Above picture: Ebbie and Stephan Swart of Firefinch hand out merchandise to birders prior to boarding the MSC Musica on the Flock to Marion AGAIN!2025 voyage to the Prince Edward Islands
Firefinch is a uniquely structured and engaging birding app that also operates an on-line shop selling clothing decorated with birds by artist and author Faansie Peacock. Prior to the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage last month, Firefinch advertised clothing (shirts, sweaters, hats and caps) illustrated with Faansie’s albatrosses and penguins on behalf of the Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project.
Waiting to board the MSC Musica: Stephan Swart of Firefinch with Peter Harrison MBE, Mouse-Free Marion Patron, in his “albishirt”
Firefinch writes that it has “donated 100% of our profits from its Marion Island merchandise to the Mouse-Free Marion Project, helping protect 23 [symbolic] hectares of this vital seabird breeding ground. The funds will contribute to the removal of invasive mice that threaten species like the Wandering Albatross, giving these birds a fighting chance to thrive. We are truly grateful to everyone who purchased merchandise and joined us in this important conservation effort. Your support makes a real difference! Together, we’re making Marion Island mouse-free!”
A Firefinch “Albiehoodie” emblazoned with Faansie Peacock’s albatrosses
Anton Wolfaardt, MFM Project Manager, responds to Firefinch: “I’d like to express my personal thanks for your generous support of the Mouse-Free Marion Project – not only through the funds you have so kindly raised but also through your beautiful illustrations and app. Your work brilliantly showcases the stunning seabirds that serve as the flagship of our project, and we are truly grateful for your contributions.”
The 23-hectare contribution by Firefinch, added to the 15 hectares from The Birdlife Life and the 3033 ha from the many birders aboard, helps confirm that the Flock to Marion AGAIN! 2025 voyage was a most successful one for the MFM Project.
You can still support the MFM Project by ordering albatross- and penguin-branded merchandise from the Firefinch on-line shop.
John Cooper, News Correspondent, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 25 February 2025
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Northern Giant Petrel chick on Marion Island by Flávia F. Barreto of Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) for the MFM Project; after a photograph by Lucy Smyth
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.
