The year before that, in 2020, The Raven Dikkops astonished us all when they tallied 335 species, breaking the previous record by 10 species! Many people must have thought that this record would stand for a long time but it didn't.
BBD 2022 saw team E-birders, comprising Derek and Daniel Engelbrecht and Selwyn Rautenbach, sneak over the line with 336 species a remarkable achievement. In a Facebook post Daniel remarked, 'For once we had a reasonable (and relatively windless) dawn chorus. Most of the species along our route cooperated well and for the first time since trying this new route we had a rain-free forest section. We had to contend with blazing 40-degree Celsius heat in Tzaneen and Letsitele and had to accept a few tough dips here. Thankfully, we narrowly missed a thunderstorm that hindered the teams behind us and we had a productive late afternoon session in the mopane woodlands of Letsitele.
This story is from the March 2023 edition of African Birdlife.
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This story is from the March 2023 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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