Paul Matson's Birding Blog: South Africa January 2014

South Africa 2014

Monday 30th December 2013

It seemed like it would never arrive, but with great relief we flew on Sunday night from Heathrow to Cape Town, arriving at 7am, and having failed to convince Avis to part with a bigger car, we stuffed our bags into the VW Polo and started on the long drive to Knysna. About 6hous later we arrived, stopping only to buy some water and a KFC !

A few birds were seen on the way including, Blue Crane, Jackal Buzzard, Steppe Buzzard, Ostrich, Yellow-billed Kite, Cape Rook and Egyptian Goose.

Our friends, Susan and Koos, had invited us to stay with them and their family at a house they had rented for a week on the Pezula Estate , we had seen some pictures of the house and we were not disappointed – the place was amazing, 5 double bedrooms with en-suites and a cinema room with a 14m infinity pool and views to the sea.

The whole area is Fynbos habitat (which is the local name for Scrub, but is full of Proteas, heather and flowering bushes) Within a minute of arriving a Cape Sugarbird was in the garden, along with a Yellow Bishop, Streaky Seedeater and a Cape Wagtail.

Around 5pm, Koos and I went on a walk, following the drives between the houses on the estate. The first bird seen was the local endemic Orange-breasted Sunbird, followed by Karoo Prinia, Brimstone Canary, Karoo Scrub Robin, Cape Bulbuls, Rattling Cisticola, Common Waxbill and Yellow-billed Duck.

A barbecue rack of ribs and games of hide and seek around the massive house saw the day out and us crashing around 10pm.

The house 'Mbali'

Pool with view to the sea

Adie by the pool

Cape Sugarbird

Fiscal Flycatcher (female)

Tuesday 31st December

Up early at 6am and another walk, the temperature was perfect, probably around 20c increasing to late 20's
by midday. I walked along the drives until I found a couple of small ponds which had a track through the fynbos. The Cape Sugarbird greeted me as I left the door. The 3 Yellow-billed Ducks took flight from the small pond and just along the path a bird creeping through the undergrowth turned out to be a Victorin's Warbler - another endemic bird. Plenty of Karoo Prinias were around and a single Cape Grassbird.

A smaller Sunbird in a plumage moult was a Southern Double-coloured Sunbird and a Cape Robin Chat appeared in the same bush. 4 Sombre Greenbuls were together in a tree next to a flock of Cape White-Eyes, and Olive Thrush and Fiscal Flycatchers were in the open ground.

Later, I experienced a once a decade event for me - a beach ! - as all 12 of us pile into the Minibus and headed for the beach on the Estate- I took my bins but left camera's etc at the house. The beach was stunning and the surf incredible, The surf was too strong (and cold) to go in, but a wide and shallow river ran into the sea and we all sat in the water with the kids snorkling and trying to catch fish. A small flock of Kelp Gulls were on the beach and best of all a single Black Oystercatcher came to feed on the river bank where we were sitting (oh for the camera !) along with a Little Egret. A drive to the viewpoint a Knysna Head added Pied Kingfisher , Black-winged Stilt, Blacksmith Plover, Greenshank and Sacred Ibis.

This part of the trip isn't really intended to be the birdy bit, but I'm doing pretty well so far

Back to the house for a Chicken barbecue, and midnight celebrations to see in the New Year.

Karoo Prinia

Victorin's Warbler

Cape White-eye

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Happy New Year !

Despite celebrations until 1am, I managed to surface around 7am a bit blurry-eyed and went for another stroll. So my New year target of 1,500 species was underway with the first bird of the year a Jackal Buzzard. It felt a bit odd not being able to count the birds I'd seen in the last couple of days but these are my own rules.

Many of the same species as yesterday quickly appeared Karoo Prinia, Cape Robin Chat, Victorin's Warbler, Cape Bulbul, Cape White-eye, Common Fiscal, Fiscal Flycatcher, Brimstone Canary, Cape Sugarbird and Cape Wagtail. The best addition of the list was 3 Knysna Turaco's - such amazing looking birds, they are often quite visible in flight with stunning wing colours, but then dive into the back of thick cover and good views become problematic, but I was lucky when one jumped on top of the bush.

Back at the house we understandably had a slow morning, I saw a Lanner Falcon from the the pool and about 2pm 5 of us went to Leisure Island in Knysna Bay for a walk around the island. We avoided the beaches today on advice that thousands of locals descend on them for New Year. Parts of Leisure Island were no different and the locals were still in party mood as they crowded one side of the Island. The saltmarsh bay had Black Oysetrcatcher, Avocet, Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt, Sacred Ibis and Kelp Gull. I wasn't expecting a birdy walk but on the quieter side of the island a local bird commotion revealed a Burchells Coucal, which turned out not to be the issue for the local Bulbuls and White-Eye's as a Spotted Eagle Owl was in a tree, before it was spooked and rather haphazardly left the tree.

Driving back to the house, we saw lots of Helmeted Guineafowl, both Forest Canary and Cape Canary and a pair of Red-necked Francolin.

