Birding at Strandfontein Sewage Works

A quick trip to the ever popular birding spot at the Strandfontein Sewage Works on Saturday morning certainly produced vast numbers of birds, if not that many species. We saw all of the usual suspects, although it was very difficult identify many of the birds due to the severe glare and strong prevailing wind.

There was one pond that had some interesting waders present, and we were able, through some careful analysis of photographs taken, to identify Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and a few other more common varieties in this group. Apparently there were Sand Martins present at the same site, but we failed to spot them.

It was an interesting morning, nevertheless, and a pleasure to introduce David to a site where he will no doubt spend time in the future.

A Birding trip to the De Hoop Nature Reserve

A trip last week to the De Hoop Nature Reserve with the Hermanus Bird Club was fraught with terrible drama and some excellent birding. The really sad part was when our friend and birding enthusiast fell very badly on the steps of his cottage and passed away as a result. We were all terribly shocked and our collective prayers and thoughts are with Marie as she tries to come to terms with her dreadful loss. Peter was a very keen birder and never missed an opportunity to join us on our outings, where he quietly made his contribution to our overall successes. He will be sadly missed.

On the birding front, we started off brilliantly when Renee spotted a pair of unusual brown birds at the Napier sewage works. They were quickly identified as Spotted Crakes, really rare birds for this part of the world but, sadly, they took off before I could get at my camera!

Within the Reserve, we saw the usual flocks of waders and fynbos specials, enjoying cruises on the lagoon as well as spending much time in the sandy lagoon edges. There were no less than 35 members of the club present, so we managed a fairly good list of around 147 species

A highlight for some of us was a trip to the Harwegskloof Renosterbos Conservancy, where we identified many of the special species that thrive in this endangered biota. These included Protea Canary, Secretarybird, Cape Griffon, Willow Warbler and many Cisticolas and Larks.

De Hoop is an excellent venue with a wide variety of interesting things to do. One particularly well conceived and put together exhibition was the small, but outstanding museum, depicting how the local people have evolved in the area. One could spend many hours there and would no doubt learn a great deal.. The management are also to be congratulated on their hospitality and the facilities they made available for our use.

A Walk in Fernkloof

Gert invited us to join him this morning in a walk over Kanonkop and then down Adder’s Ladder. We have not walked in Fernkloof for some months, following the devastating damage caused by the late September floods and it was gratifying to note the work that has been done to restore the paths that were swept away.

The veld along the Jeep Track was stunning with fields of pink Ericas, however, it was sad to see the amount of damage caused to Protea cynaroides by the baboons, that rip the flower buds apart to get at the odd insects within. On the geological front, the extent of the landslips is amazing and it will take years for the vegetation to recover in these areas.

We were thrilled to put up a pair of the rarely seen Fynbos Buttonquails. We only see these birds on the odd occasions that they may be present near the paths and are, therefore, roused by passing walkers.

A Family Reunion at Gweilo

We celebrated Michael and Andrew’s birthday with the family at Gweilo, a large house in a very beautiful setting on the Goukou river, upstream from Stilbaai. It was a joyful occasion and we were joined by Hanna and Amy, making for an extended get-together for the first time since we started these, now established, reunions. We had three nights there with much supping and canoeing on the river, many games enjoyed in the normal competitive spirit, and a great deal of time spent birding. 

The birding, by all and sundry, came about because we decided on New Year’s Eve to start a Hazell Family Birding Big Year, so we were all frantically searching and comparing sightings and lists! Even those who had never had an interest have now joined the fun and we will no doubt be a formidable birding force by the end of the year! James is the undisputed leader and we are all going to have our work cut out to keep up with him. 

We had amazing dinners, with many new chefs emerging as the younger members of the family displayed their skills, much beer and wine was consumed and the singing around the Ghetto Blasters was amazing! We hope there will be many more such get-togethers as the family starts to move off in different directions as university careers end and working life commences.

Renee and I spent a day around Voelvlei on the way to Gweilo. necessitating a night at Gouritz Mond. We were chasing the rare White-rumped Plover and believe that we saw it, along with many other waders. We have never seen Voelvlei so full, and it made for difficult birding as many of the roads were flooded.

Renee and I drove home via Witsand, in the hope of getting a few more birds. We found a good pan on the way into the village, with many waders, so spent some time there. We were fascinated by the millions of snails that collect on the fence posts along the side of the roads. This apparently a mechanism whereby they seal themselves in against drought, since they rely on moisture which is unavailable in summer.

