August is the right time to visit Namaqualand as it is the height of the flower season and this is the reason why, in February, I booked the entire Kamieskroon Hotel for three nights last week. There was quite a rush for rooms and we had no less than the maximum of 42 people, however, as the time passed the numbers changed and eventually dwindled to the 32 who actually attended. These were the privileged few who have by now returned to Hermanus and will be telling their friends and families about the wonderful time they had. Tim and Cilla Sobey even made a special trip from the UK to attend!
We arrived at Kamieskroon on Monday 21st and were all keen to meet up and enjoy dinner on the first night. The weather en route had not been good and was drizzling and wet. There were no flowers to be seen and there were very few birds! We gathered for a planning meeting after dinner and decided that, since it would be clear on Tuesday, we would concentrate on the western area where the flowers would be best and leave going east to Wednesday which, once again, promised rain. It was the right decision.
Tuesday morning dawned slightly overcast and cold (6 degrees) but we forged ahead. As the sun warmed things up the skies cleared and we were rewarded with the best flower display that most of us had ever seen! We also started to build up our bird lists, concentrating on the rare endemics. We returned to the hotel and, after dinner, compared notes and generally agreed that we had all had an excellent day and that most of us would probably try the eastern route via Gamoep and Springbok, in order to find the Red Lark and its many cousins that occur in Bushmanland. We had the use of the hotel conference room, a cold venue, which I tried to warm up by showing some AVs of flowers and scenes from the area set to appropriated music.
On Wednesday it was, as predicted, raining when we set out, but we proceeded eastwards and were rewarded with sunshine when we reached the area to the east of the mountains. The road took us through granite hills and sand-covered valleys with wonderful Kokerboom forests. Areas previously only brown and arid, were transformed by the recent good rains and there was greenery everywhere. We managed to find a few of the rare larks including the Red and Fawn-coloured varieties. Some people got lost, some had punctures, but we all got through and had a great time.
Back at the hotel that evening we met again after dinner and were delighted to get our combined bird list to no less than 124 species. It was generally agreed that it had been an excellent outing. We met and made new friends, some saw a part of the world that they had never previously visited and we saw some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable!
It was the first time that the club has stayed at a hotel for ages and, whilst it was not luxurious, we were all very comfortable and well fed, and before we left, there was already a request or two to do it again next year!
Bird List: Pied Avocet; Accacia Pied Barbet; Pririt Batis; Southern Red Bishop; Yellow Bishop; Bokmakerie; Cape Bulbul; Cape Bunting; Lark-like Bunting; Kori Bustard; Ludwig’s Bustard; Jackal Buzzard; Black-headed Canary; White-throated Canary; Yellow Canary; Ant-eating Chat; Familiar Chat; Karoo Chat; Tractrac Chat; Grey-backed Cisticola; Red-knobbed Coot; Cape Cormorant; Black Crake;Blue Crane; Cape Crow; Pied Crow; African Darter; Cape Turtle Dove; Laughing Dove; Namaqua Dove; Namaqua Dove; Red-eyed Dove; Rock Dove; Yellow-billed Duck; Booted Eagle; Martial Eagle; Verreaux’s Eagle; Little Egret; Western Cattle Egret; Lanner Falcon; Common Fiscal; Greater Flamingo; Lesser Flamingo; Chat Flycatcher; Grey-winged Francolin; Egyptian Goose; Spur-winged Goose; Pale Chanting Goshawk; Great Crested Grebe; Little Grebe; Helmeted Guineafowl; Hartlaub’s Gull; Kelp Gull; Black Harrier; Black-headed Heron; Grey Heron; African Hoopoe; African Sacred Ibis; Hadeda Ibis; Greater Kestrel; Rock Kestrel; Pied Kingfisher; Black-winged Kite; Yellow-billed Kite; Karoo Korhaan; Southern Black Korhaan; Blacksmith Lapwing; Crowned Lapwing; Cape Clapper Lark; Cape Long billed Lark; Fawn-coloured Lark; Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark; Karoo Lark; Karoo Long-billed Lark; Large-billed Lark; Red Lark; Red-capped Lark; Sabota Lark; Spike Heeled Lark; Brown-throated Martin; Rock Martin; White-backed Mousebird; Speckled Pigeon; Africa Pipit; Three-banded Plover; Southern Pochard; Black-chested Prinia; Karoo Prinia; Common Quail; White-necked Raven; Karoo Scrub Robin; Cape Robin-Chat; Namaqua Sandgrouse; Secretarybird; South African Shelduck; Cape Shoveler; Cape Sparrow; House Sparrow; African Spoonbill; Cape Glossy Starling; Common Starling; Pale-winged Starling; Pied Starling; Red-winged Starling; Black-winged Stilt; African Stonechat; Dusky Sunbird; Malachite Sunbird; S Double-collared Sunbird; White-throated Swallow; Alpine Swift; Little Swift; White-rumped Swift; Cape Teal; Red-billed Teal; Karoo Thrush; Grey Tit; Cape Wagtail; Cinnamon-breasted Warbler; Cape Weaver; Southern Masked Weaver; Capped Wheatear; Mountain Wheatear; Cape White-Eye; Ground Woodpecker.
Participants left of Thursday morning, some going straight home, others taking the opportunity to explore the region further. Renee and I were joined by Carl and Moggs at Quagga Lodge near Velddrif for two nights. Needless to say, it rained again and we had to negotiate some very muddy roads, but we had a fine time and saw many more birds along the Berg river and adjoining areas including the much sought-after Red-winged Phalarope! The weather precipitated a visit to the local gin distillery and we retired to our cottage for G&Ts before spending the afternoon safely ensconced inside. We had planned a cruise on the river but the wind and rain put paid to that idea!
From there, Renee and I proceeded to the Tankwa Karoo National Park, where stayed at De Zyfer Cottage. We wanted to use the opportunity to extend our Western Cape Challenge list and the Tankwa offers a few species that are hard to find elsewhere in the Western Cape. The Tankwa was full of flowers, having also had it’s share of winter rain and we managed to see a few of the specials for which the area is noted, namely Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Martial Eagle, Black-eared Sparrow-Lark and many Greater Kestrels. A drive up the Ganagga pass brought back memories of a previous trip there with friends from Hermanus.
roncorylus 