About
About Vlerkie
Vlerkie is my personal bird catalogue. Every photo on this site is one I took myself, at home and on my travels, and together they make up my life lists.
How a photo gets here
1. The camera
I photograph with a Canon EOS R7 and a 500 mm lens, and the photos go straight to my phone.
2. The app
The exakt Vlerkie app suggests which bird it is. I check every identification and correct it where needed.
3. The file
The bird, place and date are written into the photo file itself, so the catalogue can always be rebuilt from the photos.
4. This site
The app publishes the photo here with its date, place and camera settings, and the life lists update on their own.
Bird names
English, Afrikaans and scientific names for South African birds follow the BirdLife South Africa Checklist of Birds in South Africa 2026 (version 16.1).
Locations
Each photo is published with the place where it was taken: its GPS position is shown on the photo's page and stays in the photo file. Backyard photos never carry a location, and I keep the location of any sensitive photo, such as one near a nest, private.