THE BIRDS: July 2016

AFRICAN BIRD OF PREY SANCTUARY

"The African Bird of Prey Sanctuary is a working facility dedicated to the conservation of indigenous raptors and is base to ongoing research, breeding and rehabilitation projects for birds of prey. The majority of these projects .run ‘behind the scenes’ to ensure that the integrity of the wild birds is not compromised and that a high release success rate is achieved. The sanctuary is also, however, home to a wide selection of captive-bred or ‘non-releasable rehabilitation’ birds of prey. These raptors can be viewed in their ‘micro-environment’ enclosures by anyone who wishes to visit and learn about South Africa’s magnificent aerial predators.
The African Bird of Prey Sanctuary opened quietly in June 2006, but was an amalgamation or a variety of projects that have been ongoing in KZN for the previous five years. Headed up by Shannon Hoffman, the sanctuary cares for over 180 different birds of prey of 50 different species. Partnering this project is the Mayibuye community, who owns the land on which the facility is built and shares a percentage of all gate takings"
I am a fan of these places as you can get so close to birds that you normally not see at all. The enclosures here are immaculate, large and contain living plants and trees so they are as close to nature as can be. Sadly most of the birds here are unable to be released as they were too badly injured or fully imprinted by idiotic human sapiens.

Some species of note are their Pels Fishing Owl, Palm Nut Vulture and Bearded Vulture but there is a huge range of beautifully maintained birds to stare at.