Another early start for us, as we packed our cases and loaded the van to move to a new location. We paused at the beach for a group photo with Table Mountain in the background. An African Oystercatcher was roosting on the rocks, together with some distant Cormorants.
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| Table Mountain |
We spent the morning travelling through the Strandveld, a coastal belt with low lying fynbos scrub vegetation, looking for birds that specialise in this habitat. Some rather drab looking Karoo Scrub Robins showed well on the path, but we were far more excited by our first Southern Black Korhann, which Erik spotted close to the road giving some great views.
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| Southern Black Korhaan |
Driving through the West Coast national park we soon found several family groups of Common Ostrich, which are farmed elsewhere but classed as wild here on the reserve.
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| Common Ostrich |
Our main destination within the park was the Langebaan Lagoon. This was a great birding location, with Yellow-billed Kites and Black-headed Herons nesting in the trees, giving some great low flying views. We followed the boardwalk towards the hide, over some vegetated damp saltmarsh, noting several dainty Kittlitz Plovers, with peach flushed chest and striking black stripe behind the eye, and a couple of Ringed Plover.
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| Kittlitz’s Plover |
Today the hides were rather busy, due to recent reports of a Lesser Yellowlegs causing local birders to come out for a twitch. Unfortunately this made viewing a bit restricted, and as a result I missed a Marsh Sandpiper seen by others in the group. However, the tide was right for an abundance of waders, which gradually arrived on the beach directly in front of us as the tide receded, leaving damp sand in its wake, perfect for feeding . There were many Little Stints here, plus some Sanderling and Curlew Sandpiper, giving a good opportunity to study the differences between these smaller waders, with plumage features we’re not used to seeing in the UK making the task somewhat more difficult than it should have been. Other species seen were Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Greenshank, and Whimbrel. In the distance, an African Fish-Eagle and African Marsh Harrier could be seen hawking over the distant marshes.
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| Curlew Sandpiper |
Retracing our steps along the boardwalk, several Cape Wagtails were moving about, and I had decent views of a Karoo Prinia and Grey- backed Cisticola which alighted on a bush as I approached. I am slowly beginning to get to grips with these two regular, but pretty unexciting species.
Our next planned stop was just a short drive away, at a freshwater hide, but there were several birding opportunities to delay us on the way! I glimpsed a Spotted Thick-Knee standing amongst the vegetation, and we paused to enable everyone to get good views before, as the bus manoeuvred its position, two birds were flushed, revealing their bold and striking black and white wing pattern. A Layard’s Warbler was first heard, then found, a fairly nondescript bird with a striped throat. Next, a Black Harrier caused a flurry of excitement as it dashed into view, and we all enjoyed the spectacle of this superb raptor.
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| Black Harrier |
At the hide, which overlooked a small pool surrounded by reeds and scrappy bushes, an African Spoonbill stood motionless, its pink face and legs, and grey spoon showing really well, unlike many birds that sit for hours with their ‘spoons’ tucked away from view. A Yellow Bishop flew amongst the bushes, its bold black and gold markings easily seen. White-throated Swallows were nesting in the hide, and sat nonchalantly on the window ledge, completely unfazed by our presence. A Little Grebe, in chestnut headed summer plumage, Yellow-billed Ducks, Cape Shoveler and a Red-knobbed Coot, close enough to show the red mark on its bill, were the only birds seen on the water. Yellow Canaries, a new species for us, perched on a dead branch in the scrub and Namaqua doves flashed rufous wings in flight as they dashed across the water. Banded Martins were also seen foraging over the reedbeds.
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| African Spoonbill |
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| White-throated Swallow |
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| Cape Shoveler |
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| Coot |
From here, we drove to meet Brian, who usually guides these trips but is awaiting an operation, at a wide, windy beach location popular for kite surfing. A string of flamingos could be seen stretched across a sandbank, Hartlaubs’s roosted on the shore in good numbers and a Rock Kestrel soared overhead.
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| Lesser Flamingos |
As we left the area, we tried to call in an Acacia Pied Barbet for those who hadn’t yet seen the bird -namely our Uk guide, a twitcher with over 500 species on his UK list, and determined not to be defeated by this one! Today it was not to be though, so we drove back into the reserve, and quickly had great views of both Grey-winged and Cape Francolin, enabling us to note the different plumage features, especially around the face and neck. In a flurry of bird activity, a tiny Southern Penduline Tit suddenly appeared, and as we watched that, a stunning Bokmakierie, with bright yellow throat enclosed by a thick black band hopped up on the other side of the bush. At the same time, another Black Korhann appeared, at point blank range, so we really couldn’t decide which of these great birds to look at! It was a very exciting moment.
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| Grey-backed Francolin |
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| Southern Penduline Tit |
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| Bokmakeirie (Stephen Hawkins) |
Exhilarated by this burst of activity, we drove a short distance then walked along another boardwalk towards the sea hide. As we approached the building, we had super views of a White-fronted Plover, scurrying across the area with short, rapid bursts and long pauses. At the hide it was very blowy, and the tide was not ideal, making viewing conditions very difficult. A tightly packed flock of Lesser Flamingos huddled against the wind, and a group of African Oystercatchers also roosted on the sandy beach, Terns of several species, and varied sizes, were seen at some distance, but too far away to fully appreciate, although a Little Tern was new for the trip. We soon gave up here, noting a Pearl-breasted Swallow which landed briefly on a small twig as we returned to the bus. White-fronted Mousebirds and another Black Harrier were seen as we gathered to board.
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| White-fronted Plover |
Our final stop of the day was at a quarry, where a distant pair of Verraux’s Eagle were nesting. We all had reasonable scope views, but were not entirely satisfied. A constant stream of Cattle Egrets, Rock Kestrels and African Black Swifts provided a supporting cast as we waited in vain for the eagles to move, and a distant White-necked Raven drifted over the valley. Eventually we had to admit defeat and proceed to our hotel, after another great birding day.
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