September 29, 2005
By Buhle Makabane
HAVING trouble identifying those little brown jobs? The Johannesburg Zoo is flying to your rescue with its annual Sasol Birds and Birding Fair.
Running from Friday, 7 October to Sunday, 9 October, activities range from lectures to musical entertainment, a school programme and demonstrations.
It is sponsored for the second year by Sasol, BirdLife South Africa and Africa Birds and Birding, and aims to promote an interest in birds and birding. There is also a focus on attracting birds to your garden.
Bird watching is a popular, fast-growing hobby, with bird watchers commonly known as twitchers, who try to spot as many rare birds as possible.
"We want to introduce a knowledge of birds to average people in the streets and show them the joy they can get from birds," says BirdLife South Africa's business manager, Karen Marx.
On the first day of the bird fair, the emphasis is on the school programme, with the other days offering programmes aimed at the general public.
The children's day is to start at 9am, ending at noon. It will include puppet shows and environmental activities.
Winning entries from the schools Bird Fair Competition, during which learners had to make birds out of recycled paper, will be on display. The competition closed on 20 September, and the final winners will be announced during the fair.
Prizes include an indigenous tree for the winning school, books for the school's resource centre and free visits to the zoo for learners, valid from October to the middle of June next year.
On Saturday, the second day of the fair, there will be a variety of bird demonstrations by zoo staff members, birders and conservationists. A marimba band will perform at the zoo's bandstand.
There will be exhibits for birders, gardeners and wildlife enthusiasts, including garden furniture, art, binoculars and birds' nests, among others. Indigenous trees will also be displayed.
Lecture topics range from Eagles: The Superb Fliers to Tuinmaak vir Inheemse Natuurlewe; Birding in Zululand and the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park; Dragonflies; Kalahari Birds; Walk and Stalk Owls; and Gardening for Wildlife.
What's on at the fair
Schools Programme: Friday, 7 October
9am to 12pm: Bird demonstrations; environmental activities; puppet shows and loads more.
Teachers will receive a pack of resource material.
Public Programme: Saturday, 8 October and Sunday, 9 October
Saturday at the band stand
9.45am: Marimba band
10.30am: Reptile demonstration
11.30am: Bat demonstration
1pm: Marimba band
2.30pm: Ground hornbill talk and feeding
3.30pm: Raptor demonstration
Saturday lecture programme
10am: Eagles, The Superb Fliers by Gerhard Verdoorn (R60)
11am: Birding in Zululand and the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park by Duncan Pritchard and Roland Vorwerk (No charge)
12pm: Tuinmaak vir Inheemse Natuurlewe by Roy Trendler (R60)
2pm: Dragonflies by Warwick Tarboton (R60)
3pm: Getting Started by Dennis du Plooy (No charge)
4pm: Birding in the Drakensberg by Malcolm Gemmel (R60)
5.30pm: How to Walk and Stalk Owls by Gerhard Verdoorn (R80)
Sunday at the band stand
9.45am: Marimba band
10:30am: Ground hornbill talk and feeding
11.30am: Reptile demonstration
1.00pm: Marimba band
2.30pm: Bat demonstration
3.30pm: Raptor demonstration
Sunday lecture programme
10am: Die Wêreld se Aasvoëls by Gerhard Verdoorn (R60)
11am: Gardening for Wildlife by Roy Trendler (R60)
11am: How to Manage Garden Pests without Killing Birds and Goggas by Gerhard Verdoorn (No charge)
12pm: Kalahari Birds by Rose and Ernie Buric (R60)
2pm: Should Birds be Hunted? by Gerhard Verdoorn (No charge)
3pm: Bird Photography by Albert Froneman (R60)
Normal zoo entrance fees apply.
For more information on the fair and bookings, contact Louise Gordon on 011 646 2000 ext 254 or email louise@jhbzoo.org.za, or Sadie Wolheim at Birdlife SA on 011 789 1122 or email info@birdlife.org.za.
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