A Fabulous Day Birding

Today Renee and I went birding on the Agulhas Plain. It was a fabulous day with perfect, warm, still weather. We were searching for a Black-winged Pratincole, a bird that does not normally occur in the area, but which had been reported earlier in the week. By some miracle we found no less than three of them along with a myriad of other birds, 108 species in total, including African Snipe, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, around 120 White Storks all gathered in one spot, a flock of around 100 Great White Pelicans, around 1000 Egyptian Geese around one dam, and huge numbers of waders on the farm Vogelsang. It was really wonderful to see such numbers, but the strange thing was that when we crossed the road to Struisbaai on our way back, the birds just fell away and we hardly saw much more.

The Hazell family decided to embark on a Birding Big Year and we started on 1 January, with even the non-birders taking part. Everyone is enthusiastic about the challenge and we hope that this lasts for the whole year. Here are a few of the birds seen so far.

Birding Big Day – How We Fared

It is interesting to look at the results of the BBD for 2023. 320 teams submitted results, with numbers of species varying from 1 to 325. The winning score (325) is an outstanding result and reflects the ability of the team as well as the area chosen. The map and table below show where the winners did their birding – and it certainly wasn’t in the Western Cape!

Our team, the ‘Grey Herons’ achieved 135, which placed us in 130th position overall. There were 59 entrants in the Western Cape and we managed to come 17th. The winning team was from George (Tripin Trogans) and they achieved the excellent score of 252, which placed them 10th overall.

Cape Town Bird Club was very well represented, fielding no less than 16 teams! What a pity that there is so little interest from the Hermanus Bird Club, from which, I think, we were the only entrants.

For a full analysis of the results one can go to https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2023

Birding Big Day 2023

Yesterday was South Africa’s Birding Big Day (BBD) when teams from all over the country compete in an area of their choice within a 50km radius, in order to try to identify as many birds as possible. It is a very stimulating and enjoyable event, but sadly, too few take part.

Our team, the ‘Grey Herons’, comprising Renee, Cynthia and me, set out at 4:45 am ready to take on the Challenge in the Hermanus area. Of course, it was raining! Some wet weather had been forecast, but we had about three times what was predicted. Nevertheless, we persevered and started to accumulate our birds, first in Hermanus, and then heading westwards, via Onrus, Vermont Pan and the Hawston sewage works (where we met Lester and Cheryl, also competing) to the Swartrivier road.

Fortunately, it started to clear after about three hours, by which time we were well into our work, having a good list which included most of the local Larks and the inevitable Denham’s Bustard, but we were not seeing or hearing many species which we thought would be a cinch, such as the Cuckoos

Our journey took us to Rooisand, where we met other competitors, but the water is very low and we did not get much. One of the problems with trying to cover a large area is that we felt that we had to keep moving and probably did not devote enough time to walking around.

We proceeded to Rooi Els, where we failed to see the Cape Rockjumpers and Ground Woodpeckers, and then on to Stony Point. Harold Porter was a bit disappointing – no Swee Waxbills, but at least we got a Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher!

We had lunch in the car park before heading back east through Hermanus and on to Stanford, where Appel se Dam was pretty bare, as was the Klein river. The feeding grounds for waders have been severely disrupted by the recent floods, so we saw less than expected.

We then headed down the gravel road via Papiesvlei towards the Uilenkraal river mouth. Along the way we were lucky to find a couple of Lesser Honeyguides – fantastic, before a detour to the road into Flower Valley, which was great as we immediately got Black and Red-chested Cuckoos as well as Burchell’s Coucal.

Our stop at Uilenkraalmond was not very productive and we went on towards Danger Point for a great sighting of a large flock of Ruddy Turnstones, before heading for home.

We were out for 14 hours of continuous birding, and we achieved a total count of 135 species, less than last year, but nevertheless very enjoyable and super stimulating! Unfortunately, the birding was so intense, that I did not have time for any photography, so have no images of what we saw! The map below comes from Birdlasser and shows our sightings.

A Visit to the West Coast National Park

We set out from Hermanus on Wednesday morning, driving all the way into a strong headwind. Things were no better when we arrived a the west coast and our first stop at Yzerfontein was something of a disaster. We had hoped to see waders on the beaches, but the dead plankton in the water rendered the entire beach a no-go zone and what with the wind and very rough water, we saw nothing. Our lunch at a local eatery did not have much to recommend it, so it was something of a wasted stop!

