Continuing the story of Birding Big Day (BBD), which is held every year on the last Saturday in November – the event is all about seeing how many bird species can be identified in a 24 hour period from midnight to midnight. Teams are allowed a maximum of 4 participants, of which a majority must agree on each species identification, whether by sight or call.
Birdlasser, the amazing birdlisting and atlasing app developed in South Africa, keeps track of every sighting of every team and can be easily accessed during the day to see where the team stands in comparison with the other 300 plus teams across the country.
Our team was set up by Koos Pauw and included myself, Martin Slabbert and Thinus van Staden to make up our team of four. A target of 200 species was decided upon by the team – only time would tell if this was achievable on the day.
Weather forecasts were looking promising and we hoped they would prove to be accurate, however at this time of year on the highveld extreme heat and afternoon thundershowers are the norm so we weren’t assured of a full day’s uninterrupted birding
This turned into quite a lengthy story so to keep it manageable I have split it into 3 stages – The Start, The Middle and The Finish.
Borakolalo to Rooiwal (Hour 12 and 13)
A testing time lay ahead as we headed away from Borakolalo towards our final target spot – Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works. Slow traffic, substandard roads and many rural villages along the way, clogged with random traffic, pedestrians and animals, proved frustrating as the minutes and hours ticked away, eating into the remaining daylight hours.
Koos remained calm and patient behind the wheel, despite very little to raise our spirits, until an unexpected wetland near the road was cause for a rapid stop. Shouts of Abdim’s Stork went up, followed by White Stork and finally a Black Heron was spotted.
Moretele area, Birding Big Day 2020 (Look carefully – Abdim’s Storks just visible)
With renewed enthusiasm we carried on and another hour later found the road which would take us to Rooiwal
Highlights (apart from the wetland specials mentioned above) :
Ashy Tit seen just after leaving Borakolalo
White-rumped Swift (at last!)
Rock Dove – yes even this mundane species which is fond of people becomes a highlight when you are getting anxious
Total Species : 183 after 13 hours – our slowest rate of the day, adding just 7 species in two hours
Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works (Hour 14)
At last, we turned off the slow road and found ourselves on Piet-my-Vrou Street, which augured well as it is the Afrikaans name for Red-chested Cuckoo.
Koos was right in his assessment that this road would take us through a stretch of highveld habitat, differing from any of the other habitats we had encountered so far – Long-tailed Widowbird in longish grass provided the proof.
Long-tailed Widowbird
30 minutes later we arived at Rooiwal, initially driving the rough track that runs through the adjoining open veld with pans, then entering the treatment works for a rapid ‘whip around’ to see what we could add to our already substantial (by our standards) list.
Highlights :
African Stonechat in the open grasslands
African Stonechat (male)
Many Grey-headed Gulls enjoying the several ponds of the treatment works
Cape Teals equally at home on the ponds
Cape Teal (Anas capensis / Teeleend), Rooiwal
White-fronted Bee-eaters – first of the day at the treatment works
Red-collared Widowbirds as we drove away from Rooiwal
Total species : 194 after 14 hours – getting closer to our target but with time running out we still had some work to do
Back to Pretoria for the Final Push (Hour 15 and 16)
With just 6 species to go, we left Rooiwal and were soon back on the N1 heading to Pretoria, our last hope for a grand finish!
The consensus was that we still had not picked up some of the typical ‘suburban’ birds that are common in the leafy suburbs that we know so well. So we made our way first to Meyerspark to the east of the city and explored some of the open spaces between the houses and local businesses
This proved to be a good strategy as we slowly added to our total and excitement mounted with each new species.
Every bird added was a highlight :
195 – Red-winged Starling perched on a tall building
196 – Violet-backed Starling in tall trees adjoining a small business complex
197 – Cape White-eye in the same trees
Cape White-eye
198 – Bronze Mannikins feeding on a sidewalk lawn
199 – Crested Barbet feeding on an adjoining lawn
The light was fading fast as we headed up a hill past a block of flats with lush gardens – as we stopped to listen, a Kurrichane Thrush appeared in the lower branches of a tree – 200 up !!!
In high spirits we headed through the adjoining suburb of Murrayfield where we added 2 more for luck – Cut-throat Finch and Fiscal Flycatcher – then back to where it had all started in The Glades. There was just time to stop at the dam where we had started some 16 hours earlier and find the Cape Weaver that I know nests there – sure enough it was present and became our last bird of the day.
These photos were taken in The Glades, but not on the day
Cape Weaver (Ploceus capensis / Kaapse wewer), The Glades
A final separate count the next day showed just one species had been seen but not recorded, so our final count was 204. This was good enough for 40th position out of over 300 teams, so we were extremely pleased with our effort
Continuing the story of Birding Big Day (BBD), which is held every year on the last Saturday in November – the event is all about seeing how many bird species can be identified in a 24 hour period from midnight to midnight. Teams are allowed a maximum of 4 participants, of which a majority must agree on each species identification, whether by sight or call.
Birdlasser, the amazing birdlisting and atlasing app developed in South Africa, keeps track of every sighting of every team and can be easily accessed during the day to see where the team stands in comparison with the other 300 plus teams across the country.
Our team was set up by Koos Pauw and included myself, Martin Slabbert and Thinus van Staden to make up our team of four. A target of 200 species was decided upon by the team – only time would tell if this was achievable on the day.
Weather forecasts were looking promising and we hoped they would prove to be accurate, however at this time of year on the highveld extreme heat and afternoon thundershowers are the norm so we weren’t assured of a full day’s uninterrupted birding
This turned into quite a lengthy story so to keep it manageable I have split it into 3 stages – The Start, The Middle and The Finish.
