Dear Jo,

Thank you for a wonderful day's birding!  As virgins, our first experience was not at all traumatic..on the contrary it was stimulating and pleasurable, so that we might become more promiscuous in the future, seeing that we had beginner's luck!

The places that you took us to were spectacular!

Please forward a list of species that we saw so that we can swot them up and imprint them on the few remaining functioning brain cells.

Gratefully yours,

Eric and Rose UK

Dear Jo
 
Back home in the UK, savouring the memories of a fantastic trip! We haven't done the final count yet, but in total we must have seen almost 200 species. But we never got the malachite kingfisher or a lilac-breasted roller (in Pilanesberg)! Something to come back for. Yes, we did get to both the Harold Porter Gardens (beautiful) and Stony Point, (if that is Sievers Punt?) But the whales were very visible and performing beautifully very close inshore at De Kelders - breaching, a young white one, tails etc.
Then we had beautful views of the eagles at Silvermine, just after we had conquered Nordhoek Peak - probably both adults as we were told that the single chick had fledged and gone. At Pilanesberg we saw over 100 species in a couple of days, (with some repeats, of course) including a pair of nesting green wood hoopoes in a tree right outside our door. More owls there too, and nightjars all over the roads! We had a lot of help there, but even so, missed identification of quite a few LBJ's! Even as we drove out of the park, we were still seeing new 'spots' - a widow bird, a ground-scraper thrush and a brown-headed kingfisher all waved us good-bye! I don't think they are used to birdwatchers at Tshuduku, where we stayed, as everyone seems to go there to see the animals (which we enjoyed seeing, too) but they pulled out all the stops and made sure that we saw plenty. I am sure that we would have seen a lot more on this trip, had we concentrated on just birding, but we fitted a lot of other things in too, including meeting some lovely people, such as yourself!
 
Thank you for helping to make our trip such a success - I am sure we will be back again, when the learning curve shouldn't be quite so steep! Will print off your list now.
 
Kind regards,
 
John and Caroline (Potter) Wales, UK.

I spent 6 weeks in an automobile with Jo Sievers and I recommend him without hesitation.  How many people can one spend 6 weeks with and have no regrets, arguments, etc.? 

Jo, again, many thanks for being my guide for two days on my recent trip to the Cape. We had some fabulous birding, but I would have had a wonderful time if we hadn't seen a single one! - Chris Heppel, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Jo
It was good to meet you in March to do your bird tour, and thanks for
adapting your tour to suit my time and budget. I had researched south
African birding on the internet but its hard to assess quality and locations
from the UK, so I was pleased to find your brochure in the Kirstenbosch
tourist office and the member of staff there was able to recommend the trip
and that at relatively short notice could provide me with a great day's
birding!  A memorable first insight into the birdlife of South Africa - Anne Farthing, London

Fantastic list! Thanks again we had a great time. Francoise Foti and Barry Russell, Darwin, Australia.

Hi Jo, thank you very much for guiding us. It was a very nice day for us: we saw a lot of beautiful places and learned a lot of things about birds and the environment. If we were go without you we would just look around and understand nothing.
Regards..
Nuran Boke, Turkey.

Very interesting, great birding. Thanks a lot. All the best, Laurent Strichard, Paris, France.

Hi Jo

Thank you very much for such a fantastic day today. I was impressed by your patience...!

I have so much to learn, to see and to do. A little leg up every now and again helps. I appreciated your coaching and advice. Maybe next time I won't be quite the novice!

Webpage is great by the way!

regards, Jane Orr, Brisbane, Australia.

Hi Jo.

Thank you for the updated list. I have no suggestions for the morning tour you gave me. It was very thorough and your knowledge of the places and the birds was just what I was looking for in going with a guide. Of course, one can always hope to see more species but no one can control that! Thank you also for the offer to include my wife if I opt to take the day trip to Helderberg, etc. I certainly will consider such a trip on a future visit.

Best wishes,
Martin Ackermann, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Thanks Jo

I did receive it- but have only been back a few weeks so tardy in my response.  It was  great  birding - I really enjoyed it - thank you.  The rest of my holiday was equally awesome, especially Madagascar.  Interesting though, saw very few birds outside of the national parks. And even though I worked really hard at it and had a great guide,  saw only 52 diff species.  Many endemics which was exciting.

have you done any intersting trips since I saw you?

Bev Lister, Perth, Australia.

Hi Guys.
Thanks for the great trips over the last couple of days. I hope you got a good contact with the 12A, I am sure they will be a fruitful source of clients in the future. I look forward to getting the bird list we saw at the wetlands, and seeing some of the photos of the birds we saw too.
Very best wishes
Dennis and Christine
17 St Michaels Mt
Swanland
N Ferriby E Yorks. HU14 3NR UK

The Aves Birding Tour we took was truly the trip of a lifetime. Fascinating from start to finish and accompanied by guides with what seemed encyclopaedic knowledge. We could have stayed forever!

Jeremy and Sarah Collis, London, UK.

Dear Jo,

The flight was fine and I arrived in time in Holland.The tour was a great success thanks to your flexibility in designing the itinerary according to my wishes and your perseverance in chasing the more elusive birds.  I also enjoyed very much all the inside information and the nice sampling of food and wine you provided along our two week trip.

All the best to you and June,

Jean-Francois