My Birding Year 2014

December 31, 2014 Don Reid 8 Comments

At this time of year the favourite articles in newspapers and elsewhere are those looking back at the past year, covering everything from general news to politics to sport and plenty of others, so unfortunately I am following suit by looking back at my busy birding year – the good news is that, as usual, you are free to skip the boring verbiage and check out the photos, some of which you may even find of interest.

It has been a busy year for Gerda and myself from many points of view – we have never done as much travelling, both locally and internationally, as we have over the last 12 months and at times we’ve felt it was too much and decided not to be quite so ambitious in future, but it certainly made for an interesting year…….

January

The year started, as it has over the past couple of years, in Mossel Bay where we have a second home and I used the opportunity to do some quality atlasing in the Southern Cape on three separate days – 6th, 14th and 24th(“atlasing” is the recording of bird species in an area called a Pentad, defined by coordinates, about 8 x 8 kms in extent, with the data collected going to a database at the University of Cape Town). The rolling hills of the area surrounding the small town of Albertinia, just 50 kms from Mossel Bay, and further south towards Gouritzmond, were my targets over this period, as they have not been atlased very frequently to date.

Denham's Bustard, Albertinia — Denham’s Bustard, Albertinia

We did a quick trip to the Western Cape from the 15th to 21st, visiting the family and enjoying some diverse birding in Kommetjie, Worcester, Karoo Desert Botanical Gardens and the Hex River Valley. See my post on “Western Cape Quickie” for the details of this trip.

Karoo Desert Botanical Gardens, Worcester

Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Worcester

Shortly after getting back to Mossel Bay we returned home to Pretoria, over-nighting at Kuilfontein Guest farm outside Spingfontein in the Free State, which was a nice opportunity to fit in the minimum 2 hours of atlasing required for a “Full Protocol” card.

Kuilfontein, near Springfontein in the Free State

The month was concluded in grand birding style, starting on the 29th, with a trip to Punda Maria in the far north of Kruger National Park, one of the prime birding spots in South Africa, for the annual Birding weekend run by the West Rand Honorary Rangers. We combined this with the “Pel’s Pursuit” also run by the Honorary Rangers – unfortunately it did not result in us seeing the sought after but elusive Pel’s Fishing Owl. On the way to Punda Maria we stopped at Entabeni forest to see if we could spot the Bat Hawk that frequents the area, but dipped on that one as well.

Insect and offspring, Entabeni forest — Colourful grasshopper and offspring, Entabeni forest

Fish-Eagle and Martial Eagle eye each other

February

After all that hectic birding in January, February was a much quieter month, as we got back to our Pretoria routine – a couple of atlasing outings on the 11th and 22nd took me to the area around Delmas and Devon in the south-east of Gauteng, familiar territory where I have done a fair amount of atlasing previously and which always has a surprise or two.

March

More atlasing on the 10th and 21st, this time covering the area north-west of Potchefstroom while visiting son Stephan and family who live there, as well as the Vlaklaagte area north of Bronkhorstspruit

April

Time to travel again and we set off on an extended trip (covered in detail in my earlier posts on “Four Parks and a Wedding”) to the Southern and Eastern Cape – the places we visited and spent a few days in each were :

De Hoop Nature Reserve on the coast south of Swellendam – 10th to 13th

De Hoop NR - Koppie Alleen — De Hoop NR – Koppie Alleen

De Hoop NR - where the birds go, there I am, not far behind — De Hoop NR – where the birds go, there I am, not far behind

Camdeboo National Park on the outskirts of Graaff-Reinet – 26th to 28th

Camdeboo - Lakeview tented camp — Camdeboo – Lakeview tented camp

Camdeboo NP - Valley of Desolation — Camdeboo NP – Valley of Desolation

Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock – 28th to 30th

Mountain Zebra, in the Park created for them

White-backed Mousebird, Mountain Zebra NP

Ground Squirrel (Xerus inauris), Mountain Zebra NP

Addo National Park an hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth – 30th to 4th May

In between we visited De Mond Nature Reserve for some estuarine birding and I spent time atlasing the Gouritzmond area including a first visit to Vöelvlei

May

While in Addo, I heard about a Bridled Tern at Cape Recife near Port Elizabeth and took an early morning drive on the 3rd to see if I could spot it, but it wasn’t to be seen, although it had been seen the previous day and was seen for a couple of days thereafter – luck of the draw!

