wish to be members please choose individual memberships and fill in the form twice. If Jason will be a family member on your membership then it is and additional R70 per year. Your membership gives you a lot – access to about 80 functions a year, online, meetings in person and walks and weekends away all over KZN. See the Membership page for these details https://blpn.org/membership/
If you would like to chat or check anything please contact me directly on 082 451 8078 or by return email and I am very happy to help.
Kind regards
Nicolette Forbes
BLPN Chair
I think BLPN is doing a great job for all our feathered freinds