Tag Archives: SABAP2

Atlasing, Birding South Africa, Birding Spots, Special Sightings, Twitching

The Magic of Voëlvlei (After the Rains)

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Voëlvlei

View of Voëlvlei after substantial rains (photo from whatsapp group)

Firstly, a few facts about this well-known birding spot near Mossel Bay – well-known if you are a birder that is, particularly one who has explored the birding delights of the southern Cape.

  • ‘Voëlvlei’ can be directly translated from Afrikaans as “Bird wetland (or pan)”, although no one would ever call it that in South Africa. ‘Voël’ is of course the Afrikaans term for ‘Bird’ and ‘Vlei’ is a widely used term for any shallow body of water such as a seasonal wetland, shallow pan or marshy depression where water collects during the wet season.
  • The pan at Voëlvlei only retains water during very wet years, which can be anything from 7 to 15 years apart, so when the vlei has water it very quickly becomes a magnet for waterbirds and waders, followed closely by many a keen birder out to find a variety of birds, with a strong possibility of a rare migrant wader or two during the summer months.
  • Voëlvlei lies about 35km south-west of Mossel Bay and is on privately owned farming ground – the owners have generously allowed access to the vlei for birders as long as they behave in a respectful way.
Voëlvlei straddles three pentads
  • A track skirts the vlei on one side with entry possible from two farm gates at the northern and southern extremes (after entering or exiting it is good form to close the gate again).

My Atlasing Visits to Voëlvlei

SABAP2 Records

The table above shows all my atlasing records since my first visit in December 2015 – green indicates that it was a “Full Protocol” card, which requires a minimum of two hours of intensive atlasing, the grey is for “Ad hoc” cards.

The good (or bad news depending on your inclination) is that I still have my journal records of all of the “green” cards, so join me as I return to those journals and select some of the highlights of the visits. You can, of course, skip the words and just look at the pictures, but I believe my readers are made of sterner stuff than that and are not afraid to plough through the verbiage.

14 and 18 December 2015

My first visit was 10 years ago, long before we moved permanently to Mossel Bay…

I had long read about the vlei as being a top birding spot when conditions were right. With reports trickling through of favourable water levels after good winter and early summer rains, I stopped at Voëlvlei on my way back from atlasing Gouritsmond, to find that it indeed had plenty of water and what appeared to be thousands of birds.

I did a quick list of some of the obvious birds, without going through the gate into the vlei area itself. A few days later Gerda joined me for a late afternoon visit to the vlei, when we entered Voëlvlei proper and followed the track around the east flank, then returned along the same route. The atlasing protocol allows a maximum of five days for one ‘card’ so I could add to the short list I had started on the 14th.

Birding was excellent and plentiful, the only downside being the sun in the west which created a sharp glare, making it difficult to see the birds clearly. We added 36 species to the initial 10 taking the total to 46, including ..

  • Pied Avocet – notable for being a ‘Year bird’ for me (Birders are such nerds)
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta Bontelsie, Voëlvlei
  • Hundreds of Whiskered Terns
Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida Witbaardsterretjie, Voëlvlei
  • Waders such as Little Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, Three-banded Plover, African Spoonbill and Greenshank
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Rooipootelsie, Voëlvlei
Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola Bosruiter, Voëlvlei
African Spoonbill Platelea alba Lepelaar, Voëlvlei
  • Swimmers – Yellow-billed Duck, Red-billed Teal, Cape Teal, Southern Pochard, Cape Shoveler and Great Crested Grebe
Southern Pochard (female) Netta erythrophthalma Bruineend, Voëlvlei
  • Booted Eagle soaring overhead
  • White Stork

This first visit was particularly memorable – little did I know it would be eight years before I would experience something similar at Voëlvlei…

I did atlas the pentad in the intervening years but did not include Voëlvlei itself as it had dried up completely

30th November and 2nd December 2023

Having moved to Mossel Bay in October 2023 and seeing the reports of increasing water and bird presence at Voëlvlei, I was keen to visit the spot and see for myself. Reports of rarities made it even more imperative so I set off on the last Thursday of November, the day in the week that I have tried to keep open for atlasing.

I started my pentad list along the road past Vleesbaai with a Black Harrier which I chased down the road to try and get level with it as it hunted low over the fields in true Harrier fashion, stopped quickly and rattled off a few shots – with limited success but lovely to see it in hunting mode.

Black Harrier Circus maurus Witkruisvleivalk, Vleesbaai area

Further on I took the turnoff to Voëlvlei and after passing through the gate I spent the next three hours carefully scanning the vlei from the track along the east flank, particularly the muddy margins which were teeming with birds.

The open waters towards the middle of the vlei as well as the surrounding dry land were equally busy with their particular species all enjoying a cornucopia of edible life.

Once again the waterbirds dominated my list …

  • Waders – Black-winged Stilt, Three-banded, Kittlitz’s and Common Ringed Plovers, Little Stint (lots), Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Pied Avocet, Greenshank, Blacksmith Lapwing, Grey Heron, African Spoonbill and Little Egret
Three-banded Plover Charadrius tricollaris Driebandstrandkiewiet, Voëlvlei
Kittlitz’s Plover Charadrius pecuarius Geelborsstrandkiewiet, Voëlvlei
Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Ringnekstrandkiewiet, Voëlvlei
Little Stint Calidris minuta Kleinstrandloper, Voëlvlei
Ruff Philomachus pugnax Kemphaan, Voëlvlei
Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola Grysstrandkiewiet, Voëlvlei
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta Bontelsie, Voëlvlei
Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia Groenpootruiter, Voëlvlei
Little Egret Egretta garzetta Kleinwitreier, Voëlvlei
  • Swimmers – Red- billed Teal, Red-knobbed Coot, Grey-headed and Hartlaub’s Gull, Cape Shoveler, Little Grebe and South African Shelduck.
Red-billed Teal Anas erythrorhyncha Rooibekeend, Voëlvlei
Red-knobbed Coot Fulica cristata Bleshoender, Voëlvlei
Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Kleindobbertjie, Voëlvlei
  • Rarities – This visit was excellent preparation for the annual Birding Big Day just two days later when many of the same birds were recorded by our team. An added thrill was seeing two rarities which had been spotted by some of the keen birders already present –
  • White-rumped Sandpiper – a low-slung, longish-winged sandpiper, difficult to distinguish among the many small waders except when close to the many Little Stints present

White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis Witrugstrandloper, Voëlvlei
  • Western Yellow Wagtail – courtesy of one of the other teams who had it in their scope view and allowed us a quick look but it was too far for photos

An added pleasure was seeing a large flock of Greater Flamingos on the far side of the water –

Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus Grootflamink, Voëlvlei

10th to 13th December 2023

With Voëlvlei still attracting a lot of attention from birders and with reports of another rarity – Buff-breasted Sandpiper – being seen there, I couldn’t resist another visit just a week later.

It was a Sunday and Gerda agreed to join me, so after a traditional Sunday lunch at a country restaurant on the way (meat and three veg with rice plus a pudding) for not much money, we headed to Voëlvlei and joined several vehicles and birders with the same idea.

The Buff-breasted Sandpiper was quickly pointed out by those already present – on its own foraging in the dry, lightly grassed area away from the water – clearly a loner not interested in mingling with the many other waders in the vlei itself.

I spent a while scoping the sandpiper and taking photos of it from a distance, while recording all the other species present as they came into view.

We headed home with 34 species recorded. Feeling that the list needed boosting, I decided to include Voëlvlei in my next atlasing session on the following Wednesday, which would fall in the allowed 5 days for a “Full Protocol” card.

I arrived at the vlei mid-morning and spent three more enjoyable hours viewing the multitude of birds, adding a further 16 species to take my total to a nice round 50 for the pentad.

The White- rumped Sandpiper was still present and I spent some time trying to get better photos of this rarity – with limited success. It was difficult to get close enough to the bird, which remained among short grass tufts in the shallows of the vlei, intermingling with other waders and probing the mud constantly so that it was nigh on impossible to isolate it for a decent photo.

  • Waders – Black-winged Stilt, Kittlitz’s and Common Ringed Plovers, Little Stint (lots), Ruff, Pied Avocet, Blacksmith Lapwing, Grey Heron, African Spoonbill, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Glossy Ibis and Sacred Ibis
Kittlitz’s Plover Charadrius pecuarius Geelborsstrandkiewiet (Juvenile), Voëlvlei
  • Rarities – Buff-breasted Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis Taanborsstrandloper, Voëlvlei
  • Swimmers – Red-knobbed Coot, Red-billed Teal, Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler, South African Shelduck
  • Others – Brown-throated Martin, Barn Swallow, Large-billed Lark, Red-capped Lark, Agulhas Long-billed Lark, Grey-backed Cisticola, Blue Crane, African Pipit, Capped Wheatear
Capped Wheatear Oenanthe pileata Hoëveldskaapwagter, Voëlvlei
  • Most Surprising Sighting? – most certainly seeing a Grey Heron with what looked like a Reed Cormorant (possibly a juvenile) in its bill, which it proceeded to manoeuvre into position and swallow whole! I wasn’t able to capture the final swallow as the Heron moved behind some reeds.
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Bloureier, (with Reed Cormorant prey) Voëlvlei
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Bloureier, (with Reed Cormorant prey) Voëlvlei
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Bloureier, (with Reed Cormorant prey) Voëlvlei

February 2024

The vlei remained partly inundated during the most of 2024, with water levels gradually decreasing as inflow dried up.