Our return trip to Pretoria on the 4th meant another overnight stop opportunity to do some atlasing – this time at Oudekraal Guest farm near Bloemfontein.

Spike-heeled Lark nestlings, Oudekraal guest farm

During the rest of the month I managed to fit in a couple of days of atlasing, firstly on the 16th covering the coal mining belt around Kendal in Mpumulanga, not an attractive area but no shortage of interesting birds, then more of Potchefstroom on the 26th when we paid a short visit to Stephan and family.

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (deformed bill), Potchefstroom

Koos and Rianda invited us to visit Verlorenkloof resort during their timeshare week, which we did on the 30th for a couple of days, enjoying some superb mountain and forest birding

June

The 16th saw us travelling to Durban for our timeshare week at La Lucia just north of Durbs – La Lucia and the adjoining Umhlanga Rocks are good for beachfront and garden birding and I also fitted in visits to two special birding spots in Durban itself, Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve and Durban Bayhead Nature Reserve which adjoins and is almost part of Durban harbour, both excellent birding venues.

Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula Krameri), La Lucia

Collared Sunbird (Hedydipna Collaris), Kennethe Stainbank NR

Brown Commodore (Junonia natalica natalica), Kenneth Stainbank NR

Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Capensis), La Lucia

Sandwich Tern and White-breasted Cormorant, Durban Bayhead

Black-throated Wattle-eye, Durban Bayhead mangroves

Durban Bayhead - boardwalk into the mangrove swamps — Durban Bayhead – boardwalk into the mangrove swamps

I closed out the month with an atlasing session around Verena which lies north-east of Bronkhorstspruit.

July

From the 5th to 11th we enjoyed a week at Sanbonani timeshare resort near Hazyview in the Mpumulanga lowveld with Stephan and family – a superb birding venue and 10 minutes away from the Kruger Park, which we visited twice during the week.

On the 19th I atlased in the Leandra area – scruffy in parts but productive for birding.

Shelley's Francolin,Leandra — Shelley’s Francolin,Leandra

August

Our long-awaited and -planned trip to North America began on the 7th and took us to :

Calgary and the Canadian Rockies – 9th to 15th

Barn Swallow (American) , Bow Lake Alberta

Clark's Nutcracker, Bow Summit — Clark’s Nutcracker, Bow Summit

Seattle – 15th to 17th

Cruise to Alaska and the Inside Passage – 17th to 24th

Tufted Puffin, at sea - the year's highlight! — Tufted Puffin, at sea – the year’s highlight!

Bonaparte's Gull, Juneau — Bonaparte’s Gull, Juneau

Steller's Jay, Skagway — Steller’s Jay, Skagway

Glaucous-winged Gull (Juvenile), Inside Passage Alaska

Eastern Canada – 25th to 31st

September

Continuation of our Canada trip – 1st to 6th after which we returned home

Further atlasing in the Vlaklaagte area on the 22nd and near Potchefstroom on the 29th saw out the month

Suricate family, Potch area - very curious about my movements — Suricate family, Potch area – very curious about my movements

October

Back in Potchefstroom for Stephan’s birthday, I atlased an area north-east of Potch on the 20th

Borakalalo Nature Reserve which lies north-east of Brits in the North West province (now that’s a bit confusing) was the venue for a morning’s birding on the 24th, after hearing about the presence of a Pacific Golden Plover. This time I was lucky enough to see it easily and well and celebrated by atlasing the area and enjoying a picnic with Gerda who went along for the ride.

Just a few days later, on the 29th, I tried for the Pectoral Sandpiper seen there during the previous few days, but dipped on this vagrant. Nevertheless I had a wonderful day of close-up birding and photography of the abundant water birds that gather there.

Three-banded Plover, Marievale Bird Sanctuary

Hottentot Teal, Marievale Bird Sanctuary

November

On the 7th I targeted a few pentads in the rural area near Mkhombo dam, not often visited by atlasers. The area can best be described as scruffy and arid but still produced a few surprises.

Then it was time to return to Punda Maria from the 13th to 16th for the “Punda Mania” birding event which is the 3rd one that George Skinner and I have done together and was as intense and challenging as before.

