WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

September 12th to the 27th 2007

Steve Dark & Jeremy Squire

Stevenjdark (at @) hotmail.co.uk

Jeremy.squire (at @) snh.gov.uk 

Introduction:

At one of our monthly meetings in a local hostelry we kicked about the idea of a birding trip to the Cape region of Southern Africa.  We quickly gathered all the information we could from the usual sources and started the research. The trip rapidly took shape and we all felt comfortable with what was on offer. The trip was to include at least one Pelagic out of Simons Town.  We sent off an e-mail to Birding Africa – info@birdingafrica.com They responded within a couple of days with a suggested itinerary, a land price to include the pelagic trip, car hire, five days guiding and accommodation. It was exactly what we wanted and with a minor adjustment to take into account our travel arrangements it was all agreed and a deposit was paid. Really that’s all it took an initial request for the details above to be catered for and once that was agreed it couldn’t have been easier. It was all taken care of in a matter of days and all by e-mail.  The flights were arranged in a similar manner. We flew with British Airways direct Heathrow to Cape Town as we didn’t want to waste any time in transfers or get separated from our luggage, a good choice as we learned later from fellow British birders who went via Amsterdam with KLM.  

 

References:

Books:

Birds of Africa south of the Sahara – Ian Sinclair & Peter Ryan. This is the only guide book we used. It was more than adequate though a bit bulky.

Southern African Birdfinder – Callan Cohen, Claire Spottiswoode and Jonathan Rossouw. Absolutely essential a wonderful addition to South African birding.

Cape Town, Lonely Planet city guide. Just for background and general information.

 

Trip Reports:

Cape Province, South Africa, February 1999 – Gruff Dodd.

Gruff’s report formed the basis of everything we tried to achieve and like all his reports its crammed full of useful information.  It can be found on most of the Trip Report sites.

Web sites:

http://www.sabirding.co.za contains mountains of info for anyone visiting SA.

http://www.zestforbirds.co.za has everything you need to know about pelagics including bird reports and details regarding pelagic trip preparation.

 

Maps:

We purchased a comprehensive road map at Heathrow can’t remember the details.  We didn’t use it often and I’ve lost it since.

We were given a small map that we used continually.  It's two maps in one produced by Cape Mountain Meanders.  Map 1 is the Western Cape and Map 2 is South Africa. It's available in all service stations.

 

Itinerary:

12th September – Arrived Cape Town. Morning birding in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Afternoon birding in the  Strandfontein Sewage Works.  Overnight Paterson Guest House, Cape Town.

 

13th September – Birding en route to Clanwilliam.  Overnight Bloomenberg Guest House, Clanwilliam.

 

14th September – Return to Cape Town birding en route.  Overnight Afton Grove,  Noordhoek.

 

15th September – Pelagic out of Simon’s Town.  Late afternoon Boulders Beach.  Overnight Afton Grove, Noordhoek.

 

16th September – Morning birding Rooi Els.  Afternoon Harold Porter Botanical Gardens.  Overnight Afton Grove, Noordhoek.

 

17th September – Leave Cape Town and drive to West Coast National Park. Overnight Glenfinnan Guest House, Langebaan.

 

18th September – Morning drive to Tanqua Karoo birding en route.  Overnight Tanqua Guest House.

 

19th September – Morning birding the Tanqua and drive to Brandvlei birding en route.  Overnight Kolarita’s Bed and Breakfast, Brandvlei.

 

20th September – Early morning birding the Tanqua en route North.  Afternoon Augrabies Falls National Park.  Overnight Kolarita’s Bed and Breakfast, Brandvlei.

 

21st September – Birding en route to Karoo National Park.  Afternoon birding the Karoo NP.  Overnight Karoo National Park.

 

22nd September – Early morning birding the Karoo NP.  After breakfast drive to Wilderness NP birding en route.  Afternoon birding Wilderness NP.  Overnight Wilderness National Park.

 

23rd September – All day birding he various trails in Wilderness NP.  Overnight Wilderness National Park.

 

24th September – Drive along the coast birding en route to De Hoop Nature Reserve.

Afternoon birding De Hoop.  Overnight ‘The Cottage’ De Hoop.

 

25th September – Morning birding De Hoop. Later birding Grootvaderbosch Nature Reserve.   Overnight ‘The Cottage’ De Hoop.

 

26th September – Early morning birding De Hoop. Drive to Cape Town, afternoon birding Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Leave for the airport.

 

27th September – Arrive Heathrow. 

