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JAN 11 – FEB 2, 2013 Tour Leader: Scott Watson Report & Photos: Scott Watson

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JAN 11 – FEB 2, 2013 Tour Leader: Scott Watson Report & Photos: Scott Watson + JAN 11 – FEB 2, 2013 Tour Leader: Scott Watson Report & Photos: Scott Watson Knysna Turaco while eating breakfast (Scott Watson) A January tour in South Africa means lush vegetation, breeding plumages, and spectacular migrants. This tour hits all of the major habitats South Africa has to offer. Starting in the endemic rich Fynbos around Cape Town, we move through the rich coastal forests of the southern coast. Then north to the dry, yet lush Karoo, east to the Highveld grasslands of Wakkerstroom. Moving further north to the famous, ultra-diverse, Bushveld of Kruger NP, then south to the mangroves and coastline around St. Lucia, into the forests of Eshowe, and finally to the high elevation of the Drakensbergs and into the mountain top country of Lesotho. All of these habitat changes are designed so that we not only get the endemics of South Africa but also a good cross-section of the birdlife this country has to offer. On top of that, mammals seemed to be particularity friendly on this tour from the wide array of antelope to the incredible big cats. With about 490 birds in the bag and close to 60 species of mammals we didn’t leave much behind (although the Pelagic trip did not run this tour). From African Penguins near Simon’s Town, to bright green Knysna Turacos inches away in Wilderness, from watching a hunting Leopard in Kruger, to having a toast amongst Lammergiers at the highest pub in Africa in Lesotho, this tour is all about diversity. A truly memorable trip which will last a lifetime. A toast at the highest pub in Africa on the boarder of South Africa and Lesotho (Scott Watson) Jan. 11th – The False Bay Coast Our tour started off by visiting 4 mains sites along the False Bay coast in hopes of some Fynbos specialties. Fynbos is a plant kingdom on its own and is dominated by plant species such as Proteas and Ericas. The center of its range is in the Western Cape and we therefore focus our attention on getting all the Fynbos endemics. We started on the cliffs of Gordon’s Bay were we picked up specialties like Orange-breasted Sunbird, and Cape Siskin. We only heard Cape Rockjumper, our main target, so we moved on to try for it again. Our next stop was at the sleepy coastal town of Rooiels where we picked up Cape Sugarbird, one of the coolest birds in the country, with an extraordinary tail, not to mention one of two species in the endemic family of Sugarbirds. Moving on we went to Betty’s Bay and Stony Point to see the rare African Penguin, there is a sizable colony here that we easily see at close range. Watching the behaviour and antics of these flightless birds is always entertaining. We also picked up targets like Bank, Crowned, Cape, and Great Cormorants. Last stop of the day was at the beautiful Harold Porter Botanical Garden finding Cape Batis, Cape Sugarbird, Cape Francolin, Black Sawwing, Cape Grassbird, Sombre Greenbul, and a flyover Peregrine Falcon. Jan 12th – West Coast Today we go to the north of Cape Town into some Strandveld habitat in search of some more target birds. We focused our attention on West Coast National Park but also some other sites making this a very full day. Our first stop was at Koeburg power plant where we found our first Bokmakierie, a beautiful yellow bush- shrike. We also soon found Southern Boubou, Pearl-breasted Swallow, Cape Robin-Chat, and Little Swift. But the main reason for the stop here is for the often difficult, cute, and tiny, Cape Pendulin-Tit. We came across 3 birds here with great views. Next we did the Darling flower loop a bit further north. Birds were plentiful, but the main target was Cloud Cisticola which we easily found in its amazing display flight into the clouds. Into west coast national park we had our first looks at the world’s largest bird, the Ostrich, as well as our first big mammals such as Eland and Red Haaretbeest. Migrant shorebirds are a big target here and we were successful in getting Chestnut-banded Plover, Marsh Sandpiper, Red Knot, Little Stint, and many more! Else where in the park Karoo Scrub-Robins and Long-billed Crombecs were plentiful alongside the slow Angulate Tortoises along the roadside. Further north to Patenoster we dipped on Cape Lark but were successful in finding Sickle-winged Chat and Grey Tit. On our way back through the park we finally found our target Black Bustard. Black Bustard strutting its stuff (Scott Watson) Blue Crane – South Africa’s national bird (Scott Watson) Jan 13th – Cape Peninsula We decided to start this morning in a birders heaven, and like usual it turns