Pygmy Kingfisher looking dazed (apparently flew into the restaurant window at Punda Maria camp)

Straight after that Gerda and I travelled to Matekula Country Estate, which lies 35 kms beyond Machadadorp, to join Alastair and Anne plus a few friends for a couple of days at this venue.

Almost before we were ready, we found the year was rapidly running out as we packed once again for the trip down to Mossel Bay for our end-of-year long visit. On the way we stopped over at Abbotsbury Guest farm near Graaff-Reinet – a lovely place with some good Karoo birding.

Abbotsbury guest farm near Graaff-Reinet - the cottage we had for our overnight stay — Abbotsbury guest farm near Graaff-Reinet – the cottage we had for our overnight stay

Karoo choir - hey you in the second row please face the front! — Karoo choir – hey you in the second row please face the front! Let’s do Silent Night in C Sharp

December

Time for some final atlasing for the year starting with Mossel Bay itself which I do a few times while staying here. On the 5th it was the turn of Riversdale which is very poorly atlased to date and I added loads of species to the records.

Then on the 26th I atlased the area north of Albertinia which produced very good totals and some specials.

We joined Andre and Geraldine on a day trip to Calitzdorp on the 27th and I was thrilled to find a Cape Siskin in the Robinson Pass on the way there – a bird I have been trying to track down for some years and a great way to round off the year.

More of the same next year? I certainly hope so!

All the best for the New Year!

Holiday Trips

Alaska – Cruising the Last Frontier (Continued)

December 13, 2014 Don Reid 2 Comments

“Soon we were close enough to “hear” the glacier as it rumbled like a distant thunderstorm, and we watched in awe as chunks of glacial ice suddenly broke away from the towering face”.

The Story so far……

So, where were we – oh yes, our last stop was Skagway where we rode on a train – next stop was to be Ketchikan, but not before spending a day cruising the smooth, ice-blue channels and bays of Glacier Bay National Park.

Thursday 21 August 2014 – Glaciers galore!

Incredible scenery awaited us when we woke up, as we sailed into Glacier Bay National Park and were flanked by mountains on both sides, some snow-capped or with glaciers glinting in the bright sunlight, others covered in green forest.

Glacier Bay National Park cruise — Glacier Bay National Park

Spectacular landscapes followed one after another as we progressed along the channels and chunks of ice, weathered into strange shapes, appeared in the water as we got closer to the first point of interest – a gigantic glacier jutting into the sea and disappearing into the distance up the slopes of the surrounding mountains.

Soon we were close enough to “hear” the glacier as it rumbled like a distant thunderstorm, and we watched in awe as chunks of glacial ice suddenly broke away from the towering face. A large chunk “calved” and fell into the sea below with a roar, creating a small wave that disturbed the smooth sea surface – surely one of the most impressive natural sights we’ve seen.

Our Captain showed his expertise at handling his large ship as he had it do a merry-go-round manoeuvre, turning on its own axis so that all sides of the ship were afforded great views of the glacier.

Gerda enjoying the merry go round — Gerda enjoying the scenery

Gulls aplenty wheeled around the ship and one turned out to be a Black-legged Kittiwake – an exciting new “lifer” for me (more about the birding in a separate dedicated post)

After spending some time in this amazing environment, the ship headed back down the fjord and gradually the ice chunks and floes diminished and the sea changed colour to its more natural shade as the influence of the glacial silt became less pronounced.

Later we passed a couple of prominent rocks offshore which held numbers of birds, including the ubiquitous Gulls but also a sprinkling of Pelagic Cormorants, as well as Harbour Seals by the dozen, mostly just blobs of brown as they lazed the day away on the little islands.

All the while a Parks official, who had boarded the ship by small boat during the early morning, had been giving a running commentary on what we were seeing and providing plenty of interesting background information – a nice touch by the shipping company and the Parks board.

With the day’s extended excitement over we relaxed through the rest of the afternoon, had dinner in the Summer Palace restaurant and got to bed early-ish, as we were due for an early start the next morning to be in time for our last excursion of the cruise.

Friday 22 August – Ketchikan, Misty Fjords and T-Shirts

The alarm had been set for 5.30 am, by which time it was light and the ship was docking at Ketchikan, our last but one stop of the cruise.

