My 300th post is a short one with just one photo of one bird – but I have reason to celebrate both…
The bird in question is a Common Quail – so what’s the big deal I hear you think. Well if I tell you that I’ve heard this bird calling a few hundred times during my birding and atlasing travels over 35 years or so, but have seen it just once before, so briefly that there was no chance to get a photo, then you may appreciate my excitement about my experience last week.
I was out atlasing in the early morning not far from our new home in Mossel Bay and heard the familiar call of Common Quail almost every time I stopped. There were numbers of Larks and other birds in the gravel road and along the verges, then I noticed something different up ahead and raised my binos once more – it was a Common Quail, in fact a pair that were walking along the edge of the gravel amongst grass tufts.
With my heart pumping I grabbed my camera, checked settings and fired away even though the Quails were not ideally positioned and not close enough to achieve sharpness, but I was ecstatic that I had at last seen this bird clearly and at least had a reasonable record photo.
Now these are not just any old birds on any old beach that I’m referring to, both the birds and their beach habitat are – well – very special and wonderfully unique.
Let’s start with the beach …….
Boulders Beach is a small beach at Simon’s Town, which lies on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula, some 40 kms south of central Cape Town. For many years it was a little known, ‘out of the way’ beach favoured by couples and young families seeking a quiet spot to spend a day, Perfect for a picnic and safe for the kids to paddle and swim, with hardly a wave in sight due to the protective ring of large boulders which all but shut out the sea’s power.
Growing up in Cape Town, I can recall the occasional trip from our home in the suburbs, via bus and train, to Simon’s Town to spend a day at Seaforth beach, which adjoins Boulders beach. Later in my student years, I ‘graduated’ to joining my elder brother and his family in a leisurely day at Boulders itself.
Seaforth beach, Simon’s Town
I left Cape Town in 1970 to pursue my career ‘up north’ (actually my future wife played a major role in that decision, but don’t let on to her) and Boulders beach gradually drifted from my memory, until much later……
Some 12 years later, two breeding pairs of African Penguins decided that the beach would be a good place to settle, probably influenced by the availability of fish in nearby waters
From just two breeding pairs in 1982, the penguin colony has grown to about 3,000 birds in recent years. This is partly due to the prohibition of commercial pelagic trawling in False Bay, which has increased the supply of pilchards and anchovy, which form part of the penguins’ diet. (Ref : Wikipedia)
Boulders beach Simon’s Town
Since those first two pairs settled there, Boulders has gone from an obscure swimming beach to one of Cape Town’s best known tourist attractions and now forms part of the Table Mountain National Park
We had a reason to travel to Cape Town in January last year and decided to use the accommodation that we were going to use in March 2020 but which we had to cancel when Covid 19 and the subsequent lockdown changed all our lives. The B&B sits high up on a hill overlooking Simon’s Town with sweeping views of the town, the naval dockyard and False Bay beyond and turned out to be an excellent choice.
The daytime view from the B&BEven prettier in the evening
With the ‘business’ part of our trip done and dusted, we thought about what to do with the rest of our stay in Simon’s Town and first on my list was Boulders beach which we had last visited many years ago.
The Penguins
The thing with Penguins is that most people know what they look like from films and images, adverts and the like – they are just so endearing and marketable. But Penguins tend to choose remote spots to breed and live, often on islands, so relatively few people get the chance to see them in real life, outside of zoos that is.
Which makes Boulders a perfect choice for anyone wanting to see these birds in their natural habitat. After gaining entry with my Wild Card I walked along the boardwalk which snakes its way down to the beach, with a platform at the bottom for viewing the beach and nesting area.
Boulders beach Simon’s TownBoulders beach Simon’s Town – the boardwalk to the Penguin’s habitat
Looking back from the upper part of the boardwalk, the view across the bay is quite striking
View from the boardwalk at Boulders beach Simon’s Town
Once you are past the densely vegetated dunes, the first of the penguins comes into view, quite relaxed and unperturbed by human presence. Not the smallest or the largest penguins in the world, they would reach to about your knee height when standing. (Incidentally, we saw the smallest penguin, called a Little Penguin – obviously – during a visit to Philip Island near Melbourne Australia – the subject of a post a few years ago – https://wordpress.com/post/mostlybirding.com/8353 )
African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus / Brilpikkewyn), Boulders beach Simon’s Town
At various points on the boardwalk, information boards are placed with interesting facts about the colony and the habits of the African Penguins
Boulders beach Simon’s Town
Once you get to the lower viewing platform, you can see some of the residents of the colony – those not involved in breeding activities will be out in the deep sea looking for food, so what you see here is a small part of the colony
African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus / Brilpikkewyn), Boulders beach Simon’s Town
I took a few shots of some of the penguins in their burrows, only realising when I edited the photos and lightened up the shadows that I had captured a glimpse of an egg under one penguin’s belly.
