Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 A Tropical Birding set departure tour South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger Main Tour: 10th – 24th January 2020 Eastern Endemics and Drakensberg Extension: 24th January – 1st February 2020 Tour Leader: Emma Juxon All photographs in this report were taken by Emma Juxon, species depicted in photographs are named in BOLD RED Gurney’s Sugarbird seen on our day exploring the Sani Pass during the Drakensberg Extension www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 Introduction South Africa has it all, from mind-blowing wildlife to incredible scenery to fantastic people and cultures, not to mention the delicious food! This tour really gives clients a wonderful insight into life in this fantastic and varied country. We cover a huge area of the country, taking us through many different habitats and thus allowing us the opportunity to enjoy large species numbers. This tour follows our tried and tested route through the rugged Western Cape and along the south coast into the Garden Route. From there we move inland to the arid landscapes of the Karoo and Tankwa Karoo before hopping across country via airplane to Johannesburg and exploring the world-famous Kruger National Park. Then back to Johannesburg before winding our way through the mid-altitude grasslands of Wakkerstroom to Zululand, visiting Mkhuze Game Reserve, the St. Lucia estuary, the montane forests of Eshowe and oNgoye and the agricultural lands of Howick and Underberg. A final adventurous ascent takes us into the striking high- altitude vistas of Lesotho before winding our way back down to the tropical Indian Ocean shores of Durban. This particular tour was very much treated as a custom tour due to there being just two participants, so there were times where we took things a little easier than on a hard-core birding trip. This along with the weather being against us for most of the tour, extremely strong winds most days and also heavy rains, meant that at times birding was challenging. Our trip numbers show that pure enthusiasm and perseverance prevailed and we encountered a brilliant 479 species of bird, 60 mammal species and 23 herptile species throughout the whole trip, making it a truly unforgettable tour. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 Fairest Cape to Kruger January 10 – Arrival, Cape Peninsula Today was supposed to be the arrival day, where we would usually kick-off the tour with an evening meal, but both of the participants had arrived a day early which allowed us to start as we meant to go on – birding! After a great breakfast at a very reasonable hour, we began our sojourn of the Cape Town area, first visiting the world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Situated at the eastern foot of the majestic Table Mountain, the botanical gardens make home for some fantastic species for participants to start checking off their lifers. A short woodland trail gave us fantastic views straight off the bat of Lemon Dove, almost at our feet! Walking further around the gardens we enjoyed our first views of Cape Batis, Speckled Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Southern Boubou, Karoo Prinia, Sombre Greenbull, Cape Bulbul, Cape White- www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 eye, Southern Double-collared Sunbird and Olive Thrush. As we neared the Protea area of the gardens, we found our most wanted endemics, Cape Sugarbird (previous page) and the glorious Orange-breasted Sunbird. As we admired these protea specialists, we were also captivated by soaring Yellow-billed Kite, Black Sawwing and White-necked Raven. A family of Cape Francolin comically foraged in the undergrowth joined by Cape Robin-Chat, as African Dusky Flycatcher perched above. Some of our favorites of the morning included the very sweet Swee and Common Waxbill, the chunky Brimstone Canaries and localized introduced Common Chaffinch. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 With lunch time growing near, we made our way to the coast and one of my favorite restaurants overlooking False Bay. Here we enjoyed some fantastic seafood as we watched Kelp and Hartlaub’s Gull, African Oystercathcer and Cape Wagtail. After lunch we headed for the very tip of the Cape peninsula, Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Greeted by the infamous Cape Point Southern Chacma Baboons we also caught sight of some very brief Cape Siskin, patrolling Peregrine Falcon, Cape Bunting and skeins of Cape Gannet out to sea. At the sea level of the Cape of Good Hope, the plentiful rocks made great places for Crowned, White-breasted and Cape Cormorant to dry their wings, whilst Great Crested and Sandwich Terns rested alongside them. The afternoon was drawing to an end but there was just one more stop to make on our way back to our delightful guesthouse. As we pulled into the carpark of Boulder’s Beach the participants could immediately see why we were here, African Penguins! Everyone loves penguins and once we’d had our fill of them bizarrely hanging out near the cars, we took the boardwalk to the colony, adding Amethyst Sunbird to our growing list. Here we had exceptional views and were able to observe their sometimes-comical behavior; we were also treated to Cape Fur Seal and Rock Hyrax amongst the penguins. It had been a fantastic first day of the tour and we finished off with a great meal at a local restaurant to our guesthouse. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 January 11 – Cape Peninsula We started our day bright and early with a packed breakfast over-looking Zeekoe vlei, a large lake just outside of Cape Town. Treated to Greater Flamingo and Great White Pelican fly-bys as we ate, amongst many others, we were keen to start our mornings birding proper, at the Strandfontein Sewer Works. This fantastic wetland is second to none in the area had some brilliant sightings throughout the morning. The first lakes we came across had several duck species including, White-faced Whistling Duck, South African Shelduck, Cape Shoveler, African Black, Yellow-billed and Red-billed Duck. Other smaller lakes gave us cracking views of Sothern Pochard, a single White-backed Duck and stunning Hottentot Teal. Little and Eared Grebes dotted the waters as Southern Masked-Weaver, Levaillant’s Cisticola, Lesser Swamp- Warbler, Little Rush-Warbler and Cape Weaver worked the reeds. The shores of the various ponds and waterways were lined with species such as Blacksmith Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Water Thick-knee and beautifully patterned Three-banded Plover. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 Once we had had a fill of Strandfontein, we headed over to the other side of Cape Town where we found the urban oasis of Intaka Island. This small series of wetlands amidst the built-up area of Century City is a fantastic little spot to get up-close and personal with some great species. Straight away, we were enjoying Purple, Grey and Black-headed Herons as well as Blacksmith Lapwing (next page), Eurasian Moorhen, Red-knobbed Coot and African Swamphen. The reeds were filled with female and immature male Southern Red Bishops, but we didn’t have to walk far before the participants were treated to the absolutely stunning males in full breeding plumage. Both Cape and Forest Canary foraged in the shrubs and small trees alongside common, but equally attractive, Cape Sparrow and a gorgeous male Pin-tailed Whydah. A structure in the middle of the www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 water was adorned with African Sacred, Glossy and Hadada Ibis, Long-tailed Cormorant and African Darter. We were soon distracted by movement in the reeds right beside us and after some bending and twisting to get a view, we had ourselves a very colorful Little Bittern! Taking shade in one of the hides, we had our first brilliant views of Pied Kingfisher as a pair perched beautifully in front of us. We also had a fleeting glimpse of Malachite Kingfisher as it returned to its nest site in the opposite bank. With the heat rising and our tummies rumbling, we made our way to a local restaurant for lunch. The participants had decided that they were happy with the birds that they had seen during the morning and with jetlag and general tiredness setting in, we headed back to our lovely guesthouse where they took the rest of the afternoon off to relax and enjoy the garden birds. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: Fairest Cape to Kruger - January 2020 January 12 – West Coast We left Cape Town behind us today and took a trip to the scenic West Coast National Park. With a packed breakfast in hand we stopped at spot known for its Southern Black Korhaan or Black Bustard as they are also known. Within moments of turning the corner we had one! A stunning male. Almost immediately after we found ourselves surrounded by our endemic targets, Black Harrier worked the grasslands, Protea Canary fed on their namesake, a family of elegant Blue Crane walked the pastures and Jackal Buzzards watched from their posts.