During February reports appeared on the local birding groups of a Greater Sand Plover at Voëlvlei – I had seen this species before but just once, so at the end of my next atlasing trip I took a detour to the vlei to see if I could find it.

At Voëlvlei I was able to find and photograph the Greater Sand Plover without too much effort and to record numbers of other waders which were still plentiful.

Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii Grootstrandkiewiet, Voëlvlei

Thereafter the vlei gradually dried up, leaving ever wider margins. This did not come as a surprise for those living in the Southern Cape as it has been a particularly dry year for the area.

The photo below was taken in July this year, with just the northern section having any water – a couple of weeks after this photo the vlei was bone dry.

That just raises the question that is impossible to answer – when will Voëlvlei have water again? If average statistics are anything to go by it may be 7 or more years before that happens, a sobering thought at my age, I have to say, but I am thankful to have enjoyed two bountiful birding seasons during the last 10 years.

Atlasing, Birding South Africa

Atlasing Tales 12 – North and South, Winter and Spring

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These tales record some of the more memorable experiences while atlasing – in this case two atlasing outings 4 months apart in time and 1250 kms apart in distance –

And in case you’ve forgotten or have not heard of Atlasing, there’s a brief synopsis at the end of the post

North in Winter

One of my last atlasing trips in Gauteng, before our move to Mossel Bay in October 2023, was a mid-winter outing to the farming area about 30kms south-east of Pretoria, not far from the town of Bapsfontein.

Good friend Koos, also an avid atlaser, had suggested the outing and he picked me up around 6.15 am with 40 minutes to go before sunrise. We headed east along Lynnwood road extension, which was already busy with Saturday morning commuters and keen cyclists heading out along their favourite route.

At the T-junction with the R25, we turned southwards towards Bapsfontein, then east again at the Witpoort road. The road changed to gravel and heavy mist enveloped the car, slowing our progress considerably until we reached the northern boundary of our target Pentad

Pentad 2600_2830

A side road signposted “Knoppiesdam“ invited exploration and after turning off we came to a ‘gate’ – one of those unique rural designs consisting of strands of barbed wire attached to thin poles each side, one side fixed, the other side secured by loops of strong wire (known in Afrikaans as ‘bloudraad’ or “bluewire”) which allow the gate to be detached and secured as needed. The ‘gate’ has no frame so you have to pull it over to the side and lay it flat on the ground while the vehicle drives through, then attach it again before moving on.

While I was opening the gate to let Koos drive through and closing it again, an Ostrich (of the farm variety, so not recorded) approached and started doing a mating dance of sorts – this is not the first time I have experienced this when stopping near Ostriches – Koos reckoned it was my woollen beanie that caused the unwanted attention this time around!

A short distance after the gate we came to the dam where we found a group of fishermen setting up for the day and a substantial body of water largely hidden by the heavy morning mist.

As usual the first birds listed were those calling in the early morning, some visible others not – Swainson’s Spurfowl has a particularly raucous call that carries a long way in the relative peace and quiet of the countryside and was my first record of the day. That was followed quickly by several other species – Kurrichane Thrush, Red-eyed and Laughing Dove, good old Hadada Ibis and a few others.

Swainson’s Spurfowl Pternistis swainsonii Bosveldfisant), (taken in Kruger Park)

We lingered and listened intently while walking the shoreline of the dam as the mist slowly dissipated, revealing a few Red-knobbed Coots and Common Moorhen as well as a Little Grebe.

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Kleindobbertjie

As we headed to the car Koos spotted a pair of large birds flying overhead but away from us – clearly Flamingoes! But which species – Greater or Lesser ? Fortunately they changed direction while still visible and gave us a view of their large bills, which were light coloured compared to the dark colour of the Lesser Flamingo, confirming that they were indeed Greater Flamingoes.

On the way back to the main road, more fine spotting from Koos produced two Little Bee-eaters high up in the trees.

Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus Kleinbyvreter, (taken in Kruger Park)

Back on the main road, the habitat of open fields with short grass and stones prompted me to comment that ‘this is Wheatear territory’ – my words were barely cold when the first Capped Wheatear was spotted, along with Red-capped Lark, Crowned Lapwing, Wattled Lapwing and African Pipit – all species that share a fondness for this habitat.

Capped Wheatear Oenanthe pileata Hoëveldskaapwagter

The road left the pentad so we headed quickly southwards to join up with the R50 Delmas road which took us back to the pentad. The R50 is a busy road with heavy trucks that rumble back and forward constantly, making it awkward, even dangerous to try and pull off onto the verge to check for birds. At the first opportunity we turned off onto a gravel side road to escape the traffic and were soon back into a more relaxed atlasing mode.

Long-tailed Widowbirds (almost unrecognisable in their drab winter non-breeding plumage) were next up – the males lose their long tails and most of their black colouring (summer plumage shown in the first photo below), but retain their colourful ‘epaulettes’ to differentiate them from the all-brown females (the second photo below)

Long-tailed Widowbird Euplectes progne Langstertflap – male in full breeding plumage
Long-tailed Widowbird Euplectes progne Langstertflap – female

White-winged Widowbirds (equally drab females and non-breeding males) were encountered .

White-winged Widowbird Euplectes albonotatus Witvlerkflap (Female)

Just after finding a Namaqua Dove, always a pleasing species to encounter, we saw a large dam some distance from the road and found a track leading to it. Hoping that we were not intruding on someone’s farm we headed a short distance down the track to the dam only to find that a few large trees had been chosen as a roost by numbers of Black-headed Herons. We watched their comings and goings for a while and picked up a few other species before heading back to the road.

Black-headed Herons at heronry, Bapsfontein Area
Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala Swartkopreier

Smaller roadside pans and dams that we stopped at further along the road held a few species such as Reed Cormorant, Malachite Kingfisher, African Snipe and Lesser Swamp Warbler, to close out the morning’s atlasing with a total of 39 species recorded in the pentad

African Snipe Gallinago nigripennis Afrikaanse snip

South in Spring

For my first atlasing trip proper since arriving in Mossel Bay permanently, I chose a pentad in the area between the Oudtshoorn and Herbertsdale roads.

Pentad 3405_2155

Bang on 6am I stopped in lovely rolling country with a few small farm dams and with many birds calling and I spent the next half hour listing those I could identify along with some that showed themselves.

Most prominent were the first of dozens of Common Quail that I was to hear (and encounter as described below) throughout the morning, along with Cape Spurfowl, Little Rush Warbler calling from the reeds of one of the dams and Common Moorhen.

Cape Spurfowl Pternistis capensis Kaapse Fisant

I could pick out Blue Cranes in a distant field – a common bird in the southern Cape but always a pleasure to see.

Blue Crane Anthopoides paradiseus Bloukraanvoel

Knysna Warbler calling from dense bush – I didn’t bother to try and see it as it hardly ever shows – was species number 22 after as many minutes of atlasing, after which the pace slowed somewhat, nevertheless I kept adding new species regularly.

Moving on from my first stop, the habitat changed from farming land to short grassveld, which produced three Larks in quick succession – Long-billed Lark, Large billed Lark and Cape Clapper Lark, the latter calling and displaying beautifully.

Large-billed Lark Galerida magnirostris Dikbeklewerik

Up ahead small birds at the edge of the road attracted my attention and a look through the binos had me grabbing my camera – there were two Common Quails pottering about in the grass tufts at roadside! This is a species which I have heard dozens of times but have only had one short glimpse in all the years of atlasing, so this was an opportunity not to miss.

Common Quail Coturnix coturnix Afrikaanse kwartel

I was still some distance from the quail, which is a small bird about the size of a Lark, so I tried to edge the car closer for a better photo opportunity. However they were on to me and moved further along at the same pace as the car, so I turned the car slightly sideways to get a view with the camera and took as many shots as I could. Fortunately, I managed to get a few reasonable shots – my first ever photos of this species in the bag!

Common Quail Coturnix coturnix Afrikaanse kwartel
Common Quail Coturnix coturnix Afrikaanse kwartel

After crossing over the R327 I proceeded on the Kleinberg Road and soon stopped to scan a large farm dam which lies some distance from the road. I set up my spotting scope and used the maximum zoom (60 X) to identify the many waterfowl on the dam, which included Red-knobbed Coot, Cape Shoveler and Little Grebe – all common in the area.

