South Africa
August 31-September 5, 2010 - Bird/Species Trip List
Pre-trip extension to Botswana
Emphasis on Fynbos Ecology, Wildflowers and Birding
Bruce Terlien, Peg Abbott and five participants

Ostrich - wild Ostrich seen first on our day amid the flowers on the West side of the Cape, then several groups were seen on the Peninsula our final day. The ‘regulars were at the beach at Cape Point, oblivious if not a bit curious to our presence and we snapped many an image of them
African Penguin - as Pat says, the ‘cute’ factor at the colony on the Peninsula was very high. We had a great hour or so wandering alongside their burrows, and to a rocky promontory where they seemed to haul out to watch the sunset. Large chicks were scattered about the colony. Great to spend time with this vulnerable species
Great Crested Grebe - Rondevlei Nature Reserve, three in the open ponds
Little Grebe - we saw several of these gorgeous little creatures in breeding attire at Rondevlei
Great White Pelican - Judy spotted this bird as we drove the coastal road back to Cape Town from Hermanus
Cape Gannet - distant birds sighted from the Cape of Good Hope lighthouse, shimmering above the waves, long porcelain wings barely moving as they sheered over the water in characteristic flight
White-breasted Cormorant - seen on all five days, never in large number but very regularly
Cape Cormorant - when seen, they occurred in good number, and were breeding on cliffs under Cape of Good Hope lighthouse in profusion, some of the nests held big, begging chicks
Bank Cormorant - seen on Duiker Island, some of the nesting between the hoards of hauled out fur seals
Reed Cormorant - small marsh on our first day, western side of the Cape
Crowned Cormorant - seen on three days, including some on the cliffs at Cape of Good Hope and one in quite different habitat perched in cattails and rushes at Rondevlei
African Darter - several sunbathing individuals at Rondevlei
Grey Heron - seen on three of our days
Black-headed Heron - Rondevlei and Cape coastline
Great White Egret - Rondevelei
Little Egret - small ponds in agricultural area our first day on the west side
Yellow-billed (Intermediate) Egret - Rondevlei
Black Egret - spotted by David cruising over the bus as we emerged at Rondevlei
Cattle Egret - seen on two days, a few scattered individuals in agricultural areas
Sacred Ibis - common, seen in inland and coastal habitats on three days
Glossy Ibis - good numbers at Rondevelei
Hadada Ibis - happy on urban lawns, seen daily
African Spoonbill - seen on our first day from the bus in transit
Egyptian Goose - very common
Yellow-billed Duck - two roosting at Rondevlei
Cape Teal - pond at one of the wildflower reserves on day one, a long individual
Cape Shoveller - pond at one of the wildflower reserves on day one, a pair
Spur-winged Goose - same reserve area as Cape Teal and Cape Shoveller, in good number, resting on rock outcrops. Also seen in flight on two other days
Secretary bird - great views of a lone individual in farm area between wildflower reserves near Darling
Yellow-billed Kite - farm lands near wildflower reserves west side areas
Black-shouldered Kite - LO, Bruce only, seen from the bus
Verreaux’s Eagle - two individuals put on a good show as we were searching for Cape Rockjumpers, in gale force winds. We watched them fly and perch, wonderful!
Jackal Buzzard - we found the first one while hiking in the fynbos on day 2, then each day afterwards, mainly adults with one juvenile seen our final day near Cape Point.
Rock Kestrel - seen by Alex at Rodeils near the sea
Lesser Kestrel - Fernkloof Reserve at Hermanus, great scope views as they chased off White-necked Ravens
Cape Spur fowl (Francolin) - tame and common, seen well in all the gardens, many of the reserves
Helmeted Guineafowl - heard and seen around hotels, gardens, reserves
Blue Crane - several pair seen in farm areas near Darling, spectacular birds, most sightings were of pairs, several calling
Purple Swamphen - seen by several of our group at Rondevlei
Common Moorhen - Rondevlei
Red-knobbed Coot - several small ponds and Rondevlei
African Black Oystercatcher - all coastal areas, first seen at Hermanus
Kittlitz’s Plover - breeding plumage individual at wildflower reserve
Blacksmith Lapwing (Plover) - breeding pair first seen at wildflower reserve our second day, then at several locations including several giving off alarm calls in the penguin colony
Whimbrel - southern coast
Black-winged Stilt - Waylands flower reserve and Rondevlei
Kelp Gull - common on coastlines
Hartlaub’s Gull - very common on coastlines and in some inland ponds
Caspian Tern - seen as leaving the city our first day near some ponds
Swift (Greater Crested) Terns - Hermanus and Cape Point / Cape of Good Hope areas
Rock Dove - seen on three days of our journey
Rock Pigeon - seen daily
Red-eyed Dove - seen on three days of the journey in plantings around hotel in Hout Bay
Cape Turtle Dove - common along roadsides and settlements
Laughing Dove - Hermanus and Rondevlei
White-rumped Swift - cliffs at Hermanus
Little Swift - seen by Peg and Judy from a walk in the fynbos
Speckled Mousebird - Kirstenbosch Gardens and Cape of Good Hope trail
Pied Kingfisher - Hermanus
Giant Kingfisher - Hermanus
Karou Lark - wildflower reserve near Darling
Red-capped Lark - wildflower reserve near Darling
Barn Swallow - day two of our journey, farm country
