Delana & I have decided to do a Birding Big Day sometime in January. It always amazes us how many species we see over one of our visits here. Avian diversity is low here compared to other regions of South Africa, but over time one sees a lot of species. With this in mind, I decided to do a recee in the Agulhas Plains which are inland of Pearly Beach.
I had a route in mind & thought we might record over a hundred species on the big day. How wrong I was! Leisurely birding on my own on the 7th December (Delana was working with her colleagues) produced 118 species! And I wasn't trying that hard! Think we will have to raise our expectations! This is how the day unfolded.
I was up early & headed for a vlei area about 12kms from Pearly Beach. In the winter months it is usually dry but after good recent rains it was full of water. As I scanned the area, I saw 3 Black necked Grebes in full summer plumage. My first record of this species for this location. A Purple Heron was in the reeds & I flushed an African Snipe (always a good bird to see). Burchell's Coucal & Lesser Swamp Warblers called from the reeds. Both Yellow billed Duck & Cape Shoveler were on the far side of the lake & there were plenty of Red-knobbed Coots. A very good start to the day.
I drove further up the dirt R317 road & stopped at the Wovengat junction. It is a good view from here & there are a good variety of species that we don't see on the coast. I scanned the fields plenty of both Egyptian & Spur winged Geese feeding. I flushed a Grey-winged Francolin from the roadside. Common Quails were calling all around me, but as ever remained unseen!
A Black Harrier floated by, with Steppe & Jackal Buzzards in the air together with several Yellow-billed Kites. There were both Red capped & Large-billed Larks displaying in the fields. A little further on a bare looking field produced a Kittlitz's & a single Three banded Plover with lots more Large-billed Larks & 3 Cape Longclaws.
There is a small dairy farm along here, which has wet fields & plenty of mud, caused by the dairy herd. It provides a lovely little micro-habitat for Glossy Ibis (which always seem to be present). African Sacred Ibis was also present together with White-faced Whistling Duck.
On the Bredasdorp Road there is a huge lake & it is full of water & birds at the moment. Unfortunately I can't find a way to get close, but it is still a brilliant spot. All three species of grebe nesting, the Great crested Grebes doing their crazy courtship dance! 135 Whiskered Tern all in summer plumage & eight nest counted. An immature White-winged Black Tern as well, which apparently is a bit of a local rarity. African Spoonbill, Cloud Cisticola & Capped Wheatear were all new for the day list.
Next stop was the Black Oystercatcher Wetland. I never see a great deal here, but today it added Black Crake; Red billed Duck; African Darter & both Levaillant's & Zitting Cisticolas.
I then had a good look around the quaint village of Baadskeerdersbos. You are quite high here & there are a lot of exotic plantations along the river & surrounding the village which provide a host of new species: pride of place went to a pair of Forest Buzzards displaying over a nearby plantation. Also African Goshawk; Brown hooded Kingfisher; Cape Batis; African Paradise Flycatcher; Black Saw-wing & Cape Canary. A good haul in a short space of time.
I then hot-footed it down the road into the coastal plains. First stop Gansbaii Water Treatment Plant. Solid location for both Cape Teal & Water Thick-knee & both were present.
Next stop the Uilenkraal Estuary, which is always good for your list.
The Greater Sand Plover was still present (now its second year here); with good numbers of migrant waders & terns present. I then called it a day & headed home. The wind increased late afternoon, so did a spot of sea-watching which produced 71 Arctic Skuas & a close in Sooty Shearwater. The icing on the cake was a Spotted Eagle Owl that appeared in the garden while we were having drinks on the veranda! What an ending to a great days birding. Was surprised to find out I was on 118 species for the day.
On 9th December Delana & I drove to Baardskeerdersbos to have a look at a plot of land that Lourens & Anelle were thinking of purchasing in order to build a house in the village. They are in time relocating from Pretoria to the Cape. The plot was high up in a valley on the very edge of the village with nice views in all directions. Due to the high wind, there were not many birds about, but a pair of Cape Grassbirds showed very well.
We then drove down the dirt R317 & stopped briefly at a small dairy farm which always has a few birds close to it. Today 2 Denham's Bustards & 6 Glossy Ibis were the highlights. There was also an Agulhas Lark close by.
On 12th December I drove up the R317 again & saw an Eurasian Hobby sitting in a field. This is a rare bird this far south.
We didn't bird out of the village until 24th December when we called in at the lake at the junction of R43/R317 roads. This is an excellent spot & today produced 2 Black necked Grebes in full summer plumage; a flushed African Snipe; 2 flushed African Rails & two Little Bitterns calling deep in the reedbed. Not a bad stop! We also saw 2 African Marsh Harriers on the Die Dam road.
Our next stop was the dam on the Bradersdorp Road which was once again filled with birds: 225 Whiskered Terns were present & the immature White Winged Tern was also still there.
On 27th December we explored the Reitfontein Road & enjoyed a superb mornings birding. Fortunately we met the local farmer who gave us permission to bird his land & nearby dam. It was surprising to us just how many species were saw in what was basically farmland with patches of fynbos dotting the landscape. Cape Clapper Larks were everywhere! An we finally obtained good views & photos.
A little further down the road we came across a distant European Honey Buzzard. And on the way back home we spotted a Lanner Falcon perched in a tree. This is a scarce & hard to find species in these parts.
Our last stop was the lake at the R43/R317 junction & 3 Great White Pelicans flew over our heads! A great local record. Both the Little Bitterns & African Rails were calling, a good indication that both are breeding here. An African Marsh Harrier also circled the reeds. it was a great mornings birding with a superb selection of local specialties.
The next day we again drove down the Reitfontein Road but this time into the Agulhas National Park & spent a few hours on the beach. This is a stunning section of coastline, best birds being Ostrich; hundreds of Great crested Terns & a few Sandwich Terns. I did a bit of sea watching, but it was surprisingly unproductive. it was a nice day out on the beach.
We were up early on 30th December to meet up with Wim at the Sandberg Fynbos Reserve. We had one objective Fynbos Buttonquail & Delana found it by flushing it! This is one of the most difficult endemics to find in the Cape & it took us quite a while of walking the fynbos covered slopes. This is a scenic reserve & the fynbos seems to be in excellent condition. We really enjoyed our walk here although it was cut short by heavy rain.
We then visited the dam on the Bradersdorp Road to look for the White winged Tern. We saw a great variety of species but couldn't find the tern. We had a good time though as we picked up Eugene the local conservation officer which meant we could bird on private land & get much closer to the lake.
We had a great couple of hours. We also visited a couple of other lakes on private land, one of them produced 113 Great White Pelicans! it was a fabulous day out & much thanks to both Wim & Eugene for making it possible.