Kgomo-Kgomo (Hour 7)
This was our status at 9.58 am after 6.5 hours – 26th position and looking strong (Team Tuis-Bes)
9.58 am Birding Big Day 2020
As we approached the village of Kgomo-Kgomo at the end of the Zaagkuildrift road, the habitat changed to more open, dry countryside. We turned east towards the bridge over the wetlands, which had received a fair amount of water during recent rains. Some time was spent on the bridge scanning the wetlands, while passing locals from the village greeted us in friendly fashion – no doubt used to seeing birders in action at this well-known birding spot.
Highlights :
The somewhat drier habitat near the village produced Cape Penduline Tit and Scaly-feathered Weaver (Finch), while high overhead a soaring Black-chested Snake-Eagle caught our attention and was quickly ID’d.
Black-chested Snake=Eagle
Great Sparrow also made it onto our list – a scarce bird and one of our birds of the day. We wondered again why this particular sparrow is so scarce, while sparrows in general are such common birds
The wetlands held numerous waders and swimmers such as Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Little Egret, Cape Shoveler and Little Grebe and we added Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and Brown-throated Martin.
Black-winged Stilt
Total species : 152 after 7 hours – still looking good for our target
Borakolalo (Hour 8 to 11)
It was 10.25 am when we left Kgomo-Kgomo, full of confidence for a good total, but we knew we were approaching the dreaded “middle of the day” lull when birds seem to go into hiding. New species were becoming more difficult to find, so we used the time to get to our next target spot of Borakolalo Nature Reserve as quickly as possible, stopping only when a potential new species was spotted and to spend about ten minutes at the one dam that we passed
We arrived at Borakolalo Nature Reserve 45 minutes later and spent the next two and a half hours exploring the tracks through the bushveld area and along the shoreline of the dam. Our first glimpse of the dam itself confirmed our one fear – the water level was exceptionally high and not at all suitable for the many waders that usually frequent the muddy shores. This was emphasized when we later passed by the dam wall which was overflowing and sending a surge of water down the sloping wall into the river below
Borakolalo NP, Birding Big Day 2020
So that left us with the ‘swimmers’, many of which we had already logged – our only chance of adding new species was to cover the bushveld habitat as thoroughly as possible. It was slow going, using the strategy of stopping every couple of hundred metres or so and scanning the bush and sky for birds. We continued with this until we had exhausted most possibilities and headed back to the main entrance to assess our strategy for the rest of the day.
Highlights :
At this stage of the day just about every sighting becomes a highlight and there was no shortage of desirable birds that made it onto our list
African Cuckoo, calling hauntingly as we stopped at a roadside dam, quickly traced to a nearby tree
Sabota Lark, as always, singing from the very top of a tree
Sabota Lark (Calendulauda sabota / Sabotalewerik)
African Fish-Eagles for – um – Africa,,,,, We saw up to 5 of this iconic species at a time, soaring above the dam looking for their next meal no doubt.
Red-crested Korhaan calling, several times at different spots in the reserve – the unmistakeable, loud kyip-kyip-kyip that they emit at regular intervals.
We did not encounter many animals but a Giraffe was good enough to cross the road ahead of us and as a bonus had some Red-billed Oxpeckers in attendance
Red-billed Oxpecker
A raptor flew off low just ahead of us and we leapt out to ID it – not too difficult to see that it was a Wahlberg’s Eagle, with a longish, squared-off tail
One of our frequent stops produced a small bird party with Southern Black Tit, White-crowned Helmet-Shrike and Yellow-fronted Canary in the nearby trees
Just after hearing a Pearl-spotted Owlet at one stop, a large bird flew at speed between the trees and we were able to track it to a distant tree – it was a Great Spotted Cuckoo
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Heading out of the reserve, we picked up Golden-tailed Woodpecker and Red-headed Weaver before leaving Borakolalo
Our rate of new species had slowed down drastically to between 5 and 8 per hour, to be expected during the middle of the day lull, nevertheless disappointing as we had envisaged more waterbirds to help us get to our target.
Total species : 177 after 11 hours – so near yet so far from our target of 200…..
Our next planned spot was Rooiwal – a Waste Water Treatment Works about 40 kms north of Pretoria, where we hoped to find the balance of the species to take us to our target
“In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love” (Alfred Lord Tennyson) – ummmm, well, actually in my case it’s birding and specifically Birding Big Day (BBD), which is held every year on the last Saturday in November – an event not to be missed by keen, occasionally competitive birders such as myself and fellow atlaser Koos Pauw. Oh, and that bit about a young man’s fancy – well that’s stretching the truth to be honest….
The annual event is all about seeing how many bird species can be identified in a 24 hour period from midnight to midnight. Teams are allowed a maximum of 4 participants, of which a majority must agree on each species identification, whether by sight or call.
Birdlasser, the amazing birdlisting and atlasing app developed in South Africa, keeps track of every sighting of every team and can be easily accessed during the day to see where the team stands in comparison with the other 300 plus teams across the country.
And so it was that Koos set up the team, inviting Martin Slabbert and Thinus van Staden, two younger, keen birders to make up the team of four. We met in the week prior to the event to discuss the route and an indicative timeline we would follow – vital to the success of the day’s endeavours, but we knew we should have some flexibility on the day to cater for the unexpected …
A target of 200 species was decided upon by the team – do-able but seemingly optimistic, considering Koos and I had never done more than 185 species in a day over many previous BBD’s. But I was hopeful, even confident that the introduction of two younger members to the team would take us to the 200 mark …. only time would tell. Koos and I refined the route during the last week and we were all set for Saturday 28th November.
Weather forecasts were looking promising and we hoped they would prove to be accurate, however at this time of year on the highveld extreme heat and afternoon thundershowers are the norm so we weren’t assured of a full day’s uninterrupted birding
This turned into quite a lengthy story so to keep it manageable (and hopefully readable) I have split it into 3 stages – The Start, The Middle and The Finish. So here goes with the Start of the day…..