Cape Shoveler Anas smithii Kaapse Slopeend

Less common, in fact it turned out to be a new species for the pentad, was a pair of Black-necked Grebes, swimming in the middle of the dam. I have only ever found them further east at the lakes beyond the village of Wilderness so was really pleased to record them so close to Mossel Bay. They were way beyond my camera’s reach so the photo below is from a visit to Strandfontein near Cape Town.

Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Swartnekdobbertjie

The dam edges had both fresh water Cormorants present – White-breasted and Reed Cormorant as well as Blacksmith Lapwing.

I continued along the road adding Red-capped Lark and Capped Wheatear before entering the next pentad, which signalled the close of the atlasing of the pentad with a total of 53 species.

Red-capped Lark Calandrella cinerea Rooikoplewerik

Atlasing?

Atlasing is the regular mapping of bird species in a specific area called a “pentad”. Each pentad has a unique number, based on its geographical position according to a 5 minute x 5 minute grid of co-ordinates of latitude and longitude, which translates into a square of our planet roughly 8 x 8 kms in extent.

As a registered observer / Citizen scientist under the SABAP2 program (SA Bird Atlas Project 2), I record all of the species I see or hear in a particular pentad over a period which can be anything between 2 hours and 5 days, for submission to the project database at the ADU (Animal Demography Unit) based in Cape Town.

Atlasing, Birding South Africa, Butterflies

Atlasing Tales 11 – Friemersheim and George Area

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These tales record some of the more memorable experiences while atlasing – in this case during March 2023 while we were at our ‘other’ home in Mossel Bay (where we now reside permanently)

And in case you’ve forgotten or have not heard of Atlasing, here’s a brief synopsis –

Atlasing is the regular mapping of bird species in a specific area called a “pentad”. Each pentad has a unique number, based on its geographical position according to a 5 minute x 5 minute grid of co-ordinates of latitude and longitude, which translates into a square of our planet roughly 8 x 8 kms in extent.

As a registered observer / Citizen scientist under the SABAP2 program (SA Bird Atlas Project 2), I record all of the species I see or hear in a particular pentad over a period which can be anything between 2 hours and 5 days, for submission to the project database at the ADU (Animal Demography Unit) based in Cape Town.

George – Country roads west of town

Gerda’s last treatment, taking up most of the day at the clinic in George, meant I had a chance to do some atlasing in the area once again. I didn’t want to travel too far from George so chose a pentad directly west of the town.

Pentad 3355_2215

I headed west out of George, taking Charles street which winds through country farmland and hills before descending into Great Brak. Just after the start of the pentad the road – which is gravel most of the way – descends to the single lane bridge over the Maalgate River

Bridge over Maalgate River

There I spent some time on both sides of the river, recording Fork-tailed Drongo, Black Saw-wing, Common Quail, Little Rush Warbler and several Swallows and Swifts.

Add to that a number of waterfowl at a large dam further along the same road and I had recorded a quick 25 species in as many minutes, including a lone Purple Heron at the dam.

Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Rooireier

One of the ‘hazards’ of atlasing the country roads is encountering the occasional ‘road block’ – fortunately not of the policed kind, rather one that adds to the experience as gentle farm animals pass by the car.

Great Brak inland

After crossing the river again, a Long-crested Eagle flew over to fill my heart with pleasure – later in the adjacent pentad another (or possibly the same one) soared high above with some sort of prey gripped in its beak – this time I had my camera handy for a quick photo as it passed over me

Long-crested Eagle Lophaetus occipitalis Langkuifarend

After that great start, the birding slowed somewhat as I followed the road through farmlands, then headed back in the direction of George along roads that took me through the adjacent pentad.

That led to an unusual encounter with a Malachite Kingfisher, which flew across the road in front of the car, then settled on a fence – unusual because there were no dams or rivers in the vicinity. It perched long enough to allow me to take a few photos in this out of character environment.

Malachite Kingfisher Alcedo cristata Kuifkopvisvanger

Pentad Species total : 41

Friemersheim Area

Looking to further ‘fill in’ my MBMA Project block of pentads for the year (MBMA is my acronym for Mossel Bay Municipal Area which covers 42 pentads over a wide swathe of the southern Cape from Gouritz River in the west to Glentana in the east and northwards up to the Klein Karoo), I decided to tackle the pentads covering the village of Friemersheim itself and to the west and east of it.

Pentad 3355_2210

I started in the pentad to the east of Friemersheim at 7am on the dot, travelling along Amy Searle Street northwards out of the town of Great Brak River, initially through farmland with a sprinkling of small dams on either side of the road.

First bird was a calling Burchell’s Coucal – their soft bubbling call often advertises their presence long before they show themselves – later I had a surprise close encounter with the species.

I spent some time at the first roadside dams, looking with some difficulty into the low morning sun – a Malachite Kingfisher was already active, perched on a convenient branch and plunging to catch small prey.

Several waterfowl were present, such as the ubiquitous Yellow-billed Duck, a few Red-billed Teals and a Little Grebe.

Carrying on, a field with shortish grass was the right habitat for Lapwings and produced the similar looking Black-winged Lapwings and Crowned Lapwings, the former a scarcer, sought after species, the latter far more common.

Black-winged Lapwing Vanellus melanopterus Grootswartvlerkkiewiet, Friemersheim area
Crowned Lapwing Vanellus coronatus / Kroonkiewiet

I turned off the tar road eastwards along a nondescript gravel side road, but one I had previously explored with some success. The first stretch travels through more farmland with shortish grass, which was good for Zitting Cisticola and Cape Longclaw, plus many Barn Swallows flying low and scooping flying insects out of the air.

Thereafter the road turns steeply downhill into a wooded valley with a strong river flowing at the lowest point. Halfway down I stopped for coffee and rusks and added 8 species in the 15 to 20 minutes spent listening and looking out for birds, including several forest species –

  • Knysna Turaco calling
  • Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Greater Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris afer Groot-rooibandsuikerbekkie
  • Collared Sunbird – my first record of the species for the Western Cape
  • Dusky Flycatcher
  • Fork-tailed Drongo
  • Olive Bushshrike

Emerging from the valley, I continued along the road through more farmlands and rolling hills, steadily adding species to the card, which included a few more special sightings –

  • Spotted Flycatcher perched on a fence, allowing me to take several photos (another first record for my Western Cape list)
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata Europese vlieëvanger
  • Terrestrial Brownbul calling from dense bush – krrr – krrr – krrr is the best way I can describe this secretive species’ call
  • The close encounter with a Burchell’s Coucal mentioned above – I followed its progress through a tangle of long grass and bushes
Burchell’s Coucal Centropus burchellii Gewone vleiloerie
Burchell’s Coucal Centropus burchellii Gewone vleiloerie
  • Cape Batis
  • White-faced Ducks at yet another roadside dam
  • Jackal Buzzard on a pole just before exiting the pentad
Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus Rooiborsjakkalsvoël

Total species for the pentad : 58

Pentad 3355_2210

The second pentad for the morning was far less productive, probably because it was close to midday when birds tend to be temporarily absent until the late afternoon ‘rush hour’ starts

My route was through Friemersheim (which has been the subject of several of my posts about the mural artwork that is a feature of this interesting village) then a circular route on the northern side of the village.

There were few highlights, but I found hundreds of Barn Swallows feeding over the fields. My last stop in the forested section produced several Cape Batises and a Butterfly gathering moisture from a puddle in the road

Cape Batis Batis capensis Kaapse bosbontrokkie (male)

Total species for the pentad : 23

Other stuff

The focus is on the birds while atlasing but there are always other things to divert the attention….

Monarch Butterfly, Friemersheim area
African Blue-banded Swallowtail / Papilio nireus
Erica, Friemersheim area
Atlasing, Special Sightings, Twitching

Atlasing and Twitching Tales 10 – February 2023

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These tales record some of the more memorable experiences while atlasing – in this case during February 2023 while we were at our ‘other’ home in Mossel Bay.

Klein Brak 2 to 4 February

Pentad 3405_2205

Reports of a Lesser Sand Plover seen at a vlei near Klein Brak River piqued my interest for two reasons – I have only seen the species once before in Mozambique, so it was a potential addition to my South African list, and Klein Brak is about 20 minutes from our front door.

So I headed out early-ish on a Tuesday morning to the vlei which is located near the old power station, as described by Amanda, keen Mossel Bay birder and the finder of this rarity. Once parked on the road next to the vlei, I scanned the shallow water and soon found the plover on its own, but distant and difficult to see against the brownish surface and the low sun in my face.

Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus Mongoolse strandkiewiet, Klein Brak vlei

Once I had my scope set up I had better views of the plover as it pottered about in a small area, after initially standing dead still. I was soon joined by a few other birders, two known from previous twitches, the other a young birder from George.

Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus Mongoolse strandkiewiet, Klein Brak vlei

Then it was a question of getting a reasonable photo, as is the norm for many birders nowadays – I had taken some from my position on the road but the distance and backlight meant that they were less than satisfactory – oh, it’s hard to please us bird photographers!

After hanging around for a while, the young birder set off to find a path down to the verge of the vlei on the opposite side and we watched his progress with interest…. he was soon in a much closer position and on firm ground it seemed, so we followed suit.

