BirdLife KZN Midlands
BirdLife KZN Midlands (also refered to as KZN Midlands Bird Club) sprang from the Port Natal Club 25 years ago, when it became apparent that a local club was needed in the Midlands area. The club was originally based in Pietermaritzburg but now Howick is the centre for the Club!
We are a member of BirdLife South Africa, and it is a prerequisite for membership of our club to be a member of our parent body.
That said anybody and everybody is welcome to join us for our evening meetings and outings. We have a monthly (except July, too cold! and Dec too much going on.) evening meeting which is held at the Goldfields Community Centre at WESSA. This takes place on the third Wednesday evening monthly from 17:30 for registration (Members R15 pp, non-members R20) and we have well known speakers presenting their interesting talks from 18:00 to 19:00.
The club also runs a last Wed. morning of the month outing to places of birding interest, meeting anytime from 06:30 depending on the season of the year.
As a Club we are actively involved with projects of a national interest, including the Bearded Vulture project, and twice a year a Waterbird count at Midmar Game Reserve, Albert Falls Dam, Darvill and the Gartmore Crane Conservation Centre. Also a coordinated Car route twice a year to monitor Cranes, Bustards, Storks, and some other birds. These counts are on set routes. The Cape Parrot is another species that we monitor on regular yearly basis. These are just some of our projects.
Membership of our Club includes a magazine called 'KZN Birds' which is published three times a year and covers all the Natal Bird Clubs. One can also take out with membership the lovely magazine called 'African Birdlife' published by BirdLife South Africa 6 times a year.