Birdwatching

📍Umgeni River Valley and KwaDabeka

📸 : @greencorridors for all the bird pics (because a phone camera just doesn’t cut it when it comes to capturing these magnificent creatures from far).

Birdwatching – the practice of observing birds in their natural environment as a hobby. Another of those activities we always thought were for another type of demographic (race and age-wise). That was before we got schooled by @jay_zikode .

🥳Fun factor: we surprised ourselves by becoming so engrossed in the process of listening to the different bird sounds and bird spotting. Three hours later we were fanning our feathers for being able to identify some bird species by sound and sight. True story!

🏋🏾‍♀️Fitness level: n/a. You do cover a fair amount of ground walking and watching but the pace is slow and measured and very pleasant.

👧🏾 Suitability for kids: it would depend on their level of interest, but even if they aren’t bird watching they’ll enjoy walking about in nature.

💸Cost: packages are customised so please enquire @greencorridors

🤩 What we loved most:
– We loved the surprise of actually enjoying this activity. This is one we did to test the stereotype rather than because we were hungry for the experience. It was good to be proven wrong & find ourselves engrossed, curious and later identifying birds we previously couldn’t. As people who love being outdoors, being able to name the origins of sounds around you makes the experience so much richer. Imagine that!

🚦 What you need to know:
– Birding can last anywhere from 1hour to 6 hours depending on your level of curiosity and interest. If you’re new to it, start low and go slow 😉

In short: a bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of a branch breaking. Her trust is not in the branch but on her own wings. Take a leap of faith. Trust your wings.