 

Daily account:

12th Sept. We arrived promptly at 7:20am local time and after picking up our bags and clearing customs we were met by our guide Brian Vanderwalt – http://www.brians-birding.co.za/   After quickly sorting out our hire car we were off birding. Our first stop was in fact our hotel for the night Paterson Guest House. We noted Cape Robin, Cape White-eye and Sunbird in the garden. Our first steps took us to the amazing Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.  Life birds just came one after the other it was an amazing couple of hours.  It’s hard to pick our best bird but Cape Batis, Boubou, Spotted Eagle-Owl, Forest Buzzard or Cape Sugarbird must rank highly. Barn Swallow was a reminder of home and the only one recorded on the trip. After an early lunch at the visitors centre in the Botanical Gardens we headed off to Strandfontein Sewage Works. This is an extensive area to cover and a little information and guidance certainly helped us work our way through the numerous tanks. Here again we ramped up the trip list with new species being noted at every turn. Highlights included cleaning up on the Teal species, Hottentot Teal, Cape Teal and Red-billed Teal, with African Marsh Harrier, Levant's Cisticola, African Pipit and Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk. We ended our first very memorable day in the Cape with our evening meal calling the log in a local tavern watching Australia lose to Zimbabwe in the 20-20 cricket World Cup.

 

13th Sept.  We were woken this morning by a frenzied storm. It had however stopped by 6:30am, and we were off at 7am heading North along the N1. We stopped briefly for breakfast at a Wimpy Bar. It was cheap and cheerful but filling none the less. We were heading for our overnight stop at Clanwilliam. It was an amazing trip and it appeared that everywhere we stopped we added at least another two lifers. For example at our very first stop just a short hop up the coast we added Antarctic Tern and Crowned Cormorant. We stopped at a small town at lunch time where we visited the local super market. We stocked up on meat pies which we ate on the move. Another stop after lunch produced Red-crowned Lark, Large-billed Lark, Long-billed Lark and Clapper Lark. Another highlight was a visit to the Langebaan quarry where we saw a pair of Verreaux's Eagles.  In this small area we also picked up Southern Grey Tit and Acacia Pied Barbet. We finally arrived at our overnight stop Bloomenburg Guest House in Clanwilliam late afternoon. After a very necessary hot shower we went out to a local hostelry for our evening meal, a few drinks and more cricket.

 

14th Sept.  We were up at 6:30am for a 7am start. As breakfast wasn’t until 7:30am we decided to head off into the hills just North of Clanwilliam.  We picked up Pin-tailed Whydah and Speckled Mousebird around the hotel. After breakfast we headed a further 60K North on the N7. It was a red dirt road that climbed up through a range of small mountains. Along the flat section of this road we had Rufous-eared Warbler and Ludwig’s Bustard. Into the mountains proper we had both Capped Wheatear and Mountain Wheatear. We also spotted a pair of Verreaux’s Eagles being mobbed by a Booted Eagle. While watching the eagles our attention was drawn to a bird singing further along the cliff. It was a Sentinel Rock Thrush. While leaving this area we had a quick stop and picked up a wonderful Ground Woodpecker. On the way back to the Cape we called in on a valley we had visited yesterday. Cape Siskin, Brubru and Protea Seed-eater were the obvious highlights. We were now heading back to Cape Town not before we had time to stop off at the Salt Pans on the Berg River Estuary where we noted Chestnut-banded Plover, Kittlitz’s Plover and White-fronted Plover with Lesser Flamingo and Great White Pelican. We dropped Brian off on the way back and we tested our navigation skills trying to find our new accommodation Afton Grove in the dark. Our evening meal was taken in a small restaurant in the mall just across from our guesthouse. A large television screening the cricket/rugby was a bonus.

 

15th Sept.  We had breakfast at 6:30am, which was a simple affair, as no one wanted to eat too much before sailing on the Pelagic.  We arrived at Simons Town Harbour at 7:15am just in time for the safety briefing. While standing around waiting to board our boat I noticed a familiar face in the crowd.  It was John Martin a fellow birder who lives no more than 30 miles away from my home in Gloucester. What's even more coincidental is the last time I bumped into him was while birding India in 2001. On that occasion he and his wife Janet helped me celebrate my 51st birthday at the ‘Sunbird Hotel’ in Bharatpur. It’s a truly small birding world. We boarded our boat ‘Obsession’ full of trepidation of possible things to come. The boat was full with ten passengers, two guides and two crew. We sailed out to sea at full throttle 30+ knots. We were soon into a couple of Southern Right Whales.  We then spotted an African Penguin on the shore. First birds of note were huge numbers of Pintado Petrels. Our first Albatross was an adult Shy Albatross closely followed by Black-browed Albatross. Then we had both Northern Giant Petrel and Southern Giant Petrel plus Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Sub-Antarctic Skua and White-chinned Petrel. A little later we had the first of both the Yellow-nosed Albatross species. We were enjoying a close encounter with a Hump-backed Whale when Jeremy spotted a ‘White backed Albatross’.  It was a fantastic full adult Wandering Albatross. Jeremy turned on the magic again a bit later when he spotted our first Soft-plumaged Petrel.  In total five species of Albatross were noted on our trip. On the journey back another Soft-plumaged Petrel was added to our list. We finished our day with a visit to the African Penguin colony on Boulders Beach. 