After a quick breakfast we disembarked and walked along the dock to our excursion boat – a catamaran equipped with water jets – which was to take us on the excursion with the grand description of Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer.

By this time we had seen many beautiful sights of Alaska and were wondering if there was much more to be seen – well, fortunately, this excursion turned out to be more than worthwhile as it took us into the Misty Fjords National Monument, a series of waterways and fjords running through a unique wilderness of forests, waterfalls and sheer cliffs rising out of the sea.

The trip started with a sighting of a Bald Eagle perched high in a tree right on the water’s edge and soon after we came across a pod of Orcas (Killer Whales to give them their popular name) which was the day’s highlight for us as they surfaced from time to time, gracefully showing off their characteristic tall dorsal fins and glimpses of the white patches on the lower part of their bodies. There were at least four in the group and they remained visible for about 15 minutes.

The turnaround point of the trip was Rudyard Bay where we had close up views of tumbling waterfalls and sheer cliffs with nesting Gulls high up on the face.

At water level, a group of Pigeon Guillemots – a small black water bird – showed nicely alongside the boat and a Belted Kingfisher sat patiently on a low branch eager to be photographed (or so it seemed to me). I couldn’t resist asking our guide which one it was, suspecting that there was only one Kingfisher in Alaska, and casually mentioning that “where we come from, there are seven species of Kingfisher”. Our guide, a charming lady who looked like a favourite Aunt, took this in good spirit and told us she was in SA a couple of years ago and loved it.

While the boat powered its way back to the dock next to the Pearl, a couple of other crew members gave some background on local Ketchikan life (pop 14000), Salmon (5 types) and Native customs. We learnt how to remember the 5 types of salmon using the five fingers of your hand :

Thumb rhymes with Chum hence Chum Salmon
Your Pointer finger is something you may use to sock someone, hence Sockeye Salmon
Your middle finger is largest and therefore king, so is King Salmon
Your ring finger is where you may wear a silver ring, thus Silver Salmon
Lastly your pinkie – obviously stands for Pink Salmon

Now, there’s some really useless information

There was a little time left before departure, so we walked to a nearby promising looking dockside shop which had lots of really nice T-shirts and other tourist stuff at not too outlandish prices, so we were able to purchase easy-to-pack gifts for the family back home.

Ketchikan, Alaska - they are everywhere — Ketchikan, Alaska – they are everywhere

That was enough action for the day so we took it easy for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Saturday 23 August – Victoria BC through the Mist

Back to our normal lazy, breakfast in the stateroom routine for our last day of cruising, heading for our last stop in Victoria, BC Canada.

After breakfast I got myself into lookout mode, reading and keeping watch for passing birds – not so easy when the ship is doing 20 knots and you have a limited field of view out of the cabin. The problem was solved when a heavy fog closed in and I could relax in the knowledge that there would be nothing visible until it cleared. The fog lasted until we were in sight of Victoria, when it dissipated and cleared like magic.

Once docked in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, Canada, we disembarked and joined the queue for the shuttle bus ride into town where we found a Starbucks pick-me-up cappucino before exploring the part of town where we had been dropped off.

Although it was by now already 7.30 pm the town centre was throbbing with tourists off the several cruise ships that had docked almost simultaneously and we joined them in admiring the beautiful stately buildings and the harbour which was a hive of activity as the sun slowly set.

With our lightning tour done we returned to the ship for a late dinner in the Garden Café and once back in our stateroom we got our bags ready for the morning disembarkation.

Sunday 24 August – Cruise over!

By the time we woke we were already docked in Seattle – we enjoyed our last breakfast in the Stateroom with the fruit amazingly just as fresh as the first day. Then it was time to disembark in organised fashion, collect our baggage and find a taxi to the airport for our flight to Ottawa via Calgary

Needless to say, the US Security personnel at Seattle airport once again showed their paranoid and unpleasant nature and made it hard for Gerda to remain calm when one particularly mean official berated her for not declaring her knee implants before being screened. You would hope that people of our age would be treated with some respect but obviously age means nothing to these types. They give you the feeling that the US doesn’t really want visitors.

Next stop John and Sheila’s (Sam’s) place in Ontario