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Tropical Birding South Africa, November

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Tropical Birding South Africa, November Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com Photos by Josh Engel. All photos taken on this tour. Superstorm Sandy had us worried, but we lucked out. With all the flights canceled for two days to and from Dulles Airport, the group was flying on day 3 and had no problems. We all met up in Cape Town the first afternoon and took a short walk around the suburban neighborhood where we were staying. Besides some nice chats with curious locals, we picked up a few common birds including a pair of Spotted Thick-knees. For the first full day of the tour, the group split up with Ed and Chuck heading out to sea on a pelagic and the rest of the group heading south for Cape Point after dropping them off in Simon’s Town. We had a lovely morning along the Cape Peninsula, with great views of Cape Grassbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird and Cape Sugarbird with gorgeous scenery as a constant backdrop. We thought we were going to have a real ‘nature moment’ when a troop of baboons had surrounded a days-old Ostrich that got separated from its mother, but they eventually lost interest and moved on (they seemed to think that climbing on cars was much more entertaining). Cape everlastings were in full bloom, South Africa, November 2012 1 Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com providing a brilliant white background to the morning’s birding. After Cape Siskins and lunch at Cape Point, we turned around and headed back to pick up the pelagic-goers. They had a great trip, seeing most of the expected seabirds for the early summer, including three species of albatross and a few straggling Pintado Petrels along with a Bryde’s Whale. After meeting up we headed to Boulders for some penguin time. Wonderful, as always. The Cape Point group was still oystercatcher-less, so we took a slight detour on the way back to the guest house. We found the oystercatchers, plus Greater Flamingoes and a plenty of other new waterbirds. Female Cape Sugarbird in Kirstenbosch. For our second full day in Cape Town we headed north up the West Coast. We started our birding on a country road that, as usual, was full of birds. We quickly picked up things like Capped Wheatear, African Hoopoe, and Pearl-breasted Swallow. Further along we added Chestnut-vented Tit-babbler, Cloud Cisticola, and watched as a Jackal Buzzard was flushed from a tree by a Cape gray mongoose. After a traditional Cape Malay lunch in West Coast National Park, the tide was absolutely perfect for shorebirding. Heading out to the well-situated hide, we had great scope views of thirteen species of shorebirds, plus a flyby view of the locally rare Common Redshank. Before leaving the park we made one more stop where birds were coming in to drink, including large numbers of Yellow Canaries. We made one final stop for beautiful views of Table Mountain across Table Bay before returning to the guest house. For our final full day in Cape Town, we had a real Cape Town birding day: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in the morning and the Strandfontein Sewage Works in the afternoon. South Africa, November 2012 2 Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com They were quite the contrast environment-wise, but both were full of birds. The always- stunning Kirstenbosch delivered the goods with point-blank male and female Cape Sugarbirds. The resident Spotted Eagle-Owls showed well, including a fluffy juvenile that posed on top of a rock just feet away from the admiring crowd. Strandfontein was full of birds as usual, including recently arrived Southern Pochard and Maccoa Duck and a variety of terns, shorebirds, and other waterbirds. You can’t go to Cape Town and not visit Boulders, home of the African Penguin. There were many juveniles like this one present when we visited. It was finally time to set out from Cape Town. We headed east and started our morning at Rooi Els. It was a beautiful morning, but the rockjumpers just wouldn’t show. We made up for it with stunning Cape Sugarbirds, Orange-breasted Sunbirds, and a bonus Cape Siskin. Continuing east, we stopped at a lovely little farmstall for lunch before finally making it to the Agulhas Plain in the afternoon. Very quickly we found our three target bustards: Southern Black Korhaan, Karoo Korhaan, and a field with no fewer than twelve Denham Bustards. An Agulhas Long-billed Lark performed beautifully, displaying in front of us, Cape Vultures came over on schedule near their breeding colony, and Blue Cranes were abundant. Eland, bontebok, and yellow mongoose provided some furry highlights as well. After our night in a renovated Dutch colonial farm house, we made the short drive to Bontebok National Park for the morning. We quickly found one of our targets, watching