African Penguin incubating an egg
There was constant movement of penguins to and from the sea – such a comical sight as they waddle towards the water but once in they are in their element, swimming swiftly and soon disappearing from sight.
African Penguins on the beach
I couldn’t help thinking of an elderly yet elegant gent tentatively going for a swim in cold water as I watched one penguin entering the sea…..
Doesn’t feel too coldOoh, now I’m feeling itWhat the heck, Let’s take the plungeAah, here we go – this feels good
As the one penguin swam off, more entered the water
A little bit more…
The African Penguin is the only penguin that breeds in Africa and is restricted to the coastline and seas of Southern Africa. Penguin numbers fell from over a million pairs a hundred years ago, to just 18,000 pairs today so they are justly classified as Endangered.
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s egg collecting and guano scraping (which I can remember being taught about at school with not a hint of criticism, such was the relaxed attitude to conservation in those days) caused havoc with the survival of penguins. Nowadays the decline in availability of fish due to overfishing is the major cause of the further downward trend
Their ‘wings’ are in reality efficient flippers for swimming at speeds up to 20 km/h – which may not sound that fast but they would easily beat any Olympic swimmer you can think of – and they can dive to depths of 130m while holding their breath for an average 2,5 minutes, when feeding.
Their black and white colouring aids in camouflaging them from predators, both from above (black back blending in with dark sea for predators looking down) and below (white front melding with light skies for predators looking up).
These unique aquatic birds are certainly deserving of conservation – hats off to Birdlife South Africa for being at the forefront of penguin conservation efforts.
References :
Table Mountain National Park information boards at Boulders
African Birdlife Magazine September/October 2021, published by Birdlife SA
Our road trip to the Eastern Cape in March this year included a 3 night stay in Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock, only our second stay in this “off the beaten track” National Park, but enough to cement it as one of our ‘new favourite’ parks to visit. What it lacks in Big Five game, other than some introduced lions which are not easily seen and a small herd of Cape Buffalo, it makes up with other animals not generally seen elsewhere including the Zebra after which the park is named and interesting antelope species.
On the birding front, the park is known for its drier habitat species and I was looking forward to doing some atlasing and adding to my year list without much expectation for anything unusual – but as all birders know – ‘always expect the unexpected’ and a bird that had eluded me for many a year was about to become the highlight of our visit ….
What also sets this park apart is the ambience – peaceful yet wild with panoramic views once you reach the plateau, which is at an altitude of about 1400 m, a couple of hundred metres above the main camp. The camp has around 25 comfortable chalets with patios which overlook the plains and distant hills, an ideal spot for some ‘stoepsitter’ birding.
We left Addo mid-morning, initially heading east towards Paterson and joining the N10 National Road heading northwards to Cradock, where we stopped at a coffee shop for a light lunch, then drove the last 12 km to the Mountain Zebra National Park gate. The main camp (pictured in the heading image) is another 12 km along a rather corrugated gravel road which thankfully changed to tarmac for the last stretch.
The reception was efficient and friendly and we soon found our chalet No 20 almost at the top of the gently sloping road that runs through the camp and got ourselves settled in.
After a brisk walk, the air was suddenly chilly with the sun setting behind the surrounding hills, so I donned a jacket and headed to the stoep for a bit of late afternoon birding. The stoep furniture did not match the rest of the chalet in terms of comfort – in fact I’ll go so far as to say the chairs are possibly the heaviest, most uncomfortable ones I have ever come across. However I didn’t let this small detail bother me and carried one of the living room cushioned chairs outside for that all important sundowner time.
Stoep chairs designed to keep you away from them !
The view made up in no uncertain terms for the furniture and with beverage in hand I scanned the surroundings, soon finding a few species typical of the more arid landscape
View from the stoep, Mountain Zebra NPRed-headed Finch (Amadina erythrocephala / Rooikopvink) (male race erythrocephala), Mountain Zebra NPWhite-browed Sparrow-Weaver (Plocepasser mahali / Koringvoël), Mountain Zebra NP
Next morning was very relaxed – being Sunday we were up late-ish and most of our morning was spent on the stoep. Apart from the species already shown, other prominent species were Familiar Chat, Red-eyed Bulbul, Red-winged Starling, Acacia Pied Barbet, Bokmakierie and several others.
Striped Mice crept cautiously out of the low bushes to grab a morsel in front of the stoep, scurrying back to safety at the slightest movement. Using very slow hand/camera movements I was able to get a few shots of these cute creatures. They are also known as four-striped mice based on the four characteristic black longitudinal stripes down their back.
Another striped creature, this time a lizard, put in an appearance alongside the mice, each not taking much notice of the other, probably after small insects that wouldn’t necessarily be on the mice’s menu. With its distinctive stripes, I thought this would be an easy species to identify but the Reptile book I have groups lizards into a few main groups without providing photos of each regional one so I was only able to narrow it down to what I thought was a Mountain Lizard
Lizard – unsure of species but possibly a type of Mountain Lizard
After lunch we set off on a drive on the Rooiplaat Loop, the most popular circular drive and about 25 km out and back. Before ascending to the plateau we spent some time at the picnic spot near the main camp (also mentioned in my earlier post on the Honeythorn Tree) where a few birds were active, including a lone African Hoopoe – such a handsome bird and always a treat to see, even though they are quite common.