Pre-dawn Pretoria (Hour 1)
I was up at 2.15 am to prepare for the day and was ready when Koos arrived at 3.20 am, having picked up Martin and Thinus on the way. A short drive through The Glades (the estate where our home is located), stopping at the two small dams to shine our torches on the water, got our list going before heading out.
A short detour through Murrayfield on the way to the highway saw us stopping at a bridge to check for Finfoot (seen recently at that spot) without success, then we were speeding north on the N1 highway to our “dawn chorus” spot.
Highlights :
Thick-billed Weaver revealed by torchlight in the reeds at the Glades dam (Glades photos were taken a few days earlier in daylight)
Red-chested Cuckoo calling monotonously from 2.30 am
Mallard and Yellow-billed Duck out and about on the Glades dam, visible by torchlight
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos / Groenkopeend), The Glades
Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata / Geelbekeend), The Glades
Total species : 11
Pienaarsrivier Irrigation Dams (Hour 2 &3)
It took 45 minutes to travel the 70 kms to Pienaarsrivier and the irrigation dams that Thinus had suggested as our dawn starting point. Once we arrived at the dams and the surrounding wetlands, it was already light enough to see that this would prove to be an excellent spot to start the day in earnest – the pre-dawn sky was filling with birds on the move and the wetlands were busy with waders and swimmers.
Irrigation Dams near Pienaarsrivier, Birding Big Day 2020
Parked on the main dam’s earthen wall we had a good view of the action all around and birds were added rapidly – so much so that I struggled to keep pace logging them on the BIrdlasser app as they got called out, at the same time scanning the wetlands with binos and scope to verify ID’s and search for new ones.
This action kept us busy for the best part of two hours as we progressed slowly around the main dam and the adjoining wetlands and fields. This was the most productive part of the day and highlights were many –
Highlights :
The call of a Great Reed Warbler (probably newly arrived from its European breeding grounds) emanating from dense reeds
At 5 am, thousands of Red-billed Queleas rising up out of the adjoining fields and covering the dawn sky. Wave after wave of Queleas followed – a few hundred thousand at a guess – off to feed in the surrounding areas
Queleas starting to emerge from the surrounding grasslands
Queleas fill the dawn sky
A tiny sandbank in the middle of one pond held a variety of waders of differing size just too far to be certain of their ID but the scope views confirmed them – Little Stint, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, with an African Black Duck on the side
As the skies lightened, terns appeared – both of the regular fresh water species – Whiskered and White-winged Terns
The unusual sight of a flock of 12 Black-crowned Night-Herons flying overhead – none of us had seen so many at one time of this mostly solitary species
Three Kingfishers spotted within 4 minutes as we circled the dam – Woodland, Pied and Brown-hooded Kingfishers all presented themselves to be counted
Cries of “bumblebee” from the younger half of the team had me puzzled for a second until I realised they were referring to the Yellow-crowned Bishops buzzing around the long grass, looking a lot like giant bumblebees with their black and yellow colouring and manner of flight
Before leaving the irrigation dams, Thinus suggested a walk through longish grass to a wetland area not accessible by vehicle. What a good idea it turned out to be as we added one very special wader and a handful of other species before heading to the start of our second major focus area – the famous (among birders) Zaagkuildrift Road that starts just outside the village of Pienaarsrivier and meanders west to the Kgomo-Kgomo floodplain
Irrigation Dams near Pienaarsrivier, Birding Big Day 2020
Wetlands at Irrigation Dams near Pienaarsrivier, Birding Big Day 2020
Start of Zaagkuildrift, Birding Big Day 2020
Highlights :
Exploring the wetlands on foot we found African Swamphen and then the ‘bird of the day’ – Lesser Moorhen
African Purple Swamphen
Zaagkuildrift road starts with grasslands on both sides and we quickly picked up Rufous-naped Lark, Northern Black Korhaan and Desert Cisticola, followed by Wing-snapping Cisticola, which performed a display flight in front of us.
Rufous-naped Lark
Total species : 98 after 4 hours
Zaagkuildrift Road to Kgomo-Kgomo (Hour 5 & 6)
Zaagkuildrift road requires slow progress to make the most of the birding on offer, which is plentiful and to be found in the road, at puddles, in the roadside bush and trees, on the fences, in adjoining fields and even in the air.
It was still just 7.36 am when we passed 100 species and our spirits were high. But we had seen many of the common species by now, so the tempo of adding new species was bound to slow down, evidenced by the rate of new species per hour slowing from our initial 35 per hour to 23 in hour 5 and then just 10 in hour 6.
We stuck to the ‘main’ road which despite being a gravel surface is in good condition, our only deviation being the side road which birders know as “Crake Road” – we had progressed about half a km along this road when we came upon a bakkie (utility vehicle) standing in the middle of the narrow road with some agitated looking farm personnel peering underneath. Clearly it was going nowhere for an indeterminate time so we had to abandon any further exploration of the road and reversed out (no room to turn) and continued along the main route.
Highlights :
Plenty of the typical “bushveld” species were present, including 3 species of Waxbill (Blue, Black-faced and Violet-eared) plus a few similarly small birds such as Green-winged Pytilia, Burnt-necked Eremomela, Jameson’s Firefinch and Neddicky
Blue Waxbill (Uraeginthus angolensis / Gewone blousysie)
Marico and White-bellied Sunbirds seen within minutes of each other
Marico Sunbird
Hamerkop at the spruit on Crake Road – the only species we added on this road
Hamerkop patiently waiting for prey
Total species : 131 after 6 hours
It was still only 9.30 am with a lot of day left, so we were feeling optimistic about reaching our target. However we knew that the dreaded “middle of the day” lull lay ahead and weren’t going to count our chickens – or birds – before they hatched, as it were.