 

16th Sept.  Breakfast was had at 7am which was a great start to the day. Our guide Brian came and had breakfast with us at Afton Grove. Just after 7:45am we left for our trip to Rooi Els. It was a much longer drive than I had imagined. At Rooi Els we parked up and proceeded to walk the path through the reserve. We hadn’t walked more than 150 yards before Brian heard our target birds. A couple of anxious minutes later we had our birds Cape Rockjumper in the bag. At Rooi Els we also had Cape Siskin, Cape Grassbird, another Sentinel Rock Thrush and Neddicky. We left Rooi Els and proceeded to Harold Porter Botanical Gardens. Here we came across Bar-throated Apalis and after a prolonged search we were eventually rewarded with stunning views of a very fine Victorin’s Warbler. On the way back out we spotted another Ground Woodpecker high above us on a rocky crag. The return journey was pretty uneventful and we decided to stop for a coffee at the small restaurant in Rooi Els. While having our coffee we spotted a bird on the chimney of a nearby house. It was a Cape Rock Thrush a bird that was proving to be very elusive. Naturally we soon saw several more.

 

17th Sept.  We started the day with an early morning pre breakfast amble around the wetland opposite our guest house for Water Dikkop. After breakfast we said our goodbyes to Chris and Louise Spengler our wonderful hosts at Afton Grove. A really wonderful place to spend some time while in Cape Town. We made a leisurely start as we wanted to miss the rush hour traffic through Cape Town. We were on our way to pick up our guide Brian. We proceeded North with Brian in tow along the R27. Our destination was the West Coast National Park at Langebaan. It is a great reserve and a chance to observe some waders. Our first new bird though was a Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler in the scrub very near the road. We then had a fly by and land Red-faced Mousebird. We drove through various sections of the reserve and visited both hides. At a small pond we picked up African Rail. On the path to the second hide we noted Cape Penduline Tit at the nest. While driving up hill to a small white cottage we spotted Southern Black Koorhan. We then stopped for a coffee at the reserve restaurant. Later we headed out of the park and on our way back to Langebaan we had our last new bird of the day Crowned Plover. We spent a little time at a small Tern roost where the star of the show was a Spotted Eagle-Owl. We got to our B&B  Glenfinnan at approx 6pm and settled down to watch the cricket.

 

18th Sept. Jeremy’s birthday after a card and present it was time to leave Glenfinnan and our lovely host Kay Law.  It was off now for the Tanqua.  Our first stop though was the Langebaan quarry we visited yesterday for another and hopefully better sighting of Southern Grey Tit.  It was however all in vain.  Later we stopped in Darling where we noted Black Duck.  After a lunch time ‘burger pie’ we headed off to a small wetland just off our route to the Tanqua.  Here the prize was White-backed Duck.  Two new duck lifers Jeremy was in Duck heaven. We then had a fantastic couple of hours drive birding as we searched for Karoo specials.  On this route we noted:- Fairy Flycatcher, Karoo Lark, Black-headed Canary, Dusky Sunbird, Pale-chanting Goshawk, Karoo Koorhan, Ludwig’s Bustard, Namaqua Warbler, Namaqua Sandgrouse, Karoo Eremomela, Orange River White-eye, Tractrac Chat, Spike-heeled Lark, Pririt Batis and African Reed Warbler.  We arrived at the Tanqua Guest House just after 6pm exhausted but absolutely chuffed.  After a quick shower we celebrated Jeremy’s birthday in style as our host Esther did us proud with at least a six course dinner.  Without doubt the finest food we had all trip. Jeremy tried hard to get the television working by trying to tune in the satellite receiver with an assortment of metal objects including a metal coat hanger. Naturally we didn’t see any cricket…….

