Trip Report: Hottentots Holland Day Trip - 6 April
2006
A 7am start ensured we were at Rooi Els nice
and early, and we were rewarded with great views of a 5-strong family
group of Cape Rock-jumpers, a single Ground
Woodpecker, and interestingly a pair of Long-billed
Pipits. The resident Verreauxs' (Black) Eagle
pair were actively adding to their eyrie, and Southern double-collared,
Orange-breasted and Malachite Sunbirds
were particularly active. We also had fleeting glimpses of a male
Cape Sugarbird.
Stony Point was particularly good with the usual
regiment of African Penguins putting on a fine
display, while both Bank and Crowned Cormorants
were actively building nests. It was interesting watching the Bank
Cormorants, with their white breeding rump patches, disappearing
on regular sorties to the ocean floor in search of fresh seaweed,
an integral nest component that is bound with guano. A surprise
was a lone immature African Marsh Harrier (with
distinctive breast band) that put in brief appearance.
Harold Porter Botanical Gardens produced the usual
array of garden birds and the highlight was extended views of a
bird party mobbing a Boomslang (Tree Snake) in
Disa Kloof. Numerous Cape White-eyes, Orange-breasted
and Southern Double-collared Sunbirds, Cape
Batis, Swee Waxbill, Paradise
Flycatcher and Cape Bulbul put in an appearance.
After a quick lunch at “De Nice Deli”
in Betty’s Bay we made our way back towards Cape Town for
an afternoon of waterbirds at Strandfontein Sewage Works. All the
usual suspects were present as well as 6 Hottentot Teal,
which was a nice surprise. Before heading home we made a quick stop
at Blouvlei Nature Reserve and were very pleased to find a magnificent
female Painted Snipe, an apt ending to an excellent
days birding!
Trip report by Birding Africa tour leader David
Winter.
Many
of the birding sites on this trip are described in detail in the
Southern African Birdfinder
which is widely available in South African bookshops and on the
internet. (e.g., www.netbooks.co.za
or www.wildsounds.co.uk). However
you're always welcome to contact us if you're interested in a guided
trip in this area.
Practical tour information:
South Africa: Western Endemics
Western South Africa rivals any other place in Africa for
the number of endemic bird species and accessibility: over 80%
of South Africa's endemics occurs here. This varied scenery
with dramatic mountain ranges, the unqiue Cape floral Kingdom
and the semi-desert plains of the Karoo also offers mammals,
chameleons, geckos, butterflies and interesting plants, to suit
both keen birders and nature enthusiasts. We also offer pelagic
trips out of Cape Town, to see albatross, shearwaters, petrels,
whales and dolphins.
Photography
Many participants on our tours and day trips are amateur wildlife
photographers. And when we get excellent views of a bird or
mammal, some time is usually spent watching and photographing
it. However, this is not a photographic tour and once the majority
of the people have felt that they have absorbed the animal or
bird to their satisfaction, then we move on in search of the
next encounter. Thus, while the photographic
opportunities are very good, the group will only occasionally
wait for somebody who wants to spend even longer getting better
photos.
Fitness
Only a low level of fitness is required.
Timing
Throughout the year.
Climate
Mediterranean climate, which can be warm in summer (October
to March) and chilly in winter (June to September), the rainy
season.
Comfort
A good standard of accommodation in guest houses, lodges and
farm stays.
Please contact
us if you wish to book a guided or a self-drive tour. You
will receive the booking form and conditions and a tour information
pack.
About
Birding Africa Birding Africa is a specialist birding
tour company customising tours for both world listers and more relaxed
holiday birders. We combine interests in mammals, butterflies,
dragonflies, botany and other natural history aspects and will guide
you to Africa's and Madagascar's most diverse birding destinations.
Our guides' knowledge of African
birds and birding areas is our greatest strength and together we
have rediscovered species, shared exciting observations with the
birding community and had a fun time exploring our home continent.
We've even written two acclaimed guide
books on where to find Southern Africa's and Madagascar's best
birds. Birding is more than our passion, it's our lifestyle, and
we are dedicated to making professional, best value trips filled
with endemic species and unique wildlife experiences. Since 1997,
we've run bird watching tours
in South Africa and further into Africa for individual birders,
small birding groups and top international tour companies. We've
run Conservation Tours
in association with the African Bird Club and work with and consult
for a number of other top international tour companies and the BBC
Natural History Unit.