A short way further on we came across a group of Vervet Monkeys including a mother and youngster who posed like pros in the lovely shaded light – I am always drawn to their eyes which look so bright and intelligent.
A short climb up the tar road took us to the plateau where the grassland stretched to the horizon, with pockets of game visible in the distance – the return leg took us closer to some of them so I used the opportunity to get some pleasing images, particularly of the Mountain Zebra foal with its parent.
The birds were not plentiful but several of those we came across were species not regularly seen outside of this particular habitat – three species of Lark on the ground (Eastern Long-billed, Spike-heeled and Red-capped Larks), Scaly-feathered Finch and Neddicky in the few trees and a glimpse of Grey-winged Francolin just showing in the long grass.
This handsome Jackal Buzzard was no doubt on the lookout for prey –
Larks are a favourite of mine – not the most striking of birds, in fact just the opposite, but that is their attraction and finding them in grassland habitat feels like a real accomplishment, often followed by some serious research to confirm the ID.
We had completed the full circuit of Rooiplaats Loop and started descending the road which winds down from the plateau when I heard a call which caused me to brake sharply – it went like this
Gerda said “what is it, why did you stop so suddenly” – my reply, in an elevated state of excitement, was something like “oh boy, this is a bird I’ve been trying to find for a looooong time”
We were into perfect habitat for what I thought it was – rocky hillsides with large boulders – and after a quick scan I found it on one of the boulders – African Rock Pipit!
Rock Pipit habitat, Mountain Zebra NP
The Pipit. a lifer for me, was perched on the boulder and emitting its distinctive, repetitive call every few seconds and I was doubly pleased to be able to get a few decent photos of it in action
African Rock Pipit (Anthus crenatus / Klipkoester), Mountain Zebra NPAfrican Rock Pipit (Anthus crenatus / Klipkoester), Mountain Zebra NP
To celebrate we went to the park’s restaurant for dinner that evening and, unsure what to expect, were very pleasantly surprised to find brisk service, good food and friendly personnel to round off an outstanding day.
Actually it was on a Wednesday – but all will become clear as you read on…..
Road Trip to Eastern Cape
Our Road Trip from Mossel Bay to the Eastern Cape was into the third day, after spending the first two nights in the Nature’s Valley area, where we explored a few places we had last visited many years ago.
Our next stop was Addo Elephant National Park, half a day’s drive further east, so there was no need to rush, except ……. well, there was the small matter of a possible rarity in the back of my mind …..
Now, some readers may know by now that I am an opportunistic twitcher rather than an obsessive one – if a rare bird is reported at a spot which is within reach of where I happen to be, I will consider making an attempt to see it, as long as it does not entail extensive travel and there is a reasonably good chance of actually finding the rarity.
So what rare bird was in the back of my mind?
Well, for some time before this trip, in fact since the end of November 2020, there had been reports of a Sooty Gull that had been spotted at various places along the eastern coast of South Africa, a species never recorded before in the region, so classified as a “Mega Rarity” by those who are driven by such things.
I had been following its gradual progress southwards with interest, secretly hoping that 1) it would remain in the area long enough until our road trip began and 2) it would settle at a spot which was within ‘twitching distance’ of our planned route to the Eastern Cape. After the initial sighting in Northern Kwazulu Natal, the gull was spotted at Kei Mouth in the Eastern Cape and spent some weeks there.
I became more interested when the bird was spotted at the Sundays River Mouth, east of Port Elizabeth, early in March 2021 and remained there for the couple of weeks prior to our road trip. That was just what I had been hoping for, as I estimated that the detour to its location would fit into our travel plans with time to spare.
Extract from the SA Rare Bird News of 8 March 2021 with a report of the Sooty Gull
Sooty Gull
Now where had this rarity come from? No one can tell for sure but it is thought it had somehow ‘drifted’ far south of its usual territory, which is the Middle East and southwards to Tanzania, Kenya and the northern most reaches of Mozambique. Also known as the Aden Gull or Hemprich’s Gull, it was a couple of thousand kms outside its normal range when first spotted in SA. It is partially migratory, moving southwards after breeding, so perhaps its internal ‘GPS’ went awry and took it much further south than intended.
Being a coastal bird and a scavenger, it is most often found near ports and harbours, inshore islands and the intertidal zone.
The Journey
My journal tells the story ……
We left Nature’s Valley around 11 am with a drive of some 330 kms ahead of us – which took us all of 6 hours as it turned out! A quick stop at the Bread and Brew shop for pies to take to Addo and we were on our way. Initially the N2 National Road proved to be a good road with a broad shoulder, but from halfway it became more challenging with heavier traffic, several of the ubiquitous “Stop and Go’s” (one side of road closed at a time to allow construction work) and many slow heavy vehicles to get past.
