Cape Town Pelagics - Our Guides

Dalton Gibbs

Dalton is a superb birder and dedicated conservationist, who manages Cape Town's Rondevlei Nature Reserve as his day job. He has a deep knowledge of the regions biology and conservation priorities.

Besides spotting the region's pelagic birds, Dalton also leads Birding Africa land-based birding tours. Dalton is a superb naturalist with a deep interest in all living things and their systems - making him a highly valued guide and a favourite with tour participants.

Meidad Goren

Origianlly from Israel, Meidad is a dedicated birder and a member of the 'Save the Albatross Campaign Task Force. He spends many weeks at sea educating and ensuring compliance with albatross-conservation regulations amongst the country's longlining fleet, and has racked up the best 'rare' pelagic seabird list for the past two years.

Read Meidad's diaries at www.savethealbatross.net. Read what BBC News and Birdlife International report about Prince Charles meeting Meidad about the Albatross Task Force. For more information about this and other conservation programs Cape Town Pelagics has been supporting, please see our conservation page.

Cliff Dorse Is one of the leading birders and naturalists in the Cape and has extensive experience in Southern African birding, including a rapidly increasing number of days at sea. His main career is Nature Conservation where he is charged with managing and protecting many of Cape Town's most biodiverse areas. He is passionate about all things natural, from birds to botany. Cliff is widely travelled and has put in a lot of time on remote islands. He is a regular guide on Cape Town Pelagics trips as well as birding trips around southern Africa.
Barrie Rose One of South Africa's most experienced sea birders with an uncanny ability to spot species. Not called 'Old Snake Eyes' for nothing. Try find a Southern African birder more experienced than Barrie Rose! Born and bred Capetonian, Barrie's deep interest in nature started with his grandfather Walter Rose, a pioneering herpetologist after whom the endemic Table Mountain ghost frog (Heleophryne rosei) was named. Land birds and pelagic seabirds, the region's mammals, reptiles and frogs absorbed Barrie's fascination and led him to explore unsual places in Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Socotra and sub-Antarctic Islands), South America, Asia, the Antipodes and Antarctica. Barrie's observations of dwindling seabird populations, while he worked at Marine and Coastal Management and I & J Fishing, led him to institute changes that reduce the impacts of fisheries on seabirds. He has consulted for the seabird portion of Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, and established the ‘Seasonal Table for Seabirds’ in Essential Birding and the Southern African Birdfinder (Callan Cohen et al). He also consulted for the South African Rareties Committee for over eight years. Barry proves to be a talented photographer and has been guiding for local and international birding companies for over 30 years. His retirement doesn't keep him from his passion: Barrie now monitors and controls international fishing vessels and regularly leads trips for Cape Town Pelagics and Birding Africa.
Alvin Cope A veteran Cape Town sport fisherman, also hooked on birds. Alvin has tremendous experience of Cape pelagic birding.
Bruce Dyer Bruce is one of SA's longest standing seabird researchers. He is involved in Conservation and monitoring of coastal seabirds.
Rob Leslie A die-hard birder and Fisheries research scientist with over 1000 days at sea, birding all the way.
Phil Hockey Top birder, Director of Cape Town's Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, and author of numerous birding books.
Peter Ryan Seabird researcher at the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, highly experienced birder and co-author of a new field guide to the birds of the Afro tropics.
Ian Sinclair Needs no introduction. Legendary African birder and prolific author of field guides. One of South Africa's most experienced sea birders.