LAWSON'S BIRDING, WILDLIFE, & CUSTOM SAFARIS
Interview with Leon Marais

I’m sure all your tours are uniquely special, but do you have a favourite destination? Where and why?
How to choose? We visit so many unique and amazing areas, it’s really hard to narrow it down to one favourite but, if I had to choose, I’d go with the Kruger National Park – which I consider to be my ‘home patch’ as I live fairly close by. I like the Kruger because it’s big – nearly 20 000 square kilometres, highly diverse, and easy to do, plus it’s got an amazing range of birds (over 500 species have been recorded in the park) plus the full range of big game species to add the exciting edge. I’m just back from a safari in Namibia, where we spent five nights in Etosha National Park. After five nights there, I feel like I have pretty much ‘done’ Etosha, but five nights is just scratching the surface in the Kruger - one could easily spend several weeks there and not see it all.

What makes it a special place for a birding safari?
The range of species – as mentioned, over 500 species, including an incredible array of birds of prey;  the ease of birding (many of the birds are open perchers, happy to sit out in the open); the numbers of birds, particularly in the wet season (the Red-billed Quelea flocks in late summer are truly something to behold); and, for me personally, the joy that comes from showing the Kruger and its birds and other wildlife to international birders.

What wildlife and birds are your favourite African destination known for? Is there anything in particular people travel to see? What do you recommend guests to the area should be on the lookout for?
The Kruger is well known for great game viewing, as it’s home to most of Africa’s iconic big game species and is said to be one of the most diverse of Africa’s big parks. If you throw in the private reserves on the western boundary, such as the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which boasts some of the world’s best big cat viewing, you have an incredible wildlife holiday destination. I guess most people visit to see the big mammals, but many of our clients come to see the wealth of feathered fauna as well – I had one client who had waited over 50 years to see a Lilac-breasted Roller. We like to give a holistic experience, taking in the small stuff as well as the classic big game species and I would urge visitors to not be too focused on the big cats etc., as they can then run the risk of missing out on all the overall picture.

Apart from here, where else do you love to go on safari and why?
We cover a lot of Southern Africa, as well as parts of East Africa. Each region has its own appeal. Keen birders will base their destination choice on what birds they need to see, while others less keen will be guided by other factors, but I guess the common factor is to visit beautiful places to see birds and wildlife in the wild.

Tell us the story of how you ended up birding. How long have you been birding? Tell us more about Lawson's.
I was born into a birding family, so it was something I grew up with (interest waned a bit in my teenage years!). My grandfather was a particular influence in this regard and I was fortunate to travel to some amazing parks and reserves across Southern Africa with my parents while growing up. Needless to say, there is a difference between hobby-level birding and professional guiding, so I had to put some work in (and continue to do so, as it’s easy to lose your edge) when I took it up professionally.

The sun is setting. Tea, G&T, or beer?
Easy choice – definitely not tea!

And the funniest/quirkiest experience you have had? 
Um, one of the funniest: as a guide you get to witness some interesting animal behaviour, but sometimes it’s the human behaviour that’s most interesting! I was guiding an older couple who were out here showing Africa to their teenage grandson. They were so keen, trying to get some reaction out of him – you know how teenagers can be – asking the whole time if he can see this or that, but just getting a grunt out of him at best… One day, we had to travel quite far in the Kruger, so left early and were cruising along as the sun rose to the east and grandma asked him if he could see it… and he exploded with ‘of course I can see it, it’s THE SUN!!!’. I just kept quiet. We arrived for breakfast at Letaba Rest Camp and got a nice table for four on the veranda. Out came the breakfasts, slap-up full-English all round, and the teen grabs the tomato sauce (ketchup for the rest of you) to put on his sausages. It was one of those squeezy bottles and a plug of solid tomato sauce had built up in the nozzle. So he squeezed a little harder, and a little harder, and a little… then, perhaps with some frustration having built up over the past week or so spending time with his aged grandparents (just conjecture on my part!), he lost it a bit and squeezed it real good. And the whole lid blew off in a red explosion. When the spray had settled, the teen was mouth-aghast with tomato sauce covering his face and glasses. Tomato sauce jets went left and right several meters across the restaurant floor. His grandpa and I fell off our chairs laughing while his gran tried awkwardly to clean him up with a serviette. It was just the kind of attention a teenager doesn’t want (never mind an adult!). At least he was somehow the only person to get sauced. It was hilarious. He wasn’t a bad kid, just typically teenagerish and hopefully he did enjoy his first African safari with gran, gramps, and me.

Do you have any interesting information/top tips to share on birding in Africa?
Michael Mills has written a great book, The Birder’s Guide to Africa, that covers the entire continent and surrounding islands. For any birder wanting to plan an African campaign, this is a great resource. For those keen on maximising their birding (and just having a well-planned, enjoyable overall experience), always use an established specialist birding outfit (such as Lawson’s!). While it is possible to do certain destinations on your own, such as South Africa and Namibia, you’ll just get so much more out of it with an experienced guide.

Do you have any advice for first-time birders from around the world around what they need to get started, species identification, etc.?
Birding is a relatively cheap hobby – get a good pair of binoculars (even the more affordable brands make pretty good binos these days) and a bird book and/or app, and there you go - you can start birding! The great thing is that birds can be found everywhere. Start on your garden birds to get used to finding the bird in your binoculars and get the general idea about bird families, etc. Like everything, practice makes perfect. Keep a list as well to help you remember what you’ve seen. No need to go overboard with the lists (some birders have dozens of different lists for different places, years, etc.), but a life list at minimum is a good idea. And don’t become one of those Facebook ‘birders’ who takes a photo of the most common garden bird and posts it on a birding group for someone to tell them what it is. Looking through the book helps you remember! If you are stuck, for sure, there are some great groups with plenty of free expert opinion. Most importantly in birding (as with wildlife watching), have respect for your subject first and foremost – don’t put the well-being of a bird at risk just so you can get a view or a photo. In this day and age of social media and instant messaging, there is a lot of pressure being put on nesting birds, rarities, vagrants, very photogenic species, etc. by overzealous birders and, indeed, there has evolved a certain breed of bird photographer who isn’t really interested in birds and bird behaviour but is only interested in getting photos – these types aren’t good for birds and birding. Also, with many birders having bird calls on their phones, I implore birders both green and experienced to use call playback with the utmost discretion.