South Africa – A Birder’s Paradise

With a total of 869 species that can be found on the mainland, these tours are for anyone interested in creatures with feathers; be it at an expert level or in a “new-to-birding” sense. South Africa has amazing endemic bird species, the highest number on the African continent: 18 true endemics, 50 near endemics (with more than 70% of their range within the borders of South Africa), and one breeding near-endemic species, adding up to a grand total of 69 birds endemic or near-endemic to southern Africa.

South Africa’s national bird is the Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus), a small, elegant crane and arguably one of the world’s most sophisticated birds, with a gunpowder blue plumage, massively extended primary plumes and an exhilarating and elegant courtship dance. This species is mostly found in South Africa while a small, isolated population can be found in Namibia.

Like most of the other tours and trips we offer at Southern Sky Adventures, our birding trips are also 100% customizable and can be tailormade to suit your hobbies and interests.

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RICK NUTTALL

The wonderful Rick Nuttall leads our birding tours. Rick has been sharing his knowledge and passion for all things nature, especially birds, from an incredibly young age. He conducted his master’s degree in extensive behavioral studies of waxbills. In 1991, Rick joined the National Museum in Bloemfontein. He has authored scientific, semi-scientific and popular ornithological publications while leading birding trips in South Africa since 1993. Rick has a keen interest in photography, sound recording, and is fascinated by nature. You will often see him with his recording equipment as he always keeps his eyes and ears open for recording opportunities.

These birding tours truly capture the essence of the passion we at Southern Sky Adventures and Rick share for nature. Our tours cover the most important birding locations and a few hidden gems in South Africa. We focus on endemic birds as well as special birds you might find in each area.

Itineraries

What they say... Client reviews

Worry-Free Group Experience

Our fall trip to Africa included 11 wonderful and diverse individuals for four venues, over a two week period.   How can this many people enjoy themselves so much for this extended period of time?  The answer is Richard Pace!  You worked diligently to anticipate our every need, and continued to…

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An Incredible Time

Southern Sky Adventures did a great job helping us to plan our trip to Africa.  They covered all of the details—everything from flights and accommodations to safari essentials to in-country cell phone service to restaurant and activity recommendations.  Richard even managed to make suggestions on how four women should not…

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The Perfect Itinerary

I went to South Africa in December 2008 with three friends and truly had the trip of a lifetime.  The country is absolutely beautiful and there are so many amazing things to do from safari to whale watching to fine dining in Cape Town.  Southern Sky Adventures planned the perfect…

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Best Travel Experience Ever

I relive that trip in my mind almost daily – it was the best travel experience I’ve ever had.  Thank you for all you did to make it perfect.  Your local knowledge of the people and places definitely were a plus – you couldn’t have picked more excellent guides, trackers…

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Adventure of a Lifetime

I can’t recommend Richard Pace and Southern Sky adventures enough! He’s been travelling all over the continent of Africa for the last 12 years and specializes in an otherwise unknown and intimidating territory. I didn’t know what to expect from South Africa but my trip went off without a hitch…

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Once-in-a-lifetime Safari

Thanks for helping us put together such an amazing girl’s trip to South Africa.  We couldn’t have asked for a more well-planned adventure.  Your guidance, itinerary recommendations, and hard work in arranging the details definitely helped to make this “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” a truly incredible experience for all.  Between the 4…

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A different view of South Africa

I had been looking forward to a trip to South Africa for many years, knowing how special it would be.  It was all that and more because of Richard Pace and Southern Sky Adventures.  His choice of accommodations, destinations and tours were perfect.  Everywhere we went was superb and each…

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