The route (in blue) from Mossel Bay to Sundays River Mouth
I had discovered that morning that I had contrived to forget my camera’s battery charger at home and was desperately thinking how to find one for my particular camera in Port Elizabeth (PE) in a short space of time. Fortunately the first camera shop I phoned said they could help, but this meant a long, slow detour deep into the suburbs of PE to the shop. An hour or so and R700 (about $50) later I was the proud owner of a nifty universal battery charger and we set our sights on getting to Colchester, the town near the Sundays River Mouth.
Sundays River Mouth
After confirming the location on Google Maps, I had imagined driving through Colchester to the river mouth on a reasonable road, parking there and finding the Sooty Gull nearby – none of that happened!
We found Colchester some 30 kms east of PE, drove through to where the road to the mouth supposedly began and found ourselves on a road marked ‘Private’ and a locked gate blocking any further progress. I parked and went to enquire at the nearby Pearson Park office where I found a couple who confirmed that we were at the right place and told us “the entrance fee is R100”. It seemed odd that the river mouth had been privatised in this way but there was no time for a discussion and R100 seemed like a good investment for what I imagined to be a guaranteed lifer, so I paid the amount and, clutching the entrance ticket, returned to our car.
The gate opened and we proceeded along the road, initially tarred but soon it became gravel, very corrugated and worn, which had our small but fully loaded car bouncing along while I winced inwardly. The office couple had simply told us to “drive until you see parked cars”, which we did for several kms.
Some distance from the sea we found a parking area in between the low dunes, with two vehicles parked, one of which was about to leave, so I stopped them to enquire if they knew about ‘the bird’. They absolutely did as they were returning from a day’s fishing and they explained how I would find it on the beach “where those fishermen are, see?”. I didn’t want to admit that said fishermen were so far away that I couldn’t see them, thanked them as they drove off and set off myself on foot, munching on a take away chicken burger (there had been no time to stop for lunch), along the sand in the direction they had pointed.
Heading towards the beach
Looking back to where the car was parked, in the distance (my footprints show my progress)
At this stage it was already 3.30 pm and with the last stretch of road to Addo still ahead and of unfamiliar route and distance, I was becoming rather tense. I walked as quickly as the soft sand would allow, quickly seeking out the firmer sand along the edge of the estuary. After some 15 minutes of strenuous walking/ trotting I found myself closer to the beach. I could already see a few gulls pottering about on the sand – through the binos I could make out numbers of Kelp Gulls but of the Sooty Gull there was no sign and my heart sank just a tad.
Then, as I approached the last ridge in the sand before the beach and peered over it I spotted more gulls, one of which had a darker appearance. Lifting the binos to my eyes I let out a shout of “bingo!” or something similar – it was the Sooty Gull!
First glimpse of the Sooty Gull
Relieved, I spent the next 10 minutes slowly approaching and photographing the gull as I went, until I was 10 to 15 metres away and felt that I was close enough, not wanting to spook the bird, which seemed quite accepting of my slow approach, only once lifting into the air for a few seconds before carrying on with its foraging.
When seen with a Kelp Gull, the size and plumage differences are obvious
A closer view shows the red tip to the bill and the dark grey colouring which gave it the name “Sooty”
Sooty Gull, briefly in flight
This is the location where the gull was hanging out
Most satisfied with how things had turned out, I returned as hastily as possible to the parked car and my patient wife, sweating from the exertion but happy about the outcome. The rest of the trip to Addo was uneventful, but slow on the poor, bumpy and narrow roads and we were glad to arrive safely and in time before the gates closed, book in and find our chalet. Accompanied by a typical bush sunset, we could relax and savour a glass of red wine and the new lifer in beautiful surroundings.
What a challenge birding can be sometimes, yet what joy and satisfaction it brings.
How to find out about rarities
Just a footnote on news of Rarities in Southern Africa – for up to date news of rarities I highly recommended that you subscribe (at no cost) to the SA Rare Bird News by simply sending an email to hardaker@mweb.co.za and asking to be added to the subscriber list
During our September 2020 visit to the farm of Pieter and Anlia, described in my previous post, the opportunity arose for a very unique birding experience, all thanks to Pieter’s efforts in setting it up.
Pieter had arranged with friend Trevor, retired professional hunter and nature expert of note, to pick him up from a nearby farm so that he could guide us to a bird sanctuary on a farm south-west of Vryheid – Trevor had already given the outing a name – “Crane Safari” which was an obvious hint of what we were likely to see but not of the exceptional numbers we would encounter.
Firstly though, there were various urgent farm matters to attend to – amongst them, counting the cattle to make sure none had been ‘appropriated’ overnight, checking fences for signs of any further ‘recycling’ operations and taking the bakkie to town for some repairs to the suspension (damaged during a fruitless hunt for fence ‘recyclers’ who had struck during the night and removed a few hundred metres of fencing) – such is the existence of a farmer in these parts.
