Guide books and apps for birding in eastern South Africa (3 Viewers)

[kylie-bird]

In July/Aug I'll be doing a 3 week trip to eastern South Africa and maybe Lesotho, mostly birding. As this will be my only birding trip to Africa I want to get the most out of it so I am happy to purchase whatever guides are worthwhile. I plan to study the guide over the coming months to learn as much as I can, as well as use the guides on the trip of course.

From various reviews for a physical book "SASOL Birds of Southern Africa 5th edition" seems most highly recommended. I like how the illustrations are orderly, species in neat rows rather than mixed across the page.

I would also want a phone app. I will have Merlin (and using eBird) and have just downloaded the free BIRDS OF AFRICA app, but I read that the "Roberts Bird Guide 2" app is probably the best so I think I'll get that too.

Another recommendation I read was to get "Chamberlain’s LBJs". I can't get it in real book form (in Australia) but I could buy the ebook - but is it much use on a phone or would I need to look at it on my computer (I don't have an ipad). Alternatively I came across "Southern African LBJs Made Simple" by Doug Newman as a book I can order which is probably better than looking at an ebook on my phone, right?

Am I overdoing it? Would I use the LBJ book much if I have the Sasol book and a phone app?

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I'd recommend the Firefinch app for South Africa. You have to pay a subscription for the full version but can get a 30 day free trial, which would cover your trip.

Facts, fun, feathers

Firefinch is a beautifully designed, fun and easy-to-use birding app that will ignite an appreciation of birds and a celebration of the wild landscapes of Southern Africa. Join author and artist Faansie Peacock and the Firefinch community and embark on your birding adventure...whether you’re a...

www.firefinchapp.com

It's probably more helpful than any field guide for ID features and illustrations.

 

[Brad Hacker]

You might be interested in this quite excellent site guidebook co-authored by the creator of Firefinch (I think)
The Chamberlain Guide to Birding Gauteng 2 (this is a 2nd edition)

 

[kylie-bird]

I'd recommend the Firefinch app for South Africa. You have to pay a subscription for the full version but can get a 30 day free trial, which would cover your trip.

Facts, fun, feathers

Firefinch is a beautifully designed, fun and easy-to-use birding app that will ignite an appreciation of birds and a celebration of the wild landscapes of Southern Africa. Join author and artist Faansie Peacock and the Firefinch community and embark on your birding adventure...whether you’re a...

www.firefinchapp.com

It's probably more helpful than any field guide for ID features and illustrations.

Do you think the Firefinch app is better than the Roberts app, or just cheaper? Because I want to get one right away to start learning the birds so either way I'll be paying for one

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Do you think the Firefinch app is better than the Roberts app, or just cheaper? Because I want to get one right away to start learning the birds so either way I'll be paying for one

I've not tried the Roberts app, although the Firefinch app is more useful for ID than any South African field guide I've used.

 

[Dortmundbirder]

That LBJ book is absolutely outstanding. If you can get a copy there I would highly recommend it.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

That LBJ book is absolutely outstanding. If you can get a copy there I would highly recommend it.

Agree with this. It's also by the Firefinch author and is in a similar style.

 

[Antik]

I have the SASOL, Faansie Peackock's Chamberlain Waders, Helm Birds of Southern Africa and Peacock's Chamberlain LBJ book in the order of purchasing. I like the structure of SASOL and generally prefer the illustrations to the Helm book with some exceptions. Both are excellent field guides that cover the whole region. Birds of Gauteng looked nice as did the 2nd ed of Birds of Kruger, but both have geographical limitations. Could be to your advantage if you are only visiting these areas but a huge disadvantage if your visit goes beyond the covered areas or if you hope to find vagrants.

The LBJ and Waders books are nice additions that I admittedly haven't read as thoroughly as they would have deserved. They are much more useful in preparing you how to differentiate these difficult groups of birds than practical field guides to be had at hand when out and about. If you have time, then carefully studying both these books and comparing photos and calls in Merlin and elsewhere online will be the best preparation for these otherwise challenging families.

I never bought an app, but have the free ones you mentioned and came a long way with them. If you want to hear what the authors of Roberts app have in mind, there is a new BirdLife SA webinar

Their website is a treasure trove with webinars also from the FireFly and Helm people.

edit: some grammar

 

[kylie-bird]

Thanks so much!

I have the SASOL, Faansie Peackock's Chamberlain Waders, Helm Birds of Southern Africa and Peacock's Chamberlain LBJ book in the order of purchasing. I like the structure of SASOL and generally prefer the illustrations to the Helm book with some exceptions. Both are excellent field guides that cover the whole region. Birds of Gauteng looked nice as did the 2nd ed of Birds of Kruger, but both have geographical limitations. Could be to your advantage if you are only visiting these areas but a huge disadvantage if your visit goes beyond the covered areas or if you hope to find vagrants.

The LBJ and Waders books are nice additions that I admittedly haven't read as thoroughly as they would have deserved. They are much more useful in preparing you how to differentiate these difficult groups of birds than practical field guides to be had at hand when out and about. If you have time, then carefully studying both these books and comparing photos and calls in Merlin and elsewhere online will be the best preparation for these otherwise challenging families.

I never bought an app, but have the free ones you mentioned and came a long way with them. If you want to hear what the authors of Roberts app have in mind, there is a new BirdLife SA webinar

Their website is a treasure trove with webinars also from the FireFly and Helm people.

edit: some grammar

 

[kylie-bird]

UPDATE: Thanks for all the great input!

I have now ordered the Sasol book and "Southern African LBJs Made Simple" by Doug Newman.

For apps I downloaded "Field Guide to the Birds of Africa" because it was free. It took many hours to download, doesn't have any ID functions and is kinda clunky to navigate around so, not much to recommend it over Merlin.

I also got the Roberts app which was just $20(AUD) for a year. It has lots of functionality so I'm pretty happy with it so far. My friend will get the Firefinch app as the 30 day trial so it will be interesting to compare. I can report back after July if anyone else wants to know

 

[rdcny]

I use a lot of sound to bring birds in...The Newman's app is infinitely better than the Sasol app for bird calls. And the #1 call I use in the appropriate habitat is the Pearl Spotted Owlet. Newman's has a couple different versions I use - and better quality than Sasol. BirdPro (on Apple store) is also pretty good for sounds...I use that one as well. What I learned is that no app has all the calls I need - and sometimes Sasol is better than Newman's. So I've learned to toggle through several depending upon the species (Flufftails eg). Finally, Xeno-Canto is wonderful for calls - but in southern Afica one might not be in a place where one can download a given species' call when needed - and then you have to organize what you download to access it in the future. So the Field Guide apps are handier that way...but Xeno-Canto is your best source! (Used the Rufous Owl call in Queensland the bring one in quite close at night.) In Southern Africa (in the right habitat) Pearl Spotted Owlet call is amazing...see below from Nov 2024; Diederik Cuckoo is also quite responsive to sound when the males arrive to nest (again Nov 2024).