Trip members: David Jobson & John Jennings.

Oct 19 / 20th.
Stranfontein & Table Mountain.

After a near 20 hour journey I arrived at Cape Town tired but eager to get into birding. My mate David met me at the airport and soon we were on our way to Stranfontein Sewage works. In the relatively short time we had there we saw 43 species including one lifer (Cape Francolin). The rest being the usual birds we had seen there on our 2009 trip.

From here we drove to Table Mountain and although we only had just over thirty minutes there I did manage a lifer when a beautiful Orangebreasted Sunbird dropped onto a nearby bush. Sadly not long enough to get a photo of it. Alpine Swift, Red-winged Starling and Cape Bunting were the only other birds seen to complete the day.

David had booked a tent pitch at the Riverlodge backpackers in Cape Town and here we stayed for the next 5 nights, allowing us to check out a good few of the relatively local sites in & around Cape Town.

Oct 21st.
Hottentots Holland N.R, Nuweberg & Theewaters Kloof.

David had booked a guide for the day. His name was Alistair Kilpin and what a good choice he was. He certainly knew his calls and knowing them got us a few good birds. Alistair guided us via a long treck in the Hottentots Holland area then onto Nuweberg before moving onto his Grandmothers (where a Spotted Eagle Owl had a nest with two chicks in it), this was a lifer for me. Finally we did another long treck at Theewaters Kloof, in a fruitless search for Buttonquails & Flufftails

Apart from the Spotted Eagle Owl I managed another seven lifers. They were:
Hottentots Holland. Cape Rockjumper, Victorin’s Warbler, Long-billed Pipit, Black Saw-Wing Swallow, Greybacked Cisticola & Cape Sugarbird.
Nuweberg we added African Sedge Warbler.

One bonus here was the close proximity of an Orangebreasted Sunbird that allowed us to take plenty of photos of it.

At Hottentots Holland there is also the added interest of the huge variety of flowers there and I found myself stopping to gaze admiringly at a good proportion of them. Well worth a walk around there.

Nuweberg got us a few good birds, including a Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk, but the surprise bird here was a bird Alistair had never seen here before when we spotted a pair of Cape Rockjumper.

At Alistairs Grandmothers the Eagle Owl nest was amazing with the two chicks being no more than four foot above the ground. The female (I think) was found about thirty yards away. We saw her as she flew off but thankfully she landed in a nearby tree allowing photos to be taken of her.

Oct 22nd
Paarl.

This should have been a Pelagic day but it was called off due to high winds and waves out to sea. David and I decided to go to Paarl instead. The first port of call being the Wildflower garden then onto the Paarl Bird Sanctuary. If you have never been to this Wildflower garden I would highly recommend it. The flowers are amazing and they bring in the Sunbirds and Cape Sugarbird giving you some excellent photography options, both with the birds and the flowers. Just before you reach the wildflower garden there is a very small reservoir and here we had a Giant Kingfisher. The Paarl Sanctuary was a bit disappointing as not that many species were on show today. No lifers today but still an excellent and productive day.

Oct 23rd
Rearranged Pelagic Day.

I had had a particularly bad nights sleep due to the constant barking of dogs throughout the night then the Cockerels started crowing at 3.45am followed by the raucous calls of the Hardeda Ibis (not the most pleasant of calls). I was not feeling too good but was still looking forward to the Pelagic. The Pelagic we had done in 2009 was aborted early due to bad weather and the bird count suffered because of it.

Today the seas were particularly lumpy and by the time we reached the first trawler (which was over three hours into the trip) I was beginning to feel quite ropey. Unfortunately David was not feeling too good either and had moved down to a lower level at the back of the boat.

On our way out the first of the real Pelagic birds seen were White-chinned Petrels followed by Shy Albatross. Arctic Skua soon went into the log book then Sooty Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Black-browed Albatross then the first of six lifers drifted over the boat. It was a Subantarctic Skua but the boat was bouncing around too much to get a decent image of the bird. Sadly this had the same effect on every bird I tried to photograph.

We eventually came across two trawlers and the sea was boiling over with huge numbers of birds. As we approached a few Wilson Storm-Petrels were seen followed by a lifer (Black-bellied Petrel) then the beautiful Pintado Petrel before a shout of Indian and also Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross came up. The Indian being a Lifer for me.

Birds were piling in from all corners and soon more shouts were coming in and three of them were Lifers for me. They were Northern & Southern Giant Petrels and Great-winged Petrel. A lone Sabine’s gull was called but too far out for any images to be taken.

It was soon time to move on and go back to Simonstown. I had some great birds on my list from this trip but to be honest both David & I didn’t enjoy this Pelagic as we were both feeling very under the weather and at one point I was actually sick (something that has never happened to me on a boat before). We were both very thankful once we were on dry land but at least it had brought my tally up to 14 Lifers in 3 days.

Oct 24th.
Constantia Green belt area.

Our target bird here was a Knysna Warbler and the first site we went to didn’t produce. We did see Cape Batis, Dusky Flycatcher, Olive Thrush and a Lifer for me when a Southern Double-collared Sunbird was found.

Moving onto the lower area of Rhodes Drive where it connects onto the M43 we parked up at the car park 0.8km from the junction of Rhodes Drive and the M43. This is a bit of a horse shoe type path and we tried the right hand path first. This produced very little so we retraced our steps and carried on past the car park. There were a couple of likely looking spots and David started the Knysna Warbler call on his phone. At the first site there was no reaction but the second site brought an immediate response. The only problem was the bird was deep in the undergrowth and could not be seen.

At one point it must have been less than three feet away but still we couldn’t see it and after about thirty minutes we moved away from the site with the intention of calling back. This we did and this time the bird had moved to the other side of the track. This bird is excellent at throwing its voice and it was becoming a bit frustrating as it was hard to pinpoint where the calls were actually coming from then we had a bit of luck, about a further 45 minutes into our search, when it broke cover then flew to the other side of the track and promptly disappeared.

We had spent quite a bit of time in search of the bird so decided to go back to the car then onto Town for a meal at a restaurant with Wi Fi access so we could catch up on our e-mails. Whilst we had a drink in the car park we managed to latch onto two raptors, a Steppe Buzzard and a Black Sparrowhawk. A nice end to a fairly relaxing day.

Oct 25th.
Travelling to Yzerfontein via the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve, Koeberg N.R and the Darling Wildflower route.

It was time to move on to our next area to bird. We were moving onto a camp site in Yzerfontein. I had had another bad nights sleep due to the dogs and Cockerels so was awake long before David would get up so I decided to look for a small wetland that was near to the Riverlodge premises. It was close. Only about two hundred yards away and was well worth the visit with quite a few wildfowl, warblers, hirrundines etc to be seen, including six new birds for the year with Horus Swift, Three-banded Plover, Greater-striped Swallow, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Greybacked Warbler and Little Swift.

It was time to go back to Riverlodge and soon we were on our way to Yzerfontein via Rietvlei Wetland Reserve, Koeberg N.R and the Darling Wildflower route. Retvlei turned up similar birds as Stranfontein but the Nature Reserve at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station was excellent. I managed two lifers there with Black Harrier (a stunning bird) and Pale-winged Starling. We also had Red-capped Lark, Capped Wheatear and Malachite Sunbird, Booted Eagle Black-shouldered Kite, Yellow-billed Kite, Rock Kestrel & Blue Crane here.

The Darling route turned up some more Blue Cranes plus a Lifer when a Pearl-breasted Swallow landed on a fence nearby but none of the other species we were hoping for.

Oct 26th.

West Coast Country Park.

We camped in Yzerfonteign, right close to the beach and first thing in the morning I went out for an hour to explore what was on the beach. Mainly Hartlaub & Kelp gulls only but I did find two White-fronted Plovers and two African Black Oystercatchers as well, both species allowing me to take photos of them.

We were now off to the West Coat National Park and what a delightful reserve it is. Plenty of birds, although they didn’t give themselves up very easily to being photographed. The first hide was supposed to be good for African Rail but after nearly two hours there (over two visits) it never showed. Stand out birds at this hide were Black Harrier, African Spoonbill, Namaqua Dove and on our second visit later that day got us Lesser Swamp Warbler.

There had been another birder in the hide and he told us that there was a Lesser Flamingo by the hide at the Langebaan gate. As this would have been a lifer for me we decided to go there but not before calling into the hide near the visitors centre. On the way to that hide we managed an Orange-throated Longclaw. There were a lot of waders at the first hide but too far away for photography. They included quite a few Curlew Sandpipers plus Whimbrel, Curlew, Little Stint, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Blacksmith, Grey, Little Ringed & Ringed Plover plus a Caspian Tern.

At the Langebaan gate hide there was no sign of the Lesser Flamingon only about thirty of the Greater species. The other side of the hide was all Plovers and they were White-fronted, Kittliz’s, Ringed & Little Ringed. Thankfully the Kittliz’s came close enough to get a photo of it.

A good species list for the day but only one of them being a Lifer for me.

Oct 27th.

Travelling from Yzerfontein to Lamberts Bay via the Vredenburg to Paternoster road the doubling back and moving onto Veldriff and finally the coastal road to Lamberts Bay.

Just outside of Yzerfontein is a Gypsum Mine which supposed to produce Chestnut-banded Plover. After asking permission at the mine we progressed onto the salt flats but there wasn’t a bird to be found. Eventually, after a half kilometre walk, David spotted a very distant bird and once we had our scopes on it we could confirm it was our target bird. There were two other birds there and they were White-fronted Plover and Kittliz’s Plover. A very nice trio of birds, albeit very distant.

Now onto the Vredenburg to Paternoster road.

We came across a small series of three pools and with some interesting habitat behind it. David wasn’t feeling up to a walk so I ventured out and around the water found a Three-banded Plover but nothing else on or around the water. Walking further afield I found a Thick-knee species which turned out to be a Spotted Thick-knee, a Lifer for me. Walking slightly further afield I saw three Red-capped Larks, a Karoo Scrub-Robin (Lifer) and a few Capped Wheatears there plus a few over flying Little Swifts and Plain Martins (Brown-throated). Further along the road we came across some Blue Crane as well as a few European Bee-eaters.

Veldriff

Reaching Paternoster we had to retrace our route back to Vredenburg then onto Veldriff. As soon as we arrived at Veldriff I got one of my major target birds of the trip when we saw at least 50 Lesser Flamingo’s in amongst large numbers of Greater. We asked at the Cerebos salt factory if we could walk around the salt pans and they said yes. Not far from the security gate I could see some waders so gently eased over that way. One of them was a Chestnut-banded Plover and after a little while it came close enough for me to fire off a few shots of it. There was little else of note here, apart from those few waders and so we looked for, and found, the back route into the salt pans. There was very little here, apart from a couple of over flying Yellow-billed Kites so we decided move onto Lamberts Bay, via the Rocher Pan N.R.

Rocher Pan is a beautiful place with a hide that you have to walk through high reeds to get to. It was just a shame that we were running out of time so we couldn’t do it justice. There were plenty of warblers in the reeds, all went unidentified, and out on the water were mainly Red-knobbed Coot & Cape Shoveller with quite a few White-breasted Cormorants and quite a few overflying Little Swifts.

From here we carried on to Lamberts Bay but not far from Rocher Pan we came across nesting European Bee-eaters. It certainly was a spectacle to watch but mindful that we might cause some disturbance to the birds we soon moved on and away from them.

Oct 28th.

Lamberts Bay Gannet Colony

This is a spectacle not be missed. A really well designed hide (looking like rocks) over looks the colony. The weather was perfect, the sun in the right place and about 17,000 Gannets in place to give us enough aerial shots to fill our boots with. Magic, absolutely magic. Away from the colony we had Crowned Cormorant (on the potato factory roofs ventilation system) White-fronted & Kittlit’s Plover plus we found a pair of nesting Rock Kestrel’s near the Crowned Cormorant, also a Long-billed Pipit on the rocks..

That took us half a day and now we had a drive to Clanwilliam. We had been given a campsite address to go to but try and as much as we did we couldn’t find the sign so carried onto Clanwilliam with no idea where we were going to stay. In Clanwilliam David pulled up outside a B&B property. I must admit I didn’t think too much of it from the outside but once inside, wow!! What a cracker of a place. It was called Yellow Aloe and not only was it a B&B it was also a plant Nursery and the garden stretched out for about 100 yards. Weavers (including Southern Masked plus there were about twenty Red Bishops in the mornings on the feeders), Sunbirds (Malachite and Lesser Double-collared), Laughing Doves (over 50 of them) Cape Sparrows & House Sparrows, Cape Wagtails plus a lone Cape Robin Chat were all close to where we ate in the morning. Not only that it had free WiFi and a massive 50” flat screen TV with plenty of channels to choose from. On top of all that the owner (Cheryl) is a passionate birder with plenty of contacts so this is definitely the place to stay if you are in the Clanwilliam area. If you are in this area do yourself a favour and book it. Here is Cheryl's Web site. http://www.yellowaloe.co.za/

Oct 29th.
Leipoldtville to Eland Bay road, plus Vleronvlei and the Eland bay.

Not a long day today but a very rewarding one. The Leipoldtville to Eland Bay road was relatively quiet but we came across one field that gave me a lifer when a Long-billed Lark dropped onto a fence post, allowing me to also photograph him. In that same field were Capped Wheatear, Red-capped Lark and also along this road our first (in numbers) of Ant eating Chats.

Vleronvlei, whilst a real beauty of a place, turned up few birds. Plenty of Pelicans and a few Darter and a couple of Pied Kingfisher were seen plus by the car park area we had Orange-breasted Longclaw. On our drive from there to Elands Bay we did have one surprise when I spotted a distant Goliath Heron, which apparently is quite rare here.

Eland bay.

What a remarkable turn up this was. We drove to the southern end, through the village and past a fairly near Cape Fur Seal colony. Just past them are a series of derelict buildings and it was just past these we saw a Grey Tit (Lifer) so we decided to stop the car and walk around. David stayed near the car but I didn’t and was rewarded with a Long-billed Crombec, Bokmakierie & Karoo Scrub-Robin.

We decided to pack in early and return to Clanwilliam so we could catch up on our computer and internet work. That was an excellent decision as just after we passed Graafwater we saw a large raptor. Thankfully both David & I were onto it and it wasn’t too hard to identify an African Harrier Hawk (Gymnogene). That was a stunner of a Lifer and wrapped the day up nicely.

Oct 30th

Clanwilliam to Worcester via Cederberg and Ceres.

This was a long drive along mainly a good condition track. The first part to Cederberg was stunning scenery but not too many birds, but I did manage to find one lifer in the only area that had trees. From Cederberg to Ceres was a bit boring, again with few birds but we did find two Sugarbirds at the head of a huge valley.

Oct 31st

We stayed in a riverside chalet in Witelsboom, near Worcester and David had booked a guide for the day so it was an early start. He took us to the Karoo Botanical gardens first and within minutes we realised this chap hadn’t a clue about birds and as we progressed it got worse. He didn’t know bird calls, what species they were and not even which family they belonged to. I gave him a test when a Cape Bunting dropped onto a rock in front of us and he didn’t know what it was or what family it belonged to or even where it was in the field guide. He thought a Bokmakerie was a Lark and when we pointed out a Swallow, asking him what it was he just said Swallow. I said to David that we ought to make an excuse and get rid of him which eventually we did. Every bird ID was by me, and thankfully one of them was a Cape Rock Thrush, plus a few Bokmakierie an Acacia Pied Barbet, a coup[le of Red-faced Mousebirds and a few White backed Mousebirds.

After taking him home we got some food then decided where we should go. We picked out a road that went to a dam via Rawsonville and a few kilometres out of that town we came across a very small wet area of land with a few Yellow-billed Ducks on it so we stopped. What a good decision. A bird came up on a fence post that at first we said House Sparrow but it suddenly dawned on us that this was no ordinary House Sparrow. The underbody was white, the crown very grey with a second piece of grey on the nape separated by a chestnut coloured plumage. I had never seen a Sparrow like it before so we looked in the field guide and there it was, a Great Sparrow which was another lifer for the both of us.The dam was useless but we did pass another marshy area and here we added a few Yellow-billed Egrets plus there was a lone African Marsh Harrier.

It was still early (1pm) but we decided to call it a day. As we drove into the track to the Chalet David spotted a pair of Cape Batis. They were calling frantically then shot up to the top of a tree when something with a very large orange wing (that’s all I saw) seemed to make a dash for them (Burchells Coucal comes to mind) then everything went quiet so we moved onto the chalet. David decided to catch up on some sleep whilst I did a bit of walking around the area by the property. There were plenty of birds but were nigh on impossible to ID due to them disappearing into the riverside woodland. Thankfully in the air it was different with 30+ Alpine Swift, at least 20+ Black Swift, both Rock & Plain Martin and Greater-striped Swallow were putting on aerial displays, plus a Steppe Buzzard flew through and a White-necked Raven. On the ground at least two Thrush species went unidentified and a possible Honeyguide as well.

Nov 1st

Dassieshoek N.R, Vrolijkheid N.R both near Robertson plus sightings along the road through Stormsvlei & onto Bredasdorp.

As we pulled out of Robertson to the Dassieshoek reserve we came across a stunning male Bokmakierie on a wire plus a few Pearl-breasted Swallows. Then onto a reserve which turned out to be pure magic with so much bird sound and movement that you didn’t know which way to look. It was just like a dawn chorus but right through the morning. Sadly you need to know your bird song and gizz, which we didn’t, so many birds went unidentified but we did still manage some good birds there. They included Tambourine Dove, Southern Boubou, Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Streakyheaded Seedeater, Bar-throated Apalis, Red-billed Firefinch, Swee Waxbill, Cardinal Woodpecker, Paradise Flycatcher and Protea Canary. A reserve I would highly recommend but if you don’t know your songs or gizz get a good guide. That way you will get the full benefit of the site.

Next was the Vrolijkheid N.R and on the way we had a lucky break when a Pale Chanting Goshawk was spotted on a telegraph post and thankfully stayed there giving us a chance of photographing it. A Blue Crane was also nearby.

Sadly the actual Nature Reserve wasn’t too productive but in the car park was an Acacia Pied Barbet and a very confiding Long-billed Crombec plus a pair of Fiscal Flycatchers.

The drive to Bedasdorp can be described as incredible. In a few areas we came across some excellent birds. 10 km before Stormsvlei (Mcgregor side)we came across three birds on a wire fence. One of them was confiding enough for us to get photos of them. They had very distinctive calls and looking at the photos they were easily identified as Agulhas Long-billed larks.

Just past Stormsvlei (Bredasdorp side) we came across a small area that gave me two Lifers. Dave spotted a Bustard in the field that turned out to be a Denham’s Bustard then a short distance on he spotted two Korhaans which turned out to be Karoo Korhaans, there were also African Pipits here and a couple of Blue Crane. Nothing else major along this road but we did pass a flock of about 200+ red Bishop and then a pair of Steppe Buzzard that seemed to be at a nesting site.

All in all an excellent day.

Nov 2nd.

De Mond

Dave & I met up with Alistair, the guide we had on the 21st Oct. He brought his mate with us and off we went to the De Mond reserve. Upon arriving I found out to my horror that I had forgotten to put my scope back into the car from the previous night.

I had to get on with the day and thankfully it was a good mornings birding. Three lifers came my way with first of all the main target bird, Damara Tern followed by one of my bogie birds, Greater Sand Plover then Alistair managed to catch sight of a Southern Tchagra as it flew past us into a bush, not to be seen again.

There were masses of waders and Terns there with a large number of Common Tern plus Swift Tern, Caspian Tern & Sandwich Tern plus about four Damara Terns. The waders included Greenshank, Little Stint, Ringed Plover, White Fronted Plover, Kittlit’s Plover, Grey Plover, 4 Greater Sand Plover, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black Oystercatcher, Curlew Sandpipier, Curlew, Whimbrel and on the way out we had African Marsh Harrier, Yellow-billed Kite, Barn Owl, Denham’s Bustard & Blue Crane. All in all an excellent four hours birding.

We all went to a restaurant in Bredasdorp to get something to eat and for Alistair to confirm some of the photos I had ID’d. Thankfully I had correctly identified two more lifers to go onto my list. Lesser Honeyguide (from our drive along the Clanwilliam to Cederberg route) & Protea Seedeater, from the Dassiehoek N.R.

From here We drove all the way back to where I had left the scope (some 30 km) away but it had gone. We approached a nearby farmer and thankfully Alistair spoke excellent Afrikaan. He asked if they knew anyone that had picked the scope up but they didn't. Then the farmer did a remarkable thing. First he put a message out on the CB then said he would put an advert out in the local paper. When I offered him some money he refused, saying "pay me if it turns up". I asked him to say I would give a 1000 rand reward which he thought might do the trick. Thinking that was the last I would see my scope again we left the farm and took Alistair back to Bredasdoprp so he could pick up his car.

Now we had the long drive to near Sedgefield to stay at Tim Carrs place and what a place this was. Smack in the middle of the Wilderness reserve in an Eco friendly wooden house. If you were thinking of Birdwatching in this area, and needed a guide, Tim is your man. His website is as follows. http://www.reflectionsreserve.com and here is his Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reflections-Eco-Reserve/118458404866855. Tim is an absolutely brilliant bird guide as well as knowing his plants, and their names, just as good. I can highly recommend him.

Nov 3rd

Wilderness N.R Rondvlei plus Rheenendal, Krisjan Sz Nzk (near Knysna).

Tim met us at the pre-arranged 5.30am and promised us some good birds. He didn’t disappoint us. He took us around part of his land then moved onto the reserve proper. The highlight of the start of the day was two adult Fish Eagles and two juvenile (one of them Tim explained didn’t belong to this pair). We left them in peace and it wasn't long before the birding began in earnest with a lifer almost straight away with the first of many Brimstone Canaries. Forest Canary followed then African Dusky Flycatcher then another lifer when I spotted a Sunbird that Tim managed to ID as an Amethyst Sunbird. Another Lifer was heard, then seen right by us. It was an Olive Bushshrike. This was quickly followed by Bar-throated Apalis, Sombre Greenbul, Speckled Mosebird plus many more from a hide we had just reached such as Malachite Kingfisher, African Spoonbill, Black Crake, Pin-tailed Whydah, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Black-bellied Starling (Lifer). At the hide were quite a few Ducks including another lifer, White-backed Duck.

We were hoping for African rail but we were out of luck with that one as it made know show. After over an hour in the hide we walked to the Visitors centre where Grey-backed Sparrow was found plus Streakyheaded & Protea Seedeaters, Namaqua Dove Fiscal Flycatcher and then yet again another Lifer (Red-necked Spurfowl) which I found myself.