Pentad 2745_3035
We picked up Trevor, who I had met before several years ago, drove to Vryheid and then proceeded along the R33 towards Dundee for about 15 kms before turning off onto farm roads and arrived at the farm around 1.30pm. Trevor knows many of the farmers in the area and had arranged access to the farm and bird sanctuary.
From then on, for the next two hours, the birding was hectic as Trevor and Pieter spotted birds in quick succession while I tried to record them on the Birdlasser app and verify the ID.
We drove along the earth wall of the first dam, which was filled with hundreds of waterfowl, including a group of White-backed Ducks (new record for the pentad) and others of Greater Flamingos, Southern Pochards and Cape Shovelers (which I like to call “Sloppy Ducks” based on their Afrikaans name of Slopeende).
Several Black-winged Stilts patrolled the dam fringes and Trevor called an African Marsh Harrier which was flying low over the grassy verges.
Moving on, the large vlei lower down came into view and at the same time a huge flock of perhaps 150 Grey Crowned Cranes rose up in unison, creating a birding spectacle that few people can have witnessed. The flock circled the vlei then settled for a while, but as soon as our vehicle edged closer they rose as one again, repeating the spectacle over and over.
Grey Crowned Cranes, Crane Safari near Vryheid
I would guess that most experienced birders have seen a pair or perhaps a small group of Grey Crowned Cranes at some time, but to see such a large flock of this endangered species is truly remarkable.
Grey Crowned Cranes, Crane Safari near VryheidGrey Crowned Cranes, Crane Safari near Vryheid
Once we were closer to the vlei, with the Crowned Cranes now settled on the opposite side, we could see a few Glossy Ibises along the fringe and a superior looking Goliath Heron right in the middle. Shortly after, a lone Squacco Heron flew in and a Purple Heron rose up out of the reeds to complete the trio of “scarcer Herons”.
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus / Glansibis)Vlei, Crane Safari near Vryheid
Between the dam and the vlei, lush grassland was good for Cape Longclaw, Spike-heeled and Red-capped Larks and African Stonechat.
Cape Longclaw (Macronyx capensis / Oranjekeelkalkoentjie)Spike-heeled Lark (Chersomanes albofasciata/ Vlaktelewerik) – showing its main identifying features of short white-tipped tail and long slightly curved bill
Soon it was time for a lunch break – sandwiches of home made bread and last night’s leg of lamb leftovers along with coffee which went down a treat in the cold windy conditions. The lee side of the bakkie provided some shelter from the wind but we didn’t dawdle and were soon on our way again.
While we were enjoying lunch, a flock of Blue Cranes, some 100 strong, flew over the vlei and settled briefly before moving on – so we had seen large numbers of both of the Crane species found in these parts – mission accomplished, thanks to Trevor!
Later, we found a small group of Blue Cranes in a field, this time close enough for some photos …..
Blue Crane, Crane Safari near VryheidBlue Cranes, Crane Safari near VryheidBlue Cranes, Crane Safari near Vryheid
At the last dam before leaving this incredible birding spot, we saw a few waders at the water’s edge and approached carefully so as to get close enough to identify these sometimes difficult species. Fortunately they were all species that I have got to know well and I was able to record Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper (New record for the pentad), Little Stint and Kittlitz’s Plover – a real bonus after such a variety of waterfowl.
Ruff (Philomachus pugnax / Kemphaan), near VryheidCurlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea / Krombekstrandloper), near Vryheid
I hadn’t planned to do a “Full Protocol” (FP) card for the pentad in which the dams and vleis fell, but as it turned out the last bird recorded on the way out – a Southern Masked Weaver at a small stream – was precisely two hours after the first bird and I was more than happy to submit my list as FP (which requires a minimum two hours of survey time in a pentad).
Back at the ranch – well, the farmstead where Trevor and Collette live – we sipped warming Milo while Trevor pointed out a few of the garden species including Paradise Flycatcher and a flock of Olive Pigeons that swooped by.
It had been a memorable day’s birding and I was very pleased to have been able to complete a Full Protocol Atlas card. I recorded 40 species in the two hours, the seventh card for the pentad, and added two new species
“Christmas in Kruger – it’s going to be very hot!”
Well that was more or less everyone’s reaction when we mentioned our plans for a Christmas break in Kruger National Park. “Yes, we know” was our standard answer, followed by “but the chalets have air-conditioning and so does our car” – this served only to raise a sceptical look or two and we tried hard to convince ourselves that it would all be fine.
As it turned out, we managed to survive the sometimes extreme heat and humidity for which the lowveld is renowned at this time of year – midsummer in South Africa – by spending as much time as possible in air-conditioned areas or shady spots with a cooling breeze and only venturing out during the cooler parts of the day. In fact we elected to stay in camp a lot more than we usually do during visits to Kruger.
