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.

Read the documents below for more information.

• Follow the activities of Club members in the early News Sheets and News Letters started as a communication document by Club members in 1950. These documents evolved into the current Promerops magazine.
• Read the celebration special edition magazine on the 50th Anniversary of the Club, written and compiled by Jo Hobbs in 1998.
• See the Club activities in the Diamond Anniversary year of 2008.