Tim took us to another site at Rheenendal where another lifer went into my Log book when Tim pointed out at least six Black-winged Lapwing. There was also one Crowned Plover in the field with them. Further along the road we came across Steppe Buzzard then a Brown Hooded Kingfisher.

Our next stop was to Knysna where a major rarity had been reported, a Redshank, which was a first for this area apparently. A really common bird in Britain but certainly not here. Just before where the bird had been found we came across six African Spoonbills feeding in the channels but unfortunately the Redshank seems to have moved on as it couldn’t be found. Birds there were Greenshank, Blacksmith, White-fronted & Kittlitz’s Plover, Ruff, Black-winged Stilt, Curlew Sandpiper, Cape Teal and Cape Shoveller.

Tim next took us to a reserve near Knysna called Krisjan Sz Nzk, near Knysna. This was a forest walk and we were after Narina Trogan. The first track we used was very quiet and nothing was seen. We could hear at least one Narina Trogan but it was distant. Then one of Tim’s birding skills came into action, bird calls. He mimicked the Trogans call exceptionally well and at least two started calling back but unfortunately they didn’t come close enough to see them so we retraced our steps and went onto another track. Further down this track Tim successfully called in a Black-headed Oriole, Knysna Turaco (lifer) Black-backed Puffback, then thankfully Tim successfully called in two Narina Trogans. All in all a special day with eight Lifers but there was another one to come.

It was now after 6pm. We had been out for almost thirteen hours so decided to go to Sedgfield for something to eat. After leaving the chalet was had gone only about couple of hundred yards from where we were staying when a silhouette of a large bird was seen flying above the reed edges. It was a Fiery-necked Nightjar (yet again another lifer). Just after we finished our meal I got a call from Alistair (our previous guide). It was the best news I could hasve hoped for. My Scope had been found and was waiting for me to pick it up, which we did on Nov 10th. On our way back from the meal a low flying Barn Owl flew across the front of the car. That was the end of a brilliant day. 75 birds seen of which 9 were lifers for me plus a further 10 were new trip birds.

Nov 4th. Only half a day with Tim today but a very productive one again.

Straight away from the Chalet you could see the two adult Fish Eagles, this time with only one youngster roosting with them. As we started to drive around the reserve Tim spotted a Bokmakarierie, which apparently isn’t seen that often here. Tim stopped us at a small pool and straight away found an Ornage breasted Longclaw. We drove to the hide in the hope that the African Rail would show, but it didn’t so we moved onto Brown Hooded Kingfisher trail and this turned up Knysna Turaco, Southern Boubou then a lifer when a Terrestrial Brownbull flew across us. Many other good birds were seen including Olive Bushshrike, Swee Waxbill, Saw-winged Swallow then another Lifer when a Forest Buzzard flew high above our head.

We now moved onto the Woodville Big Tree site and here we picked up two lifers and two more new trip birds. The lifers were Yellow-throated Wood Warbler and Grey Cuckooshrike and the two year birds were Chorister Robin-Chat and Green-backed Camaroptera plus a nesting African Dusky Flycatcher which was nesting in the Big Tree itself. This half day had brought me four Lifers and two more new trip birds.

David and I agreed that we just had to use Tim again so we paid him for two more days on Sunday & Monday.

We were now up to 235 for the trip of which 56 are Lifers for me so far.

Nov 5th.

Granzvlei, between Kysna & Sedgefield.

Today David & I met up with members from the local bird club. There were about thirty of us and the target species were five different Cuckoo’s plus the White-starred Robin. Unfortunately I only managed two of the Cuckoos (I also heard the other three) but the Robin went both unheard and unseen. The Red-chested Cuckoo was seen almost straight away but it was quite some time before we heard, then saw, the African Emerald Cuckoo. What a stunning bird to see though.

After a few hours it was time for sandwiches then the party broke up and went home. By now it was very windy. David tried out a few small nearby sites but it was far too windy to do any serious birding so by 2pm we decided to finish for the day.

Nov 6th.

Swartberg Pass

Today was a big day. It was a long drive along dirt tracks leading up to the Swartberg Pass, through it and out the other side and we linked up with Tim Carr again for both this day and the following one.

The day started with a tragedy. We noticed some cars were flashing us from the other side of the road. Thinking it was maybe a Police speed trap we kept our eyes open only to be confronted with a horror car smash involving what looked like a small Volkswagen car and a transit style taxi. The car was totally smashed and the force of the crash had been so great that the car was on one side of the road and the engine on the other side. There was one dead body covered by a blanket in the middle of the road with possibly others off the road and down a bank as there was a large crowd looking down there and what looked like emergency service people making their way to them. Not a very good start to the day.

