Creating a worldwide community where twitchers can flock together – Birda’s John and Natalie White

Many South Africans take our abundant bird species for granted. Driving through Kruger looking for animals and ticking off the Big Five while our parents are more excited about the featured beauties in the trees is likely to be something familiar to most of us. As we get a bit older and travel elsewhere, we often start appreciating the avian treasures South Africa has been blessed with. In fact, South Africa boasts almost 900 of the world's 10,906 bird species, as recorded by Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. Armed with this knowledge and the realisation that there are millions of very keen birdwatchers across the world, one estimate puts the number at 45 million in the USA, John White, originally from Kwazulu-Natal, and his wife, Natalie, launched an app called Birda to bring the birdwatching or “twitchers'' as they are commonly known together in a shared community. White told BizNews that he drew inspiration from apps like Strava, which caters to the cycling community, and Fishbrain, a platform that connects avid fishermen and his team are building an online space where bird enthusiasts from around the world can connect with one another, share their sightings, and explore the best birdwatching spots. – Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices