Join a bird club

BirdLife South Africa and bird club membership

Subscription to BirdLife South Africa does not give automatic affiliation to a bird club.

There are many benefits to be gained from joining a bird club and BirdLife South Africa encourages you to join a bird club in your area and take part in local outings and projects.

Successful Club Outings : Guidelines for Clubs and Leaders

Benefits of joining a BirdLife South Africa bird club

Bird clubs fall under the BirdLife South Africa umbrella and thus enjoy the benefits of being able to get involved with Citizen Science projects like CWAC, CAR and SABAP2.
All clubs are run according to well established principles with a democratically-elected chairperson and committee.
Beginners are able to learn from expert birders (club members and people invited to guide outings) during day, weekend and longer outings to local birding sites, more distant sites, and sometimes to bird-watching localities which are not accessible to the general public.
Some clubs provide mid-week outings for senior citizens.
Clubs have a social aspect, e.g. year-end braai, spring day, tree planting ceremonies, etc.
Clubs provide various birding courses for beginners all the way through to advanced bird-watchers, including identification of LBJs and photography courses.
The bigger clubs have at least one evening meeting a month with a guest speaker.
Clubs keep you up-to-date with the latest bird sightings and rarities in your area.
Some clubs have adopted sensitive areas to look after and maintain e.g. Wits Bird Club at Delta Park and President Ridge Bird Sanctuary.
Many clubs have their own magazine/newsletter keeping the members up-to-date with local news and details of forthcoming events.
Some birders are members of more than one club to get maximum benefit from the different clubs’ activities.
There is also interaction between clubs, e.g. birding trips, weekend trips, evening meetings and training courses, and while on holiday, you can participate in the activities of clubs in that area.

For more information about a bird club in your area, click on the links on the right side of this page or please contact Shireen Gould, BirdLife South Africa’s Membership Manager on 011 789 1122 or [email protected]

Eastern Cape

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Christiaan de Wet
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: 082 576 9864

Chinelle Kruger
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: 084 250 9888

Carla de Wet
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: 083 660 2511

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Corne Erasmus
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: 084 515 8425

Joy Woodford
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]

Leslie Blandy
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: 082 388 8877

Tim Roestorf
Treasurer

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Ian McEwan
Chair

E: [email protected]

Free State

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Louise Coetzee
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 82 382 1341

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Martin Potgieter
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 81 353 9334

Gauteng

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Dennis Townsend
Chair

E: [email protected]

Sue Cohen
Secretary

E: [email protected]

Alex Jenning
Treasurer

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Penny Abbott
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 82 566 8074

Beryl Tucker
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: 082 899 6037

Tim Wood
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 407 3992

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Sean Naude
Chair

E: [email protected]

Fransie O’Brien
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 72 737 0862

Pieter Heslinga
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 82 551 0130

Laetitia Steynberg
Conservation

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 82 800 6210

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

David Broom
Chair

E: [email protected]

Lynne McNamara
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]

Alastair Mcduff
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: 076 977 3066

More info

Rand Barbet Bird Club is a recreational bird club – members enjoy nature, birds and birding in each other’s company.

The Club is under the happy patronage of Geoff Lockwood, Club President. Geoff is a recipient of a BLSA Eagle Owl Award for his life’s work as an ornithologist, bird artist and photographer, bird lecturer/guide/teacher, prolific SABAP2 atlasser and custodian of the birds – particularly the owls – of Delta Park.

Rand Barbet Bird Club meets monthly in the evening for a talk, goes on a Sunday outing in Gauteng one Sunday a month – and in summer week-day outings too – has two field trips a year, participates in Birding Big Day and members arrange ad hoc trips and outings among themselves.

Once a year there is a club photography evening, a bird quiz, a Christmas bash and of course the AGM – all of them good excuses for food, wine and camaraderie.

There is also an annual conservation outing.

Monthly Meetings are on the third Wednesday of each month at 18:30 for 19:00 at the Rosebank Union Church, Hurlingham, on the corner of Sandton and Winnie Mandela Drives.

Guided birding outings are on the last Sunday of each month except December.

There are two field trips a year.

Membership

Members keep in touch by WhatsApp, e-mail and an ad hoc bulletin. To keep the club small and friendly membership is limited to no more than 100 members and their partners.
Membership is currently around 75.

Membership fees:

Single Birder R400 pa; R600 pa for a birding family; payable each year on the anniversary of joining.

Rand Barbet Bird Club is affiliated to, and a member of, BirdLife South Africa. The Club encourages members to also join BirdLife South Africa, which you can do here: https://www.birdlife.org.za/support-us/join-us/join-birdlife-south-africa/

RBBC will collect African Birdlife magazines for subscribers and bring them to the meetings. Simply give RBBC as the delivery address when subscribing.