a great show of Agulhas (Cape) Clapper Larks displaying. A Cape Longclaw finally cooperated, with stunning views next to the car. We also saw a puffed up male Denham Bustard being rudely ignored by the females present. And this was all before we even South Africa, November 2012 3 Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com entered the park. After some stops for mammals, including red hartebeest and numerous bontebok, we finally came across another major target bird with stunning views of a pair of Black Harriers. Cape Longclaws look strikingly like meadowlarks, but look at that claw! We continued east after leaving the park, arriving in Wilderness, our home for the next two night, in the afternoon. We added innumerable birds in the garden immediately upon our arrival at the guesthouse, including point-blank Knysna Turaco, Swee Waxbill, Olive Bush-Shrike, and many others. We did a short pre-breakfast outing the next morning, with the best find being our only Giant Kingfisher of the trip. We returned for an extended breakfast with the birds at the guest house. While enjoying the freshly made quiche and muffins we were bombarded by birds in the garden. Knysna Turaco, Southern Boubou, Lemon Dove, four species of sunbirds, Terrestrial Bulbul, Chorister Robin-Chat, and many others appeared mere feet away, unable to resist the fruit-and-cheese platter offered them. African Paradise Flycatchers put in a great appearance behind the lodge where they were nesting. We made a short trip to the Indian Ocean shore, had a rest, then went to Woodville Forest for an afternoon walk in the woods. We had great views of the very difficult Knysna Woodpecker and scope views of Black-headed Oriole. A return trip after dinner yielded a calling Wood Owl, but it didn’t want to come close. The next day began with another short pre-breakfast trip. We failed to find the hoped for Knysna Warbler, but a Southern Tchagra sitting in the open calling was a great consolation prize. A final breakfast with the turacos followed, this time with the addition South Africa, November 2012 4 Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com of a Red-necked Spurfowl under the feeders. It was now time to cross Swartberg Pass into the Great Karoo. We had a single bird in mind as we crossed through the pass: Cape Rockjumper. It was hot by the time we arrived, with a breeze picking up. After methodically working our way up the pass without success, Ed shouted “Stop!” Sure enough, a male Cape Rockjumper was sitting on a rock right next to the van. We got out and watched as two male rockjumpers chased each other around the nearby rocks, occasionally stopping to sing and display. What a show it was, and what a relief for the guide. Sentinal Rock-Thrush also put in an appearance here. High on every birder’s most-wanted list on a South Africa visit is Cape Rockjumper. We found this one thanks to Ed’s spotting at Swartberg Pass. After a welcome coffee break in Prince Albert, we continued to Karoo National Park. We took a short drive in the evening to start our list of Karoo endemics, but did better with mammals, including oryx and gray rhebok. The next morning was when the birding really got going. After enjoying the numerous weavers, bishops, and sparrows outside the chalets, we headed up Klipspringer Pass. We quickly found Southern Gray Tit and Pale- winged Starling and eventually a soaring pair of Verreaux’s Eagles that landed nearby for great scope views. We spent some time birding riparian areas in the late morning heat, finding—after hearing many—Acacia Pied Barbet and Red-faced Mousebird—along with the hyperactive Fairy Flycatcher and some enormous leopard tortoises. After a welcome afternoon break, we took another drive through the plains. We found our first Sabota Lark and had great looks at a very responsive Namaqua Warbler. A night drive yielded one new mammal, common duiker, plus superb looks at a Rufous-cheeked Nightjar. South Africa, November 2012 5 Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com We had one final morning in the Karoo, finally finding Ground Woodpeckers along with our first Yellow-bellied Eremomela and great looks at a ground-perching Pale Chanting Goshawk. Finishing up in the arid west, we returned to Cape Town airport, flew to Johannesburg, and continued our South Africa adventure in the eastern half of the country. We birded our way to Wakkerstroom the next morning, enjoying the many Long-tailed Widowbirds along the road to town plus our first real Wakkerstroom specials--an extremely close Southern Bald Ibis and a pair of Blue Korhaans. We also watched a group of meerkats eyeing us warily from a roadside field. A short evening trip to the town’s fantastic wetland yielded some extraordinary looks at two singing skulkers--Little Rush Warbler and Little Bittern, plus our first Gray Crowned Crane across the marsh.
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