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Vultures are large birds of prey that can be found in many parts of the world. They play an important role in the ecosystem, as they help to keep the environment clean by scavenging dead animals. There are several different species of vultures, each with its own unique characteristics. In recent years, vultures have been under threat due to habitat loss, illegal hunting, and the use of poisons. To help protect these magnificent creatures, many conservation groups are working to raise awareness and educate people about the importance of vultures. Here, you can find the latest news, articles, and videos about vultures.

Bird Guides of the World: Rene Rossouw, South Africa - 10,000 Birds

What is your favorite bird species? Gorgeous Bushshrike What is your name, and where do you live? René Rossouw, I live in Nelspruit, South Africa. What are the main regions or locations you cover as a bird guide? North-eastern South Africa including the Kruger National Park and the Western Cape How long have you been a bird guide? 5 years How did you get into bird guiding? From being an avid birder for over 20 years, I slowly started getting interested in guiding myself as there was a gap in the industry in the area where I live. Saddle-billed Stork What are the aspects of being a bird guide that you like best? Which aspects do you dislike most? I like being able to show guests birds that they have wanted to see and never had the opportunity. I also do birding walks for young children and it gives me great satisfaction to see their faces when they see a new bird. I don’t think there is anything I dislike about it. What are the top 5-10 birds in your region that you think are the most interesting for visiting birders? Hamerkop, Martial Eagle, Southern Ground Hornbill, Saddle-billed Stork, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Secretarybird, African Fish Eagle, Lilac-breasted Roller and Lappet-faced Vulture Lilac-breasted Roller Can you outline at least one typical birdwatching trip in your area? Please briefly describe the locations, the key birds, and the approximate duration of such a trip Our 16-day birding tour offers an extraordinary birding experience in some of the most exciting birding destinations of the eastern parts of South Africa, including the Kruger National Park, Wakkerstroom, the forests of Magoebaskloof and northern Kwazulu-Natal, as well as some smaller gems like Zaagkuildrift and Mount Sheba. Expect to see many of South Africa’s endemic and special species, and a total trip list well in excess of 400 species! Kruger National Park – One of the planet’s top wildlife parks Magoebaskloof – Stunning forest beauty and special birds Wakkerstroom – Grassland and wetland birding, with many specials Mkuze – Very special park with the Big Five and over 500 bird species St Lucia – A wetland wonderworld where the ocean and land meet spectacularly Mtunzini – Beautiful coastal village with incredible wildlife-rich forests Top Birds:• Martial Eagle• Tawny and African Fish Eagle• White-bellied Bustard• Southern Bald Ibis• Rudd’s, Short-clawed and Botha’s Lark• Yellow-breasted Pipit• African Rock Pipit• Cape and Brown-headed Parrot• Knysna and Purple-crested Turaco• Spotted and Orange Ground Thrush• Gorgeous Bushshrike• Black-fronted and Olive Bushshrike• Narina Trogon Southern Ground Hornbill  What other suggestions can you give to birders interested in your area? Summer in South Africa is the best time to bird, as all the migrants are in the country. Remember to bring a sunhat and raincoat as it is also the rainy season in some parts of the country. We have some great information on our website on all the countries we offer trips to, with trip reports, pictures, and info about the destination and what to expect. If any reader of 10,000 Birds is interested in birding with you, how can they best contact you? René Rossouw, Nature Travel Birding info@naturetravelbirding.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturetravelbirding Website: https://naturetravelbirding.com/

What is a birder? - 10,000 Birds

There are two questions I get asked a lot. Do you take pictures of the birds you see? Are you a bird-watcher then? The answer to the first question is a resounding no. Shutting down one’s peripheral vision is not my idea of birding. Now you know why I go out without a camera, take horrible pictures but also make friends to allow me the use of their splendid pictures. I would also never crawl into a hide in the boiling sun. The second question is more interesting and not so easily answered. Let’s go down to a local café so I can explain over a cup of coffee. What is a birder? What is a bird-watcher? How many are there? This has been investigated by this website before, see this link and the links it links to. To me the definition depends on an attribute all birders will recognise: the list! My hypothesis: a birder is a bird-watcher with one or more lists. I have been a bird-watcher most of my life. I wouldn’t keep a record of any sorts, but I was able to recognise and identify many birds. We moved to northern England, I watched birds. We moved to Hong Kong, my wife shopped and I watched birds. We moved to Malaysia, I watched birds and gained 10 kilos eating that gorgeous food. Then, in 2002 I went on my first safari in South Africa’s Kruger park. My friend Bas had brought along binoculars and a guidebook. Sofar, nothing new. And then he did something incredible: the man made notes in his guidebook… On a first trip to Kruger with Elephant, Lion, Cape Buffalo, Kudu, Steenbok, vultures and so much else going on this ended up being nothing more than an oddity, a “huh, look at that” moment. The true Aha-Erlebnis, the conversion from watcher to birder still lay in the future. But the seed now lay dormant in the soil. My true road to Damascus came on the 28th of January 2009, in another African park: Pilanesberg, South Africa. With the same friend and now having my own book I started noting down the “lifers” – a new concept that triggered something deep inside my belly… I first copied across those lifers from the 2002 trip, then compared my total with Bas’, realised I was hundreds of species behind and my competitive-obsessive mind shifted into gear, never to stop since. I am a birder now, not a bird-watcher. That memorable day we saw Black-throated Canary, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Didric Cuckoo, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, Lesser Grey Shrike, Little Bee-eater, Pin-tailed Whydah, Rattling Cisticola, Red-backed Shrike, White-browed Scrub-Robin and many others. Do not blame my friend for my obsession. We can’t judge him. Yes, his own life goal is indeed weird enough to have featured in a Dutch national newspaper (the serious press, no less). His objective is to see all the birds presented in Newman’s Birds of Southern Africa, 1991 revised edition. That includes birds that do no longer count as a species or ever even existed (Cinnamon Reed Warbler), birds that are not in the South African region (Audubon’s Shearwater) and misses birds that are (Angola Cave-chat). Oh, and he has ticked more than 680 birds already. That’s all very strange behaviour. I consider myself normal – I keep a lifer list and while eBird tries to entice me to do regional and local lists I can’t be bothered. I have allowed myself just a bit of eccentricity. Besides keeping a master list of lifers in the HBW checklist “All the Birds of the World” (and in a spreadsheet in case of fire) I do mark each bird in my guidebooks. I use a green colour if I have seen the species in the region of the respective guidebook and yellow if I have seen it elsewhere. That way I can see on my second or nth visit to the region if a bird is a lifer or just new for the region. Green overwrites yellow, hence the logic of the colour scheme. I also scribble the date and location in the margin. I buy a guidebook for every region I visit but you knew that already. My list now stands at 2110 species. I have identified each and everyone myself and surprisingly I only need to look at the entry in the book and memories start flooding in. Whom with, where, the circumstances. That’s why I believe birders are mentally richer than bird-watchers – the list allows you to build a memory palace that reminds you of all those other good things. Bird-watching is good, birding is better and twitchers exaggerate and ruin it all.