Rock Martin - very common at Rodeils and also at coastal areas around the Cape Peninsula
Banded Martin - roadside margins with wet fields in the Wayland Flower reserves
Fork - tailed Drongo - Fernkloof Reserve and other locals near Hermanus
Pied Crow - common
White-necked Raven - Fernkloof, other locals our final three days
Cape Bulbul - seen on four of our days, quite common in gardens
Sombre Greenbul - both Kirstenbosch Gardens and Harold Porter Botanical Gardens
Olive Thrush - very common, seen daily, lovely serenades many mornings and along our trails
Cape Rock Thrush - male and female seen hopping up and down large boulders at Rodeils, a second pair seen further down the track
Capped Wheatear - seen well in scopes near small pond at wildflower reserve
Familiar Chat - Kirstenbosch Gardens and near Cape of Good Hope
African Stonechat - first stop, with pond and farmhouses on the day we explored wildflower areas near Darling
Cape Robin Chat - beautiful common little bird with cheerful song
African Reed Warbler - Rondevlei
Victorin’s Warbler - David and Judy and Peg stayed with this skulker for quite some time, hearing it call before luring it out for a view. A great find just where it should be along stream course, this one at Fernkloof.
Bar-throated Apalis - lower gardens of Fernkloof and also lawns of an estate-hotel in Hermanus
Cape Grassbird - Rodeils, a pair, and a male with nesting material in its beak near Cape Hope lookout
Cloud Cistcola - views perched and in display flight at wildflower reserve with wet fields interspersed with uplands - its behavior and short tail reminiscent of McCown’s Longspur
Grey-backed Cistcola - likely we saw several, but we finally got convincing looks along the road on the way into Cape of Good Hope
Levaillant’s Cistcola - we saw this bird well, on several days and repeatedly heard its liquid song. At Rondevlei we heard a shorter, more agitated call as well
Karoo Prinia - one of the most common and photogenic small bird species, seen daily. It was highly vocal, which made it easy to find
Spotted Flycatcher - in trees along woodland trail at Harold Porter gardens, calling
African Dusky Flycatcher - good looks and photos our first day at Kirstenbosch Gardens
Fiscal Flycatcher - lower gardens of Fernkloof and on lawns of seaside hotel at Hermanus
Cape Batis - we made a real effort at Kirstenbosh in the area Bruce told us might be productive, and then found it again at Fernkloof  and Harold Porter gardens. This one also ranked HIGH on the cute factor…
Cape Wagtail - our first smaller species, seen in city of Capetown as we stopped at a few historic sites, then common, seen daily
Cape Longclaw - male with lovely orange throat seen well at our first wildflower reserve on west side
Common Fiscal - road into the second wildflower reserve where we had our picnic lunch, then a very bold family at Fernkloof, posing it seemed for our photos
Southern Boubou - gardens and near our hotel, seen on three days
Southern Tchagra - seen near picnic site our wildflower day near Darling, perched and in flight
Bokmakiere - David found one the first morning outside our hotel, then we all had looks from the picnic spot on day two at the wildflower reserve. We also heard it in the bynbos at Cape of Good Hope
Eurasian Starling - daily
Pied Starling - seen as lone birds or in small number, three days
Gossy Starling - seen by Alex at Rodeils
Red-winged Starling - daily, in groups, very bold birds came in to beg near the lighthouse of Cape of Good Hope
Cape Sugarbird - seen well and in good number, males and females on three of our days. Perhaps best looks at Fernkloof where proteas blomed in profusion
Malachite Sunbird - finally, several males sighted our final day near Cape of Good Hope, tending a patch of proteas
Orange-breasted Sunbird - first seen at Kirstenbosch, then on all days. Vocal and common but never anything less than stunning!
Lesser Double-collared Sunbird - very common, we were never far from its chatter and we all took WAY too many photos of this beautiful bird
Cape White-eye - common and vocal, seen daily
House Sparrow - seen on two days of our journey
Cape Sparrow - Hermanus and Cape Point, near restaurant
Cape Weaver - seen on three days, best views of several making nests near our picnic spot at the wildflower reserve
Masked Weaver - seen by a few at Rondevlei
Southern Red Bishop - wow, what a bird. We observed one at close range in Darling, near the wall of a gas station in some native  vegetation growing there
Yellow-rumped Widow - seen on three days, common in wet areas near Darling
Swee Waxbill - Judy spotted these little beauties on the lawn of the Harold Porter Botanic Gardens, for all to enjoy
Chaffinch - Kirstenbosch Gardens and final day near Cape of Good Hope
Cape Canary - seen on two days of our journey, the first near the ponds of the wildflower reserve near Darling and the second on the walk between Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope
Forest Canary - Kirstenbosch Gardens, VERY quick glimpses we wished we had the opportunity to improve on!
Cape Siskin - small family group up near lighthouse at Cape Point
Brimstone Canary - David spotted this large-billed species on two of our days (day 3 and five)
Yellow Canary - wildflower reserves
Streaky-headed Seedeater - feeding in proteas in lower gardens at Fernkloof
Cape Bunting - seen on three days of our journey, another fairly tame on that allowed some photographic study