A final trip out for Ice Creams, and finishing with a walk around the Rocks of Knysna Head before heading back to the house for Barbecued Snook ( a local fish a bit like a Baracuda) ended a hugely productive start to the New Year.

male Fiscal Flycatcher

Knysna Turaco in flight - wings are stunning.

Slightly prehistoric looking

Knysna Turaco

nice eyebrows !

Saltmarsh at Leisure Island

You can't seem to avoid Chelsea supporters anywhere in the world.

More saltmarsh on Leisure Island

Thursday 2nd January

Today was based around another outing for all 12 of us in the Minibus. When the preferred suggestion was 'Birds of Eden' - the biggest aviary in Africa and I was told I could tick most African species in around 30 minutes and achieve my target for the year by the end of the day- I started to adapt my mutiny plans, but eventually it was consensually agreed that we wouldn't go there ,..... we ended up at Monkey World instead.

The morning started again with a walk adding Cape Batis, Pin-tailed Wydah, Greater Double-coloured Sunbird and Cape Grassbird to yesterdays list.

Monkey World was about an hours drive just the other side of Pletenberg and contained 11 Monkey Species of which we saw 9 on the guided walk through the indigenous forest (There were no birds !)

We then headed for a good lunch at Pletenberg Bay followed by a beach where the kids had a fantastic time wave surfing, then back to the house for a quick change and out to wonderful dinner at a restaurant overlooking the rock pools at Knysna Heads .

Cape Batis

Greater Double-coloured Sunbird

Forest Canary

Friday 3rd January

A day of travel today as we sadly left Mbali and our friends to go to Stellenbosch for a a couple of nights. We had a fantastic time in Knysna which made it all the more difficult to leave but hit the road at 11am and arrived at the Eikendal Lodge near Stellenbosch just after 5pm. There's always a bit of a risk booking somewhere over the internet, but the lodge was lovely and the setup with 2 adjoining rooms was ideal.

We had dinner in Stellenbosh at Ernie Els's restaurant The Big Easy before a good sleep was in order.

Another view from our balcony at Mbali

Saturday 4th January

After an exceptional breakfast, we headed to Franschoek, passing through the stunning scenery of the vineyards. You would put Franschoek in the 'quaint town' category and much time was passed wandering through the boutique shops before we stopped for lunch and then meandered back to the lodge where the girls went for a swim I went for the obligatory wine tasting at the Eikendal winery.

We ventured out for a meal in the evening at '96' which proved another success.

Franschoek street entertainment

View over the vines from the lodge

Eikendal vineyard

Sunday 5th January

This was the last day for the girls before their evening flight back to the UK and my last non-birdy day for a couple of weeks. After another great breakfast being entertained by the local Chameleon, we headed into Cape Town. The initial plan was to go up Table Mountain, but there was zero visibility when we left the lodge, so we went to the Aquarium instead, and this was a major success as we were all impressed by the exhibits. The Aquarium was , unfortunately for me, next to a shopping centre, so a retail therapy fix for the girls was followed by the decision to go to Table Mountain, as it looked as if the cloud had lifted.

So around 2.30pm we were in the cable car and shortly at the top ..... where instantly it was back to zero visibility , but also a howling gale and pelting rain. After a coffee, and getting drenched running between the two buildings at the top we then queued to get the cable car back down - At least we had been on Table Mountain.

The trip to the airport and handing back the car went smoothly and when Patrick arrived to pick me up I said goodbye to the girls, and Patrick drove us to his place in Simonstown, stopping to see African Penguins on route.

Chameleon in the flower bed

Anyone like my Pink Dress ?

Hannah and Adie inside the Clown Fish bubble.

Smile for the Camera !

A Yellow peril maybe ?

An unusual show of affection waiting for the cable car

When ours got to the top the cloud had descended

Monday 6th January

The surprise was how the gale-force overnight wind and heavy rain rivalled the weather back in the UK, what a contrast to the 30c of a couple of days ago !. So at 6.30 this morning Patrick and I set off from his house with jumpers and fleece on and raincoat at the ready towards the Cape Peninsula national park.

The cloud was low, reducing visibility, but ultimately this didn’t deter the birds.

Our first stop was Cape of Good Hope. The wonderfully named Bokmakierie, a colourful member of the shrike family, hopped around the fynbos, with Cape Francolins. A bizarre sight of 5 Ostriches on the beach with the local buck a Bontebok and the drab Grey-backed Cisticola was active in the bushes.

Next to Cape Point, where we walked up to the lighthouse in a steady drizzle, although a small party of Cape Siskins were reward enough for the effort. Then a short drive to a sheltered spot on the Pacific seaboard where we had breakfast , the bay holding good numbers of Swift Terns and Sandwich Terns along with Hartlaubs Gull, Kelp Gull and a single Grey-headed Gull. We drove further north on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Park to a bay in Komitjie which held 4 species of cormorant, Cape, Bank, Crowned and White-breasted. We then stopped at a small suburban park which had been the sight of breeding Black Sparrowhawks which had vacated the area but a Red-chested Sparrowhawk flew over which was surprise compensation .