 

19th Sept.  An early morning drive didn’t produce anything new so we retired to breakfast at 8am. We had another magnificent feast laid on by Esther. We were to be Esther’s last paying guests as she had sold the guest house to the Governments Parks department.  She had been the hostess for 28 years and was sad to leave. Breakfast was followed by another long drive to Brandvlei. While still in the Tanqua National Park we had another Burchell’s Courser and several Ludwig’s Bustards. First new bird of the day was a wonderful Brown Snake-eagle closely followed by Greater Kestrel. A little later just out of the park we noted Black-eared Finch-Lark and even later our first Martial Eagle. We stopped for a late lunch at a fabulous little restaurant in Calvinia. It was an original farm stead dated 1855 and it doubled up as a museum. At a little farm en route we picked up Chat Flycatcher, then a little while further up the road Karoo Long-billed Lark was finally nailed. When we finally reached Brandvlei we headed off on one of the loops and noted Red Lark at the side of the road. Other road side birds included a pair of Karoo Koorhans and Ludwig’s Bustard. We checked in to our guest house just after 7pm.

 

20th Sept.  Up for breakfast at 6:30am and we had left by 7am.  We intended to travel North along the R27 to Kenhardt searching for a couple of Larks we were missing. The trouble was we had cleaned up by 9am so we decided to carry on going North. A long way North as it happened finally ending up at Augrabies Falls National Park. Early on our route we stopped at a likely looking water tank and in quick succession we had both Sclater’s Lark and Stark’s Lark. A little further down the road we had the almost mythical Kori Bustard shortly followed by a second. Then came Black-chested Snake-eagle. We stopped to look at a Sociable Weaver colony and were rewarded with crippling views of a Pygmy Falcon. Then came Sabota’s Lark sat on a wire and more closely examined on the ground. At the entrance to Augrabies we had Abdim’s Stork flying overhead. Inside the park we noted Red-billed Quelea, Grey-headed Sparrow, African Pied Wagtail, Palm Swift and White-browed Sparrow Weaver. We also had Lanner Falcon, Black-chested Prinia and African Red-eyed Bulbul. The evening was finished off with another wonderful home made spread prepared by our hosts. We were joined at dinner by John and Janet Martin the couple I mentioned earlier. We all swapped tall tales of birding in South Africa, a great evening and no cricket.

 

21st Sept.  Breakfast was at 6:30am and we had paid our bill and set off for the very long drive to the Karoo National Park. We said our goodbyes and left Brian en route. Nothing much of interest on our marathon drive apart from our first Two-banded Courser and a little later a Grey-headed Gull. After a couple of refreshment stops we finally arrived at the Karoo National Park at 3pm-ish. We booked in at reception and made our way to our allotted cottage number 25. We dumped our bags and made our way to the high ground. We had three birds in mind here namely Cinnamon-breasted Warbler, Short-toed Rock Thrush and African Rock Pipit. As we were about to jump back in the car we noticed a couple of Zebra in the rough ground opposite our cottage. We went to have a closer look when we noticed a small bird on the roof of our cottage, Short-toed Rock Thrush duly noted. We spent an hour or so on the tops without to much success but on the way back we ‘pished’ out a stunning Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. So two down and just the African Rock Pipit to hunt down in the morning. Dinner was a very ordinary affair and was served up in the restaurant. The service was dire.

 

22nd Sept.  We were up at 6am for an early morning foray into the high veldt. Almost the first bird we saw as we entered the pass was our quarry for the morning namely African Rock Pipit. We did continue to the top of the pass but didn’t see a lot more so we decided to make our way back down for our breakfast at 8am.  We were back on our way by 9am heading due South for Wilderness National Park. We stopped en route at the bridge over Kaaiman’s River Gorge (see page 71 in Callan’s book). Here we immediately succeeded in seeing not one but two African Finfoots. We eventually arrived at our cottage in the park at about 1pm. We dumped our bags and went for a stroll through the park grounds. It wasn’t long before our first lifer was spotted a Knysna Turaco. A beautiful bird which put on quite a show for us. We decided to drive a loop around the lagoons and at one stop we noted Black-backed Puffback and further around the lagoons we noted Streaky-headed Seed-eater. We also logged Maccoa Duck, Karoo Prinia, Bar-throated Apalis, Sombre Greenbul, Black-shouldered Kite and Fish Eagle. It started to rain at 5pm so we called it a day and retired to Monks Bar in Wilderness for another cricket match, dinner and a couple of beers.