Mammals:
Chacma Baboon - seen on three days of our journey, one individual here and there, the most memorable being one perched high on a knoll overlooking Fernkloof near sunset. David and Judy said this species was far less noticeable than when they were here 13 years previously, likely a result of the park’s serious campaign to keep humans and baboons from interacting
Bontebok - two different groups and a lone individual seen well at Cape of Good Hope NP
Rock Hyrax (Dassie) - Hermanus, on the sea cliffs
Eland - two feeding near Cape Point
Small Grey Mongoose - Fernkloof in the lower gardens and again at Rondevlei, curious when we were pishing out birds!
Striped Mouse - begging at lunch at the picnic place at the lighthouse of Cape of Good Hope
Cape Fur Seal - many hauled out offshore of Hout Bay on Duiker Island. We approached by boat and had super views of young ones playing in the water and many dynamics of group life on this small rock
Springhare - residential area, Hout Bay
Grey Squirrel (introduced) - Kirstenbosch Gardens
Steenbok - fynbos hills near Darling, our first official native mammal of the trip
Southern Right Whale - absolutely incredible time with these massive animals. We watched a lot of behaviors and saw several mother and calf combos, also evidence of males trying to mate with females. What a treat to see them so close to shore, and for Pat, very close on a boat cruise of the Hermanus harbor
Cape Mountain Zebra - Bruce spotted three of these resting in the fynbos of Cape of Good Hope National Park and we got out to scope them, wow!
Rhebok - three individuals, Cape of Good Hope NP

Reptiles:
Southern Rock Agama - Fernkloof
Angulate Tortoise - wildflower reserves and Fernkloof

 

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