We then visited Kirstenbosch Gardens, which is the Cape equivalent of Kew and spectacular in their own botanical right but the birds weren’t really co-operating, but we did see a pair of roosting Spotted Eagle Owls.

Further in to Cape Town and a small wetland preserve called Itaka Island surrounded by new building developments held a few more species such as Red Bishop, Purple Heron and Cape Reed Warbler.

We had lunch at another small reserve called Rondevlei accompanied by Grey Mongeese (mongooses ? ) after which we set off for a hide when the heavens opened. The small patch of water held Glossy Ibis, African Spoonbill and a Goliath Heron (which is a vagrant in these parts.)

With the weather looking increasingly tricky we headed to Strandfontein Flats, a vast area of lagoons part of the Cape sewage works , luckily we could drive the car around the site and the rewards were there as there were huge numbers of waders and waterfowl, Greater Flamingo’s White Pelican, Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler, Maccoa Duck, Red Billed and Yellow billed Duck, African Marsh harrier ,Black-winged Stilt and large flocks of Pied Avocets,Wood Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpipers and Little Stints.

A great end to the first day with a list totalling 100 species.

Cape of Good Hope - apparently very scenic when you can see it.

'breakfast bay' - with crashing waves

Hartlaub's Gull

Spotted Eagle Owls at Kirstenbosch

Cape Fancolin

Purple Heron at Itaka

Pin-tailed Wydah

Grey Mongoose looking for my lunch

Goliath Heron

Blacksmith Plovers with Cape Teal

Lavaillants Cisticola

Kittlitzs Plover on nest

Water Thick-Knee

Tuesday 7th January

There had been seriously heavy overnight wind and rain again, but we were travelling today up the West Coast with the final destination about 150km North of Cape Town, so we set off at 6.30am and stopped several times on the way to pick up key species. The further north we travelled the weather continued to improve.

Our first stop on the coast, we added White-backed Mousebird and a small flock of Cape Canarys with more Black Oystercatchers amongst the Kelp on the beach but no White-fronted Plovers. A protected area around the Koeburg Power Station added Chestnut-vented Tit Babbler, Pied Starling, Pearl-breasted Swallow and Banded Martin. We headed off-road into some farmland where a party of Lesser Kestrels were hunting, both African Pipits and Red-capped Lark were in the fields and a grassland area around Helbeck saw us in a circular field walk, where along with flushing several Common Quail we saw Cloud Cisticola and Cape Longclaws.

We entered the West Coast National Park just before lunch, and had views of a pair of Black Harriers before we set off to lunch in a hide overlooking the wetlands in the Langebaan Lagoon area. Both Osprey and dominated the fishing, whilst Greater and Lesser Flamingo's added the colour to the view and a vast array of waders including , Pied Avocets, Black winged Stilts, large numbers of Little Stints, Curlew Sandpipers, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Ringed Plover took advantage of the falling tide, but no White-fronted Plovers were seen. A further hide stop and we found our quarry with 2 White-fronted Plovers and both Caspian and Little Tern were with the Swift and Common Tern flock. The scrub area held Cape Weaver and lots of Karoo Scrub Robins..

A detour into a disused Quarry added Verreaux's Eagle and Black Swift. We approached the tiny fishing village in Jacobsbaai quite late in the day with reducing light but managed to add Sickle-winged Chat, Cape Long-billed Lark and Grey winged Francolin before settling in our accommodation at Weskusplek in Jacobsbaai. Another great day with a species list of 115 for the day.

Black Oystercatcher

Zebra at Koeburg

Blue Crane at Koeburg

View from the hide at West Coast NP

African Spoonbill

Karoo Scrub Robins

Cape Weaver

Cape long-billed Lark

White-fronted Plovers

Our accommodation at Weskusplek, Jacobsbaai

Wednesday 8th January

We did very well in a pre-breakfast drive around the Jacobsbaai area, starting with better views of the Grey-winged Francolins seen the precious night and quickly adding Grey-backed Cisticola and Acaccia Pied Barbet to our rapidly expanding list. A small bird party held Grey Tit, Cape PendulineTit and White- throated Canary. Whilst a further search eventually turned up both Karoo Lark and Thick Billed Lark. our final target for the pre-breakfast run was proving elusive and we were at the end of our time when Patrick was sure he heard the rasping call of the Southern Black Korhaan. We spent some time driving around the town and scanning the scrub without luck then eventually we found a pair of this delightful species. Korhaans are rather turkey-like, smaller than a Bustard, bigger than a Chicken.

Breakfast went down rather well after a successful morning, after which we packed the car for a long journey across the Cederberg Mountains into the Tanqua Karoo - semi-desert like area, arriving there late in the afternoon. Again several stops on-route adding Anteating Chat, Mountain Wheater, Familiar Chat and Karoo Chat. A stop at the Cerebos Salt works had us walking between the saltpans looking for Chesnut -banded Plovers which frequent the site, but despite large numbers of other waders, including more White-fronted Plovers, the Chestnut Banded Plover was nowhere to be found. The main consolation were 2 delightful Red-necked Phalaropes.

Approaching late afternoon we entered the arid Karoo area, with the low scrub stretching to the mountains on the horizon, with the change in vegetation a change in species was clearly on the cards Alpine Swifts passed through and the Electricity poles and wires had the occasional Greater Kestrel and Pale-Chanting Goshawk.

We checked our bags in at the Inverdoorn Game Lodge in the very comfortable surroundings and went for another drive seeing Namaqua Dove, Namaqua Warbler, Rufous-eared Warbler and Karoo Green Eremomela. The vast dam surprisingly held a large number of wildfowl with an estimated c1000 Southern Pochards, African Shelduck, Black-necked Grebes and Maccoa Ducks. As the light faded we found a Karoo Thrush behind the accommodation, a pair of Barn Owls were using the big open barn and cooperated with a fly-past and we successfully called a Rufous-cheeked Nightjar, which showed itself just as dusk fell. Another successful day !

Grey-winged Francolins

Thick -billed Lark

Bokmakierie

Southern Black Korhaan

Greater Kestrel

The Tanqua Karoo - miles of it - and the occasional bird

Rufous-eared Warbler

Greater Flamingo's on the Inverdoorn Dam.

Thursday 9th January

A full day in the Karoo - we travelled a huge distance in Patrick's Land cruiser to find the bird species we needed. The weather was clear and very hot during the day (reaching over 30c). We were up and out early before breakfast driving for well over an hour before we started our search for the Karoo Korhaan and before long we had a pair calling and noisily flying towards us before landing a fair distance away but allowing scope views. On the return journey we managed to entice a Prirrit Batis out of deep cover from a patch of thorn scrub.

After breakfast, we set off again in a different direction and before too long found Tractrac Chat at the side of the road which is very like a Wheatear, then a surprise, as I noticed a pigeon-sized bird flying along beside the car but with a distinctive flight and pointed tail and quickly called 'Sandgrouse' . The luck increased when it landed in view turned out to be a male Namaqua Sandgrouse which was only an outside possibility of finding for the trip.

We journeyed on to higher ground and in a very dry valley we scrambled down to a viewpoint and Patrick expertly managed to call in a Cinnamon-breasted Warbler then a Layards Tit Babbler. We had lunch at a campsite ground, then drove again for an hour or so before I was surprised when Patrick suggested we should stop for a cold beer to celebrate the birds of the morning. I thought he might have been joking as the chances of finding a cold beer in this desert seemed remote, but before long we stopped at the only building for miles which was indeed a local pub. The barman was also fairly friendly and yes he had a large chest fridge full of a decent selection of cold beer !

Refreshed, we set off again. Despite the hot dry weather we were experiencing the area had been subjected to vast amounts of rainfall over the last week with some areas reporting up to 300mm, this in turn had caused several flash floods and the roads we were driving on had some tricky patches that would have been impassable if we weren't in the Landcruiser. In the afternoon we added Grey-backed Sparrowlark, Black-headed Canary, Black breasted Snake Eagle and Spike-heeled Lark to the list. A very large Puffadder was by the side of the road (thankfully it was a dead one)

We drove back to the Dam and walked the length of the dam wall a Cape Cobra shot across in front of the car and then on our walk we saw a male Lion ! - Luckily there was a large fence along the Dam wall and Leo was the other side of the Fence ! . We added Yellow-bellied Eremomela and Fairy Flycatcher and then drove back to the lodge where we had a better view at dusk of the Rufous-cheeked Nightjar. Another extremely successful day !

A pair of Karoo Korhaans

Tractrac Chat

Namaqua Sandgrouse

More Karoo

Cinnamon-breasted Warbler

...and only a 60km walk to the village pub !

female Grey-backed SparrowLark

Patrick's trusty Landcruiser - we needed it !

Yook there's a Yion !

Friday 10th January

It was long drive back to Cape Town today and the weather looked as if it was closing in again with terrific storm clouds over the hills, we headed off after breakfast, firstly seeing a Spotted Eagle Owl in bushes next to the rooms.

A first chance stop at a lay-by as we headed into the hills having come out of the Karoo when Patrick spotted a Cape Rock Thrush on a retaining wall. The bird had disappeared when we circled back, so we got out of the car and as Patrick looked over the wall he found a Southern Tchagra which I thought I wouldn't see on the trip as my best chance of that was at Knysna.

We journeyed South crossing into some farmland where we searched unsuccessfully for Denham's Bustard but saw a large number of White Storks and lots of Steppe Buzzards. We called in at another Botanical Gardens and added Dusky Flycatcher, but like Kirstenbosch, the birding was slow, we had lunch at another picnic site, in the company of a Bar-throated Apalis and a Cape Batis.