out to be a sewage works, this one called Strandfontein. We hoped to pick up a plethora of marsh birds and we did just that with; Maccoa Duck, Hottentot Teal, South African Shellduck, and Southern Pochard amongst others. Greater Flamongos covered the lagoons in pink, while LBJ’s such as Lesser Swamp-Warbler and Little Rush Warbler crept in the reeds. Onwards, we explored the scenically beautiful Cape Peninsula specifically Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point. The views are always stunning and the rugged ocean shores alive with Cape Cormorants and a few African Penguins feeding just offshore. Cape of Good Hope on a beautiful clear day (Scott Watson) Jan 14th – Gordon’s Bay and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Today’s main goal was to finally find the Cape Rockjumper which is proving difficult, especially at this time of year. We tried Sir Lowry’s Pass in the early morning to no avail, so we went back to my favourite site at Gordon’s Bay. After a bit of effort we were finally able to spot a pair patrolling the rocky slopes. These energetic birds are in their own family, endemic to South Africa. This is one of two species of Rockjumper we hope to see this tour in order to get the family sweep! Next we explored the world famous Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Birds came fast and furious upon arrival at the garden. Here we found some endemics right off the bat including, Cape Francolin, Hartlaub’s Gull, Cape Bulbul, Karoo Prinia, Cape Batis, Southern Boubou, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Cape White-eye, Cape Canary, and Forest Canary. This is surely one of the most beautiful gardens in the world, with Table Mountain looming overhead, an incredible view of Cape Town, and plants bursting with flower. Lesser Double-collared Sunbird (Scott Watson) Jan 15th – Cape Town to De Hoop NP Today we start heading away from the Cape to new grounds. Driving east we finally made it to the true Overberg, the breadbasket of the Cape. An unnamed dirt road running to the north of De Hoop was our first birding spot. Right off the bat we heard and then saw Agulhas Long-billed Lark in display mode. Red- capped Larks, Thick-billed Larks, Capped Wheatears, and African Pipits were in really good numbers as we flushed them from the roadside. Soon enough some of our larger quarry showed up. First came the migrant White Storks, next our two target Bustard species. First we saw the very large Stanley Bustard, next came the much smaller pair of Karoo Bustards. As the day heated up we made it into De Hoop NP for a delicious lunch, and a rest in the shade joined by African Hoop and a few Horus Swifts. We then decided to bird the milkwood trees along the rivers edge where we had Southern Tchagra feeding in the undergrowth. Next we headed to the Potsberg area in hopes of finding some Cape Griffon’s flying back to their cliffs. We counted 35 of these beautiful yet endangered Vultures flying over. An Olive Woodpecker pair and a beautiful male Malichite Sunbird were are final birds of the day. The beautiful Bontebok (Scott Watson) Jan 16th – Victoria Bay and Wilderness NP After a morning drive, our lunch stop at Victoria Bay not only provided us with a great lunch but also our first coastal forest birds including; Knysna Turaco, Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Black-bellied Starling, and frustratingly just a heard Knysna Warbler. We heard at least 2 different birds, and after at least an hour with the bird 4 feet away from our faces it wouldn’t show itself. It is unfortunate that this species prefers to live in the thickest vegetation ever known, and crawls around it like a scared mouse. In fact it should be considered a species of mouse, then guides everywhere wouldn’t have to go through the frustration of finding and getting good views of this species, what with its beautiful shades of brown. We will try a different location for this bird. As we left we also saw our first Vervet Monkeys. Next we drove to Wilderness where we would spend the next 2 nights. Our accommodation at Kingfisher house has very productive feeders, and on arrival we already had Knysna Turaco, Red-necked Spurfowl, Lemon Dove, Chorister Robin-Chat, Terrestrial Brownbul, Fork-tailed Drongo, Swee Waxbills, Forest Canaries, Amethyst Sunbird, and Mouse-coloured Sunbird. We had to peel ourselves away from the feeders so we could check out the birds hides at the small lakes within Wilderness NP. Our first stop yielded a few ducks plus African Spoonbills and Malachite Kingfisher while African Fish- Eagles flew overhead. A stop at Malachite Hide was a little slower but we concentrated our efforts on one bird, the ever so tough Red-chested Flufftail.
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