Birding is a very popular extension of many visitors' purpose in visiting Kruger National Park.
Various parks host annual coordinated weekends of bird spotting activity where members of the public gather in parks and in teams or as individuals try and record as many different species in the park in approximately a 24-hour period.
The purpose of such designated birding weekends is to:
- Collect data on the avian (bird) species found in the given park
- To have a lot of fun watching birds and experiencing related Park activities
- To allow birders access to restricted or difficult to reach areas often at key times, such as dawn
- To expose and educate people about the wonders of Birding
- Allow beginner birders to interact with more experienced birders
- To raise money for various conservation projects that are beyond the limited budget of South African National Parks
Most of the SANParks birding events are organised by the various local regions of SANParks' Honorary Rangers who arrange things with the permanent staff of the affected parks. One should check the events page of the Honorary Rangers website for birding events not listed on the SANParks' website (http://www.sanparksvolunteers.org/events).
20th Kruger National Park Birding Weekends
The Kruger National Park Birding Weekends, facilitated by the West Rand Honorary Rangers, is one of the highlights on the annual birding calendar, and the biggest of these events, having been held annually at most of the camps in the park since 1999. Not only is Kruger Park one of the top birding areas in the country, it is a weekend of camaraderie between likeminded people, with birders from across the country descending on the park. The Rangers carefully select several difficult to access areas for the birding drives and normal gate times at the camps no longer apply, with drives leaving at three or four in the morning and arriving at wonderful birding spots by sunrise for the "dawn chorus".
West Rand Region are proud to invite you to their 20th Kruger National Park Birding Weekends. From a dream and a handful of guests in 1999, this event has grown to accommodating an average of 600 guests at 15 venues per annum. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance received from Sasol and Clover, our major sponsors from the inception of this event.
Guests can boost their birding skills and assist with vital conservation work. Enjoy dawn and evening drives, guided by experienced birding experts.
Choose whether to spend these birding weekends in either main camps and bushveld camps in the Kruger National Park. Prices range from R3 135 to R3 933 per person depending on the camp selected and the weekends offered are from the 26 January - 11 February 2018.
These events always rely on sponsors, but SASOL has been the primary sponsor for birding events for many years now.
Get more information about the Birding weekends!
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