Our main target for the afternoon was Cape Rockjumper. An iconic cape endemic bird. The well-known site for the bird was on the Eastern tip of False Bay. On arrival it was bright but rather windy and we spent a couple of hours scouring every rock - but no Rockjumper - plan B would have to wait for Sunday. We headed back to Patrick's house in Simonstown securing 2 White-backed Ducks on-route.

The other main news for the afternoon was that my Pelagic trip for tomorrow was on !! - So an early night
was in order for a very early start in the morning.

Inverdoorn Lodge Rooms

karoo roads

Spotted Eagle Owl

Pale-chanting Goshawk

White Storks

Orange-breasted Sunbird at the botanical gardens

Cape Siskin at Rooiels

Coastal view at Rooiels

looking over False Bay towards Gordons Bay/ Strand

Saturday 11th January

Apparently only 1 in 3 scheduled Pelagic trips from the Cape take place due to the weather. I had been mildly apprehensive about the trip all week, firstly as to whether it would take place at all and secondly what the journey would be like once we were out at sea. These thoughts were fuelled by the report on Tuesday that the annual Cape Town to Rio Yacht Race had been suspended when 80 miles from Cape Town due to a fatality, injuries and broken boats caused by gales and big swells .

So this morning arrives and I'm picked up at 5.45am in Simonstown by 2 Aussie birders and driven to Haut Bay where the boat departs from. There are 8 of us birders, 1 Bird guide (Vince) and the skipper (Dave). The boat is a 20ft Sports Fishing vessel with 2 outboards and like all sports vehicles seems to have a very firm sports suspension as we bounce across the waves !. On the journey out we all cram into the tiny Skipper's cabin as the boat is drenched in spray.

The weather turns out to be perfect with a decent breeze and bright blue skies and enough of a swell to keep it interesting.

On the way out we soon connect with Cape Gannets, Swift, Sandwich and Common Terns, a Sooty Shearwater, Corys Shearwaters and a few small flocks of Sabines Gulls and the commonest Petrel for the day, the White-chinned Petrel.

The main task is to find any line trawlers as this is where the main Pelagic birds will be found. The skipper has his info and it takes until around 11am and 40 nautical miles offshore, but we arrive in the wake of 3 line fishing vessels with flocks of pelagic seabirds off the back of the boats.

First up are good numbers of Shy Albatross, with a smaller number of Black-browed Albatross and several Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross and a couple of Northern Giant Petrels..

The White-chinned Petrels are joined by numbers of Wilsons Storm Petrel and a few European Storm Petrels. Then the excitement begins as the Aussie birders nochalently call ' there goes a Grey-backed Storm Petrel' - Vince nearly jumps out of the boat, as although this is a common bird on South Australian Pelagic trips this would only be the 3rd record for Africa. Most of us catch no more than a glimpse as the bird heads further away between the swells. So our task is to to set ourselves several 'drifts' from the back of the line trawlers to try and pick the bird up again and luckily for us we manage to the Grey-backed Storm Petrel on 3 more occasions so that everyone managed a decent view and some record shots were obtained.

More birds were seen with Great Shearwaters and Great-Winged Shearwaters and another bit of excitement when a Spectacled Petrel sailed through and made several passes over our boat. In the couple of hours we stayed around the line trawlers we also added Subantartic Skua, Pomarine Skua and Arctic Skua.

This was a fantastic experience and the weather luck stayed with us on the journey back to shore and the excitement over the Grey-backed Storm Petrel certainly made the day.

Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross

Black-browed Albatross

Shy Albatross

Black-browed Albatross

Shy Albatross with a Great-winged Petrel

Northern Giant Petrel

Great Shearwater

White-Chinned Petrel

Black-browed Albatross

Great Shearwater

White-Chinned Petrel

Wilson's Storm Petrel

Spectacled Petrel

Spectacled and White-Chinned Petrel and Wilson's Storm Petrel

Sabine's Gull

This is the line Trawler we were looking for

Star of the day - a Grey-backed Storm Petrel

Grey-backed Storm Petrel - for the record rather than the quality

Grey-backed Storm Petrel - 3rd record for Africa

Cape Fur Seal

Sunday 12th January

After yesterdays excitement, today was all about 3 birds. It was effectively our backup day for any key species we hadn't managed to catch up with and we had an early evening flight to Jo'burg to work into the agenda. The 3 birds were the Cape Rockjumper, which we'd failed to find at Rooiels. The Cape Clapper Lark, which we hadn't yet looked for and the Chestnut-banded Plover which missed at a number of sites up the West Coast.

Patrick decided that despite a lack of Rockjumper at Rooiels on Friday, that site was probably the most accessible and reliable for the bird, added to which the Aussies I'd met on the Pelagic had seen the Rockjumper there a few days before, in the early morning. So we headed back to Rooiels first thing, the journey being around 120kms from the house.

Unlike the last visit, there was little wind and the sun was just starting to coat parts of the valley, we found Cape Rock Thrush and a Verraux's Eagle and then Patrick was quickly onto to the first Cape Rockjumper, sitting patiently on a rock preening itself. We saw another further along the walk and scope views of both were good. We had a quick breakfast back at the car then pretty much headed back to where we started and up into Red Hill which was part of the Cape Peninsula National Park. our walk across the high peak grassland area flushed 6 or 7 Cape Clapper Larks.