Just passed the crash we stopped to look back at the tangled wreckage and it was here we noticed a lifer in the trees. There were three African Olive-Pigeon at the side of the road. We also saw an Amethyst Sunbird and a Black Headed Oriole. Now was the long haul through the pass.

The first section was the Outeniqua Pass where quite a few Orange Breasted Sunbirds were seen as well as huge numbers of Cape Sugarbirds and three more African Olive-Pigeon. We reached the N9/N12 road and the highlights along here were Blue Crane, a pair of Pale Chanting Goshawk, a dark morph Booted Eagle, Black Headed Oriole, White-throated Canary and Greater-Striped Swallows.

Now we were in the Swartberg Pass and it wasn’t long before we came to an area that was alive with Cape Sugarbirds. They were everywhere and there must have been over 100 in a fairly tight area of Proteas. As we progressed up the pass we came across Cape Robin Chats, Jackal Buzzards then a new trip bird when Tim spotted a Ground Woodpecker. We then came to an area on a bend and stopped. Tim saw a largish bird disappear behind a rock and thought it might have been a Rockjumper so we made a steady climb but couldn’t find it. I started to scan some rocks near the car and saw a movement. As I scanned the area with my bins I found a male Cape Rockjumper, then the female showed as well. We made a slow approach to them but thankfully they didn't move away from us and gave us great views and some good photography options as well.

That was the highlight of the holiday for me as it is a bird I really want to photograph. We made further progress along the pass and other birds we saw included Stonechat, Rock Martin, Alpine Swift, Familiar Chat, Cape Rock thrush, Cape Bunting & Streaky Headed Seedeater.

Just after coming out of the pass Tim told us to stop at an area of Eucalyptus trees. Unbelievably as soon as we got out of the car three lifers were seen. Chestnut Vented Tit-Babbler, Layard’s Tit-Babler and Fairy Flycatcher. What a brilliant series of birds. There was a track through the trees which we took and soon we had seen a Cardinal Woodpecker, Fiscal Flycatcher, Long-billed Crombec, Neddicky, Cape Canary and further along the road a Rock Kestrel.

We had been out on the road for over ten hours so we had to break off from birding as we still had over a two hour driver to get home.

Nov 7th.

The Wilderness area.

We met Tim in Knysna at 6am and were soon on our way to the forest area known as Millwood. Tim was in his element here and his keen ears began to pick up calls in the canopy and forays into the undergrowth to locate them gave us a few lifers. They were Green Wood-Hoopoe, Knysna Woodpecker, Olive Woodpecker and Scaley-Throated Honeyguide. Other birds seen were Cape Robin-Chat, Cape Batis, Knysna Turaco, Yellow-throated Wood Warbler and a stunning view of a male Narina Trogon.

From here Tim took us to a Nursery where Knysna Woodpecker had a nest. This was the second visit to there and both visits failed in us seeing the bird. We did see a Black-backed Puffback and a couple of Speckled Mousebirds.

Tim’s next stop was to the Ebb & Flo area of Wilderness after a pair of nesting Peregrine and it wasn’t long before we spied one of them on one of the high rocks. We didn’t stop long here but other birds seen here included Malachite Kingfisher and Fork-tailed Drongo’s.

The final section was the Woodville Forest area and here we had another excellent Narina Trogan sighting. This time it was a female. We had furthere sightings here of Forest Buzzard, Cape Batis, Grey Cuckooshrike, Green-backed Camaroptera and a pair of Brown-Hooded Kingfisher.

By now it was really warm so we decided to go to the Rondvlei area of Wildernes in the hope of catching up with the resident African Rail. On the way I saw a Burchells Coucal and as we stopped Tim heard a Zitting Cisticola which Dave & I also saw.

The highlight at the hide was the showing of three Otters. The Rail did eventually call but unfortunately it didn’t show. There were three Pied Kingfishers on show and two pair of Lesser Swamp Warblers feeding newly born chicks. That was it for the day and our trip total had now reached 250 with 66 of them as Lifers for me..

Nov 8th

Mini Pelagic out of Knysna plus we hired a small motor boat to take us up the river Keuboom.

