2014 - [Vol II] 'Taking stock - mid January'

If effort is a function of Time over Energy then, by all account, we're in a state of timeless dysfunction! January has virtually hobbled into history & we're nowhere closer to where we wanted to be yesterday, today. We have a fistful of excuses, most impressive, none relevant.. 

Gauteng Province - South Africa

In Vol I we penned a short-list of what we wanted to accomplish this year. We mentioned that the list was subject to change & so it has.

A bucket-load of opinion dominates the social media sites apropos the regional birding challenges & more specifically, the associated rules of engagement. If a challenge isn't a personal fist-shake at the gods but rather a competition between hobbyists of similar interest, then by all means, clear the field & paint some lines. Our tastes are more maverick in recipe & it's precisely the freedom we pursue vicariously through birds that makes us bird. Whether we do so with both eyes tightly shut; from the comfort of a chair; bottom-side up, in the air or on one leg, is, for us, an introspective decision. Even so, I concede the point under debate but will never accede to a list of rules imposed by opinion. Increasing complexities of regulation ... 

Fork-tailed Drongo

Common Fiscal

We've abandoned our regional ambitions [per Vol I] for a more retro-styled challenge. In fact, like a modern mini cooper, the challenge is a fresh take on an old favourite. We'll bird GAUTENG ie: within its gazetted lines & we'll aim for 400 species AND we'll use our ears & our eyes. We'll only add a species to the list if it's on a full protocol card for SABAP2. 

Bizarrely we'll use our other senses too. We intend to have-in-hand, by year's end, at least 3000 individuals which we'll handle; ie: measure, mark, ring & note. Inevitably we'll feel their wrath. Some will bite, others will scratch & claw. The laundry basket will prove the stain, an unwelcome assault on our olfactory sensibilities. That's the nature of the beast; sense & sensibility is subjectively common; always equal and intrinsically interrelated. 

Marsh Warbler - 1st yr

Amethyst Sunbird - juv.

Willow Warbler

Bloody nuisance

Zitting Cisticola

2014 - [Vol 1] 'The devil's in the detail'

2013 was, in many ways, a steep learning curve for us. If the future stands tall on a spoonful of good intent, then 2014 promises more of the same.

For context we'll be spending at least 3 months in Brazil, in fortnightly stints, preparing for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. Ostensibly business-related & spent largely indoors, we've found enough latitude in our scheduled itineraries to allow for some local birding.

Although we've traveled extensively, the birding-bug bit at noon rather than at breakfast which means Brazil is a 'birding-first'. There is something to be said for a fistful of field guides all-a-shiny & raring for action...

What of home? Whilst 2013 proved insightful & in many ways a watershed adventure, which is fair enough I think, we wanted to do something a little more creative, more thoughtful this year. As a consequence & certainly not cast in stone; perhaps more accurately fresh off the idea-press, are a few mini-projects of our own which we'd like to tackle.

Without putting too much emphasis on the point, the specifics of each mini-project, a cumulative effort we've dubbed 'Project 2014', remains for the time-being, work in progress. Notwithstanding & I concede the devil's in the detail, Project 2014 will / should include:

1. The launch of WEzine, an e-mag for birders by birders. 
2. The completion of the '800 Challenge' manuscript.
3. The sourcing of an appropriate SP to facilitate multi-night pelagic-birding excursions off the region's continental shelf.
4. The hosting & facilitation of formal fund-raising events for appropriate institutional recipients.
5. The rejuvenation of Southern Africa's citizen-science, long-distance migrant, monitoring programs.
6. The facilitation of regional education programmes with specific emphasis on unsustainable resource exploitation. 
7. One or two personal projects including:

• The ringing / banding of 3000 passerines in & around the region; and
• time permitting, we'll participate in the Wider-Gauteng's 400 Challenge; to keep us honest..

By all account we'll be busy.