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Writer's pictureAdam Cruickshank

Tip #1: Attracting Birders to Your Accommodation Venue - Get That List


Common Moorhen

A while ago, we started a series of short emails that we would send out to accommodation establishments to help them attract more birders to their venues. We have decided to make this information available on our website blog to make it more accessible to a greater audience. We encourage you to send these posts out to accommodation venues that you feel will benefit from the information we provide.


We know your time is valuable, so we will keep these posts short, with one tip in each article. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us – we would love to help you in whichever way we can!


When I started my birding journey, I was eager to add as many birds as I could to my list. I started to do research into different places to visit to try and see which birds different locations offered. There were many times that I phoned places that appeared to cater to those who loved to escape into the bush, and I would ask the receptionist who answered the phone, ‘What birds do you have at your venue?'. This question was often met with an uncomfortable answer – and I could hear that the person didn’t really know what birds were at the venue. Sometimes it wasn’t only the person who answered the phone who didn't know; often it would be people who were in management, the guides, and even the owners.

Now, the good news is you don’t have to be a bird expert to answer this question.

What you need to do is put together a bird list of species at your specific location. The bad news is that if you are not an expert, you may need to get someone in for a weekend or for a stay to help you get the list started.


When a guest phones you and asks what birds you have, even if you are not a ‘bird fundi’, you will still be able to tell them what birds they can expect. You can include a link to the bird list on your website, showing that you are serious about catering to the needs of birders. We suggest you have the lists printed at a minimal cost and make them available to guests who wish to use them. By including your venue's branding on the lists, guests will remember their stay with you well after the trip whenever they see the bird list. Make sure to use the current names of the species on the list. Using outdated species names indicates that you don't know what you are talking about.


On our Birding Directory, one of the questions we ask venues is to let us know if they have a bird list, as we see the value in this for birders.


Tip Number 1 – Get a list of birds that can be found at your venue. This can both be printed and added to your website.

Get in touch with us if you need assistance to put a bird list together for your venue.


Until next time, Adam




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