Window to Wildlife

It was the final day of our holiday, and with a late flight, we headed into the mountains with a last chance to search for the elusive Ground Woodpecker and Protea Canary, the main two birds which had eluded us all week. Sadly, they continued to elude us today. Birding was pretty thin on the ground, - the star bird of the day was probably White-necked Raven, which showed very well perched in a tree, before landing just feet away from us.  White-necked Raven In the scrub we encountered several Orange-breasted Sunbirds, and Tim finally managed a shot of the highly mobile Cape White-eye.  Cape White-eye A Goshawk soaring over the mountain and a number of Alpine Swifts wrapped the birding up for us, before we headed to the airport. A somewhat disappointing end to an excellent trip, with great birding, beautiful, varied scenery and good company.

We left our hotel at 8am and headed towards Betty’s Bay, our first stop at Rooi-els, where our target bird was the endemic Cape Rockhopper. The road en route overlooked the coast, and with the huge swell and crashing waves noted from the bus, we were glad not to be out on the water in those conditions!  On arrival, a green Malachite Sunbird perched in a bush showed very well at close range, possibly our best sighting of the trip. Once past the houses, we alighted from the bus and followed the track below towering, vertical cliffs, rising from a steep vegetated slope, scattered with large rocks and boulders. Cape Siskins twittered across the area in small groups, their white tipped tails showing clearly as they flew. They landed on the rocks or low scrub, rather endearing with a subtle yellow chest and brown head. Rock Martins prowled back and forth, and the ubiquitous Grey-headed Cisticola occasionally popped up on a bush.  Malachite Sunbird We scanned the rocks for the Cape...

We took an early morning walk around the grounds, with fantastic views over the rolling landscape, noting Brimstone Canary, Cape Crow and Cape Weaver. Then we drove to the forest car park, and walked a highly productive track, almost immediately finding a lovely iridescent Klass’s Cuckoo, brilliant Red-winged Starling and Southern Boubou. Continuing into the forest we found Double-collared Sunbird, a restless Blue-crested Flycatcher, which flitted deep in the bushes and high overhead a calling African Goshawk perched atop a tall dead tree. Cape White-eye and Bar throated Apalis were noisy in the nearby bushes, and on the path Cape Canaries were feeding. Arriving back at the car park, we found a lovely Cape Batis on a nest.  View from farmhouse Cape Weaver Klass’ Cuckoo We returned to the farmhouse for a fantastic breakfast, interrupted by a shout for a Greater Honeyguide, which we watched moving about the tree tops. Outside the cottage where the men were staying, another Klaas’s Cu...

An overnight flat tyre that needed changing at a local garage resulted in an unexpected, but extremely rewarding, stroll around the grounds and local area. The front of our hotel overlooked a reedbed beside a river, where we were able to observe a good array of birds feeding in the early morning sunshine. Red Bishop and Yellow Bishop swung on the reeds, and both Cape and Southern-masked Weaver had nests suspended around the area. A Streaky-headed Seedeater flitted between the bushes, and a Cape Sugarbird perused the scene atop a Protea. A tiny, stunning blue Malachite Kingfisher darted upriver before landing on an overhanging reed, and Red-faced Mousebirds gathered in some riverside bushes. Noisy Cape Sparrows were busy here too.  At a nearby bridge a colony of Brown-breasted Martins were nesting, and we watched several birds disappear into their burrows in the sandy bank, whilst White-rumped Swifts circled overhead. An African Hoopoe and Red-winged Starlings flew across the road, ...

We had an early start this morning, with a packed breakfast, but still managed to squeeze in a cracking view of Cape Sugarbird in a small tree, plus a Cape Weaver, Southern Fiscal  and Cape Robin-Chat, all foraging around the grounds before we boarded the bus. The aim was to reach the agricultural fields in time to find a displaying Clapper Lark. This paid off, and we enjoyed watching this relatively attractive rufous-bellied lark flying skywards, then descending with clapping wings in an unusual, but fascinating display. A lark with attitude! Also seen here were the somewhat duller Large-billed Lark, together with Karoo Scrub Robin and a flurry of Barn Swallows swooping low over the fields. A group of three elegant Blue Cranes stood quietly feeding across the field.  Clapper Lark (Andrew Kinghorn) From here we continued on towards the Tanqua Karoo, an arid semi-desert area. Stopping by some roadside rocky cliffs, we had decent views of White necked Raven, Alpine Swifts and ...

My first bird of the day was a Rock Martin, which flew around the hotel grounds as we loaded the bus, then settled on a small ledge for several minutes - until Tim got his camera out for a photo!  Next we stopped to check on the Verraux’s Eagle Owls, but there was no sign of them hunting the area, so we did not linger. A Familar Chat on one of the buildings offered some small compensation.  We drove a short distance to a nearby area of scrubland, where we quickly found Karoo Lark, Karoo Scrub Robin, with distinctive white tips to its tail, and of course, the ubiquitous Grey-backed Cisticola. A Grey Tit was spotted lurking in a small bush, but skulked in the middle, reluctant to show itself properly. However, we saw enough to be able to add this to our ever growing list. A distant Rock Kestrel was viewed through the scope. After this we set off through agricultural fields to search for larks, and encountered our first Blue Cranes, the national bird of South Africa, and very ele...