‘Let us probe the silent places,
let us seek what luck betide us;
Let us journey to a lonely land I know.
There’s a whisper on the night-wind,
there’s a star agleam to guide us,
And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go.’
Robert Service ‘The call of the wild’
A large, dark-faced lark superficially resembling a Groundscraper Thrush, arriving as a migrant from Central Africa in the sub-region as a non-breeding species during the ‘wet’ summer months, with a marked bushveld habitat preference. Usually encountered in in areas...
Similar in general field appearance, two ‘long tailed’ glossy starling species are resident year-round within the Kruger National Park. Fortunately, the two starling species are almost geographically exclusive, with...
Within the genus of Macronyx, which is closely associated to the Pipits and Wagtails, the seven species are only found in Africa, with the sub-region host to three strikingly colourful members of the suite. Foremost, and the most frequently encountered, is the Cape or...
Of the four species of Ibis found in Southern Africa, the most sought after of endemic sighting worth is the Southern Bald Ibis or ‘Wild Turkey’ as it affectionally referred to, usually found foraging on high altitude grasslands and recently burned veld, ploughed or...
It must be two decades ago that I first visited ‘New Holme Guest Farm’ to enjoy and photograph the wide diversity of birdlife, together with the unique suite of small nocturnal mammals and rodents found within the eco-divide between Karoo scrubland and Highveld...
We live in a world where poor service and mediocrity are becoming increasingly more evident throughout society in general today…So, what a surprise and a relief at the same time, to receive a highly professional response to a repair request under warranty by Zeiss in...
Ever since hearing as a child that the monarchy of England, and indeed the Tower of London itself, would fall in the event of the resident six ravens leaving, I have been fascinated by ‘raven’ legends and enthralled by the behavioural antics of these highly...
No one quite knows the full extent of the African Rail’s distribution in Southern Africa. Certainly, we know it favours dense habitat and reedbeds associated with perennial and semi-perennial wetlands and marshes with a distribution preference for the wetter east of...
The two lookalike ‘double-collared’ sunbirds found throughout the eastern and southern parts of Southern Africa are far easier to tell apart than most amateur birders believe. For a start habitat preference is a useful indication with the Southern Double-collared...
Of the larger nectar loving birds found within Southern Africa the two geographically exclusive sugarbird species are arguably the most striking and charismatic! These two Southern African endemic species occur within the rich indigenous floral kingdom extending south...
Patrick and Marie-Louise Cardwell
88 Dorries Drive, Simon’s Town 7975
Patrick Mobile: +27 83 560 5510
ML Mobile: +27 83 272 2455
Email: enquiries@avianleisure.com