The New Years Eve gathering!
Well, we survived 2020! Who knows what 2021 will bring? What seems certain, is that we will have uncertainty for a while now, until enough people get vaccinated.
There are some nice habitats in this area.
Common (Steppe) Buzzard
A common summer migrant here.
It is an amazing migration to reach the southern tip of Africa!
Jackal Buzzard
Levaillant's Cisticola
Nice to get some decent shots of this species.
Delana & I enjoyed a lazy morning in bed, then a short drive just outside Pearly Beach to Klein Paradise. This is a small place which rents out chalets to holiday makers. It has a large dam & access to the nearby mountains. Today was just a short birding walk & it was very windy, not the best conditions for birding. However we did see both Jackal & Steppe Buzzard. Also a good variety of species on the dam & Black Sawing.
The impressive coastline of the
Walker Bay Nature Reserve.
Black winged Kite
On 2nd January we all went to Walker Bay Nature Reserve. It was a nice family outing to the beach, amid spectacular scenery. Few birds were seen but Black winged Kite showed nicely.
Olive House Snake found inside our house.
Luckily it is harmless.
The next day was spent around the house but I did conduct an evening sea watch, best sighting were 14 Arctic Skuas coming to roost on the sea.
Dead Atlantic Bottle Nosed Dolphin
Mixed flock of Terns & Gulls.
Whimbrel, a common migrant along this coast.
African Black Oystercatcher
Bar tailed Godwit
Another fantastic long distance migrant.
Recently fledged Fiscal Flycatcher begging for food.
On 4th January Delana & I walked east up the beach to the Pearly Beach Nature Reserve. It turned out to be a windy walk with lots of flying sand. But despite this we recorded 46 species for the afternoon. Nothing special was seen, but we had a nice congregation of Terns on the beach.
The guys working away.
On 5th January Riccus & Delana spent the morning refitting my vehicle. Now we have purchased a trailer, a lot of things are unnecessary & we removed them to make more room. I was a little sad about this, but can see the sense of it. I conducted another evening sea watch. An immature Pomarine Skua was blogging offshore & 41 Arctic Skua came to roost on the sea late evening.
Little was noted on 6th January apart from a Giant Petrel sp. offshore.
Southern Fiscal Shrike
Southern Double collared Sunbird
Male, but not in full summer plumage.
On 7th January I conducted both morning & evening sea watches. The only record of note were 30 Arctic Skuas coming late on to roost on the sea.
European Roller
On 8th January we went shopping & spotted a European Roller on the way! This is a rare bird in these parts. So when we returned home I quickly went back to the spot & re-found the bird.
Grey Heron
African Spoonbill & African Sacred ibis.
I then visited Gansbaii Water Treatment Plant which is tiny & right next to the main road. Three Water Dikkop were present. These are the first ones I have seen locally.
Uilenkraal Estuary
Spent an hour at the estuary. This is a great place for birds but difficult to work, as most of the birds tend to be a long way away.
Best birds: Osprey 1; Grey Plover 32; Common Ringed Plover 37; White fronted Plover 10; Whimbrel 68; Curlew Sandpiper 1; Little Stint 54; Terek Sandpiper 1; Greenshank 13; Caspian Tern 19; Great crested Tern 450; Sandwich Tern 380; Black Stork 2; Blue Crane 3 & African Pipit 4.
Streaky headed Seedeater
On the 9th January we went to check out the area around the Panorama Wedding Venue. (This was for birds only)! The areas is covered in exotic invasive vegetation but it does offer access to the hills. We weren't equipped today to tackle the ascent, but we will definitely give it a go on another occasion. The only species of note were 9 Cape Siskin seen in the plantation. There were at least 3 singing males & another bird was noted carrying nesting material. They appear to have taken to these plantations very well.
Spent the next few days at home. Sea watching on the 10th January produced 14 Arctic & an immature Pomarine Skua. It was also Rowan's birthday, so we enjoyed a family chat via Zoom.
Rock Kestrel perched on the house.
Southern Tchagra
On 12th January a nice African race male Peregrine flew over & two Southern Tchagras visited the garden.
I was sea watching again on the morning of the 14th January, when a Yellow-billed Egret flew by! This is my first record in Pearly Beach.
A Peregrine flew over the house on 15th January.
Black Harrier
A quick look at Gansbaii Water Treatment Plant produced African Spoonbill & a Water Dikkop on 16th January. On the return journey we saw a superb Black Harrier & the European Roller was still present, which is a rare bird in these parts.
Morning view!
Woke up to this view early on 17th January. A lovely change, after several days of relatively poor weather. The sea was like glass so I could pick out 2 African Penguins quite easily & later a Giant Petrel sp. Four Arctic Skuas were terrorizing the Terns.
Spur winged Goose
We then drove to the Wolwengat Road & birded the fields. We saw a nice range of species, the best being 4 Red capped & a Large billed Lark. A Common Quail called from a stubble field & we flushed four Grey winged Francolins from the roadside. A female Spur winged Goose & three chicks were on a tiny farm pond. With the wind increasing by the minute we headed for home. I think this area has a lot of potential, but every time we try & bird it the wind impedes us.
An evening sea watch on 18th January produced 37 Arctic Skuas roosting on the sea.
The start of the hike.
Birding the small patch of indigenous forest.