 

23rd Sept.  Up at 6am and we made our way to the Giant Kingfisher Trail. The sign at the start read ‘Trail closed for repair’. We decided to ignore the sign and started the 7K round trip to the waterfall and back.  It was 10am by the time we reached the water fall but on the way up we noted both Chorister Robin and Star-throated Robin and a mega Narina Trogon. The Narina Trogon was a belter and posed for us on a horizontal branch just above our heads. On the trail we also saw Terrestrial Brownbul, Green-backed Camaroptera and Swee Waxbill. As we emerged from the trail just after 11:30am we bumped into another birder John Graham of Zest for Birds – The specialist Pelagic Company. http://www.zestforbirds.co.za. He was standing watching a Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler which was in a tree just above his head. As we chatted a Scaly-Throated Honeyguide flew past us and down the river. John mentioned the Brown-Hooded Kingfisher Trail was a good site for Knysna Warbler, so after a late breakfast at Monks Bar in Wilderness we headed off to the trail. To our great joy both Knysna Warbler and Knysna Woodpecker put in brief displays as did more Swee Waxbills and Yellow-throated Woodland Warblers. On the way back we stopped off at the bird hide on Roundvlei and picked up Malachite Kingfisher and a Black Crake. We had a very enjoyable couple of hours at dinner in Monks Bar with John and his partner Greta and retired to bed at 10pm.

 

24th Sept.  Up at 6:30am and we had a quick thrash around the camp before calling it a day and returning to our cabin to pack for the journey to De Hoop. We didn’t add anything new and our attempt to lure the Red-chested Flufftails out failed miserably. Though they did respond the once to our very bad mimicry. After handing in the keys we stopped off for breakfast at Monks Bar and we were back on our way by 9:30am. We didn’t stop en route and we reached the ‘cottage’ at 1pm. After dropping off our bags we made our way to De Hoop Nature Reserve. Just before the entrance we picked up Agulhas Long-billed Lark, Agulhas Clapper Lark and twenty four Cape Vultures. Some of our time in the park was spent whale watching as numerous Southern Right Whales performed just a hundred meters or so off shore. The whales were spy hopping, tail flapping and breaching it was a wonderful spectacle. We made enquiries at the Buchu Bush Camp at the entrance and decided to have dinner there. Dinner was booked for 7pm so we left the park at 5pm to give us time to get back and tidy up. When we returned to the cottage the owner Elsa-Marie called in to say hello and to see that we were all OK. We booked breakfast for 9am after Elsa-Marie told us that one of our target birds the Secretarybird hadn’t been seen on the property for almost 12 months. To her credit Elsa-Marie had asked her farm workers to report any sightings during our stay. Secretarybird though seemed very doubtful now. We had our dinner in the Rest Camp at the entrance to De Hoop it was very good but a bit expensive and as their credit card machine didn’t work it also cost us all our spare cash. We noted five separate Spotted Eagle-owls on the drive back to the cottage.

 

25th Sept. It’s our last full day in the Overburg.  It was blowing a gale and freezing cold outside. Though its not all bad, the sun is shining. During breakfast when we were feeling a bit low about the Secretarybird situation Elsa-Marie had a radio message from one of her farm hands informing her that they had just spotted two Secretarybirds and that if we wanted to see them we must hurry.  Elsa-Marie drove us like the wind in her 4 x 4 over dirt farm tracks to the site. A very short search produced the goods in the form of a magnificent pair of Secretarybirds. When all the excitement had settled down we decide to head for Swallendam. An opportunity to get some money and petrol for the car. We then decided to head for Grootvadersbosch NR where we hoped to catch up with a few more lifers. First new bird here was an Olive Woodpecker closely followed by a Rameron Pigeon and last but not least Black Saw-wing which was very obvious around the parking area. On the way back home to the cottage we took the farm road short cut that Elsa-Marie had shown us earlier in the morning. It was a very good choice as not more than 1K from the cottage Jeremy spotted a wonderful pair of Denham’s Bustards. What a great end to the birding day. We lit a log fire in the kitchen and settled down to dinner, a grand affair which was served up to us in the cottage.

 

26th Sept.  Our final morning was spent around the entrance of the Buchu Bush Camp entrance. A little further on are five green water tanks a well known site for Hottentot Button-quail. An initial sighting right next to the entrance suggested greater things to come alas it didn’t work out like that. An hour or more was spent thrashing through this area with our only reward being two fleeting glimpses of the birds in hot retreat and flight. We called it a day shortly after and decided to give the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens another visit. The journey back to Cape Town was pretty uneventful. We eventually entered the Gardens about 11:30am and to our surprise the Gardens were crammed full of visitors. It was all so very different from our first visit two weeks earlier. We spent a couple of hours strolling through the grounds but we didn’t see anything new for our trip but the Sugarbirds were once again performing amazingly well. Lunch was taken in the Gardens Restaurant and after a little shopping it was time to leave for the airport and home.

 

27th Sept.  We landed at home in Heathrow just about on time after an eleven hour flight, though our departure from Cape Town was delayed for 40 minutes or so.  