We had been planning Birding Big Day (BBD) – which took place on 25 November 2017 – for months, working out a route with stops planned to the minute and covering as much of the allowed 50 km radius as possible while making sure we included as many habitats as we could in the 24 hours ……….. Well that’s what we should have done to do any justice to the day; in fact our planning consisted of my jotting down a few “must visit” spots that I knew of close to Mossel Bay, the day before BBD. These included the Golf Estate, the harbour and Point, Herbertsdale road, Hartenbos waste water treatment works, Klein Brak area and the Hartenbos river. Any others would be added on a “play it by ear” basis as the day progressed.
Having only arrived in Mossel Bay from Pretoria the day before, there was not much time to gather ourselves but the prospect of a full day’s birding was enough to motivate me and I looked forward to having Willie Boylan, old friend and occasional birder, join me as the other half of our two man team – the Harried Hawks.
I had set the alarm for 4.15 am having suggested that Willie join me at 5 am, which he duly did and we immediately started our birding big day with a slow walk down the hill to the belt of coastal fynbos that lies between the residential area of the estate and the cliffs that drop away to the sea below
The weather was perfect and remained that way throughout the day – sunny yet cool with no cloud to speak of and a light wind. Doves were already vocal while the drawn out trilling call of Cape Grassbirds greeted the first rays of the sun. Yellow Canaries were active and plentiful along with Yellow Bishops with their standout black and yellow colouring.
Yellow Bishop (Male)
Cape Robin-Chat
The African Black Swifts that roost along the cliffs were up and about, joined by a lone Kelp Gull on its way to the sea. After scanning the bush for quite a while we felt we had exhausted the coastal fynbos possibilities, so we set off by car and exited the estate with 31 species, just about a quarter of our target of 125 for the day, with one hour down. As can be expected this was by far the best hour of the day.
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Southern Boubou
We took it slow along the road bordering the St Blaize trail and soon spotted a Tern roost on the rocks far below – I set up the scope and was mildly disappointed to find they were all Swift Terns as I had been hoping for one or two other Tern species. Early morning joggers were curious and when told what we were up to they wished us luck. As we were packing up the scope a Southern Tchagra, always a difficult species to spot, showed briefly in the bush just below the road.
Olive Thrush
On to Church street and the harbour area where we quickly added Grey-headed and Hartlaub’s Gulls as well as Mallard, but the Point was a disappointment being very quiet – none of the usual Cormorants or Terns – were we too early for them?
Hartlaub’s Gull
By 7 am with two hours done and a total of 46 we headed through town and out on to the Cape road, deviating briefly to explore the bush along the outskirts of town at the small industrial area which turned out to be quite lively with Bokmakierie, Red Bishop, African Pipit and Pied Starling.
The light traffic meant we reached the Herbertsdale turnoff not long after where we almost immediately found some of the expected species. Large-billed Lark was first up with its “squeaky hinge needs oil” sounding call, but for a change wasn’t joined by Agulhas Long-billed Lark – hopefully we would get it later.
Southern Red Bishop
We added the likes of Karoo Prinia, Diderick Cuckoo, Grey-backed and Cloud Cisticola before reaching the small farm dam alongside the road which had just a few Yellow-billed Ducks and a couple of Common Moorhens.
By now we were in need of coffee and rusks, so we turned off onto the quieter (we thought) Klipkop road to find a peaceful spot but we were harried by 4 x 4 enthusiasts heading to an off-road event along the same road so in the end we had to venture further beyond the venue entrance before stopping. While enjoying the caffeine boost a Rock Kestrel came to greet us as did a Brimstone Canary on the nearby fence, while in the distance we could just make out some cattle with Cattle Egrets in attendance.
This is where the “play it by ear” factor kicked in for the first time as we decided to carry on with Klipkop road rather than head back to the tar road and soon we had Steppe Buzzard and White-necked Raven on our list, but not much else as we passed through the undulating hills and headed towards Hartenbos,
Our first stop at the Hartenbos river produced Black-winged Stilt, Red-billed Teal and White-faced Duck before continuing to the Waste water treatment works which we hoped would give our list a nice boost. It delivered as hoped and we added 9 species including Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler, Little grebe on the ponds, a Lesser Swamp Warbler calling and a couple of aerial birds in Brown-throated Martin and Pearl-breasted Swallow. By now it was 10.30 am and we had recorded 88 species, pleasing enough but I imagined it was going to be much slower going from there on.
Little Grebe
In fact the next two hours produced just 10 species as we covered both Klein Brak and Great Brak river mouths, nevertheless including some less common birds such as African Black Oystercatcher, Little Egret, Greenshank, White-fronted and Common Ringed Plovers as well as a soaring Jackal Buzzard.
Common Ringed Plover
Time for our next route decision – this time we decided to make our way through Great Brak village and turn off west onto the road which would take us back to Klein Brak, but along the secondary road north of the N2. Our first stop along this stretch was at another waste water treatment works, the ponds visible from the road, which produced Pied Avocet, Three-banded Plover and a calling Little Rush Warbler.
Before reaching Klein Brak we turned right and took the Botlierskop road, just after spotting a Spoonbill in a marshy area before the bridge. Two “Olive” birds were our reward along this road – Olive Pigeon and Olive Bush-Shrike. As we passed a small obscure track we noticed another group of birders higher up on the embankment – turned out this was the “202 Ostriches” team who set a new Western Cape BBD record that day. We decided not to disturb them but to take a look later on our way back (the road was closed further on). In fact we discovered later on that the embankment was the wall of a large dam which held White-backed Duck and a lone African Darter – nice one to know about for future reference.
The 202 Ostriches passed us and stopped to say hi but were clearly hyped up and we didn’t want to hold them up – at that point they were on 160 species compared to our 101. Our next target was the Geelbeksvlei road – the vleis mostly dry but with a few water channels which held Hamerkop, Little Stint and Pied Kingfisher. Greater Honeyguide was calling “Victorrrrr” in the same spot I had heard it before while cycling the road.
