Imagine this, walking in the veldt, birds chirping and general nature doing what general nature does. Ben takes the lead and indicates for us to stop, he then starts whistling, bird calling actually and the birds reply in unison. Birds that we had not seen started popping out their nests and other hiding places, almost like old friends, they chat. What an amazing and exciting time we had with Ben from Bird Watcher.

His knowledge of the terrain, climate and history of the region is only surpassed by his birding skills. Birding with Ben will make you see nature in a different light.

Thank you Ben for an amazing time.

We were recommended to Ben by the Timeshare establishment we were staying at in Sedgefield.

Despite inclement weather we were lucky to pick a morning trip with Ben on a dry day.

We found him very friendly and knowledgable and he went out of his way to find some beautiful birds.

He took us to different Biomes, Oystercatchers on the beach, a magnificent Honey buzzard right above us, Knysna Lourie in the forest and a trip to the “BIG TREE”.

Riverside we saw Kingfishers,Giant, pied and a gorgeous Malachite. Many other birds too many to mention were seen.

Despite being a morning trip, Ben did not stop his endeavours until early afternoon.

We would wholeheartedly recommend Ben. This was the highlight of our trip through the Garden Route.

We are 3 friends who recently became more interested in birding. Most of our birding until now had been done in the Bushveld area. I contacted Ben to arrange a one day bird tour to orientate us to the Garden Route area in general, and forest and water birds in particular.

Ben curated a fantastic experience on a mix of public and private land which gave us an excellent introduction to birding in the Sedgefield and Wilderness area.

Ben’s technical knowledge is excellent, he is particularly strong on bird calls, and we wouldn’t have seen half the species we did without him.

Bonus is that we received recommendations for other spots in the area to visit which bagged us a Nerina Trogan amongst others!

Highly recommended.

We had a half day birding trip with Ben. His knowledge of local birds , their songs and habits is excellent. He took us to five locations and we saw a breeding pair of peregrine falcons amongst many other birds.

Fully recommend him. Even if you are not visiting his area he has contacts throughout South Africa that he can put you in touch with.

Trip with Ben was very enjoyable. He is knowledgable.

The brochure did not say Ben would be there promptly at 05h00 (in spite of the light rain) to show a wet Night Heron five minutes later! In the next 8 hours we visited various spots and spotted 93 different species – 5 Lifers for me and 5 more that I only saw for the second time! I appreciated Ben’s knowledge of the bird sounds ( we only heard the African Emerald Cuckoo’s “Pretty Georgie”) and him also using the Afrikaans names: “Boskrapper” & “Watertrapper” had me thinking! His use of the Atlas also inspired me to try. A wonderful morning – Thanks Ben!

Ben was a friendly and extremely knowledgeable guide, who gave us a varied and interesting day in a variety of sites. We saw lots of lovely birds in a relaxed environment. Outstanding!

Paul Spencer (UK)

Ben picked us up, drove us round… initially for four hours, but things were going so well he upped it by another couple. He was wonderfully knowledgeable and approachable. What more can one ask for? It was a truly memorable experience.

Robert Petty (UK)

Ben loves to entertain tourists on these occasions and we have many memorable times around the camp fires.

His knowledge of the cultural and historical aspects of most areas makes him a very interesting companion and guide. His knowledge of nature which include wildlife, astronomy, birds and reptiles is outstanding and I have spent many hours with Ben in the veld.

Ben is a responsible guide and has a good knowledge of tracking and bush signs. I have accompanied Ben on many birding trips and I am impressed with his knowledge of birds, bird behavior and bird calls.

Ben has opened a new dimension in birding for me.

Since I have started birding with Ben my love for birds has been rekindled and I look forward to the next trip.

Ben,

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. It was a wonderful experience and we really appreciate all the time you devoted to us.

The list of sightings is nothing short of amazing especially in light of our late start.

We hope to be able to do this again.

With sincere thanks,

Joe and Anne Caruso (USA)