It is just over 2,300+ from Sabie Park to Pearly Beach. We left the house at mid day on 9th December & drove to the house in Pretoria for the night. It was quite a dramatic drive, as we hit major thunderstorms over the highveld.
After a restful night we were up at the crack of dawn for the long drive south to Richmond. This small Karoo town is quite historical & we spent the late afternoon just wandering around nearby streets. After a nice dinner, we returned to our home for the night, a small guesthouse which was both cosy & charming.
Up early again on 11th for the long drive through the Karoo, over the mountains to the Klein Karoo & on to the very scenic Route 62. We enjoyed a couple of stops along the way, including a lovely breakfast at the Kamistroon Hotel. This place is delightful & warrants a stay over. The entire area is interesting as it nestles right up against the mountains. We arrived home just after 5pm & both of us were totally exhausted from the long drive.
I was up early the next day for a brief sea watch from the veranda. 6 Southern Giant Petrels were feeding on a dead Penguin, just a little too far out for photos but good views through the scope. A couple of White chinned Petrels flew by at long distance as well as 5 Sooty Shearwaters. I was sea watching again in the evening & it was reasonably productive: 35 Arctic Skua; 2 Pomarine Skua (including an adult with most of its tail intact); 6 Southern Giant Petrels (probably the same birds as in the morning); 3 Giant Petrel sp. & 3 Sooty Shearwaters.
There was a tremendous storm overnight so I was on the veranda just after dawn on 13th looking over a very violent sea. The weather was horrendous, with torrential rain making life very difficult. Best birds: 1 Northern Giant Petrel; 3 Giant Petrel sp.; 2 White chinned Petrels & 3 Sooty Shearwaters. Then I had to abandon watching because of the conditions.
A shopping trip to town on 14th December produced our first migrant Steppe Buzzard back in this area & 6 Blue Cranes.
On 15th the Cape Sugarbirds once again discovered the recently replenished feeders, up to six birds being present.
I had a walk along the coast on 17th December & back through the resort. It was strangely quiet bird wise with only a couple of Pearl breasted Swallows noted. The weather was fantastic & I enjoyed my time outside.
In the afternoon we had a drive up the hill into the Agulhas National Park. Birds were scarce, but we recorded Jackal Buzzard, Malachite Sunbird & a few Cape Sugarbirds.
In the evening I did a sea watch but only 9 Arctic Skuas recorded. No other birds of note seen.
On 19th December Delana & I walked to the Uilenkraal River Mouth. It was a nice walk along the beach & next to the resort, which was busy with holiday makers. Birds were scarce because of all the disturbance, the highlight being 35 Little Swifts circling overhead. This is a very scarce & localised species this far south & I have never seen this species here before. The estuary itself held six Blue Crane; an African Fish Eagle & 52 Whimbrel. It was impossible to identify the smaller waders because the light was against us.
Later I had a quick look at the Pearly Beach Sewage Works: 3 Little Grebe; 11 Cape Shoveler; 3 Cape Teal; Common House Martin being the highlight. I conducted a slow drive in the hinterland, seeing all the normal species like Capped Wheatear & Large-billed Lark.
However the best sighting was an immature Martial Eagle close to Elim. This is a scarce species in this area & I was very pleased with the sighting.
I conducted an evening sea watch without much hope of seeing much, but I was wrong, it turned out to be quite worthwhile: 118 Arctic & 3 immature Pomarine Skuas going to roost on the sea was noteworthy.
While putting the garbage out early morning the next day I noticed 70+ Common Swifts overhead, hawking over the dunes & sea. There were probably many more birds than this, but I got the tail end of the flock, as they were moving down the coast.
On 21st December I had a run over to Stanford & walked around the wetland there. It was a dull, overcast morning & little of note was seen. Best birds were 3 Alpine Swift & African Swamphen.
The next day woke up to find 20 Southern Crag Martin roosting on the sheltered side of the house.
On 23rd December we visited Jacquis Farm just 3 kms away from our house. It is situated slightly inland & has more open habitats than found in & around the village. Best sightings: 12 Alpine & 6 African Black Swift; 2 Little Swift were noteworthy, as they are rare here. Purple Heron; Steppe Buzzard; 2 Cardinal Woodpeckers (again rare around here) & a Familiar Chat.
In the afternoon we visited the Uilenkraal Estuary, which was very beautiful in the afternoon light. We enjoyed a good walk around & found some decent birds, although nothing rare: 6 Blue Crane; 11 Grey Plover; 53 Common Ringed Plover; 37 White-fronted Plover; a record breaking 102 Whimbrel; 5 Common Greenshank; 53 Curlew Sandpiper; 99 Little Stint; 700+ Great crested Terns & a Black Harrier.
In the evening I conducted a two hour sea watch: best sightings 141 Arctic Skuas coming into roost (most birds came in very late on, so no photographs) & 5 African Penguin, which is getting increasingly rare in these parts.
The 24th December was all about the Christmas Eve dinner. It is nice to have most of Delana's family over & we all had a good time.
It is Christmas Day! Delana & I walked along the coast for a little way. Nothing unusual seen, but it was a good walk, with very nice weather.
I had a walk around Pearly on the afternoon of 27th December. Clocked up 44 species, including both species of Thick-knee. The Spotted Thick-knee had two chicks & was doing its aggressive display to draw me away, including hissing like a snake.
The next day I went for a days birding on the back roads towards Struisbaai. It was a pleasant day out. The highlights being: 109 Greater Flamingo; 51 Great White Pelican; 18 Black-necked Grebe & 2 Secretary Birds. The scenery is quite strange as the fields are bone dry with few birds. Species like Large-billed; Long-billed & Red-capped Larks being in short supply. However, the vleis are full to overflowing with two roads still closed due to floods.
Meanwhile Delana & her family went zip-lining close to Caledon. It looked horrific to me, but they seemed to enjoy themselves!
Early morning on 29th December I spotted 80+ Common Swifts feeding over the sea close to my house. This is the only Swift species which I have observed feeding over the sea itself. They seem to do that a lot here.
In the evening we went to Blue Bay for a swim & sundowners. The weather was fantastic & we all had a great time.
I conducted an evening sea watch on 30th December: 58 Arctic Skuas came into roost; 64 Common Tern (a high count for Pearly) & three Giant Petrel sp. Sea watching has been extremely poor recently, nothing like as good as in previous years.
With westerly gales overnight I was up at dawn on 31st December sea watching from the veranda. It proved to be worthwhile with 1 White-chinned Petrel; 1 Sooty Shearwater; 145 Cape Gannet & three Arctic Skuas.
It was then all about the evening! 2024 has been a bit of a roller-coaster year for me, with some major operations & long periods of recovery. I feel that I am slowly getting better, but still suffer from chronic fatigue & my LARS bathroom problem, which is totally debilitating. But I am still here! Delana has looked after me superbly well. Infact I couldn't have done it without her. So we look forward to 2025 with some enthusiasm.