The next hour was the longest of the day as we headed back into the undulating hills from the Brandwag turnoff, only finding our next species at the end of the hour after stopping at a farmstead near the road with a large Jacaranda tree in full bloom, which was alive with sunbirds including Amethyst and Greater Double-collared. They came as a timely boost to our pensioner aged team as our energy was being rapidly sapped although spirits were still high as we headed back towards Mossel Bay along the Gondwana road.
Southern Double-collared Sunbird
Almost simultaneously we spotted Denham’s Bustard followed a minute later by Red-necked Spurfowl crossing the gravel road, raising our spirits a notch or two again. A Forest Buzzard on a dry tree was worth turning off for but flew off before I could position the car for a photo.
Red-necked Spurfowl
At the next junction with the R327 tar road we crossed over and carried on towards Kleinberg and the N2 national road – this road was also quiet until we reached the mill where we found Red-capped Larks in the road and a few House Sparrows on the fence, the latter having eluded us all day despite popping into a couple of filling stations en route, often their preferred hangout.
Heading towards Mossel Bay along the N2, another bird that had eluded us – Agulhas Long-billed Lark – caught my ear and a quick stop confirmed the ID. Black-shouldered Kite was the last to be added on the road and we headed back to the estate, tired but happy with our total standing on 123, just two short of our target. It was 5.30 pm and there would still be daylight for an hour and a half at least, but we both agreed to call it a day, although Willie was happy to accept any further species I may spot once he left.
Black-shouldered Kite
After a short recovery, I felt somehow compelled to find two more birds and took another short walk which happily produced a Cape Rock-Thrush, then while I was relaxing on the balcony with the light fading and a celebratory glass of wine in hand, still keeping an eye on passing birds, a Peregrine Falcon of all things obliged by flying past – 125 done!
Next day I checked the BBD Birdlasser page which showed 124 against our team’s name – the difference turned out to be the Domestic Goose which we had recorded at Great Brak estuary but which had been disallowed. Makes sense although when atlasing it is a recordable species. So 124 was our final total. All in all it was a great day’s birding with some slow progress in the middle third of the day – better planning and ranging wider to cover more habitats would have improved our total – good thing there’s a next time to look forward to!
Two weeks ago we were on the MSC Sinfonia, around 200 nautical miles (in kms that’s .. um .. very far) south of Mossel Bay, now we’re back in that town and have had time to reflect on what turned out to be a truly memorable trip, for many reasons. Here’s my take on it……
The Build-up
Ever since booking our places on the “Flock at Sea 2017” cruise some 9 months prior, Gerda and I had been looking forward to the experience of a 4 night cruise aboard the MSC Sinfonia, along with almost 2,000 other birders – a “cruise to nowhere” out of Cape Town with the main aim of seeing as many sea birds as possible in three and a bit days, cruising in the waters off the southern coast of South Africa.
A facebook page created for the event and regular Birdlife SA emails provided essential information, building to a crescendo in the final weeks and days leading to embarkation day – 24 April 2017. There was also no shortage of seabird ID advice including a set of ID sheets depicting the birds most likely to be seen which I printed and put in my trip file.
Faansie Peacock was also good enough to produce and share a wonderful, concise set of “cartoon-like” sketches of the probable species, with notes on the features to look for, which I printed and carried with me folded in a pocket for reference – these proved to be super-useful for a quick check when a number of species were spotted in quick succession.
Flock at Sea Cruise
The Cruise
This was not entirely a new experience for me, having had the privilege of doing two pelagic trips out of Simonstown ( near Cape Town) in the past, however the mode of transport was very different this time – a large cruise liner with close to a couple of thousand other passengers and 700 or so crew, versus a small ex-patrol vessel with about 15 people on board and one or two crew.
We had travelled from Mossel Bay the day before embarkation, staying overnight in the Commodore hotel at the Waterfront, so it was a short drive to Berth E at Duncan Dock, where I dropped Gerda off with our baggage, parked in the nearby parkade and returned to the quay to join the already long queue….. for the next couple of hours while the previous load of passengers disembarked very slowly due to IT problems at Immigration (or so we understood). This was not necessarily a bad thing – it gave us time to get acquainted with others in the queue, meet up with some old friends and take in the buzz of 1,945 keen birders all looking forward to the next few days.
The long queue at Berth E
Once boarding commenced, it all went quite rapidly and a couple of further queues later we had taken care of all the formalities and could enjoy a late lunch in the buffet restaurant and settle into our cosy cabin.
The queue snaking through the terminal
At last!
Our cosy cabin
The emergency drill followed and by 4.30 pm we were departing from Cape Town harbour and heading out into Table Bay in perfect weather, the ship leaving a trail of churned sea and the classic view of Table Mountain receding slowly as we stood on the rear deck, enjoying the moment. I couldn’t help thinking of Sir Francis Drake’s comment – he called it “a most stately thing and the fairest cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth” – and who can argue with that!
The emergency drill
Flock at Sea Cruise departs
Leaving Cape Town
Leaving Table Bay – first sunset
First birds encountered were those favouring the shallower waters close to land – White-chinned Petrel, a skein of Cape Cormorants flying by in their typical V – formation, Cape Gannets and the first Albatross – a Black-browed sitting on the sea.
Later, dinner was in the Galeone Restaurant at the table to which we had been allocated, along with our dinner-table companions for the cruise, Herman & Magda Sauer and Ben & Carolien Prinsloo.
The next 3 days were busy, with our time divided between meals – breakfast in the room, buffet lunch and sit-down dinner, birding from the decks, attending talks and spending time just relaxing with Gerda.