On 19th January the weather was sunny & the wind wasn't blowing too badly, so we visited Flower Valley Conservation Area. This is a nice spot in the hills. We walked to a patch of indigenous forest & saw at least five Blue mantled Flycatchers, including one recently fledged bird. Cape Batis was also seen in the forest. Both Alpine & African Black Swifts were overhead.
It got darker & it started to rain.
The weather turned on us, so we didn't reach the hill tops for the specials which I think might be up there! That walk will have to wait for another day.
This was a new national park for me.
The mountains provide an imposing backdrop.
This vegetation type is quite rare today, as 90% of it has been converted
to farmland.
Facilities for visitors are excellent.
Leopard Tortoise, which is uncommon in this region.
We drove the two hour drive to Bontebok National Park, near Swellendam. on 20th January. It is a small, pretty park but without a true wilderness feel, as civilization is always close by.
The Breede River
There are a couple of nice walking trails along the river.
African Darter
The Breede River is pretty but the majority of the park is a little monotonous. Both mammal & bird sightings were a little underwhelming.
On 21st January we stayed around the house. 12,200 Cape Cormorants were feeding offshore & 2 Southern Tchagras were in the garden. Always a good species to see. Ten Arctic Skuas came in to roost on the sea in the evening.
On 24th January 32 Arctic Skuas came to roost on the sea in the evening.
Uilenkraal Estuary
Working girl!
On the afternoon of 29th January we paid a visit to Uilenkraal Estuary. These days one can only visit if you are fishing or gathering food, hence the prawn pump! It is a difficult place to bird & we had to wade out to get close to the birds.
Roseate Tern, second from the right.
Greater Sand Plover
A major rarity here.
First we found an adult Roseate Tern, just coming out of full summer plumage & then a Greater Sand Plover! Which is a major rarity here.
White breasted Cormorants & Great crested Terns
Great crested Tern
Birds:
Blue Crane 2; Grey Plover 27; Common Ringed Plover 135; White fronted Plover 14; Whimbrel 112; Curlew Sandpiper 5; Little Stint 160, Common Greenshank 19; Great crested Tern 640.
Sea-watching on 30th January produced an amazing 42,300 Cape Cormorants flying east in long lines & two Southern Giant Petrels.
Me & a friend sea-watching.
Winds swung around to WNW in the afternoon of 31st January & produced some good birds. Two Pomarine Skua (adult & immature); 25 Arctic Skua; 9 Southern Giant Petrel; a Northern Giant Petrel; 42 Giant Petrel sp.; 14 Cape Gannet. All birds flew west into the wind.
Sea-watching on the morning of 1st February produced 4 Giant Petrel sp. & 2 Cape Gannet over the sea. In the evening a Southern Giant Petrel & a Giant Petrel sp. were noted.
Cape Teal.
On the 2nd February we had a run into town for shopping & on the return briefly stopped at the Gainsbaii Water Treatment Plant where 2 Cape Teal were present. We also stopped at the Uilenkraal Estuary & both Roseate Tern & Greater Sand Plover were still there, although the tern was very distant. When we were in bed a barn Owl flew by calling. My first record from thee house.
Kittlitz's Plover
On 3rd February we went on an outing, first calling in at the dry veli on the dirt road turn off towards Wolvengat. 41 Kittlitz's Plover were present, including a couple of well grown chicks. A Verreaux's Eagle was over the hills & 6 Lesser Swamp Warbler were in the reeds.
Steppe Buzzard
Large billed Lark
Cloud Cisticola
This is a species I don't identify very often.
Very pleased with these photos!
Notice the long sturdy legs & feet.
Birds:
Common Quail 1; African Swift 5; Blue Crane 6; Steppe Buzzard 12; Jackal Buzzard 3; Yellow billed Kite 6; Red capped Lark 12; Large billed Lark 3; Grey backed Cisticola 4; Piping Cisticola 2; Zitting Cisticola 1; Cloud Cisticola 2; Capped Wheatear 1; Yellow Canary 19.
Glossy Ibis
Nice to see this species here.
Yellow Canary
We birded the next section of the road & there was a farm with a small area of irrigated grassland which was very productive.
Birds:
Common Ostrich 2; Blue Crane 2; Cattle Egret 37; Glossy Ibis 35; African Sacred Ibis 25; Pied Starling 38.
We then enjoyed lunch at the Black Oystercatcher Restaurant & were surprised when four adult Cape Griffon Vultures spiraled over! A very nice bonus!
Just a small part of this immense flock.
It was quite a spectacle!
A few thousand came ashore later to loaf on the rocks.
Early morning sea watching from the house on 4th February produced the stunning spectacle of 45,000 Cape Cormorants massing offshore. It was quite a sight!
White fronted Plover
Hartlaub's Gull with baby soul as potential prey!
This Kelp Gull got the soul off the smaller gull!
In the afternoon walked to the Fynbos Restaurant birding along the way.
More of the same on morning of 5th February, but this time 50,800 Cape Cormorants!
We arrived back home from our little trip on the afternoon of 11th February. I did a late sea watch from the balcony, best being a cape gannet & 19 Arctic Skuas roosting on the sea.
We left home for our long drive north mid day on 12th February. It had been an excellent few weeks down here but we always seem to run out of time! With this uncertain world of ours who knows when we will be back?
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