We returned to base for lunch that Marie-Louise had prepared (and a beer !), then packed bags , loaded the car, and headed off to a Gypsum works which was quite far North of the city. Having negotiated the gate, we parked up and walked out to the salt-pans noting another Black Harrier. After a little wandering in wellies across the salt, we honed-in on a small watery creek that held 13 Chestnut-banded Plovers . Success ! ...and straight off to the airport for our evening flight to Jo'burg, where Patrick and I checked in to the City lodge on arrival for an overnight.

The Western Cape part of the trip had been a huge success and we left there with a list of around 230 species so looking like the initial target of 300 would be well surpassed.

A distant Cape Rockjumper

View to Table Mountain from the Cape Clapper Larks.

The Gypsum works - not visible in the pic but there were 13 Chestnut-banded Plovers in the creek.

Monday 13th January - Southa Africa Part II - The North

The species change was immediately apparent when we went out to the hire car at the City Lodge near the airport - a Nissan X-trail - , A Black-chested Prinia and a Common Myna were in the car park !. We set off on the long journey North to Kurisa Moya and headed out into the Monday rush-hour traffic. It took a little while to clear the City boundaries and our first stop was at the equivalent of a motorway service station, where amongst the rather barren surrounding countryside they keep nice patches of lawn and bush. So we pulled in and engaged in a spot of 'pishing'. The result was a flurry of activity, firstly a Deiderik Cuckoo was in full song , followed by Groundscrpaer Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Fork-tailed Drongo, Crested Barbet, Black-collared Barbet, Lesser Honeyguide, Kurrichane Thrush and Arrow-marked Babblers - not bad for a snack-stop.

As we ventured further North the traffic thinned so allowing us to stop more easily at the side of the road , we did well on the journey before arriving at the nature reserve at Polokwane including Wahlbergs Eagle, Abdims Stork, Brown Snake Eagle, Cape Vultures and European Roller.

The game reserve at Polkwane was a vast area of largely thorn scrub with some open areas of grassland, with drivable tracks. We were pretty much the only vehicle in the reserve so had the place to ourselves and no big predators meant that getting out of the car was ok. Mammals were present and we saw ~Tesebe, Nyala, Kudu, Wildebeast, Red Hartebeast and Giraffe, but the birds were key and we continued to find new species. Sabota Larks and Rufous -naped Larks were first up, followed by a Bronze-winged Courser lurking under a bush, then a small bird party held Kalahari Scrub Robin, Marico Sunbird, White-bellied Sunbird, Marico Flycatcher, African Paradise Flycatcher, Brubru and Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler.

We heard more Deiderick cuckoos, but as we stopped the car we then heard a Red-chested Cuckoo , a bird I've heard many times in Africa calling but a sighting to date had eluded me and at the same time a Black Cuckoo started to call. Firstly we managed to track down the calling Black Cuckoo and then luckily the Red-chested Cuckoo took flight from its low perch for my first sighting at last.

We continued on our drives seeing Crested and Swainsons Francolin, Magpie Shrike and Scaly-feathered Finch. A couple of the tracks were too muddy for the car and as we stopped at one to assess options a Crimson-breasted Shrike popped briefly into the bush next to the car - a stunning bird. A Brown-Crowned Tchagra and African Cuckoo completed the list for the park.

We headed off towards the forest at Kurisa Moya, hitting some large thunderstorms on-route. We were hoping to try for Short-clawed Lark, but despite a couple of attempts at walking the fields, the wind and rain won the battle so we arrived at Kurisa Moya at dusk seeing a pair of Lemon Doves on the drive as we arrived.

Diederik Cuckoo

The usually nocturnal Bronze-winged Courser.

Tuesday 14th January

It rained heavily all night, but had reduced to a light drizzle by 5am. We were up early as we had a full day with local bird guide David, and the first target was the vulnerable endemic Cape Parrot restricted to forests where the giant YellowWood tree dominates.

The light drizzle was enshrouded in a low mist which made life a little difficult for early viewing and it was uncertain how the days weather would unfold as they had experience weeks of heavy rain in the area before we arrived.

We set off and positioned ourselves on a forest track and soon had sight of a Black-fronted Bush Shrike, followed by a Yellow Woodland Warbler, Yellow-streaked Bulbul, Knysna Turaco and White-starred Robin. We also had an impressively huge Bush Pig run across the road in front of us.
We failed to attract calling Barratts Warbler into view on a few occasions, and despite David hearing a Cape Parrot in the distance we had no early hints that a sighting would be possible. A small clearing held Bar-throated Apalis, Drakensburg Prinia and Forest Canary.

We continued down the forest track and had a great sighting of an Orange Ground Thrush just before we tucked into our field breakfast, then a bird party showed Square-tailed Drongo's, Olive Woodpecker and a Scaly-throated Honeyguide.