Birding at Sea
Day One (Tuesday)
The birders who were up early enough on the first morning were treated to sensational birding, the highlight being a Light-mantled Albatross, classed as a mega-rarity in Southern Africa. Unfortunately I missed out on this opportunity and had to be content with the 3 lifers I saw later on during the day – certainly a thrill but dampened somewhat by hearing what I had missed during the first few hours.
The rear decks seemed to be the place to be, crowded with keen birders on every available level, to the extent that I had to wait patiently for some to disperse before finding a place at the rail. At other times I spent time on the bow decks and on the side decks which provided a different perspective.
All hands / birders on deck!
The stern deck
Regular sightings of birds flying into the calmer wake of the ship were announced by the experts and were met by a hum of excitement by the layers of birders, followed by clicking of the many cameras. Albatrosses were plentiful, including Wandering, Southern Royal and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, with Sooty and Great Shearwaters and a White-headed Petrel (my first lifer for the trip) in the mix. On our way back to the cabin a Sooty Albatross flew by for my second lifer of the morning, albeit a view diffused by the glass sides at that spot.
Returning in the afternoon to the still crowded stern decks, I added a further lifer when an Antarctic Prion glided past the wake and an imposing Northern Giant Petrel swept by in grand fashion.
Day Two (Wednesday)
I made sure I was in position early morning, which was a lot quieter birding-wise, nevertheless Shy Albatross and Soft-plumaged Petrel showed well. After a quick breakfast in the cabin I was back on the stern decks where chumming was being done using large frozen blocks of chum, to little effect it seemed, other than another White-headed Petrel which performed beautifully in the wake along with a Northern Giant Petrel.
Late afternoon saw me in position once again on the rear deck for some further birding, when a double rainbow developed and soon stretched across the horizon in a display that was nothing short of amazing – it also reminded me of those half-moon shaped “orange slice” sweets we used to have as a treat when we were kids. As a bonus, at that moment a clutch of Albatrosses glided gracefully across the face of the rainbow, turning it into a quite magical scene, impossible to reproduce in an ordinary photo.
Amazing double rainbow
Albatrosses gliding by the rainbow
As if this was not enough, it was followed by a sunset to dream about as the ship slowly continued on its way into the night.
Sunset at sea
The wind had come up strongly, which made for interesting, slightly drunken walks down those long passages, a challenging shower experience and a night of being bounced gently in our bed as the Sinfonia battled against 80 km/h winds and high swells – thank goodness for stabilizers!
Day Three (Thursday)
Down the long passage and onto the stern deck, where several birds were hanging around the wake – Shy and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrosses, Great-winged Petrel, Great Shearwater and White-chinned Petrel were all prominent, plus a couple of new species appeared when Cape Gannets were seen nearby and a lone Subantarctic Skua flew in close to the ship. After breakfast I added Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross to my list before heading to the theatre for a highlight of the trip – the talk on Albatrosses by Peter Harrison.
The lo..o..o..n.n.ng passages
View from the top deck
This was followed by lunch where after we headed to our cabin for a bit of a break from all the activity……….. not for long, as I glanced through the cabin window and noticed an Albatross passing by, then another…. and another. So I grabbed my gear and headed to deck seven starboard to find a continuous stream of seabirds passing by – my guess was that they were heading towards the trawler we had seen earlier, “towing” in its wake a flock of many hundreds of birds.
Trawler with Flock of birds – at sea
The stream continued steadily for more than an hour during which time a few hundred Albatrosses, Gannets, Petrels, Shearwaters and Storm Petrels passed from bow to stern, many doing an airborne pirouette and a pas de deux before going on their way – apart from the thrill of the lifers on Day One, this was for me the absolute birding highlight of the trip. Just a pity all the Birdlife guides were attending the AGM, so there was no one to confirm the ID of some of the trickier birds that passed by, including some Storm Petrels in the distance.
All this excitement needed a short nap to recover, by which time the wind had died, the sea had gone quiet with hardly a swell and the birds had all but disappeared.
However that was not quite the last of the birding – after dinner at 10.30 pm I went to deck 6 starboard where it was said Great Shearwaters were feeding and sure enough there they were, up to seven visible at a time, feeding near the ship’s side, drawn to it by the lights.
My Bird List for the Trip
So what birds did I see? Some really good ones actually……….
Albatrosses
Black-browed Albatrosswas the most frequently seen Albatross : black back, broad black edging to the white underwings, orange bill
Black-browed Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Black-browed Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Shy Albatrosswas next most numerous : black back, narrow black edging to the white underwings, bluish bill
Shy Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Wandering Albatrossseen several times on the first day : largest of the Albatrosses, white back, mostly black upper wings fading to white nearer body
Wandering Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Wandering Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Southern Royal Albatross seen once on day one : white back, black wings with white patches (No Photo)
Sooty Albatrossseen once on day one (Lifer!) : all dark with white crescent around eyes
Sooty Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatrossseen a few times during trip : black back, black edging to white underwings, white face with black bill
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Flock at Sea Cruise
Atlantic Yellow-nose Albatross seen just once : as for last species but grey face (No Photo)
Petrels
White-chinned Petrelseen regularly throughout trip : large dark seabird with pale bill and white “chin” at base of bill
White-chinned Petrel, Flock at Sea Cruise
White-headed Petrelseen a couple of times (Lifer!) : smaller seabird with dark bill, white face with dark mask around eyes
White-headed Petrel, Flock at Sea Cruise
Northern Giant Petrel seen a couple of times : large dark seabird with heavy bill
Northern Giant Petrel (Juvenile), Flock at Sea Cruise
Great-winged Petrelseen regularly throughout trip : medium-sized dark seabird, dark bill
Great-winged Petrel, Flock at Sea Cruise
Soft-plumaged Petrel seen just once : smaller seabird with light body, grey neck band, dark bill
Soft-plumaged Petrel, Flock at Sea Cruise
Shearwaters
Sooty Shearwaterseen a few times : small dark seabird with silvery underwing, dark bill
Great Shearwaterseen regularly throughout trip : small seabird with light body, mottled wings, black cap and dark bill
Antarctic Prionseen once during trip (Lifer!) : small pale blue-grey seabird with dark “lazy” M across upper wings
Antarctic Prion, Flock at Sea Cruise
Subantarctic Skuaseen a few times on last day : large, dark seabird with white underwing flashes
Subantarctic Skua, Flock at Sea Cruise
The Talks
I had planned to attend more but the birding was just too attractive, so in the end I limited it to three of the talks :
Dale Morris on Bird Photography– he showed us an impressive set of his images along with tips on getting that different shot, more art-like compared to the usual “bird on a stick”, as he put it.
