Saturday, December 11, 2010

Our Year-end Braai was held at Tinus and Nollies Place, about 20 kms from Brits.
In addition to about 45 aviaries of Softbills, they also have a large orchid nursery.
We had a very good turn-out considering the distance to travel (about 25 total in all ) and
it was a great time of bonding and sharing experiences about our birds and having a good time
with a lot of laughs and good food as well.
In view of the number of people, we divided into two groups and Nollie and Tinus each took a group
on a guided tour of their set up.
They have an amazing collection of softbills with some really rare birds.
We saw some interesting Barbets, colourful Starlings and  Jays ,some ugly Hornbills , and even some beautiful Bee Eaters.
Probably the most eye-catching of all were their pair of hand raised ground hornbills, about 2 1/2 years old. These Birds only start breeding from the age of 7 years and raise only one baby at a time in the wild, and have become very endangered.
Tinus and Nollie have offered their place again as a venue for our 2011 year end do and I`m sure it will become a popular RAS event in the future.

Below are a few more pics of our braai and some of the aviaries..


                                                                                  A Pair of Hand raised Ground Hornbills which   
                                                                                  only reach   breeding maturity at 7 years old

                                                                        On a hot afternoon,
                                                                       a great place to chill 
                                                                       next to the giant greenhouse fan

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