Shortly after this David located our main quarry a pair of perched Cape Parrots, enabling some scope views, even though it was still a little misty.

Before we left the mountain forest we continued to add birds with Grey Cuckooshrike, Emerald Cuckoo, Olive Bush Shrike, Olive Pigeon and Green backed Cameroptera .

A mountain stream held 3 Mountain Wagtails and a Café stop called the Wheelbarrow showed a Violet-backed Starling with a nest in the Wheelbarrow handle !. A stop at a house with lots of big barky dogs revealed Pied Mannakins, Heuglins Robin and a Back-backed Puffback. The weather had now cleared completely and luckily we were in for a fine day which made our afternoon ventures a lot easier as some of the roads would have been tricky in wet weather,

We moved to a big Eucalypt stand of trees where David knew a site for Bat Hawk, and sure enough a pair were roosting in the huge trees. We then started to head up towards the highest peak in the area called the Great Gap. A couple of stops on the way eventually lured out the secretive but loud Barratts Warbler and eventually we were high enough for another vegetation change, where proteas again took over and this is where we found at least 2 Gurneys Sugarbird - as a beauty judge I would vote them ahead of the Cape Sugarbird. The vegetation then cleared completely as we got to the peak (around 1800m) and we walked over the boulder-strewn peak seeing both Long-billed Pipit and Wailing Cisticola.

A final site was where we ended the day yesterday in the rain looking for Short-clawed Lark. This time there was no problem at all as a pair were immediately visible when we left the car. The day ended back a our cabins with a beer overlooking the forest where we still managed to see a Chorister Robin and a Eurasian Hobby.

The day had turned into another fantastic birding day.

Yellow-streaked Greenbul

Olive Woodpecker

Mountain Wagtail

Violet-backed Starling - with nest in the Wheelbarrow handle

A pair of roosting Bat Hawks

Drakensburg Prinia

Gurney's Sugarbird

Long-billed Pipit

Short-clawed Lark

Patrick planning our next move at Kurisa Moya- over a beer !

Wednesday 15th January

Given we had sailed through the 300 species mark on the trip, Patrick and I discussed a new target of 400, but agreed we'd have to nail most of the possibilities available in the next 3 days to get there. Today we were leaving the Kurisa Moya area and heading back South to the Nylsvlei wetlands area for a single night's stay.

We birded the forest before breakfast although generally it was quiet and not until returning to near the cabins did we find a decent bird party to get our list going for the day, that held Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Sombre Greenbul, Square-tailed Drongo and Grey Cuckooshrike. After our goodbyes, we added Neddicky (a cisticola) on the entrance drive and headed off to Nyslvlei arriving there mid-afternoon.

The Nylsvlei wetlands area is one the largest natural inland wetlands in South Africa, we had heard that last September a huge fire had swept through the area destroying 4 out of the 5 hides that had been built overlooking the reserve, so it was going to be interesting as to how the natural habitat was looking some 6 months later.

Before checking in at our accommodation we drove to the causeway that transected the wetlands, passing through a big area of thorn scrub where Burchells Starlings, Bennetts Woodpecker and Kalahari Scrub Robin were seen.

The reed vegetation in the wetlands was thick and healthy and there was obviously a good amount of water and everywhere was a hive of birdlife with Amur Falcons hawking from wires. Southern Red and Yellow-crowned Bishops and White-winged Widowbirds all in full breeding plumage defending their territories with their own wacky display flight, with the Yellow-crowned Bishops looking and sounding like gigantic Bumblebees as they buzzed over the reeds. Red billed Queleas mixed with the Southern masked and Lesser masked Weavers and flying out from their hidden spots in the reeds Great White, Intermediate and Cattle Egrets became visible along with Purple Herons and Squacco Herons.

We decided to return at dusk, and went back to drop our bags at the accommodation then set out on a drive around the scrub within the reserve. Before we even set off a Village Indigobird and an Orange-breasted Bush Shrike had shown themselves around the chalets. Red-billed, yellow billed and Grey Hornbills were seen and we heard then flushed a noisy Northern Black Korhaan then another surprise as 2 Harlequin Quail walked cautiously across the track in front of the car. Jacobin Cuckoo, Three-streaked Tchagra and Black-headed Oriole were also seen before we had an early dinner then headed back to the causeway, just before dusk fell. We saw 2 Marsh Owls hunting as the light fell and fly pasts of the Egrets and several duck to their roosts.

Another great day.

Forest Cabin at Kurisa Moya

With a name like Sombre Greenbul - It wouldn't be the first name on the list for a Party

Yellow-crowner Bishop in breeding dress

The reedbeds were alive with displaying Bishops - like large Bumblebees

A Southern Red Bishop !