Kruger’s Surprises
Kruger always has a surprise or two and I thought I would highlight some of the surprise encounters, starting with what, for me at least, was the highlight of the week. As so often happens with birding, the encounter was dependent on a series of events which were impossible to foresee – here’s how it happened ………
After spending a night in the Magoebaskloof Hotel, where we rendezvoused with daughter Geraldine and family, we made our way the next morning to the entrance gate at Phalaborwa, passing through Tzaneen on the way and stopping at one of the many farm stalls to stock up on some of the locally grown tropical fruit – bananas, paw-paws, mangoes (not for me, can’t stand the taste) and litchies.
The Road to Mopani
At the Phalaborwa gate we dealt with the formalities and proceeded to Mopani Rest Camp – Kruger had it’s summer clothes on – green and lush as far as we could see. We didn’t dawdle. wanting to get to Mopani and settle in, but a report on SA Rare Birds the previous evening of a Striped Crake near Letaba meant I could not resist doing a detour of about 50 kms which would take me past the spot and I would be able to try for this potential rarity / lifer.
There were 3 or 4 vehicles at the small seasonal pan just south of Letaba and we joined them, asking if any had seen this secretive bird – it turned out that none had, despite spending some time there, but we decided to spend a half an hour or so, scanning the shallow water and vegetation along its edges for any sign of the Striped Crake.
Seasonal Pan outside Letaba
It refused to show and we were about to leave when I spotted a crake-like bird on a log above the water, partially hidden by foliage – success! Or was it? I tried desperately to get some photos to help confirm the ID of the crake, but the results were poor due to the interference of foliage and the shady conditions under the trees.
Later I was able to confirm that it was a Crake by downloading the images onto my laptop and zooming in on the detail, but not the rarity I had hoped for – nevertheless it was an African Crake, also a ‘lifer’ for me so I was more than satisfied.
But that wasn’t the last of the seasonal pan near Letaba ……
Mopani to Satara
After 4 nights in Mopani, it was time to move on – to Satara Rest Camp some 140 kms south – not very far by normal standards but in Kruger it translates into a 4 to 5 hour drive, so we planned a stop for lunch at Olifants camp.
Along the route we enjoyed sightings of some of Kruger’s iconic creatures –
We also stopped briefly at Letaba for coffee and a ‘comfort break’ and on the way from there to Olifants, we decided to make a brief stop at the seasonal pan we had visited on the first day, just south of Letaba, despite their being not a single other car there – well, you never know, do you?
We had hardly stopped, still had the engine running, when my heart skipped a beat – a small, unfamiliar crake-like bird was no more than 5m away from me in the shallow water, among the tree roots and tangled vegetation! No, not the Striped Crake but just as good in my book – it was a Dwarf Bittern, a lifer and a bird that I have wanted to find for a long time.
I was ecstatic and spent the next 10 minutes or so watching as it moved slowly and stealthily, foraging in the shallows for its next meal – the sequence of photos says it all.
The Blue Crane is a unique bird for several reasons, not least of all for its striking good looks, but also for the fact that it is South Africa’s National bird and has appeared on stamp issues and has adorned the 5c coin since 1965 – initially a nickel coin, later a copper coin which inflation has rendered worthless except for small change.
It is also unique in being the world’s most range-restricted Crane (out of 15 Cranes worldwide). In the Southern African region (which encompasses South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique) it qualifies as an endemic and almost makes it to the vaunted rank of South African endemic, but for an isolated population in Namibia near the Etosha pan and small numbers in the extreme south-east of Botswana.
Despite a significant decrease in numbers in parts of South Africa, it has grown in numbers in the Western Cape where they favour cereal croplands, planted pastures and ploughed fields, roosting in shallow water bodies such as dams and pans.
Voelvlei (literally “bird pan”) near Mossel Bay is well known to birders in the southern Cape as a magnet for birds (when it has water), and during “wet” seasons up to 1 000 Blue Cranes have been counted roosting there – unfortunately Voelvlei is virtually bone dry at present, as it has been for the last 4 to 5 years – just another reminder of the drought the region has endured.
All of this is just an introduction to this very special bird and to lead into the performance that a pair of Blue Cranes entertained me with earlier this year…
It has to do with their totally unique form of courtship – no candlelit dinners, roses and champagne for them – much too obvious. Blue Cranes which – in the words that American TV dramas have taught us – have “feelings” for one another, do it with an elaborate courtship dance like no other.
Now, I had seen Cranes doing short dances from afar on a couple of previous occasions, but this performance took place about 100 meters / yards from where I was sitting in my vehicle and with the aid of my bridge camera I was able to capture some of the moves. I was busy atlasing along a stretch of road not far from the aforementioned Voelvlei, saw a group of Blue Cranes in the field and stopped to view them properly.
One pair had separated from the larger group and, sensing that they were about to perform, I grabbed my camera and waited – not for long as they launched into a beautiful courtship dance that had me ooh-ing and aah-ing while I clicked away.