The mini Pelagic was run by David’s Stepson out of Knysna (who is also named David). This was to be a three hour trip in extremely lumpy conditions looking for Hump Back Whales. Thankfully we did see a few Whales, albeit brief views). Whilst on the boat only four species of birds were seen. Kelp Gull, Common Tern, Cape Gannet and White-chinned Petrel. Obviously you can’t guarantee any sightings in such a vast ocean but if anyone’s going to find them David will. Here is David’s web site. http://www.oceanodyssey.co.za

At Keuboom’s river we hired a small motor boat for two and a half hours but gave up after one and a half hours due to virtually no bird showing. All we had was one Red-winged Starling, a lone Black Saw-wing Swallow, a few Cape Cormorants and a couple of White-necked Ravens. That was it for the day.

Nov 9th.

No rush today as we had a long drive to Swellendam ahead of us. A good breakfast on the way in Sedgfield then did the straight drive to the B&B we had booked. We arrived at mid-day and afterlooking around the property Dave & I carried on to Bontebok N.P.

After paying in the entrance fee we moved to go to the first track. Dave suddenly stopped the car and pointed to some Francolins with chicks. They were well camouflaged and it was hard trying to find them to take a photo. Eventually we managed a good look and they turned out to be Greywinged Francolin.

Along the first track we found Stonechat, Blue Crane then a distant Denham’s Bustard. Those sightings were followed by several Bokmakierie and Karoo Scrub-Robin then a stunning Black Harrier flew ahead of us followed by quite a few low flying Alpine swifts with one Little swift amongst them. Just past here we saw our second Denham’s Bustard then David spotted a distant Secretary Bird. There was a lot of heat haze in front of the bird so we moved to a point beyond the bird and looked back to it through the scope. The heat haze wasn’t showing as bad and I had stunning views of the bird. A few other birds were seen up to when we parked at the Lang Elsie’s Kraal Rest camp.

David wasn’t feeling too good so he decided he wanted a sleep in the car so I walked around a few of the tracks that you can get to from the parking area. This was a good decision as it got me some excellent photos of Bar-throated Apalis including one of a juvenile Bar-throated Apalis. Quite a few birds were seen in the ninety minutes I was away from the car. David still wasn’t feeling 100% so we decided to go back to the B&B early.

As I had a few minutes to walk around the B&B’s large garden I took full advantage of it and one surprise is that I had been walking under a Paradise Flycatchers nest. The female was on the nest as I watched it. The light was going fast and it was difficult to see what birds there were as by now they were just silhouettes.

Nov 10th

My last full day of the holiday.

Old Thatch B&B gardens (Swellendam), Road to Malgas & De Hoop.

I was up and out an hour before breakfast so I checked out the Flycatchers nest first and the female was still on it. The owner of the B&B then caught my attention and said she had another nest in the garden but I wasn’t expecting it to be a Hamerkop. Now that was a real surprise. As I watched one of them came in with nesting material. My walk around the garden produced a few more birds including Cape Robin-chat, Cape white-Eye, Fork-tailed Drongo, Red-winged Starling, Cape Turtle Dove, Lesser Double-collared Sunbird, Cape Batis and Egyptian Geese.

We were now off to De Hoop. David decided to take the road to Malgas first and this road had plenty of birds to look at. Unfortunately they kept disappearing into the grass making identifying them very difficult. We did manage to see the following. Plenty of Blue Crane plus a few Larks & Pipits including Red-capped Lark, African Pipit, Plain-backed Pipit, Long-billed Pipit & Alghulas Large-billed Lark.

We had now reached De Hoop and first birds seen were Speckled Mousebirds plus first of many Bokmakierie. Also seen were a few capped Wheatear. We stopped at the restaurant for a cup of coffee. There we found out the possibility of hiring a bird guide. It was 75 rand each for three hours, double for longer. We went for the longer time and it paid of handsomely for me with two lifers, plus Cape Vulture plus three Woodpeckers (Knysna, Olive and Cardinal). The two lifers were Black Cuckooshrike and Greater Honeyguide. Other good birds seen were Southern Tchagra, Southern Boubou, Yellow-billed Egret, African Spoonbill, Black saw-wing Swallow, Steppe Buzzard, Jackal Buzzard, Booted Eagle & Blue Crane.

Nov 11th

Last day.

David’s son was arriving today so we had to pick him up at the airport at about 10.30am. As I needed to be back at the airport myself by no later than 3pm the only thing we could do was a quick drive over to Chapman’s Peak in the hope the breeding Black Eagles would show near the Toll Road.

We went over the peak and occasionally stopped to look at the stunning scenery we could see from the road. We had almost reached the point where we were going to turn back when I noticed a large raptor high over the ridge. David stopped the car and we all piled out. It only took a few seconds to confirm Black Eagle which was an excellent bird to end the trip with. As a bonus three Black Sparrowhawks (two over the sea and one near the Eagle) were also seen.

There are still a few birds to identify but so far we have identified 258 birds of which 68 were lifers for me.