Species account:

1.       Ostrich (Struthio camelus) 10 West Coast N.P. and De Hoop. They're found throughout the Cape, but  they are not all wild and tickable. The general rule among most South African birders is that you can tick ones seen in national parks, but not those outside.

2.     Black-necked (Eared) Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) 2 Strandfontein

3.     Great-crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) Wilderness NP

4.     Little Grebe (Dabchick) (Tachybaptus ruficollis) Strandfontein  Wilderness NP.

5.     African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) C200 Boulders Beach is probably the easiest place in the world to see these birds.

6.     Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)

7.     Shy Albatross (Thalassarche cauta) n Simon's Town Pelagic 28.2.99

8.     Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche chlororhynchos)  Simon's Town Pelagic on the 15th.

9.     Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross (Thalassarche cartei) Simon’s Town Pelagic on the 15th.

10.  Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche  melanophris) Simon's Town Pelagic on the 15th.

11.   Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) Pelagic on the 15th

12.  Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes halli) Pelagic on the 15th

13.  Pintado Petrel (Daption capense) Pelagic on the 15th

14.  Soft-plumaged Petrel (Pterodroma mollis) Pelagic on the 15th

15.  Great Shearwater (Puffinus gravis) Simon's Town Pelagic on the 15th. 

16.  Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus)  Simon's Town Pelagic on the 15th.

17.  White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis)  Simon's Town Pelagic on the 15th.

18.  Wilson's Storm Petrel (Oceanites oceanicus)  Simon's Town Pelagic on the 15th.

19.  Cape Gannet (Morus capensis) Simon's Town Pelagic on the 15th. De Hoop NP.

20. White-breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus) Strandfontein

21.  Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis) West Coast.

22. Bank Cormorant (Phalacrocorax neglectus) Pelagic on the 15th

23. Crowned Cormorant (Phalacrocorax coronatus) Pelagic on the 15th.

24. Reed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus) Strandfontein, Wilderness.

25. African Darter (Anhinga rufa) Strandfontein, Wilderness.

26. Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) Strandfontein

27. Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterus minor)  Clanwilliam

28. African Spoonbill (Platalea alba) Strandfontein

29. Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) Common

30. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) Common

31.  Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) Strandfontein

32. Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) Strandfontein

33. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) Strandfontein

34. Yellow-billed Egret (Egretta intermedia) Wilderness

35. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) Common

36. Abdim’s Stork (Ciconia abdimii) Augrabies Falls

37. Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Strandfontein

38. Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) Strandfontein

39. Hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) Common

40. Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) Strandfontein

41.  Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica cristata) Strandfontein

42. Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) Strandfontein

43. White-backed Duck (Thalassornis leuconotus) 

44. South African Shelduck (Tadorna cana) Strandfontein

45. Southern Pochard (Netta erythrophthalma) Strandfontein 

46. Cape Shoveler (Anas smithii) Strandfontein

47. Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata) Strandfontein

48. Red-billed Teal (Anas erythrorhyncha) Strandfontein

49. Cape Teal (Anas capensis) Strandfontein

50. Hottentot Teal (Anas hottentota) Strandfontein

51.  Maccoa Duck (Oxyura maccoa) Strandfontein

52.African Black Duck (Anas sparsa) Wilderness

53. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) Wilderness

54. Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) Strandfontein

55. Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) Very common near water throughout south and west.

56. Scaly-throated Honeyguide (Indicator variegates) Wilderness NP

57. Greater Honeyguide (Indicator indicator) West Coast

58. Lesser Honeyguide (Indicator minor) Brandvlei

59. Knysna Woodpecker (Campethera notata) Wilderness NP

60. Ground Woodpecker (Geocolaptes olivaceus) Rooi Els

61.  Olive Woodpecker Dendropicos griseocephalus) Grootvaderbosch

62. Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) 24 in flight near De Hoop

63. Verreaux's Eagle (Aquila verreauxii) 2 Langabaan quarry

64. Booted Eagle (Aquila pennatus) Langabaan

65. Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) Tanqua Karoo

66. Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius) De Hoop

67. Pygmy Falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus) Tanqua Karoo

68. Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus) Clanwilliam

69. Steppe Buzzard (Buteo buteo vulpinus) Very common roadside bird,

70. Forest Buzzard (Buteo trizonatus) Kirstenbosch

71.  Yellow-billed Kite (Milvus aegyptius) Kirstenbosch

72. Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) Clanwilliam

73. African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) Wilderness

74. Black-chested Snake-eagle (Circaetus pectoralis) Brandvlei

75. Brown Snake-eagle (Circaetus cinereus) Brandvlei

76. Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk (Accipiter rufiventris) Kirstenbosch

77. Black Sparrowhawk (Accipiter melanoleucus) Kirstenbosch

78. Pale Chanting Goshawk (Melierax canorus) Common

79. African Goshawk (Accipiter tachiro) Kirstenbosch

80. African Marsh Harrier (Circus ranivorus) Strandfontein

81.  Black Harrier (Circus maurus) 2 West Coast N.P. 

82. Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus) Brandvlei

83. Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) West Coast NP

84. Greater Kestrel (Falco rupicoloides) Brandvlei

85. Rock Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) Kirstenbosch

86. Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) Common

87. Grey-winged Francolin (Francolinus africanus) West Coast

88. Cape Francolin (Francolinus capensis) Kirstenbosch

89. Red-necked Spurfowl (Pternistes afer) Wilderness

90. Orange River Francolin (Scleroptila levaillantoides) Augrabes

91.  Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix africana) De Hoop

92. Hottentot Buttonquail (Turnix hottentottus) De Hoop

93. Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus) Wilderness

94. Red-chested Flufftail (Sarothrura rufa) h Wilderness NP

95. African Rail (Rallus caerulescens) West Coast NP

96. African Finfoot (Podica senegalensis) Kaaimans River Gorge

97. Black Crake (Amaurornis flavirostris) Wilderness NP

98. African Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio madagascariensis) Strandfontein

99. Denham’s Bustard (Neotis denhami  De Hoop

100.   Ludwig's Bustard (Neotis ludwigii) West Coast

101.    Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori)  Brandvlei

102.   Southern Black Korhaan (Eupodotis afra) West Coast N.P

103.   Karoo Korhaan (Eupodotis vigorsii) Tanqua

104.   African Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini) Boulders

105.   Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) Strandfontein

106.   Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) Strandfontein

107.   Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) West Coast NP 

108.   White-fronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus) Strandfontein

109.   Kittlitz's Plover (Charadrius pecuarius) West Coast N.P

110.    Chestnut-banded Plover (Charadrius pallidus) Clanwilliam

111.      Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) West Coast N.P

112.    Three-banded Plover (Charadrius tricollaris) Strandfontein

113.    Crowned Plover (Vanellus coronatus) West Coast NP

114.    Blacksmith Plover (Vanellus armatus) Common

115.    Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) West Coast NP

116.    Double-banded Courser (Rhinoptilus africanus) Tanqua Karoo

117.    Burchell’s Courser (Cursorius rufus) Tanqua Karoo

118.    Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) Strandfontein

119.    Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis) West Coast NP

120.   Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) West Coast NP

121.    Redshank (Tringa totanus) West Coast NP

122.   Little Stint (Calidris minuta) West Coast NP

123.   Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) West Coast NP

124.   Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) West Coast NP

125.   Red Knot (Calidris canutus) West Coast NP

126.   Sanderling (Calidris alba) West Coast NP

127.   Spotted Thick-knee (Burhinus capensis) Noordhoek

128.   Subantarctic Skua (Catharacta antarctica)  Simon's Town Pelagic

129.   Cape Gull (Larus vetula) Common coastal bird

130.   Hartlaub's Gull (Larus hartlaubii) Common coastal bird.

131.    Grey-headed Gull (Larus cirrocephalus) Karoo

132.   Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) West Coast

133.   Swift Tern (Sterna bergii) Pelagic on the 15th

134.   Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis) West Coast NP

135.   Antarctic Tern (Sterna vittata) West Coast

136.   Namaqua Sandgrouse (Pterocles namaqua) Tanqua Karoo

137.   African Snipe (Gallinago nigripennis) West Coast

138.   Rameron Pigeon (Columba arquatrix) Grootvaderbosch

139.   Rock Pigeon (Columba guinea) Widespread and very common

140.   Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea) Kirstenbosch

141.    Cape Turtle Dove (Streptopelia capicola) Widespread

142.   Laughing (Palm) Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) Widespread

143.   Red-eyed Dove (Streptopelia semitorquata) Kirstenbosch

144.   Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis) Brandvlei

145.   Tambourine Dove (Turtur tympanistra) Wilderness

146.   Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus) Kirstenbosch

147.   African Black Swift (Apus barbatus) Kirstenbosch

148.   African Palm Swift (Cypsiurus parvus) Augrabies

149.   Little Swift (Apus affinis) Kirstenbosch

150.   White-rumped Swift (Apus caffer) West Coast

151.    Alpine Swift (Apus melba) Kirstenbosch

152.   Common Swift (Apus apus) Kirstenbosch

153.   Knysna Turaco (Tauraco corythaix) Wilderness NP

154.   Red-faced Mousebird (Urocolius indicus) West Coast NP

155.   White-backed Mousebird (Colius colius) Clanwilliam

156.   Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus) West Coast NP

157.   Didric Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius) h Clanwilliam

158.   African Hoopoe (Upupa africana) West Coast NP

159.   Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas) Brandvlei

160.   Narina Trogon (Apaloderma narina) Wilderness

161.    Malachite Kingfisher (Alcedo cristata) Wilderness

162.   Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) West Coast NP

163.   Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maximus)  Langabaan

164.   European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) Tanqua Karoo

165.   Acacia Pied Barbet (Tricholaema leucomelas) Langabaan

166.   Red-capped Lark (Calandrella cinerea) Brandvlei

167.   Stark’s Lark (Spizocorys starki) Brandvlei

168.   Karoo Lark (Certhilauda albescens) Brandvlei

169.   Red Lark (Certhilauda burra) Brandvlei

170.   Cape Long-billed Lark (Certhilauda curvirostris) West Coast

171.    Karoo Long-billed Lark (Certhilauda subcoronata) Brandvlei

172.   Agulhas Long-billed Lark (Certhilauda brevirostris) De Hoop

173.   Spike-heeled Lark (Chersomanes albofasciata) Brandvlei

174.   Large-billed Lark (Galerida magnirostris) West Coast

175.   Rufous-naped Lark (Mirafra Africana) De Hoop

176.   Cape Clapper Lark (Mirafra apiata) 1 Darling 26.2.99

177.   Agulhas Clapper Lark (Mirafra marjoriae) De Hoop

178.   Sabota Lark (Mirafra (sabota) naevia) Brandvlei

179.   Sclater's Lark (Spizocorys sclateri) Brandvlei

180.   Grey-backed Sparrowlark (Eremopterix verticalis) Brandvlei

181.    Black-eared Sparrowlark (Eremopterix australis) Brandvlei

182.   Greater Striped Swallow (Hirundo cucullata) De Hoop

183.   South African Cliff Swallow (Hirundo spilodera) Brandvlei

184.   Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) Kirstenbosch

185.   White-throated Swallow (Hirundo albigularis) West Coast N.P.

186.   Pearl-breasted Swallow (Hirundo dimidiata) West Coast N.P.

187.   Black Saw-wing (Psalidoprocne holomelas) Grootvaderbosch

188.   Rock Martin (Hirundo fuligula) Clanwilliam

189.   Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) Wilderness

190.   Brown-throated Martin (Riparia paludicola) West Coast N.P.

191.    Banded Martin (Riparia cincta) West Coast  

192.   Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) Wilderness NP

193.   Black-headed Oriole (Oriolus larvatus) Wilderness NP

194.   Brubru (Nilaus afer) West Coast NP

195.   Black-backed Puffback (Dryoscopus cubla) Wilderness NP

196.   House Crow (Corvus slendens) Kirstenbosch

197.   Cape Crow (Corvus capensis) Widespread, especially south coast

198.   Pied Crow (Corvus albus) Widespread especially west coast 

199.   White-necked Raven (Corvus albicollis) Kirstenbosch

200. Southern Grey Tit (Parus afer) Langabaan

201.   Cape Penduline Tit (Anthoscopus minutus) West Coast NP

202.  Dark-capped Bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolour) Clanwilliam

203. Cape Bulbul (Pycnonotus capensis  Kirstenbosch

204. African Red-eyed Bulbul (Pycnonotus nigricans) Augrabies Falls

205. Sombre Bulbul (Andropadus importunus) Kirstenbosch

206. Terrestrial Brownbul (Phyllastrephus terrestris) Wilderness

207.  Olive Thrush (Turdus olivaceus) Kirstenbosch

208. Karoo Thrush (Turdus smithi) Brandvlei

209. Cape Rock Thrush (Monticola rupestris) Rooi Els

210.   Sentinel Rock Thrush (Monticola explorator) Rooi Els

211.    Short-toed Rock Thrush (Monticola brevipes) Karoo NP

212.   Cape Rockjumper (Chaetops frenatus) Rooi Els

213.   African Stonechat (Saxicola (torquata) West Coast

214.   Capped Wheatear (Oenanthe pileata) Clanwilliam

215.   Mountain Wheatear (Oenanthe monticola) Rooi Els

216.   Familiar Chat (Cercomela familiaris) Clanwilliam

217.   Tractrac Chat (Cercomela tractrac) Brandvlei

218.   Sickle-winged Chat (Cercomela sinuata) West Coast

219.   Karoo Chat (Cercomela schlegelii) Brandvlei

220. Anteating Chat (Myrmecocichla formicivora) West Coast

221.   Cape Robin (Cossypha cafra) Kirstenbosch

222. Karoo Robin (Erythropygia coryphoeus) Kirstenbosch