We were delighted with our cottage at Abrahamskraal in the West Coast National Park. It is isolated and has good access to the Abrahamskraal Bird Hide with it’s ponds and birds. We spent a great deal of time there – always on our own and had many interesting sightings. Our first night was livened up when we realised that we were sharing our cottage with two Barn Owls and their screeches soon had us locating them by torchlight!

The park itself was looking good with plenty of summer flowers, mainly “strandrose” and some vygies. There were many Black Harriers and Yellow-billed kites throughout the day, and we were pleased to see quite a few Grey-winged Francolins. We were a bit disappointed in the lack of upkeep at the two hides at Geelbek, but we did see a few interesting waders along the open boardwalks.

We visited the Seeberg Hide on Wednesday evening and were disappointed to see nothing, however, a visit on Thursday morning, which coincided with the incoming tide, was another matter altogether. There were very many waders and we were delighted to record some which we hadn’t seen for some time. These included, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Terek Sandpipers and many more.

A second visit before we left was not too good as the tide was at its lowest and the waders were very far away. Likewise, a visit to the beach section did not provide much. All in all, however, it was a good trip with a total bird count of 106 species, and I was able to add a number of birds to my challenge list.

Birding in the Karoo National Park and Southern Cape

We set out on Monday 30 October for the Karoo National Park, travelling via De Rust, where we stopped at Meijer’s Farm for the night. Our cottage was comfortable and we were well set for a slow drive through the beautiful Meiringspoort Pass on Tuesday. There was plenty of evidence of the recent flooding, but the road was clear and we enjoyed the magnificent mountain scenery with associated birds. There seemed to be a Burchell’s Coucal at every stop and we saw five Verreaux’s Eagles flying overhead. A visit to the waterfall was worthwhile, but the wind whipped my new hat off my head and you can see it at the bottom of the pool, where it may still be!

We proceeded north across the Karoo to Beaufort West and the adjacent Karoo National Park, where we were scheduled to spend four nights. The Karoo was beautiful, with many flowers along the road. We stopped at the quaint Silwerkaroo Farm stall for some coffee and enjoyed the array of eclectic art. The loo with its strange roof was a highlight!

Birding in the Karoo Park was, as ever, challenging, but we managed to see most of the target birds, and I was able to augment my Western Cape Challenge list with a few good species. There was no shortage of Fairy Flycatchers near the campsite. For the first time we saw Rhino in the park and heard lions at night. Our only setback was a flat tyre and the resulting hard labour of changing a very heavy wheel!

We left the KNP a day early as it got very hot and dusty and our bed was not too comfortable, and spent a night at the De Rusty Farm between De Rust and Oudtshoorn. It was quaint but comfy and our hosts were delightful!

We then went on to the Crags, where we stayed three nights in the delightfully named ‘Moonshine on Whiskey Creek’ We were accommodated in a wooden chalet in the forest so had good views of the canopy. We heard many birds calling, but were very frustrated at not being able to see and identify them. We did, however, hear a Narina Trogon and our days were filled with endless calls from Sombre Greenbulls, Red-Chested Cuckoos and Emerald Cuckoos. We saw a number of Chorister Robin Chats as well a a couple of Blue-mantled Crested Flycatchers. A brisk walk down to Whiskey Creek and the pool and waterfall was pretty exhausting, but beautiful! Nature’s Valley was productive, as ever.

I was extremely frustrated to hear a Striped Flufftail calling one night, but since I have never seen one, I could not add it to my list! It would have been a rare lifer!

A stop at Wilderness on the way home was productive and we enjoyed the beautiful Kingfisher Trail. Our trip produced no less that 165 species, and we were well pleased with the outing in every respect.

Ruddy Turnstones near Danger Point

A trip to Uilenkraalmond to look for returning waders was a bit disappointing as the wind was blowing quite hard and it made long distance binocular viewing very difficult. We did, however, manage to identify a Bar-tailed Godwit and a Eurasian Curlew on the sand flats. There was also a lot of flowing water, which bears testimony to the sodden nature of the hinterland after our recent heavy rains.

Near Danger Point there were many Whimbrels and a large flock (ca 20 birds) of Ruddy Turnstones, along with lesser numbers of Three-banded and White-fronted Plovers, but no Common Greenshanks as yet. The Turnstones are always there and can be relied on to allow for some good sightings. They are migratory and are Arctic breeders, so we do not see them in their bright breeding plumage in the southern hemisphere, and they are normally very well camouflaged, nevertheless, they present a good spectacle once one distinguishes them from their background.