Here is a sample of the full sequence I took without too many further words, as the images speak for themselves …..
So there you have it – worth 10’s from all the judges in my book. But don’t get carried away by their gracious looks – Blue Cranes are known to be aggressive during the nesting season to the extent that they attack cattle, tortoises, plovers, even sparrows …… oh and humans as well, drawing blood and tearing clothes – you have been warned!
We left our overnight accommodation in Geelong after a hearty breakfast – destination Queenscliff. With plenty of time before our reserved ferry trip, we had coffee at a cafe, then drove to the ferry terminal and on to the ferry. 40 minutes later we drove off at Sorrento (no not the Italian one) and set off on the long route around the top of the bay and southwards to Philip island, which is accessed via a bridge across the narrow channel between the mainland and the island.
Queenscliff-Sorrento Ferry
The rain had followed us for most of the day, varying between light drizzle and road-drenching downpours. We stopped at a farm cafe for warming soup and a break from driving and were treated to the sight of a flock of Eurasian Tree Sparrows taking refuge from the heavy rain under a parked vehicle.
Eurasian Tree Sparrows sheltering from the heavy rainEurasian Tree Sparrows
We reached Philip Island around 4 pm and headed straight to the accommodation that Stephan had booked for the weekend – they arrived a bit later and we discussed our plans for the next day, Saturday, besides the Penguin Parade for which we had booked tickets the previous week. We decided a visit to the Chocolate Factory would satisfy the kids – the actual ones and the grown-ups who like to be kids sometimes.
Chocolate Factory
Next morning after a slow and lazy start we headed across the island to the Chocolate Factory, not knowing quite what to expect. The entrance tickets set the tone – edible chocolate ones – and we spent a very entertaining hour or more going from one exhibit to the next, some of them interactive and full of fun.
Minitown made from chocolate!
Sniffing the boxes to guess the flavour
Liesl, Jocelyn and Gerda all created their own choc design
Chocolate mousse/moose!
Choc fountain
After a good curry lunch we headed back to the house to get ready for the main outing of the day – the Penguin Parade. On the way we passed a small reserve and spotted our first Wallabies – when I stopped to take a photo through the fence, a small head cutely popped out of its pouch!
Swamp Wallaby
and baby makes two
Penguin Parade
The only thing we knew about the Parade was that it would be outside and we should dress warmly so, kitted out with jackets, scarves and beanies, we drove the few kms or so to the Philip Island Nature Park. By now we had come to know that top tourist attractions in Australia are very popular and the already full parking area confirmed this.
We walked to the main centre, a large building with shops, restaurants, toilets and an auditorium, past an even larger centre under construction, then on down the boardwalk towards the beach area to take up our position on the boarded seating along with numbers of other people hoping for a sighting of the Little Penguins. Our view was limited to a stretch of the beach, a rocky area and a pathway where the penguins would be passing by, we were told.
Penguin Parade boardwalks and seating areas – we were in the seating closest to the camera
It all seemed very organised and unlike any “birding” experience that I could think of, nevertheless I was fascinated by it all and looking forward to seeing these penguins, well named “Little Penguin” as they are the smallest of their species. They are just 35-45cm long and are also known as Fairy Penguin. It is the only resident penguin in Australia.
I was disappointed to hear that photography was not allowed “for the protection of the penguins” – I couldn’t help wondering what the long-term effect may be of up to 2000 people viewing the parade every evening, sitting under lights and crowding the boardwalks as the birds make their way to their roosts. Fortunately one can download photos from an app which is what I did and the photos which I have used here do represent the experience
Heading down the boardwalk
The seating area
The Rangers on duty told us what to expect, predicting the time that the first penguins would emerge from the sea after their day of foraging the open seas, in some 45 minutes time. While we waited, a couple of Little Penguins that had been left behind entertained the crowd before the “main show” started at the predicted time, with the first raft of penguins swimming in, scrambling up the rocky area, hesitating, then heading up the network of main and branch pathways in batches of 2 to 20 at a time.
They were beyond cute as they waddled by, bent forward like old folk and rather awkward out of the water, but moving surprisingly quickly. More rafts of penguins swam in, turning into waddles as they moved inland, some up to 3kms to their roosts. All in all several hundred penguins passed our position while we watched fascinated by the spectacle.
We walked back slowly to the main centre along the crowded boardwalk and watched some of the groups of penguins waddling by almost within touching distance, with many already at their chosen spots in the grassy dunes, some apparently courting. All that remained to be done was some shopping and the short drive back to the house.
Quite a special experience despite sharing it with so many others.
Next morning before heading back to Sale, we enjoyed a Mother’s day brunch at a local restaurant in Cowes, then took a walk along the beachfront and pier – a nice way to round off our visit to Philip Island and our week long road trip. I squeezed in some birding while the others enjoyed the seaside atmosphere
Each year Birdlife South Africa chooses a Bird of the Year and for 2019 the chosen bird is the very unique Secretary Bird.
