The Old Diocesan Issue 12 - Magazine - Page 76
in birding that I wasn’t aware of.”
Ornithology has now been folded
into the Field and Stream Society.
At one point in his teens, Adam
was on track to be the youngest in
South Africa to join the 800 club,
but the constraints of school made
finding target species a challenge.
“I was on 785,” he explains, “but
my dad thought it was probably
better that I focus on my Grade 11
exams than go around the country
chasing birds.”
Then came Stellenbosch. “Firstyear varsity was chaos, so I didn’t
really get time to go birding. Last
year, though, I began to explore
Stellenbosch more, especially
the Jonkershoek Valley. I’ve found
some great spots for Protea Canary,
Victorin’s Warbler and Red-chested
Flufftail, and I’ve started to make
more time to explore there.”
Technology has been a major
factor in getting young people into
not just birding, but the outdoors
in general. I personally started
atlassing for the South African
Bird Atlas Project to give myself
some structure, and now birders
A Brown Snake Eagle being
mobbed by White-crested
Helmetshrikes, Timbavati.
App identification: Bindo
Live since 2023, Bindo is a birding app created in Cape Town by Rob
Elliot and Nic Grobler. Mike Buckham and Dave Winter helped to develop
and promote it. Rob, Mike and Dave are Wet Pups, Bishops and SACS
parents, respectively, while Nic still has a few years to decide.
Bindo is a bird-logging app with several innovative features not found
in traditional listing platforms. Key highlights include multiple list types,
an open community feed displaying birder activity, and simplified
logging through the South African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) integration
with Nearby Targets. The app also features curated birding areas such
as reserves, national parks and hotspots, photo-sharing capabilities,
and built-in atlassing to support SABAP2 data collection.
While Bindo is not a dedicated identification app like FireFinch, Sasol
or Roberts, it offers a growing photo library to assist with bird ID. It also
improves on existing listing apps such as BirdLasser and eBird by making
logging faster and less constrained by complex protocols. With more
than 4,000 users, Bindo is reaching a broader birding audience and
making birding more accessible and engaging.
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