Callan and Claire are research students in evolutionary biology at the famous Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology in Cape Town, and have contributed towards a number of books and scientific and popular publications. They are also experienced African birders and were successively the youngest people to see the landmark 800 species in southern Africa, as well as running Birding Africa, a specialist bird guiding and consulting company.

They also maintain a birding and travel resource site, Cape Town Birding.com, which includes an introduction to birding in the Cape Town area, an online chapter of their book, an African Bird Taxonomy page, several photo galleries, extensive African links, and information on the CapeBirdNet and SA Rare Bird Alert listservers.

SURFBIRDS: At what age and how did the two of you get into birding? Did you have any special mentors?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: Growing up in Cape Town, with Table Mountain at our doorsteps, it was hard to avoid an early passion for nature in general! For both of us, this began to focus on birds around the age of eight, and the marvellous arrival of a bird book opened up all sorts of possibilities. The Cape Bird Club was a wonderful source of early opportunities to go birding, and we both have much to owe them - as well as to numerous local birders and patient scientists at the University of Cape Town, who cheerfully tolerated our frequent interruptions were always generous with their knowledge and experience.

SURFBIRDS: How long did it take to finish the book? Were there any particular goals you wished to accomplish in writing the book?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: Our goal was to create a book that not only could act as a thorough practical guide, but also relay some of our passion for the region and its birds. We hope that we've to some extent managed to acheive this, and hence helped to encourage both local and overseas awareness of what it has to offer as a superb birding and ecotourism destination. Although the research had accumulated over many years (perhaps since our ages were in single figures!), the book itself took just over a year from concept to publication. While bulk of the writing probably took three months, there were of course a further few of tweaking with the publishers! We were very fortunate to work with a great team at Struik; in particular, we would be nowhere without the tremendous input and support of project manager Pippa Parker, and designer Dom Robson.

SURFBIRDS: Can you describe the best birding experience you've ever had?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: We were extremely lucky to be part a small team that undertook to relocate the highly localised Namuli Apalis, a colourful forest warbler described in the thirties by Col. Jack Vincent and never to have been seen since. The expedition, funded by the BP Conservation Expedition Awards and the African Bird Club's Conservation Fund, took three years to arrange and involved exploring the remote Namuli Massif northern Mozambique (SE Africa). We tape-recorded and played back a promising call emanating from deep in the forest. As a shape whisked into a sapling in front of us, our binoculars - as you might imagine! - were trembling to the point that we could hardly focus on the first Namuli Apalis documented since its discovery in 1932. We're honoured to have been part of an experience such as this - no doubt becoming ever-rarer, as ornithological exploration progresses.

SURFBIRDS: In which part of Africa, if any, do you think the ornithology is still underexplored?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: As our experience related above suggests, northern Mozambique certainly is one area that remains startlingly underexplored - almost completely overlooked since the early thirties! Some of the more remote Tanzanian mountain ranges must surely have some pleasant surprises still in store - consider Udzungwa Forest Partridge, discovered quite literally in a stew as recently as 1991. And of course the Democratic Republic of Congo remains fascinating and relatively unexplored - and Tommy Pedersen's Congo Birding site certainly does whet the appetite.

SURFBIRDS: What is the rarity scene like in South Africa?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: While not quite having reached northern hemisphere levels of epidemic fanaticism, the scene is ever-growing. The best-twitched rarity to date must surely have been 1998's superb Citrine Wagtail in the Eastern Cape Province, which lured up to fifty observers at any one time - unprecedented by South African standards! We have an established National Rarities Committee which produces regular reports, and an email rarity hotline, SA Rare Bird Alert .

SURFBIRDS: We know that both of you are doing graduate work in ornithology, while at the same time running a local birding tour company.How do you balance your time, and have you found any situations where your research has greatly benefited your bird tours (and vice versa)?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: We certainly do have our hands rather full trying to balance our dual obsessions of science and birding! However, experience of birds in the field seems to benefit our scientific careers in both of our fields (respectively systematics and behavioural ecology). Our home region does offer an abundance of intruiguing models for evolutionary research: the recent developments in cryptic species taxonomy - also of such critical interest to listing birders! - are a good example. And South African birds offer a great number of exciting systems for behavioural ecologists, such as a remarkable number of cooperatively breeding species.

SURFBIRDS: Most commercial bird tours involve large groups, whereas your company, Birding Africa, caters to small groups and/or special target birds. In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of small groups?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: We do often handle large groups such as those of international bird tour companies, which is always challenging and exciting - there can be quite an atmosphere! But yes, our speciality is small groups - often couples - and this allows us to plan very specialised itineraries targeting their particular dream birds, and to chat about all aspects of the country and its natural history. We've been delighted to find that many of our guests have subsequently become good friends.

SURFBIRDS: What is the pelagic birding scene like in South Africa? Are there many tours? Can you give a quick sampling of the highlights a visiting birder might expect to see?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: The pelagic birding scene has really taken off in recent years, with regular boat trips departing from near Cape Town. The lure is understandable, as the pelagic birding is truly superb: up to 10 000 individuals of over 30 seabirds species, including up to 7 species of albatross, are often seen in a single day! Winter is best for albatrosses: the common Shy, Black-browed and Yellow-nosed (including good numbers of the localised south Atlantic taxon chlororhynchus) may be joined by Wandering, Northern Royal and Grey-headed. Other highly sought-after species that are regularly seen include Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Soft-plumaged and Great-winged Petrels and, more scarcely, Black-bellied Storm Petrel and the highly localised Spectacled Petrel.

For about three years, Anne Gray's name has become synonymous with monthly or bi-monthly boat trips from Cape Town, which have naturally become very popular with foreign visitors. As of 2001, two of the most experienced guides on these trips have opened their own company. Please visit Cape Town Pelagics.com for more information such as practical seabird and travel information, including a month-by-month seabird table based on over 300 pelagic trips over the last 10 years (reproduced from our book), maps and directions to harbours, suggestions of where to eat and stay, and seabird photo galleries. There is also a more detailed discussion of the Cape Town pelagic operators and a complete schedule of their trips next year, as well as an independent pelagic trip booking service for local and visiting birders.

SURFBIRDS: There are several South African field guides. Is there any particular one that you would recommend above all others?

CALLAN & CLAIRE: We're fortunate in South Africa that the standard of field guides is relatively very good indeed - although there is yet room for improvement. Two field guides stand up above the rest: the "Sasol" Illustrated Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa and "Newman's" Birds of Southern Africa. We grew up with "Newman's", and Ken Newman's knack at portraying the jizz of our local birds accurately remains outstanding. However, when it comes to fine-scale illustrative detail and quality of text, Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton and a team of artists have a done an absolutely superb job with "Sasol". It's a must for the very serious birder. There are also excellent field guides available for mammals, reptiles, frogs, trees and wildflowers, that provide a great resource for open-minded birders visiting Africa!

BIRDING AFRICA
Specialist Bird Tours & Ornithological Consulting
Callan Cohen - Claire Spottiswoode
callan@birding-africa.com - claire@birding-africa.com
tel. +27 21 683 1898 - +27 21 674 33 56
fax. +21 21 671 2990 - +27 21 683 25 96
mobile +27 83 256 0491 - +27 83 354 2882
Websites: www.birding-africa.com and www.capetownbirding.com and www.capetownpelagics.com

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA