Last year 2003, a new school, LEAP Science and Maths School, opened in the old Waverley Factory Complex in Mowbray, with the aim of providing quality teaching (with an emphasis on Maths and Science) to students from Langa and surrounding areas.
In its first year of existence, the school had only 72 students over four classes between Grade 9 and 11. An enthusiastic and motivated group, the students responded positively to the many new experiences and opportunities that they had during the year. The teachers have emphasised environmental issues and the whole school has gone on a number of outings with the aim of increasing the students' awareness and appreciation of nature.

In August 2004, we organized an Environmental Focus Week, which included a trip to Rondevlei Nature Reserve. The school split into two groups. While one group visited the hides, the others had a very informative slide show and lecture from the Environmental Education Officer, Vibeke Kragh. After walking around the reserve, each group had to be silent for twenty minutes and write down what they saw and heard. I was surprised at how much they enjoyed the trip. For many students it was the first time they had actually watched birds. Some had noticed these birds on trips to the Eastern Cape, but only knew their Xhosa names. Lwandiso wrote that the visit made him remember his childhood, when he was a shepherd boy in Kentani in the Transkei.
I had read in Africa Birds and Birding that the Birding Big Day at the end of November would introduce a new category for beginners. They would only be required to identify ten birds. I decided to encourage some students to take part in the event.

photograph by Penny Dichmont

Keeping quiet and recording what they saw and heard.

During the September 2004 holidays, I and two other teachers took a group of fifteen Grade 9's and 10's back to Rondevlei. I told them to try to see as many of the "Big Five" as possible - flamingo, pelican, spoonbill, Purple Gallinule (Swamphen) and Malachite Kingfisher. Most groups identified over twenty species, using the excellent Rondevlei bird identification charts. Thandisile was the only boy to spot a Malachite Kingfisher as it flew past, an experience he said he would never forget.

One Saturday morning, at the beginning of November 2004, I took another group of students, mainly Grade 11's, on a "training trip", so that they would be able to identify the birds on Birding Big Day without adult help. I had realized at the end of the previous trip that I had focussed on the waterbirds, forgetting that none of them had ever seen a (Southern) Lesser Double-collared Sunbird through binoculars until then. Seeing the metallic colours in detail had been a great thrill to my group of four Grade 9 girls, who had competed to use my pair of binoculars. I therefore started the next visit with a brief introduction in the picnic area. I showed them large photographs of the Sunbird and Cape Robin (Robinchat) from the 2004 BirdLife Calendar, while a sunbird trilled obligingly close by.

By co-incidence, a few minutes later, Dalton Gibbs (Manager of the Reserve) walked past, and then turned back to show us two dead sunbirds which had been found and handed in at the office. He gave it to the students, who were fascinated, to pass around. Before he could mention the name, I said, "Can anyone say what bird it is?"
"A Lesser Doublecollared Sunbird", replied Dalikhaya in one breath, one of the most enthusiastic birdwatchers in the group. I felt we were beginning to make progress!
I gave the students the challenge to be systematic in their method of identifying birds. I reminded them that a bird cannot be two species at the same time and explained how they should use diagnostic features to identify it. I was amazed at the level of excitement and interest as we went from hide to hide.

photograph by Colleen Hodge

Some of the students at one of the Rondevlei hides.

"The Great White Pelican! Jho! The Great White Pelican!" said Zethu, seeing the bird for the first time. "Can it fly?" asked another in disbelief as he watched it fly across the water. "Check the heron - it flies in slow motion!" "The Black-crowned Night Heron has a ponytail like Mr Larson!"
The Blacksmith Plover (Lapwing) was one of the favourites. Dalikhaya had often seen it on the golf course near the City Lodge in Mowbray. Phumulo had given it his own name, "umfundisi" (priest) because of the black and white colouring. The group now coined a new name for the Blacksmith Plover - "Ladysmith Black Mambazo"!

Birding Big Day (Saturday 27 November 2004) happened to be the day after their exams ended. Twenty-four students arrived by bus from Langa - enough for five beginner teams and a combined Grade 11 teacher group for the Community category. After a successful two hours of birding at Rondevlei, we drove to Strandfontein, where some groups pushed their totals up to over 40 birds.
I could not have predicted the reaction as the bus rumbled noisily between two pans and dozens of flamingoes took off into the air. Instead of comments like, "Gosh! Look at those beautiful flamingoes", there was a simultaneous roar of disbelief and wonder from about twenty teenagers as they rushed to the one side of the bus.
An unforgettable moment for both them and me.

Footnote received from Penny on 25/02/2005.

I handed the extra Promerops magazines to the five students who are mentioned by name in the article as well as the two who are very clear in the photo - everyone was thrilled. We had our first unofficial club meeting (apart from the two outings we have had this term) this afternoon 24/02/2005, and so it was an ideal opportunity to show them then.

I went to collect a parcel from the Post Office on behalf of a student - it was sent from BirdLife SA as a prize for Birding Big Day. There were two pairs of binoculars plus bag and various accessories!
It was half an hour before our bird club meeting, so the timing was perfect.
Nomfundo, and her team-mate were over the moon. The remarkable thing is that Nomfundo was one of six students at our school whose homes were burnt down in January 2005 in the fire at Joe Slovo. Of all the 24 students who took part on Birding Big Day, there could not have been a better choice of person to win the binoculars!