Clubs

A brief history of the Club. The South African Ornithological Society (SAOS) was formed in 1930 and had members all over South Africa. For many years there were no regional branches or bird clubs. In the late 1940’s members on the Witwatersrand and around Cape Town got together and decided to form local clubs. The first was the Witwatersrand Bird Club with the Cape Bird Club following a few months later in May 1948. The Cape Bird Club became the first branch of the SAOS on 17th March 1950. In 1996 SAOS changed its name to BirdLife South Africa (BLSA). It is the leading bird conservation non-profit organisation in South Africa. The Cape Bird Club has a membership in excess of 700 members of which most are also direct members of BLSA. The Cape Bird Club is currently the largest affiliated club of BirdLife South Africa. BirdLife South Africa is affiliated to BirdLife International which is the largest international conservation non-profit organisation. All Western Cape bird clubs affiliated to BirdLife South Africa are represented on the Western Cape Birding Forum (WCBF) which provides a communication channel between clubs and BirdLife South Africa. It also provides for joint conservation initiatives by these clubs. The Cape Bird Club has the longest and most active history of nature conservation of any bird club in South Africa.