Birdwatchers may help unlock value for farmers

With more than 450 bird species within the Garden Route District, which also includes the Klein Karoo, BirdLife South Africa has developed an avitourism project funded by the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, with additional funding from the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve.

The multi-pronged approach includes working with local tourism offices, SANParks and CapeNature, as well as local bird clubs, and seeks to up the number of bed nights in the area while at the same time increasing local enthusiasts’ birdwatching and bird guiding knowledge.

The gobirding.co.za website points people interested in avitourism

– one of the fastest-growing outdoor pursuits globally – to the list of participating providers.

Farmers who offer accommodation in Langkloof, Meiringspoort, Oudtshoorn, De Rust, Calitzdorp and the more traditional Garden Route areas can approach BirdLife South Africa as well as their local tourism offices about being featured on the list of recommended stays.

Farmers and growers who understand the value of increasing biodiversity on their farms and considering birdlife in their asset-protection strategies, would be well placed to further monetise their offering.

Farmers who own areas where rare or mega-rare birds may be found may be interested in the so-called Patagonia picnic table effect, which speaks to increasing numbers of birders visiting and, in the process, discovering more rare birds in the area and exponentially increasing the number of visitors.

Within the Stillbaai area, species such as the southern tchagra, ruddy turnstone, olive and knysna woodpeckers, along with bar-tailed godwits, can be found.

Ladismith, for example, holds the promise of spotting the Karoo korhaan, Karoo eremomela and black-headed canary while the ground woodpecker, cape gannet and red-necked spurfowl are found in Plettenberg Bay’s surrounds.

The non-profit Nature’s Valley Trust is doing excellent work in the dunes along the coast, which are sensitive breeding areas for the African oystercatcher and the white-fronted plover.

The trust has many educational projects that help increase awareness of and appreciation for the environment. –