The plover was relaxed so we carefully edged closer, and I got on one knee (which is not as easy as it used to be) to take some shots closer to ground level, which made for some far better images of this scarce wader, as you can see above and below.

Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus Mongoolse strandkiewiet, Klein Brak vlei

I left soon after, with 12 species recorded including the Lesser Sand Plover (which would generate a Rarity form to be completed online)

Two days later I returned to the pentad to complete a ‘Full Protocol’ card (which requires a minimum of two hours of atlasing), starting in the northern part of Mossel Bay and heading through Hartenbos to the river mouth.

There was plenty of birdlife (and people, being Saturday) enjoying the fine weather, so I set up my scope and scanned the estuary back- and forwards, adding several species in a short time, including a Little Egret patrolling the water’s edge and displaying its bright yellow feet with every step.

Little Egret Egretta garzetta Kleinwitreier, Hartenbos

Further stops at the weir upriver and at the vleis adjoining the water treatment works were productive, with a quick return trip to the Lesser Sand Plover spot adding a few more species to take my pentad total to 63 species

Other highlights –

  • Common Ringed Plover at the same spot as the Sand Plover
  • Pied Kingfisher ‘fishing’ at the river mouth
  • Three Tern species at the river mouth – Swift, Common and Sandwich Terns
Common Tern Sterna hirundo Gewone sterretjie, Hartenbos River mouth

  • Wood Sandpiper at the water works vleis

Day Trip to Robinson Pass – 11 February

We were keen to get out after being confined to home for most of the week and decided to have a late lunch at Eight Bells Inn followed by our customary nature drive up the Robinson Pass and back again.

On the way down the pass I spotted a few Red-necked Spurfowl on the grassy verge ahead and pulled off to see what they were up to. One juvenile ventured cautiously onto the tar road and another followed, until a passing vehicle chased them back – I couldn’t help wondering – why did the Spurfowl try to cross the road?

Red-necked Spurfowl Pternistis afer Rooikeelfisant (race castaneiventer) (Juvenile), Robinson Pass

Looking for an Osprey at Great Brak – 16 February

Reports by Rudi, another of the keen birders based in Mossel Bay, of an Osprey at Great Brak river estuary had us heading there mid-afternoon to see if it was still around – and just as an excuse to get out to a pleasant birding spot.

30 minutes after leaving we were at the river, driving slowly along the Suiderkruis road as we are accustomed to doing – there were plenty of the usual waterbirds and waders visible, although no immediate sign of the Osprey.

The tern roost near the mouth was busy with Swift, Sandwich and Common Terns all present.

Moving around to the opposite side of the estuary, we stopped at the restaurant parking next to the old railway station and got out to scan the surrounds – a large bird in the sky caught my eye and Gerda’s at the same time and we both shouted excitedly. It was the Osprey!

Pleased, we headed homewards.

Fransmanshoek – Quick Trip 18 February

Andre suggested a late Saturday afternoon visit to Fransmanshoek, near Vleesbaai for a simple ‘picnic’ of coffee and biscuits at this lovely spot with its rugged rocky scenery and pathways among the rocks.

Swift Tern Thalasseus bergii Geelbeksterretjie, Fransmanshoek

Distant seabirds and closer birds among the undergrowth added up to a modest 13 species during the hour or so we spent there, nevertheless it is one of those ‘off the beaten track’ unspoilt spots that is worth a visit for the scenery alone.

Dolphin, Fransmanshoek
Fransmanshoek
Lizard, Fransmanshoek

Heimersrivier Road – 20 February

Pentad 3345_2220

Another lengthy treatment in George for Gerda meant another opportunity for some atlasing not too far from George. I decided to head ‘over the mountain’ into the Klein Karoo towards Oudtshoorn and selected a pentad which, on the face of it, was lacking in many features with a single road – signposted Heimersrivier – running west to east through the middle of the pentad. It did not promise a large total of species and that’s pretty much how it turned out.

Heimersrivier

In fact, the first hour of atlasing produced just 7 species, 6 of which were only added after 50 minutes of careful driving and scanning for movement in the arid landscape both sides of the gravel road.

Heimersrivier

A dam just short of the eastern pentad boundary provided the boost with White-breasted Cormorant, SA Shelduck and African Black Duck and a small river soon after kept the momentum going.

Heimersrivier
African Black Duck Anas sparsa Swarteend, George-Oudtshoorn Area

The return drive along the same road was far more productive and easier for spotting as I now had the sun at my back instead of in my face and took me to 26 species in 2 and a half hours.

Heimersrivier
Ring-necked Dove Streptopelia capicola Gewone tortelduif, George-Oudtshoorn Area
Familiar Chat Cercomela familiaris Gewone spekvreter (race familiaris), George-Oudtshoorn Area

Other highlights –

  • Namaqua Doves
  • Red-capped Larks
  • Black-winged Kite in a photogenic position
Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus Blouvalk, George-Oudtshoorn Area

Gondwana Area / Broad-billed Roller Twitch – 28 February and 4 March

Pentad 3400_2150

Now I’m not a ‘serious’ twitcher (defined as a birder who goes to extreme lengths to add a rarity to his/her lifelist) but when a report came through on the Monday afternoon of a Broad-billed Roller not far from Mossel Bay, I was sorely tempted. Broad-billed Rollers occur in the far north-east of South Africa, so this one was at least 1500 kms from its usual range – probably a case of reverse migration ie heading south when it was supposed to head north to central Africa

Come Tuesday and messages showed a few birders looking for the Roller, so far without success – I was not keen to leave Gerda alone at home as she was still in recovery mode, but she urged me to go and with Geraldine’s encouragement and support the twitch was on!

By mid-morning I was on my way to the area adjoining the Gondwana Game Reserve and reached the pentad just after 11 am, birding as I went. I got impatient and sped up to get to the pin drop provided by the original spotter, meeting the Waldens along the way going in the opposite direction – they had not found the Roller after a couple of hours looking for it, so I gave them the pin drop and continued along the gravel road.

I soon passed another couple – Simon Fogarty and Jenny, both from Cape town – who had also not had any luck finding the rarity. They had driven 400 kms from Cape Town to look for it, so were understandably keen to carry on until they did.

I carried on to the spot where an open field with low fence posts seemed to fit the photos posted on the Whatsapp Rarities group. I spent an hour in the vicinity, searching up and down the stretch of road where it had supposedly been seen. The Waldens returned and we chatted at length – about birding, naturally. Simon and Jenny also turned up and we all carried on the search.

Eventually I left them to it and headed homewards, only to pull up sharply about two kms down the road when I glanced towards a farmhouse and a rufous bird caught my eye, momentarily thinking it was a Rock Kestrel which are fairly common in these parts, then realising it was the Roller – Bingo!

Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus Geelbektroupant, Gondwana Area

After taking a few photos I rushed back to where the two couples were still searching and happily informed them of the find. Back at the spot, we all admired the colourful Roller, took photos and just enjoyed the moment, then said au revoirs and returned home.

I had not done enough atlasing to justify a ‘Full Protocol’ card but was keen to get back to Gerda. Subsequently an opportunity arose on the Saturday, within the 5 day period allowed to complete an atlas card, to venture out to the same area and take the card from 15 to 42 species including some pleasing sightings –

  • Tambourine Dove calling – oh so mournfully
  • Secretary Bird in a distant tree, probably guarding a nest
  • Black Cuckooshrike near the Roller spot
  • Blue Cranes in an open field
Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus Bloukraanvoël, Gondwana Area

Meanwhile back at the ranch …

As usual I atlased my ‘home’ pentad several times during the month and was rewarded with a number of good sightings –

  • Buff-spotted Flufftail calling from its favourite spot along the nature trail (such an eerie sound)
  • Fiery-necked Nightjar heard for the first time since November
  • Knysna Warbler heard from our balcony for the first time
  • Black Sparrowhawk flying over the golf course
  • Ruddy Turnstone at the Point
  • Spotted Eagle-Owl seen on the nature trail and around our home
Spotted Eagle-Owl Bubo africanus Gevlekte ooruil, Mossel Bay Golf Estate

Cape Sugarbirds still enjoying the profusely flowering Pincushions in our garden

Cape Sugarbird Promerops cafer Kaapse suikervoël, Mossel Bay Golf Estate

My attempts to capture a Greater striped Swallow in the air produced a couple of decent shots among hundreds of discards

Greater Striped Swallow Cecropis cucullata Grootstreepswael, Mossel Bay Golf Estate
Atlasing

Atlasing Tales 8 – January 2023 (Part 1)

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It’s time to resurrect a theme I last posted about a couple of years ago – the atlasing of bird species that lies at the heart of my birding activities as it has done for the last 10 years or more.

These tales record some of the more memorable experiences while atlasing – in this case during January 2023 while we were at our ‘other’ home in Mossel Bay. (which we now call our only home after moving permanently in October 2023)

Atlasing? 

It’s worth repeating: Atlasing is the regular mapping of bird species in a specific area called a “pentad”. Each pentad has a unique number, based on its geographical position according to a 5 minute x 5 minute grid of co-ordinates of latitude and longitude, which translates into a square of our planet roughly 8 x 8 kms in extent.

As a registered observer / Citizen scientist under the SABAP2 program (SA Bird Atlas Project 2), I record all of the species I see or hear in a particular pentad over a period which can be anything between 2 hours and 5 days, for submission to the project database at the ADU (Animal Demography Unit) based in Cape Town.

‘Home’ Pentad – Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay serves as my home pentad when we spend extended periods there and always produces a few notable sightings – this peak summer month was no different, coming up with several good sightings –

  • Spotted Eagle-Owl – a regular on the Golf Estate, sometimes spending the day on a nearby garden wall as this one did
Spotted Eagle-Owl Bubo africanus Gevlekte ooruil, Mossel Bay
  • Buff-spotted Flufftail, unlike obedient children, always heard but seldom seen
  • Cory’s Shearwater, a regular summer visitor along the coast, seen several times at The Point, often in numbers, especially on the days when the south-easter is blowing strongly
Cory’s Shearwater / Calonectris diomedea / Geelbekpylstormvoël, Mossel Bay Point
  • African Paradise Flycatcher along the nature trail
  • Black Sparrowhawk over the nature trail
  • Rock Kestrel over the fairways
  • Cape Batis in dense bush along the nature trail
  • And the easiest of the lot – this African Hoopoe perched on my neighbour’s roof for long enough to allow a few photos from our balcony
African Hoopoe Upupa africana Hoephoep, Mossel Bay Golf Estate

Rondevlei near Wilderness – 9 January

After dropping Gerda off for her 3rd chemo treatment in George and making sure she was well looked after, I had several hours of free time so bought a coffee and sandwich and headed to ‘Die Vleie’ just beyond the nearby town of Wilderness. Leaving the coffee shop, I spotted a raptor overhead which I was later able to ID as a Forest Buzzard from the hurried photos I took.

Forest Buzzard Buteo trizonatus Bosjakkalsvoël, George

After turning off from the N2 beyond Wilderness onto the dusty access road to the vleis, I found the hot conditions were not ideal but occasional birds at the roadside got my pentad list going as I headed for the hide at Rondevlei.

I spent an hour at the hide, trying out my new Canon mirrorless camera – it still needed some tweaking of settings and getting familiar with the control buttons before I would feel comfortable with it, nevertheless I was happy with the nice sharp images it was already producing. A trio of Reed Cormorants and a handsome White-throated Swallow provided good practice

Reed Cormorant Microcarbo africanus Rietkormorant, Rondevlei Wilderness
White-throated Swallow Hirundo albigularis Witkeelswael, Rondevlei Wilderness

Out on the expansive waters of the vlei I could spot Great Crested Grebes among the hundreds of Coots and Cormorants, as well as a single Maccoa Duck – a first for my Western Cape list.

Closer to the hide a couple of Black-winged Stilts went about their feeding routine and as I was about to leave the hide a Black Crake emerged from the waterside reeds.

Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Rooipootelsie, Rondevlei Wilderness

From Rondevlei I headed north to the Seven Passes Road and stopped at several ponds and dams, one of which held both White-faced and Yellow-billed Ducks.

Gouritsmond – 14 January

On my ‘day off’ from patient care I headed out along the N2 westwards then turned off towards Gouritsmond. Just after the turnoff the fallow fields were buzzing with birds and within 15 minutes I had logged 14 species, among them –

  • White Storks
White Stork Ciconia ciconia Witooievaar, Vleesbaai area
  • Spur-winged Goose
  • Kelp Gulls
  • Sacred Ibis
  • Blue Cranes
Blue Cranes, Vleesbaai area
  • Yellow-billed Ducks (in the field with no water nearby!)
  • African Pipits displaying in the air before returning to their fence perch
African Pipit Anthus cinnamomeus Gewone koester, Vleesbaai area
  • Agulhas Long-billed Lark calling

What a bonanza of birding!

Continuing along the road I soon added some of the other ‘field with short grass’ specials such as Cape Longclaw, Red-capped Lark and Capped Wheatear

After stretching my stay in the pentad to complete the minimum two hours for a ‘Full Protocol’ card I had a pleasing 40 species logged, so it was time to proceed to the next pentad, which includes Gouritsmond, a small town of mostly holiday homes and retirees which lies at the mouth of the Gourits River (the town’s name being the Afrikaans translation of Gourits Mouth of course).

Gouritzmond

The atlasing started in earnest once I turned off at the Boat Launch sign, along a dirt road which passes the town’s Wastewater treatment works on the way to the river edge. The treatment works attract a variety of waterbirds and in no time I had added 20 species to my pentad list, including –

  • Yellow Canary
Yellow Canary Crithagra flaviventris Geelkanarie (race flaviventris), Gouritzmond
  • Several ‘swimmers’ such as Cape Shoveler, Cape Teal, SA Shelduck, Red-billed Teal, Yellow-billed Duck
Cape Teal Anas capensis Teeleend, Gouritzmond

  • Water Thick Knee

Then came the highlight of my day ….

Carrying on to the boat launch at the river, I parked near the jetty and was about to walk along the river edge when two gents approached to ask what I was doing (they had spotted my SABAP2 magnetic stickers which I attach to my car’s doors).

After giving them a short description of atlasing they invited me onto their small boat for a trip upriver where, they assured me, birds were plentiful. And so, off we went, three men in a boat, my fellow sailors introducing themselves as Chris Spies (as in Rice Krispies he said) and Johan van Rensburg.

3 Men in a boat, Gouritzmond

It didn’t take long to get to where numbers of birds were resting on a sand bank and I was thrilled to spot Caspian Terns, Whimbrels – about 15 in number, Common Ringed Plover and Grey Plover, none of which I would otherwise have found.

On the way back a dead tree in the water was being used as a springboard by a pair of Pied Kingfishers, hovering above then diving into the water and returning to the perch with their catch

Pied Kingfisher

In conversation with Chris, it turned out we had met each other many years ago when he was an Honorary Ranger involved in Kruger Park Birding weekends, which I attended back in the 90’s – we swopped stories from those memorable weekends.

Once we were back at the jetty, I thanked Chris and Johan profusely and set off to complete the pentad along the coastal road heading west. It was less fruitful than usual, but I added African Oystercatcher, White-throated Canary and Rock Kestrel to take the card total to 41

Atlasing, Birding South Africa

Atlasing – September 2020 : Onverwacht, Vryheid

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I haven’t posted about my bird atlasing travels for a while so now I’m …..

Catching up on the monthly look at where Atlasing took me in September 2020 ….. in this case to the farm of Pieter and Anlia, part of Gerda’s wide family and one of our favourite places to visit and enjoy traditional farm hospitality –

Onverwacht Farm – 26 to 30 September 2020

Getting there

We had been back in Gauteng for three weeks after an extended stay in Mossel Bay and with lockdown eased to Level 1 our thoughts, as they are wont to do, turned to travel. With a long weekend coming up, it was the ideal time to pay a visit to Pieter and Anlia on Onverwacht Farm, not far from Vryheid in central Kwazulu-Natal.

We had done most of the preparatory packing the day before, so were up at a reasonable hour and left mid-morning, travelling via Witbank, Hendrina, Ermelo and Piet Retief with tea and lunch breaks taken at the roadside, our ‘new normal’ way of doing longish road trips.

The drive was made somewhat taxing by the combination of many slow, large lorries encountered, the poor condition of the roads once we turned off the N4 and the depressing state of some of the towns along the way. However, our spirits were lifted when we reached the farm, saw the braai fire being prepared and the friendly greetings of the family.

The Pentad

I was not expecting to atlas outside the pentad in which the farm lies, but thanks to Pieter there was an opportunity to visit an adjoining pentad on a “Crane Safari” which turned into an exciting atlasing trip of its own. More about that in a follow-up post….

Pentad 2740_3035

My atlasing on the farm was spread over the four days of our stay, but was limited to short bouts of birding in between all of the other activities.

Saturday, late afternoon

On arrival and after settling in, I got the pentad list going with the birds on and around the dam, which lies a couple of hundred metres down the gentle slope in front of the house – all the usual suspects such as Cattle Egret, Egyptian Goose, Yellow-billed Duck, Coots and White-breasted Cormorant.

Onverwacht farm Vryheid
Yellow-billed Duck

Pieter pointed out a couple of large birds on a distant grassy slope and with my binos I could verify their ID – Grey Crowned Crane – a quite magnificent and stunning bird that I never tire of seeing and one of the specials of the area.

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum / Mahem), Onverwacht farm Vryheid

The warm weather was rapidly dissipating in the face of a cold front that had arrived, so the braai fire was a warming spot to spend the last of the day, still on the lookout for new species. A chorus of cackling calls announced the presence of Green Woodhoopoes (Not recorded in the pentad before) in the tall pine trees next to the house and we soon saw them in the fading light, moving among the branches in a loose group of 6 or more.

Pleased with this new species for the pentad, I then heard the whoo – hooo of a Spotted Eagle-Owl (33%) and down at the dam a group of 3 Wattled Lapwings (22%) flew in and settled near the water in the fading light

Spotted Eagle-Owl
Sunday

The day was cold – even more so than the forecast 10 deg C due to the icy wind, so my birding was limited to a couple of short sorties into the large garden and surrounding farmstead, the wind chasing me back to the warmth of the house after 15 to 20 minutes.

Onverwacht farm Vryheid

Highlights were Southern Bald Ibis at the dam edge, Black Sawwings (44%) swooping by in their shiny black plumage with long forked tail streaming behind, Bronze Mannikins and Pied Starlings perched in trees and on poles.

Bronze Mannikin (Lonchura cucullata)

By day’s end my pentad total was a modest 31 without having ventured beyond the garden and surrounds.

Onverwacht farm Vryheid
Monday

Monday was devoted to the “Crane Safari” in an adjoining pentad, which I will cover in a separate post as it was such a special birding experience, but in the evening I heard the unmistakable, eerie call of a Barn Owl somewhere near the house.

Tuesday

And the surprises kept coming! Despite all sorts of challenges that Pieter had to attend to – stolen fencing and a broken torsion bar on the bakkie (utility vehicle) which left it standing at a crazy angle – Pieter still had time to arrange for son Janneman to take me to a nearby kloof on the farm, where he had seen signs of Bald Ibis breeding.

After another farm breakfast (my favourite ‘krummelpap’ again – a sort of crumbed porridge unique to SA) Jan and I set off on a birding tour of the farm, with our first stop some way up the lower slopes of the mountain escarpment that looms over the farm. There we clambered through a fence, then walked along a sloping ridge to a point where we could get a view of the krans (cliff face).

It didn’t take long to spot a Bald Ibis on a nest set back in the horizontal split in the rock face. A small waterfall trickled water down the face and Kiepersols, Aloes and other natural growth completed the handsome picture.

Bald Ibis breeding spot, Onverwacht farm Vryheid

Bald Ibis breeding spot, Onverwacht farm Vryheid

Nearby a Sombre Greenbul called and an African Olive Pigeon (not recorded in the pentad before) showed itself among the green tops of the trees. However the show of the day belonged to Bald Ibises and White-necked Ravens (also a new record for the pentad) chasing each other aerially, the Ravens seeming to harass the Ibises for unknown reasons until they retreated to the depths of the rock crevices.

The rest of the farm tour provided several other sightings of Rufous-naped Lark (33%), Buff-streaked Chat (55%), Yellow-fronted Canary and a pleasing Giant Kingfisher (22%) to round off my atlasing efforts for the visit.

My total species recorded in the pentad during the visit stood at 46 with 4 new species added to the pentad list and my total species after 6 cards completed over several years was now 132

Footnote : Where I show percentages in brackets, these refer to the relative scarcity of the species according to the pentad surveys completed to date over the ten years that the project has been running. So if 100 pentad surveys have been done to date and a species has been recorded 5 times by the observers, it will be shown as 5%. Notable species in my book are those with a % of less than 10%

Atlasing, Birding South Africa, Holiday Trips

Atlasing – September 2020 : Lushof Lodge

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Continuing the monthly look at where Atlasing, or Birdmapping as it is also known, took me in September 2020 – in this case using an overnight stop to make the most of the birding on offer…

Heading home – at last!

After more than 5 months in Mossel Bay – a lot longer than our initial plan of 3 to 4 weeks – we decided to return to our other “home” in Pretoria. Mossel Bay’s charm and many advantages had worked their way into our minds and it was with some reluctance that we headed northwards, but Covid-19 had kept us away from our main home for too long and we knew it was time to get back.

We set off on a Friday, fully loaded, around 9 am and travelled the familiar route via George, Graaf-Reinet and Colesberg to our overnight accommodation at Lushof Lodge, some 50 km beyond Colesberg. Along the way we enjoyed take-away coffee and a picnic lunch – all part of the “new normal” way of doing things.

Lushof Lodge, which we last visited in January 2011, was as we remembered – set on a farm with a stream running through, lined with verdant growth. The accommodation was a comfortable cottage which we had all to ourselves, set on a hill overlooking an expanse of fields and veld and we were well looked after by Lise, the bright and friendly hostess and her staff.

The orange block shows the location of the pentad which includes Lushof Lodge, about 50 kms north-east of Colesberg

Lushof Lodge (Pentad 3025_2530)

By the time we had settled in and acquainted ourselves with the cottage, it was 5.30 pm and there was just enough time for a birding walk down to the stream, which forms a small dam on one side of the entrance road and a wetland covered in reeds on the other.

The dam was good for Common Moorhen while the wetland held a few African Reed Warblers, with Red Bishops occupying the reeds and a Kurrichane Thrush exploring the edges. The tall trees alongside were home to a Cardinal Woodpecker, which first revealed its presence with a soft tok-tok-tok as he poked at the branches in search of some protein.

Southern Red Bishop, Lushof Lodge

Returning up the short hill to the cottage I scanned the slopes of the hill above it and soon saw Speckled Mousebirds moving in straggling fashion from tree to bush, then heard a Grey-backed Cisticola and quickly picked it up as it flitted from one low bush to another. For good measure a Blue Crane called but I could not track it down in the gathering dusk.

Orange River White-eye, Lushof Lodge

That seemed to be it for the day and a bit later we settled down to a hearty Karoo lamb meal, brought to the cottage by Lise and her daughter. But there was one more surprise later on – when I peered outside briefly just before going to bed, a Rock Martin roosting under the roof overhang stared back at me and became species 20 on my pentad list .

Saturday Morning 5 September

An early night meant I could get a good night’s rest and still be up at 6 am to have a coffee in the crisp morning air outside our cottage, while adding to the previous afternoon’s list.

View from Lushof lodge

I was able to add another 9 species before heading off on a lengthy walk around the farm, including Cape Bunting, Yellow Canary, a calling Brubru (also widely known as the “telephone bird” because of its trilling, repeated call) and a Familiar Chat doing its ‘familiar’ sequence of perch, fly down to the ground, catch something small and return to the perch with a couple of wing flicks straight after landing.

Familiar Chat

Venturing away from the farmstead, I followed a track along the stream and heard two very different birds – first a Lesser Swamp Warbler hidden somewhere in the dense riverine vegetation, then a Blue Korhaan greeting the new day from somewhere up ahead. From the latter call I guessed the habitat must open up further on to be suitable for the latter species – indeed it did a couple of hundred metres further, affording an expansive view across fields and plains, but there was no sign of the Korhaan, which had probably moved on or concealed itself in the grass (which they are masters at doing)

Lushof Lodge

I headed back to spend some time in the lush area close to the farmhouse, with the river and wetland as focus points. Common Starlings and a Cape Wagtail caught my attention and then a flash of colour signaled the arrival of a Malachite Kingfisherin an overhanging tree, ready to spot and dive for a small fish, frog, crab or insect.

Malachite Kingfisher

Before returning for breakfast, which we had arranged to be brought to the cottage at 8 am, I had a look around the area beyond the stream and soon added Chestnut-vented Warbler (Titbabbler) and White-throated Canary. I tried to capture the latter species on camera as I knew it was a different sub-species (orangensis) from those I am used to seeing in the Southern Cape. I had limited success getting a clear photo, but they were better than nothing.

White-throated Canary (Crithagra albogularis / Witkeelkanarie) (race orangensis), Lushof Lodge

By the way if you think it’s a bit extreme not being satisfied with photographing bird species but trying to photograph all the subspecies as well, I confess I have had this “collectors” affliction since a young age and it seems to be getting worse….

After a substantial breakfast (to see us through the last day’s driving, you know) it was time to pack the car one last time, while still keeping an eye out for any birds to add. Fortunately so, as a Booted Eagle and a pair of SA Shelducks flew overhead within minutes of each other.

Booted Eagle, Lushof Lodge

On the road out we picked up Namaqua Dove and White-backed Mousebird, the dam near the highway held Blacksmith Lapwing and the adjoining grass boasted an Eastern Clapper Lark, giving us its version of goodbye as it performed its display flight in the air.

White-backed Mousebird, Lushof Lodge

The Stats

We left with a total of 48 species recorded which, considering the time of year, is a good indication of the quality of Lushof Lodge as a birding spot.

Of special note – this was only the third full protocol card completed for this pentad in 10 years, the previous two having been done by myself and Koos Pauw in 2010/11. A very under-atlased pentad!

11 new species were added to the pentad records –

  1. Brubru
  2. Cape Bunting
  3. Grey-backed Cisticola
  4. Blue Crane
  5. African Hoopoe
  6. Malachite Kingfisher
  7. Blue Korhaan
  8. Karoo Prinia
  9. South African Shelduck
  10. House Sparrow
  11. Chestnut-vented Warbler (Titbabbler)
Atlasing, Birding South Africa

Atlasing – August 2020 : Ruiterbos

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Continuing the monthly look at where Atlasing, or Birdmapping as it is also known, took me in August 2020 ….. in this case to two pentads in the Ruiterbos area north of Mossel Bay, which turned out to be as contrasting as two pentads adjoining each other can be

Ruiterbos Area – 25 August

Still using my earlier analysis of pentads in the southern Cape which had not yet been atlased in 2020, I noticed that the Ruiterbos area had one pentad not atlased since 2018 and with very low species totals recorded, which piqued my interest – nothing like a challenging pentad to make things interesting! Low totals, I have found, are usually due to limited diversity of habitat (all birds are particular to a specific habitat) or limited means of access to parts of the pentad, preventing the atlaser from getting to all the habitats. In some instances both of the above can apply, which results in really low totals.

I decided to target the challenging pentad as well as the one directly south of it, which seemed to hold more promise. Both are within about 45 minutes of home – the maps below show the location of the former…

The Route

With sunrise gradually coming earlier each day in late August, just a week away from Spring day, I set the alarm a bit earlier and left home at 6.15 am. I followed the R328 regional road to Oudtshoorn, passing Brandwag village and turned left at Ruiterbos Farm stall then travelled a couple of Kms along this quiet road before reaching the start of the first pentad at around 7 am.

Sunrise, Ruiterbos area

Pentad 3355_2155

Birding got off to a brisk start with calls of several species welcoming the new day – a cool, fresh morning with little cloud. Blue Crane, Bokmakierie, Cape Grassbird, Grey-backed Cisticola, Red-necked (Cape Turtle) Dove, even Hadada Ibis all joined the chorus.

Cape Grassbird (Sphenoeacus afer / Grasvoël) (Race afer), Ruiterbos area

Not much further along the gravel road I stopped at two adjacent fields which showed how differences in usage of farming land can have a noticeable impact on the species to be found. The first was covered in lush green lucerne and was seemingly reserved for the “big boys” – Egyptian and Spur-winged Goose and Blue Cranes were prominent. The adjacent field had short patchy grass with a scattering of stones and cowpats – clearly used for grazing of cattle and the realm of the smaller guys – Lapwings (Crowned), Larks (Red-capped) and Pipits (Plain-backed).

Plain-backed Pipit (Anthus leucophrys / Donkerkoester), Ruiterbos area
Red-capped Lark (Calandrella cinerea / Rooikoplewerik) (Race cinerea), Ruiterbos area

Descending into a valley, I passed a fruit farm which had entire fields draped in protective shade cloth, mostly to keep insects out I would guess, but equally proficient at keeping birds away, creating a very sterile environment.

Ruiterbos area

I did not dawdle and proceeded out of the valley into the hills beyond – what a contrast – suddenly the hills were alive with bird sounds, which were music to my ears (why do I feel a song coming on?). The next twenty minutes were bountiful, with 3 species of Sunbird (Southern Double-collared, Orange-breasted and Malachite), Cape Buntings and Cape Canaries twittering away, Stonechat and an African Olive Pigeon (New record).

Klaas’s Cuckoo (new record) announced its presence with its well-known “Meitjie” call and I wondered if it was an early arrival or perhaps one of those that had overwintered in the area, as they are known to do. A Cape Batis became my first record of this species for the year.

Cape Batis

After an hour and a half in the pentad, I had logged 34 species – a good start, and being close to the second “challenging” pentad, I decided to tackle it while birds were still active and come back to the first pentad a bit later. This would hopefully maximise my chances of getting a reasonable total in the second pentad which, from the stats, was going to produce a low bird-count card, for reasons as yet unknown.

Ruiterbos area

I returned later in the morning to complete a second “shift” in this pentad, carrying on where I had stopped before. I was now out of the prime birding area, into flatter countryside with less bush, but was still able to add regularly to my atlas card with the likes of Rock Kestrel, Victorin’s Warbler and African Black Swift (New record).

Victorin’s Warbler, Ruiterbos area

I managed to get a reasonable photo of the Rock kestrel – I had seen it returning with a small prey to its perch on top of a utility pole and guessed it would be pre-occupied while devouring it, which would allow a closer approach than usual. I was right and it only flew off again when the prey was ripped apart and swallowed.

Rock Kestrel (Falco rupicolus / Kransvalk), Ruiterbos area

Along the last stretch before exiting the pentad,another photo opportunity arose – this time an Olive Bushshrike (New record). I heard it calling from a particularly bushy area alongside the road and once I thought I had found the spot where it was concealed (which they are very good at doing) I tried some “pishing” which is a useful way of getting some species to pop out momentarily.

The Bushshrike obliged for just a few seconds, curious as to what was making this sound which birds associate with danger and I was able to snatch a few images – my best of this species to date!

Olive Bushshrike (Chlorophoneus olivaceus / Olyfboslaksman) (Race olivaceus), Ruiterbos area

The pentad had produced 50 species in all, and some very special ones at that.

Pentad 3350_2155

This was the pentad that had me wondering about the low totals logged by others. I soon found out why – apart from the first km or so which runs through open hills, the rest of the only access road ran through a commercial pine plantation, habitat which is notoriously sterile when it comes to bird life. The open stretch held Cape Grassbird, Karoo Prinia, Red-necked Spurfowl and African Pipit.

African Pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus / Gewone koester), Ruiterbos area

Entering the plantation, birding – and indeed life itself – seemed to slow down…

Paardekop Plantation, Ruiterbos area
Paardekop Plantation, Ruiterbos area

It was nevertheless a most pleasant environment to be in, despite being less than attractive for most bird species – exceptions were Black-headed Orioles, Cape Canaries, Cape Bulbul, and Cape White-eye, all of which I found easily and repeatedly, mostly at the fringes of the plantations.

At one stop, Greater Double-collared Sunbirds were curious bystanders but most stops were met with dead silence and no discernable movement, so each species added was quite precious as I slowly built on the list.

After two hours birding in the invigorating pine-scented air, I found I had reached 20 species, amazingly the second best total for the pentad out of 15 cards completed to date! I later found that I had added 3 new species to the pentad records, being Hadada Ibis (!), Speckled Pigeon and Black Sawwing.

Footnote : Where I show percentages in brackets, these refer to the relative scarcity of the species according to the pentad surveys completed to date over the ten years that the project has been running. So if 100 pentad surveys have been done to date and a species has been recorded 5 times by the observers, it will be shown as 5%. Notable species in my book are those with a % of less than 10%

Atlasing, Birding South Africa

My Atlasing Month – August 2020 : Albertinia Area

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Continuing the monthly look at where Atlasing, or Birdmapping as it is also known, took me in August 2020 …..

Albertinia north-west – 7 August

I looked for two pentads not too far from Mossel Bay, our home during lockdown, and not yet atlased in 2020 – my survey resulted in me selecting two pentads in the area north-west of Albertinia, an area which I have found to be pleasant and productive from a birding point of view, so they fitted my plans well.

Albertinia north

The Route

Getting to the starting point of the first pentad meant driving west along the N2 National road to Albertinia, then north towards the mountains and west again along the gravel road that ran through the pentad, ensuring that the sun would be behind me during the prime early morning birding hours.

As I drove along the already busy N2, the view northwards was across low valleys which were filled with mist, giving them the appearance of large fluffy lakes surrounded by hills.

The morning was one of the coldest I’ve experienced in these parts, with the car indicating an outside temperature of just 1 degree C as I approached the starting point – thank goodness I had purchased a woolen beanie the day before, which I now donned to prevent the cold penetrating beyond my ears to my brain – who knows what damage that could do (although some would say the damage was done ages ago).

Chilly morning in Albertinia

Fortunately it warmed up as the day progressed and by 11 am I was in shirt sleeves and the beanie was replaced by my battered hat.

Pentad 3400_2125

The map below shows the location of the pentad, north west of Albertinia. For those who have not visited South Africa, the town marked Agulhas at bottom left is where the southernmost tip of the African continent is located and is a favourite tourist stop.

And this is a closer view of the first pentad, shown by the red square below

Right at the start of this pentad I came across a roadkill victim in the middle of the gravel road and stopped to see what it was (dead birds can be recorded when atlasing) – it was a Crowned Lapwing, largely undamaged so I moved it to the verge just to save it the further indignity of being trampled by other vehicles.

Albertinia north

The road was damp with puddles in places from the previous day’s rain and birds were plentiful. Changing quickly into atlasing mode, I followed my usual strategy of driving very slowly and stopping frequently to look around and listen for calls – in the first hour I recorded 26 species while progressing just 2 kms along the road, with so many interesting and promising spots to investigate.

Albertinia north

Fresh footprints in the damp mud at roadside had me somewhat puzzled – left by someone running, judging by the depth of the imprints, and someone with very tough feet, going on the very gritty surface.

All the usual suspects were present including Blue Crane and Large-billed Lark, African Pipit and Fork-tailed Drongo, but also some of the scarcer species such as Denham’s Bustard (twice) and Grey-backed Cisticola.

African Pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus / Gewone koester, Albertinia north

Cape Longclaw on a fence presented a good photo opportunity, as they so often do, but Red-capped Larks in the road were not as cooperative and flew off each time I tried to position the car/ myself/my camera, settling tantalisingly back in the road a way ahead and often on the opposite side to where my camera was pointing. It was probably my imagination but I thought I detected a smirk on their faces each time they left me cursing under my breath. Bird photography can sometimes be a tad frustrating!

Cape Longclaw (Macronyx capensis / Oranjekeelkalkoentjie), Albertinia north

A small dam held Grey Heron, Yellow-billed Duck and Little Grebe to add some waterbirds to my list. The last half hour produced two Canaries – Brimstone and Yellow Canary, the third Lark of the day – Agulhas Long-billed Lark, and Cape Grassbird to take the card total to a respectable 48 species.

Pentad 3400_2120

The second pentad of the morning lies directly west of the first, so I continued along the same road and through habitat similar to the first. Species were mostly a repeat of what I had recorded in the first pentad. Some notable exceptions were Little Rush Warbler which I heard calling from a well reeded stream that I crossed and a Rock Kestrel that passed overhead during one of my many stops.

Albertinia north

I spent a coffee break at a copse of bluegum trees next to the road at a farmyard and watched the Fork-tailed Drongo‘s actively flying about and hawking flying insects. A Cardinal Woodpecker called a loud rapid ch-ch-ch-ch-ch and it didn’t take too long to find it high up against the branches of the trees, pecking at cavities and using its barbed tongue to extract larvae of beetles and other insects, spiders and ants.

Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis / Mikstertbyvanger), Albertinia North

Passing fields brimming with bright yellow canola, a Yellow Bishop with an equally bright yellow rump and perched on the fence presented an interesting photo opportunity, so I positioned myself and my camera, with some difficulty, so that the background would be the yellow of the canola while hoping the Bishop would stay where it was. It did and I managed to take a few shots, but the distance from the bird meant it was not as sharp as I had hoped… still quite unusual –

Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis / Kaapse flap) (Race capensis), Albertinia north

Moments later it flew off

Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis / Kaapse flap) (Race capensis), Albertinia north

A last dam before leaving the pentad held a pair of Water Thick-knee, inconspicuously standing among bushes along the fringe of the dam, while a few Brown-throated Martins raced about over the water.

Water Thick-knee (Burhinus vermiculatus / Waterdikkop), Albertinia north

As I left the pentad I spotted some Red-billed Queleas in a thorn tree, the last record for the day to take the pentad total to 41 and my day’s total to a pleasing 63 after some 5 hours of atlasing this most pleasant part of the southern Cape.

Atlasing, Birding South Africa

My Atlasing Month – July 2020 (Part 3 )

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Continuing the monthly look at where Atlasing, or Birdmapping as it is also known, took me in July 2020 …..

Great Brak and Mount Hope – 24 July

I chose two pentads quite far from each other – only because I had started atlasing Great Brak River a few days prior and was within the 5 day maximum atlas period, so I was keen to complete this pentad. The choice for the second pentad was one not yet atlased in 2020 and the most appealing one was located on the other side of the Outeniqua Pass, on the way to Oudtshoorn.

This meant a lengthy drive to get there, which on the day was made a lot longer by the convoy of 3 “Abnormal Load” vehicles trundling up the pass at a snail’s pace, with no chance of overtaking on this single lane, twisty road. Even a stop for coffee halfway up the pass to let the long queue of cars get ahead of me, did not help much as I quickly caught up with them again, but at least I wasn’t stewing in the queue all that time, but could enjoy a relaxed cup of coffee and an egg (forgetting of course that it was a bird that produced it)

Outeniqua pass with abnormal load vehicles in the distance, heading right

Pentad 3400_2210

Great Brak is always a pleasurable spot to atlas, particularly the part that lies around the river estuary, which is a local waterbird hotspot. I had started atlasing during a brief 15 minute stop the previous Tuesday, on the way back from a day trip to Knysna.

It was an hour before sunset and with the setting sun behind us as we drove slowly along the Suiderkruis road on the western side of the estuary, we had perfect light for viewing and photography for those 15 minutes. It was enough time to record 17 species including Greater Flamingo (with 3 juveniles nearby), Little Grebe, Black-winged Stilt, Little Egret, African Spoonbill and Cape Teal.

Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus / Grootflamink) (Juvenile), Great Brak
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta / Kleinwitreier), Great Brak
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus / Rooipootelsie), Great Brak

When editing the images I played around with the above photo – can you see what I did in this next photo ? Answer at end of Post….

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus / Rooipootelsie), Great Brak

On the Friday morning I set out to continue atlasing at 7.30 am – sunrise in midwinter – along the gravel road that runs between Klein Brak and Great Brak just north of the N2 national road. The first birds were fairly mundane – Doves, Hadeda, Egyptian Goose – then I stopped to scan the settling ponds of the waste water treatment works and heard Little Rush Warbler and Cape Grassbird, both very distinctive calls, and saw White-faced Ducks on the opposite side of one of the ponds. An encouraging start to the morning!

Roadworks in progress over the next stretch of road, including a “stop and go” one way system, meant a short delay followed by a forced rush until I was through the village of Great Brak and heading northwards into hilly country, along a twisting gravel road lined with bush both sides and steeply sloping ground falling away to one side.

Great Brak River

Several stops along the way, but only along the longer straight parts of the road so that approaching cars would be able to see me in time, added both Southern and Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Bar-throated Apalis, Cape White-eye, Sombre Greenbul and Southern Boubou. When I reached the plateau the habitat changed quickly to farmland and I soon came to the northern boundary of the pentad, so it was time to turn back.

Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Great Brak River
Sombre Greenbul, Great Brak River

I wanted to hit the estuary again before moving on to the next pentad and I headed for the eastern side to avoid having the sun in my eyes. I was rewarded with Mallard, a couple of Pied Avocets (5% – so quite scarce), Grey Heron, plenty of Greater Crested (Swift) Terns and a Common Sandpiper, the latter surely one of the first arrivals from European Russia – heck it’s still winter here and the migrants are already arriving!

Common Sandpiper, Great Brak River

While scanning the waters for other waterbirds a Klaas’s Cuckoo (9%) called “Meitjie” (it’s Afrikaans name, pronounced “maykie”) to confirm its presence. As I left this superb birding spot a single Cape Sugarbird (10%) flew between bushes to take my total for the first pentad to 54, after some 2.5 hours of atlasing.

Cape Sugarbird

Pentad 3345_2215

In hindsight I should have chosen a second pentad closer to the first – my trip between the pentads took over an hour including the “abnormal load” induced delay and coffee stopheading up and over the Outeniqua Pass which takes you from sea level to an elevation of 800 metres – not all that high but enough to bring the temperature down substantially until I was into Klein Karoo country on the way to Oudtshoorn.

It meant that I only started the second pentad at 11 am – hardly the ideal time for birding, especially in the Klein Karoo where the birds tend to disappear during the middle of the day. Nonetheless the first half hour was quite lively as I passed through mainly farmland and found Ibises (Sacred and Hadeda), Egyptian Geese and Black-headed Heron – all species that prefer open fields.

That was followed by the bird of the day as I came across a flock of Black-headed Canaries (15%) – a species that I have seen few enough times to count on one hand.

I continued past several more farms and a small stream until I came across the next exciting find when I spotted a flock of Swifts in the air – way too early for returning migrants I thought. As it turned out they were Alpine Swifts (6%) which are partial intra-African migrants so probably hadn’t come far by Swallow / Swift standards but always a joy to see with their speedy flight and white belly making them one of the easier swifts to call.

Alpine Swift, (taken in Augrabies NP)

A large farm dam disappointingly produced not a single bird and thereafter birding became really slow as I headed into more arid countryside with almost no signs of visible farming. Just when my birding spirits were flagging I came across a Mountain Wheatear (New record) and shortly after that excitement another smaller dam was more productive with both SA Shelducks and Yellow-billed Ducks in residence.

SA Shelduck

In the surrounding bush I found a Bar-throated Apalis, as feisty as always, and in a tall tree a Pale Chanting Goshawk provided a pleasing conclusion to the pentad, which stood at a total of 34 species – not at all bad considering the time of day. I took the shortest route back to Mossel Bay, eventually getting back on to tar at the R328 and completed the long circular route home.

The Answer ……..

If you guessed that the second Black-winged Stilt photo is a copy of the first but inverted, you win this week’s prize, which is a genuine “well done” from me!

Footnote : Where I show percentages in brackets, these refer to the relative scarcity of the species according to the pentad surveys completed to date over the ten years that the project has been running. So if 100 pentad surveys have been done to date and a species has been recorded 5 times by the observers, it will be shown as 5%. Notable species in my book are those with a % of less than 10%