BirdLife eThekwini KZN brings its sponsorship up to 250 hectares, from the Chair’s address at the 2025 AGM

The Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project has previously reported that BirdLife eThekwini KZN has sponsored more hectares towards “rewilding” Marion Island than any other bird club in South Africa.  In fact, the club’s 100-ha sponsorship is more than twice that of the next sponsoring club (click here).  However, the BirdLife South Africa-affiliated club that serves the greater Durban municipal area of South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Province has not been resting on its well-earned laurels.

Club members listen to the Chair’s report, photograph by Preeya Daya

At its most recent AGM, held in March this year in the Bonamanzi Game Reserve, its outgoing Chair, Nicolette (Nicky) Forbes announced that the club was making a grant of R550 000 from its accumulated funds to BirdLife South Africa, and that R150 000 of this sum was earmarked for the MFM Project!  The balance will support BirdLife South Africa’s conservation work, including its Albatross Task Force.

On receipt of the news, Mark Anderson, CEO of BirdLife South Africa, in expressing his gratitude to the club’s Chair, said “this is by far the very largest donation that BirdLife South Africa has ever received from a bird club.  It is a massive contribution, and the support is immensely appreciated.”

Anton Wolfaardt, MFM Project Manager and Sue Tonin, MFM Assistant Project Manager have also expressed their gratitude by writing to Nicky Forbes on behalf of the whole MFM Project Team to “thank you and your club for the exciting and most welcome news that you’ll be announcing this weekend at your AGM: a further donation of R150 000 to the Project.  With BirdLife eThekwini KZN’s previous sponsorship of 100 hectares, this brings the total your club has donated to the MFM Project to a hugely impressive quarter of a million Rands!  You can be sure your club’s donation will be put to good use as we work towards eliminating Marion Island’s albatross-killing mice.”

A short video, with messages of thanks from BirdLife South Africa and MFM Project staff, was shown at the BirdLife eThekwini KZN’s AGM.

BirdLife eThekwini KZN has confirmed that it wishes its latest donation to be registered as hectares.  This means that in total it has now sponsored 250 ha, placing it a firm fifth in the top Wandering Albatross 100 ha+ category on the project’s website Honour Roll.  It also means that South African-based bird clubs have increased their overall sponsorship from the previous total of 408 ha to 558 ha, representing a sum of well over half a million Rands.

Club members go waterbird spotting on the Hluhluwe River within the Bonamanzi Game Reserve during the AGM weekend, photograph by Wendy van Elden

BirdLife eThekwini KZN was established in 1949 as the Natal Bird Club.  It is one of the oldest and largest bird clubs in Africa, currently with 675 members.  What is in no doubt is that it is one of the most generous and surely the premier club in its support of the Mouse-Free Marion Project.

The MFM Project thanks the club and its outgoing Chair and wishes Nicky Forbes all the very best in her well-earned retirement from the position.  Nicky is also a member of BirdLife South Africa’s Board of Directors, and so will continue to contribute to the conservation of South African birds and their habitats.

John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 15 April 2026

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A Wandering Albatross pair prior to egg laying on Marion Island. While the male displays standing on the half-built nest the seated female continues with nest building, as signified by her muddy bill, photograph by Alexis Osborne

The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean.  The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.  Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate.  For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.