Faansie Peacock on Digital Painting– fascinating and inspiring enough to persuade me to try it at the earliest opportunity (I have ordered a graphics tablet as a starter)
The end result of a 40 minute digital painting session – and he made it look easy!
Peter Harrison on Albatrosses – Ocean Nomads –the person introducing him used phrases such as “inspiring”, “best speaker he had ever heard”, “brings tears to your eyes” which I was wont to dismiss as hyperbole, but once his mesmerizing talk was done, I realised he was spot on. Certainly one of the best speakers I have heard and yes, I had a tear welling at times during his talk, which had me literally spellbound and on the edge of my seat for the full hour.
Albatrosses have always held a certain magic for me, which Peter Harrison took to a new level – I will never view Albatrosses quite the same again.
And it’s Over!
We docked before sunrise in Cape Town harbour, only to be met by the most beautiful scenes of the harbour bathed in the early morning hues, turning ordinary dockyard scenes into those worthy of hanging on your walls.
Cape Town Harbour at sunrise
Cape Town Harbour at sunrise
A fitting end to a spectacular and memorable trip! Thanks and Well done to Birdlife SA!
So, here we are in Cape Town – relaxing in our hotel room after a not too strenuous drive from Mossel Bay. Why are we here? You may well ask and here’s the answer …. ( there is a small clue in the photo at the top)
Tomorrow at midday we board the MSC Simfonia along with 1943 other birding enthusiasts for a special cruise arranged by Birdlife SA and said to be the most birders ever gathered together on a ship of any kind.
It promises to be quite special with 30 seabird experts at various spots on the ship to help ID the seabirds that we come across. We will be heading into the deep seas south of South Africa, renowned for the diversity and numbers of sea birds so there should be no shortage of potential sightings – who knows what could turn up in that watery wilderness!
A selection of sea birds
Just have to go through the checklist – tickets, check; baggage labels – check; binos – check; camera with long lens – check; penguin outfit – er what? Oh yes there a “penguin evening” to celebrate international penguin day – check.
Birding Big Day (BBD) 2016 was, for me, a mostly unplanned, ad hoc affair – in fact I was not even planning to participate at all until, spurred on by messages on the Facebook birding pages from Ernst Retief, I decided to register at the last moment on the Friday before BBD at around 6 pm.
This left me with no time for any sort of planning for the day ahead and with a one man team – OK, I did include my wife’s name to boost the numbers, but being a non-birder she was there for moral support and a bit of spotting. Thus I had already ignored two of the main requirements for a successful BBD ie – planning the route in advance and doing research on what species to expect along the way.
Added to that, the fact that we had just arrived in Mossel Bay for our end-of-year stay and that the Southern Cape falls some way behind the recognised prime birding areas of SA in terms of numbers of bird species, meant that I was not over-confident about reaching the target of 100 species that I had set myself.
The alarm duly woke me at 4.30 am on the Saturday and I started recording a few species that I could hear – Spotted Thick-Knee, Cape Sparrow and Cape Robin-Chat amongst them – as they greeted the early morning and I got dressed and gathered the all-important provisions to see me through the day. A walk in the garden was good for a few more including the Cape Sugarbirds that are constant visitors to our Pincushions, then I was on my way by 5.30 am – a peek at the leaderboard on Birdlasser showed that the leading team was into the 80’s already!
Cape Sugarbird – loves the Pincushions!
A slow drive through Mossel Bay Golf Estate added several more and I exited the gate with a list nudging 20. A quick detour in and out of the local mall’s parking area added the two Gull species that I had hoped to find there – Kelp and Grey-headed and then I was on the main road heading west to the N2.
From there it was a question of driving at my customary atlasing speed with windows wide open to listen for calls, following the N2 up to the R327 to Herbertsdale, where I turned off onto a long stretch of quiet country road and started birding in earnest, stopping every couple of hundred metres to get out and listen. Two of my favourite Larks were close to the road, seemingly awaiting my arrival – Red-capped and Agulhas Long-billed, while the grassy fields on either side held Stonechat, Cape Longclaw and Zitting and Cloud Cisticolas.
Agulhas Long-billed Lark giving it all with his distinctive call
A call like a squeaky gate opening gave away the presence of Large-billed Lark as I continued to add slowly but steadily to my list.
Large-billed Lark – often heard before being seen, with its “squeaky gate” call
A roadside dam, usually full of waterfowl, had just a few Egyptian Geese and Red-knobbed Coots, nevertheless two more for the list. Further along on a side road a heavy-billed small bird turned out to be Brimstone Canary, after which there was a long stretch without new species, until a large dam some way from the road produced the two regular Cormorants – Reed and White-breasted. Shortly afterwards I turned off on a gravel road signposted Hartebeeskuil Dam and immediately saw the tree where I had found a Jackal Buzzard nest-building 18 months ago. A pair flew out as I approached and a Juvenile was perched nearby so they had clearly been successful.