To celebrate this, Birdlife SA included a very informative poster in the latest African Birdlife magazine, which I thought I would share here – however the only way to share an A1 size poster in a blog is by chopping it up into smaller, hopefully readable, chunks, which I have attempted to do with my iphone camera.
So, here goes ………
I have not had much success in photographing the Secretarybird over the past few years – not for want of finding them, that’s the relatively easy part, the problem is they immediately stride off in the opposite direction when you try and get closer, so most of my attempts have been at long distance. Here are a couple of my marginally better shots, still nowhere close to what I regard as a decent photo
This one was nesting in a tree some way from the road when we visited Mountain Zebra National Park s few years ago
Secretarybird striding through short grass near Albertinia, southern Cape
With the new year in its first week, it’s time to select a few photos which best represent our 2018. In some cases, selection is based on the memory created, in others I just like how the photo turned out, technically and creatively
If you have any favourites, do let me know by adding your comment!
The Places
This was an unusual year for us, in that for the first time in several years we did not journey outside Southern Africa once during the year. But we made up for that with plenty of local trips, such as –
Champagne Valley resort in the Drakensberg
Champagne Valley Drakensberg
Annasrust Farm Hoopstad (Free State)
Sunset, Annasrust farm Hoopstad
Pine Lake Resort near White River (Mpumulanga Province)
Pine Lake Resort
Mossel Bay – our second “Home” town
Mossel Bay coastline
Oaklands Country Manor near Van Reenen (Kwa-Zulu Natal)
Oaklands Country Manor, near Van Reenen
La Lucia near Durban (Kwa-Zulu Natal)
La Lucia beach
Shongweni Dam (Kwa-Zulu Natal)
Shongweni Dam
Onverwacht Farm near Vryheid (Kwa-Zulu Natal)
Controlled burn on Onverwacht Farm
Kruger Park Olifants camp
Bungalow roof, Kruger Park
Herbertsdale area (Western Cape) – atlasing
Herbertsdale area
Karoo National Park near Beaufort West (Western Cape)
Karoo National Park
Kuilfontein Guest Farm near Colesberg (Northern Cape)
Kuilfontein, Colesberg – the drought has hit this area badly
Verlorenkloof (Mpumulanga)
Verlorenkloof – view from upper path
Lentelus Farm near Barrydale (Western Cape)
Lentelus Farm near Barrydale
The Wildlife
With visits to Kruger National Park, Karoo National Park and Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana, there was no shortage of game viewing opportunities and it turned out to be a great year for Leopards
Kruger National Park
African Wild Dog, Kruger National Park
Zebra, Kruger Park
Leopard, Phabeni road, Kruger Park
Karoo National Park
Waterhole scene, Karoo National Park
Klipspringer, Karoo National Park
Chobe Game Reserve
The eyes have it
Chacma Baboon, Chobe River Trip
Hippo, Chobe River Trip
Wild but beautiful
Leopard, Chobe Riverfront game drive
Leopard, Chobe Riverfront game drive
Who needs a horse when you have a mom to ride on
Chacma Baboon, Chobe Riverfront game drive
Oh, and the news is hippos can do the heart shape with their jaws – they don’t have fingers you see
Hippo, Chobe River Trip
The Birds
Bird photography remains the greatest challenge – I am thrilled when it all comes together and I have captured some of the essence of the bird
Great Egret flying to its roost
Great Egret, Annasrust farm Hoopstad
White-fronted Bee-eaters doing what they do best – looking handsome
White-fronted Bee-eater, Kruger Day Visit
White-browed Robin-Chat
White-browed Robin-Chat, Kruger Day Visit
The usually secretive Green-backed Camaroptera popping out momentarily for a unique photo
Green-backed Camaroptera, Kruger Day Visit
African Fish-Eagle – aerial king of the waters
African Fish Eagle, Kruger Park
Kori Bustard – heaviest flying bird
Kori Bustard, Kruger Park
Little Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater, Olifants, Kruger Park
Black-chested Snake-Eagle
Black-chested Snake=Eagle, Kruger Park
Crowned Hornbill – he’ll stare you down any day
Crowned Hornbill, Mkhulu, Kruger Park
Kittlitz’s Plover
Kittlitz’s Plover, Gouritzmond
Large-billed Lark in full song
Large-billed Lark, Herbertsdale area
Village Weaver – busy as a bee
Village Weaver, Verlorenkloof
Thick-billed Weaver – less frenetic, more particular about its nest-weaving
Thick-billed Weaver, Verlorenkloof
African Jacana with juveniles
African Jacana, Chobe River Trip
Juvenile African Jacana – a cute ball of fluff with legs longer than its body
African Jacana, Chobe River Trip
Reed Cormorant with catch
Reed Cormorant, Chobe River Trip
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Chobe River Trip
White-crowned Lapwing
White-crowned Lapwing, Chobe River Trip
Wishing all who may read this a 2019 that meets all of your expectations!
Mostly Birding 