It's not difficult to figure out that Warwick and Michèle Tarboton are into birds. On this particular summer afternoon, Michèle is wearing a shirt with six embroidered birds on it: hoopoe, Knysna turaco, guineafowl, white-fronted bee-eater, malachite kingfisher and what looks like a greater double-collared sunbird.
We're sitting on the veranda of their home in Kokanje, a retirement village outside Modimolle in Limpopo. Throughout our chat, birds can be heard in the background as they forage around the garden – half bushveld, half manicured. On the wall, a laminated poster depicts all the bird species one can see in Kokanje; two other posters show the grasses and butterflies.
To entertain themselves, the Tarbotons have an ongoing competition of “veranda birding” to see who can spot the most species from the stoep.
“The rule is that you must have one foot on the veranda when you see or hear the bird,” Michele says.
“Sometimes you have to sprint,” Warwick adds. “You might be in the garden and a vulture comes over, then you have to rush back to the veranda and get your foot on it and make sure you can still see the vulture!”
They both have a good giggle at this. It's clearly a scene that plays out often. Veranda birding has its origins in the many years the Tarbotons lived on a farm called Sericea next door to Nylsvley Nature Reserve, south-west of nearby Mookgophong. Nylsvley has played a big role in their lives, professionally and personally. Warwick and Michele both grew up in Johannesburg. Warwick started a career as a geologist, but after seven years he found himself in management and realised that “life's too short for that”.
He had always been interested in birds. When he was a boy, he spent many hours scouring the veld on the