Jackal Buzzard with nest material (July 2015) – pretty sure it’s the same pair that I saw on BBD 2016 – this time with a juvenile nearby
The road followed the ups and downs of the rolling hills through pretty Southern Cape countryside, almost distracting me from the task at hand, but a coffee-and-rusk stop set me on the right path again and was also the signal for a White-necked Raven to fly overhead. Shortly after, I was thrilled when I spotted a Black Harrier flying low over the fields, wings spread wide for maximum gliding ability.
A short distance further some interesting looking habitat in a valley with a stream running through it seemed worth further investigation and turned up trumps when a Black Stork suddenly flew from its concealed position, while a Blue Crane was also visible and a Little Rush Warbler’s call floated up from the small stream.
Black Stork
Hartebeeskuil dam was my next stop, but was nowhere near as productive as on a previous trip and I carried on somewhat disappointed. The rest of this road was sparse until the last hill before reaching the R328 Hartenbos/Oudtshoorn road when a Booted Eagle soared overhead.
The Geelbeksvlei road which passes through Klein Brak on its way to Hartenbos was my next target, always a pleasant drive and with a variety of birds. The first stream I stopped at produced a Black Saw-wing and Rock Kestrel, while the fallow fields adjoining it had numbers of Cape Crows.
A side road I have never investigated before turned into a worthwhile deviation as I added the 3 common Ducks/Teals (White-faced, Yellow-billed, Red-billed) and Moorhen at a small farm dam.
Yellow-billed Duck
White-faced Duck on farm dam
My next stop was Mossel Bay Sewage works where the ponds, just visible from outside the normally closed gate, had a variety of waterfowl. I had to be content with distant views, unlike the team of BBD birders inside the fence, who had obviously pre-arranged access to the works (mental note to do the same next year). Nevertheless I was able to ID Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler, Southern Pochard and Little Grebe before continuing to my next stop at Mossel Bay’s Point to pick up some of the seabirds not yet on my list.
By this time it was after midday, my total stood at 88 and I was considering calling it a day, with no one to boost my flagging spirits – there’s a definite advantage in being part of a team rather than one lone birder in these events. After a quick stop at the Point, where I added Cape and White-breasted Cormorant, Swift Tern and Hartlaub’s Gull, I headed home for an extended lunch break and to decide what to do with the rest of the day.
Grey-headed Gull (light eye differentiates it from the similar looking Hartlaub’s Gull) at Mossel Bay’s Point
My wife joined me at this stage and we set off for Great Brak River for an afternoon coffee, without intending to do any further serious birding, but by the time we headed back to Mossel Bay around 4.30 pm and spurred on yet again by the tallies coming through on Birdlasser, my second wind kicked in and we made a couple of stops at bridges over the river near Hartenbos, adding Greenshank, Black-crowned Night-Heron and – hallelujah – my 100th species for the day, a Little Egret.
With my target reached, every bird after that was a bonus and I was curious to see how many more we could add in the few hours of daylight still left. We looked for access to the riverfront, as I could see what looked like Flamingoes in the distance, and duly found a friendly caravan park manager who invited us in to look around. Venturing to the water’s edge we spent a good half hour or so adding Greater Flamingo, Caspian Tern and Lesser Swamp Warbler amongst others and left with 108 as our new total.
Back home again at 6 pm I decided on one last sortie into the fynbos area of our estate for the “fynbos specials” that hang out there and was happy when Cape Bunting, White-throated Canary and Karoo Scrub-Robin all obliged by making an appearance. Our day’s birding ended soon after with a Cape Rock-Thrush perched on a neighbour’s roof to close out at 112 species, earning the Reid Wobblers position 111 in the standings. Not exactly fireworks when compared with the counts of the top teams, but hey, we had a ball!
A selection of some of the other birds encountered :
Nice to be part of such a great day – I will be describing my BBD experience in a forthcoming post.
Birding Big Day 2016
South African birdwatching record smashed!
Johannesburg, 1 December 2016
On 26 November 2016, BirdLife South Africa hosted its 32nd annual Birding Big Day (BBD). During this BBD, teams of birdwatchers attempted to see as many of South Africa’s bird species as possible in a 24-hour-period. This annual event is also used to raise much-needed funds for BirdLife South Africa’s conservation work. BirdLife South Africa is an organisation dedicated to the conservation of our country’s birds, especially the species which are threatened with extinction.
The previous record, during BBD 2015, saw 606 bird species being recorded in South Africa. This record was smashed during BBD 2016 when 654 birds were seen! This is 77.2% of the 847 bird species which have been recorded in South Africa. This amazing achievement is due to the effort of 810 birders who participated in 265 teams. Each team can consist of up to four birders. In total 32 290 bird sightings were recorded during the day. Each team logged the birds seen on BirdLasser, a mobile app, and the sightings were uploaded to an online map where people could view the progress of teams.
Just over 60 additional teams participated in a more informal way, and this means that about 1 000 birders participated in BBD 2016.
The most common species recorded were Hadeda Ibis, Egyptian Goose, Cape Turtle Dove, Blacksmith Lapwing and Laughing Dove.
The team record of 325 species, set in 2008 by team Zonke Inyoni, was equalled by the same team; an amazing achievement! This total was achieved despite some bad weather experienced in the morning. The second team was Team Hamerkop who saw 305 species. Wat-Kyk-Jy recorded 282 species.
Not only was the South African record broken during BBD 2016, but it will also be remembered for many other successes. Awareness was raised about bird conservation, over 300 birders downloaded the BirdLasser app, and it is hoped that many of them will soon contribute valuable data to citizen science projects such as the Southern African Bird Atlas Project. Above all, the day was about celebrating the wonderful bird diversity we have in our country.
For more information about BirdLasser see www.birdlasser.com and to download and install the app search for “birdlasser” on the Google Playstore and the App Store.
Mostly Birding 