To join please e-mail the Club on [email protected].

See photographs of club activities on https://www.facebook.com/groups/RandBarbet

Or you can contact any of the below Committee members:

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Judy Stockill
Chairperson

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)83 267 7070

Frankie Donaldson
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 349 9585

Geoff Fotheringham
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)83 625 3809

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Hennie de Klerk
Chair

C: 083 300 6915
E: [email protected]

Rina de Klerk
Secretary

C: 082 626 6990
E: [email protected]

Cliff Wright
CWAC Co-Ordinator

E: 083 304 5797
E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Digby Eagle
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: 083 648 4136

Yvonne Droste
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: 082 228 1317

Ted Droste
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: 082 551 5613

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Andy Featherstone
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 259 0231

Lance Robinson
Vice-Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0) 82 927 9785

Lauraine Leigh
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 11 686 2090

KwaZulu-Natal

To update club contact details, please email [email protected] and copy [email protected]

Nicky Forbes
Chair

E: [email protected]

Derek Robins
Vice Chair

E: [email protected]

Bridget Thorne
Treasurer

E: [email protected]

Carron Dove
Secretary

E: [email protected]

Jenny Norman
Activities Co-ordinator

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Sean Glynn
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)82 468 5805

Colin Summersgill
Vice-chair

E: [email protected]
P: 060 827 3785

Hugh Bulcock
Membership/Treasurer

E: [email protected]

Phyllida Mc Grath
Secretary

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Otto Nel
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 459 3488

Rina Pretorius
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 327 0789

John and Kathy Sharpe
Treasurer

P: +27 (0) 34 312 6470

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Doug Bell
Chairperson

E: [email protected]

Gavin King
Membership/Secretary

E: [email protected]

Dylan Weyer
Treasurer

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Peter Nelson
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 457 2256

Limpopo

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Jody de Bruyn
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 82 802 2085

Mark Friskin
Vice-chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 82 787 4094

Marcia van Tonder
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 345 7172

Nick Baglow
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 82 575 2524

Julia Friskin
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 996 8841

Limpopo

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Frank Webb
Chairperson

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 804 3486

Fran Coole
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)72 104 1227

Moira McMillan
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)74 147 9111

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

David Mourant
Chairman

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Kristi Garland
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: 081 726 5282

John Burchmore
Vice Chairman

E: [email protected]
P: 082 224 3326 / 017 730 0317

John Barrow
Membership/Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: 082 255 6778

North West

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

John Wesson
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 444 7649

Jenny Wesson
Secretary/Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 83 444 7649

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Charles Foot
Chair

E: [email protected]

Gerda Welman
Treasurer

E: [email protected]

Hantie Mathews
Secretary

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Pieter Labuschagne
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: 082 908 7965

Lawren Oelofse
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: 082 453 6796

Western Cape

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Steve Peck
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 81 817 3223

Johan van der Westhuizen
Vice Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 76 015 2274

Tierck Hoekstra
Membership Secretary & Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)83 327 4344

Jill Wheater
Club Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 496 2447

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Ann Mawer
Chairperson

E: [email protected]

Patrick Raymond
Vice Chairperson

E: [email protected]

Pippa van Noppen
Secretary

E: [email protected]

Darryl Harrison
Treasurer

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Kobus Graaff
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (23) 347 1475

Marieta Howard
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]

Anton Quenet
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (23) 347 0844

Hester Graaff
Secretary

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Michael Buckham
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)83 462 9220

Penelope Dichmont
Vice-Chairman

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)78 286 5585

Linda Merrett
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)21 685 7368

Joy Fish
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)21 685 7418

Gillian Barnes
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)21 782 5429

Sylvia Ledgard
Information Officer

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Ed Meyer
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 880 7604

Margaret Loesch
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)82 465 3969

Johan Groenewald
Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 600 3691

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Pat Nurse
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 402 6133

Brian Taggart
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)82 450 1099

Jenni Miller
Activities Secretary

E: [email protected]

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Willene van der Merwe
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: 082 567 8631

Sakkie Krynauw
Membership & Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)82 904 5363

Bev O Connor
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)83 323 1175

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Brigid Crewe
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 570 0808

Helene Thompson
Vice-chair / Treasurer

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)21 976 4079

Judy Kotze
Membership Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27(0)83 254 0919

To update club contact details, please email [email protected]

Dalene Vanderwalt
Chair

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0) 84 702 4201

Pam Duffield
Secretary

E: [email protected]
P: +27 (0)82 736 6673