European Roller

male Amur Falcon

A burnt out hide in the wetlands

Lesser masked Weaver nests

Northern Black Korhaan

Giraffe

Thursday 16th January

Today we had a long journey down to Wakkerstrom.. or a least for me that meant a long sleep in the car ! Before breakfast we had a walk around the chalets where we picked up both Cardinal and Bearded Woodpeckers and a Red Headed Weaver. We then drove back to the causeway and walked out to the one remaining hide, seeing more of the same wetland birds as yesterday and both Fulvous and White-faced Duck and Lesser Swamp Warbler. In the thorn scrub just outside the wetlands we again attempted to rouse some avian activity b y a spot of 'pishing' and Patrick's imitation of a Pearl-Spotted Owl, we'd being doing this a lot over the last few days but this was the first time a Pearl-Spotted Owl came to investigate along with a Black Cuckooshrike, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird and Jamesons Firefinch.

Our next stop was just after we crossed Jo'burg in another mainly grassland reserve which was full of displaying Long-tailed Widowbirds. A pair of Red-throated Wrynecks showed well along with Hoopoe,Thick-billed Weaver and Red- Eyed Bulbul, everywhere we looked we saw a Spotted Flycatcher.
Back on the road again for a long haul made worse by 80kms of stop and go roadworks, which was only lightened when I caught sight of a Pratincole flying over a field, we swung the car round to find there was in excess of 50 Black-winged Pratincoles in one field perched and hawking - but that was the tip of the iceberg as about 1km further on in a field being ploughed by a tractor we saw an estimated 500 Black-winged Pratincoles following the plough - what an amazing spectacle !

We journeyed on towards Wakkerstrom and as we approached 2 Bald Ibis flew over the car, then we saw an African Snipe displaying. We were looking for Black Duck along rivers and drove close to a large dam where we saw 3 Ground Woodpeckers, Horus Swift and a Buff-streaked Chat.

That end to the day put us on 387 species with tomorrows big day to come !

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike at Nysvlei

Cardinal Woodpecker

Crimson-breasted Shrike

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Long-tailed Widowbird

Black-winged Pratincoles

I've counted 250 in this shot - So an estimate of at least 500 in total feels accurate.

Black-Winged Pratincoles

Friday 17th January

Our final day birding, and we had the company of a local Zulu bird guide .. as we left our very comfortable accommodation Patrick and I saw a Black Sparrowhawk before we met up with 'Lucky'.

I'm sure when his parents christened him 'Lucky' it was with full intent that his name would be one of his virtues...... The name conjours up the image of a strapping lad - probably well over 6ft who would undoubtably be proficient at a number of talents and no doubt a success with the ladies.

So 'Lucky' appears at the appointed hour of 6am with the task of getting us a clear list of the local bird targets and definitely 17 new for our list so we could hit the 400 mark.

'Lucky' was a shade over 5ft 1, slightly rounded in stature and on that morning had a nasty head cold - what turned out to be a major allergy to grass pollens (Wakkerstrom being one of the major remaining grassland areas in South Africa).

So off we set with the vertically-challenged, mucus-filled 'Lucky' - and I had a slight apprehension at the start of the day when 'Lucky' was shown our needed 'list' - he just looked a little shocked then had to blow his nose !

However, on we pressed and a stop at a small stream got the African Black Ducks that eluded us yesterday. We had more Southern bald Ibis and then a single Black-bellied Bustard .

Then 'Lucky' started to come into his own as we entered back-of beyond grassland. Soon locating a fine pair of White-bellied Korhaans and after a bit of a drive both Grey-crowned and Wattled Cranes
. Fan-tailed Widowbirds were seen along with another local endemic a displaying Yellow-breasted Pipit. A single roadside stop saw us looking at an Eastern Long-billed Lark on one side of the road and a Denhams Bustard on the other with some male Sentinal Rock Thrushes.

We then had another long drive, and after about an hour we came across 2 Blue Korhaans . After which we'd parked up with marshy fields surrounding us and went traipsing through the fields hoping to find a Botha's Lark. To start with to no avail. eventually however we flushed 2 and then another 2, it was a little while before we successfully got scope views of them on the ground. our further flushing activities managed Kurrichane Buttonquail and then at another spot both Eastern Clapper Lark and Wing-snapping Cisticola, but our bird number 400 was a Pale-crowned Cisticola which fluttered over the car and sat momentarily next to the passenger door. Our final pre-lunch stop was at at a well-known site for the rare Rudd's Lark sometimes with access difficulties - but lucky for us we had 'Lucky' and shortly we had the Rudd's Lark, which gave us good views before scuttling off and vanishing in the grass.

Back to town for some lunch and a celebratory beer and out for the afternoon's quests where some more long drives had us in key sights for Brown-backed Honeyguide and Bush Blackcap then a final excursion for an African Rock Pipit that eventually gave itself to view. We said goodbye to Lucky to go and tend to his cows, and he'd come up trumps for us today and we'd even found some anti-histamine to clear his sinuses.

Patrick (who had driven 350kms today) and I went to the wetland reserve in Wakkerstom and just before dusk managed to see 2 Half-collared Kingfishers as our final bird of the trip.

An Exceptionally successful and enjoyable trip with much thanks to Patrick for his company and patience. The final total for my 2014 time in South Africa was 417 species - way beyond what I thought !