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Up to 533 now. Some birds added since my last update include: Red-footed Falcon (Kgomo-kgomo), African Finfoot (Borakalalo) and Purple Indigobird (Borakalalo).

After a good few months , my total has broken through 400

I am now on 410

Picked up 3 new ticks in the last few weeks moving me up to 464

Cuckoo Finch - Centurion area
Western Osprey - Hazyview
Croaking Cisticola - Pretoriuskop

Bird # 600 is Common Quail at Kliprivierberg NR

Congrats on the big 600 Leonie, glad to see it's not just me that struggling to connect with this critter!

Congratulations Leonie

After a trip to Mount Sheba Pelgrims Rest my total now stands at 426

418 Knysna Turaco
419 Black Saw-wing
420 Greater Double-collared Sunbird
421 Gurney's Sugarbird
422 Cape Grassbird
423 Lemon Dove
424 Yellow Bishop
425 Drakensberg Prinia
426 Southern Bald Ibis - Dullstroom

Target still 450

Up until recently it wasn't just you but now that Leonie has seen it, it is just you

Any tips please

Up to 474 after spotting a Booted Eagle from the garden this morning!!!

Well done Leon on reaching 600!!!

We successfully flushed Common Quail on the Devon route in the vicinity of point 4 on section 71(Devon) in the Birding Gauteng book on 21/01/2012. Also picked up 2 of these guys and a female at the same spot too. Plenty of Spike-heeled Larks around as well.

Common Quails were calling like crazy at Marievale last month from the adjacent farm if you drive between the Hadeda hide and the Bus stop hide. Perhaps worth scanning the piece of farmland from the Hadeda hide back towards the gate.

Yes, visit Kliprivierberg NR. It worked for Leonie

But more seriously; Are you familiar with the bird's call? You will in most cases hear them long before you see them. In fact, your chances of just stumbling upon one without having heard it first is pretty remote. I've seen them walk across the road (with chicks in tow nogal) but that was just by pure chance. In 99% of the cases, we heard the bird and then made an effort of seeing it. That effort usually involves charging through the grass, wildly clapping hands and talking loudly, until they flush - not the greatest finesse

I would agree with WTM about Devon. We found them there a couple of weeks back and I have managed to spot them most times there during mid-late summer visits.

Flushing them is most probably the only way you will get to see them, as they sit right next to the road and as you drive or walk by they flutter off into the sunset

I still haven't managed to get photo's of this little beauty

Thanks for all the advise, yes I am familiar with their call and actually heard them for the first and only time on New years at Rietvlei the only problem was I couldn't get out of the vehicle there!

Finally broke through the 600 barrier during the December holidays with a new total of 605 and a year-end target of 625.

Birds added since last update:
600 Cinnamon-breasted Warbler - Northern Cape
601 Cloud Cisticola - Northern Cape
602 Karoo Korhaan - Northern Cape
603 Grey Penduline-Tit - Pafuri, KNP
604 Sand Martin - Mooiplaas ps, KNP
605 Baillon's Crake - Marievale, GP

Nice to see so many of you adding new birds to your various lists...

It would be great if some of you would consider adding your details to the various listing clubs at www.zestforbirds.co.za which has the most comprehensive set of listing clubs for Southern Africa on the web. You can submit your list for Southern Africa, for a number of different provinces, for the number of species you have photographed, for the Kruger National Park and there is even a listing club for birding couples where both of your totals get added together for your aggregate total, so it helps to encourage both members of the couple to get out there and add to their lists...

All the various listing clubs were updated yesterday, so please feel free to visit the site and have a look at the latest stats.

Hope you get to add a few more of you to those listing clubs there!