Birding in Makuleke Kruger a top spot in South Africa

"Birds this month have been really good with some of the early migrants coming in already. Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper and Common Greenshank are the first to arrive with more to follow soon. One of our big specials, Racket-tailed Roller, has been seen so often on this course it has almost become a “trash bird”…… Well not quite, but it is ridiculous how often we have seen it. Grey-headed Parrot has also been seen flying over the camp/Lala Palm area often heading back and forth from the Fever Tree Forest. Three-banded Courser is being heard calling every night but only seen on one occasion. Black-throated Wattle-eye was glimpsed briefly near Makwadzi Pan and Meyers Parrot was also seen there. The highlight for me this course so far was an awesome sighting of a White-breasted Cuckoo-Shrike which did the “full Monty” for us and showed us all sides. The course bird list is well over a hundred birds so far and we still have a week to go." Bruce Lawson


Bruce is a passionate naturalist who has spent the last 15 years guiding in remote wilderness areas in many of Africa’s Big Game Reserves. Bruce is equally at home leading walking safaris as he is leading specialist birding tours. With a soft spot for elephants, Bruce devoted 2 years to leading ‘elephant’ walking safaris in the Caprivi National Park in Namibia, for people who wanted to experience elephants in large numbers, uninhibited by international boundaries.
Bruce is at present a director of FGASA and vice chair person of the FGASA executive committee. He is one of only a handful of qualified SKS (Special Knowledge and Skills) Dangerous Game Guides and a National SKS Birding Guide. Bruce is an Advanced Rifle Handling Instructor Trainer for FGASA and is also a THETA accredited National Assessor.

Bruce is just pure passion in the bush! With a dry sense of humour and a stickler for getting it right, he passes on his enthusiasm, knowledge and years of experience whole-heartedly.