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South Africa - Cape Region, 21/11 to 05/12 1998

Published by Surfbirds Admin (surfbirds AT surfbirds.com)

by Mark Sutton



Introduction

This report covers a birding trip taken to the South African cape region by myself, my wife linda, our 5 year old son Brent and my brother Richard. This was only my second trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the other being to the Gambia, so there many new birds for me (165). We were particularly interested in seeing as many of the regional endemics as possible.

Transport

The hire car was arranged from the UK, through Wildwings. We hired a VW Polo 1.6 saloon, with air-con. This was not the polo available in the UK, the size was more like a Golf/Jetta. The cost was

Food

The food was of a very high standard and at a reasonable price e.g. A full evening meal with dessert, wine, coffee etc varied from about 50R to about 75R each. Breakfast was usually in the region of 10R to 20R. We often brought food at supermarkets for lunch and when camping.

Weather

Dry and sunny most days but often very windy, especially around De Hoop and the Cape Peninsular. It was often cool in the morning and evenings (requiring long trousers and sweatshirt & Jacket). Around Augrabies it was too hot to bird (mid 30's) in the heat of the day. The only rain we saw was one afternoon/evening at Simons Town and drizzle at Grootvadersbos one evening.

Books & Tapes

The only books I took with me were: the 'Birds of South Africa' by I. Sinclair, P. Hackey, and W. Tarboton - SASOL, 'Top Birding Spots in Southern Africa' by Hugh Chittenden (highly recommended), South Africa Handbook (Travel Guide) by Sebastian Ballard, published by Footprints, ISBN 1-900940-07-5. Whilst I was there I brought the 'Mammals of Southern Africa' by Smithers'(120.95 Rand) and Ian Sinclair (photogaphic) 'Birds of Southern Africa' (111.95 Rand) both from the bookshop at Augrabies.

I also borrowed a tape of the Bird Calls of 'The South Western Cape' by Len Gillard from Patrick Cardwell of Windy Ridge.

Money

We took a couple of hundred pounds worth of Rand with us from the UK, the rest was taken as American Express $ Travellers Cheques, which were easily exchanged in local banks. We also payed for some Hotels by Visa, which was readily accepted in most hotels and restaurants.

Accommodation

The places we stayed on a nightly basis are shown in the following itinerary.

Most of the accommodation was booked on a day to day basis, which allowed the itinerary to be flexible. The accommodation and telephone numbers were found in the 'South Africa Handbook'. We often phoned on the day of our arrival using our mobile phone (Vodaphone) which we took from the UK. The coverage was excellent, we could get a signal from almost everywhere visited.

Windy Ridge was booked from the UK, about 1 month prior to departure. It is situated just outside Simon's Town ans is run by Patrick and Marie-Louise Cardwell. Patrick is a keen and knowledgeable birder and his local knowledge proved invaluable. The accommodation is in a self contained 'luxury' apartment and is very well situated for all the Cape Peninsular sites. P O Box 74 Simon's Town 7995 South Africa Ph/Fax: +27 21 786 1414 Mobile: +27 83 272 2455, E-mail cardwell@iafrica.com, cost R 600 per day (3 adults @ R175 and 1 child @ R75).

We camped at several sites. The sites here are excellent, very clean and tidy. All sites had hot showers and braai's (brick circles in which to build a camp fire) but not all sites have braaigrids (mesh covers to cook on over the fire). All the sites we visited had individual pitches and varied from empty to about a third full.

Useful web sites

ZABIRDSTUFF: General info on birding in South Africa, Trip Reports, Accommodation, Sites etc. http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/4074/

Windy Ridge: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/4074/7dbb1.htm

Itinerary

Sat 21/11

Arrive approx mid-day & drove Windy Ridge. Birded a circuit from Simon's Town to Kommetjie and back to Boulders & Simpon's Town.

Sun 22/11

Am - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. pm - Rondeveli N.R. & Strandfontein Sewage Works.

Mon 23/11

Am - Rockjumper site near Rooiels Bay & Harold Porter Botanical Gardens. Pm-Helderberg N.R.

Tue 24/11

Am - Cape of Good Hope N.R. Pm - West Coast N.P.

Wed 25/11

Am - West Coast N.P. Drove to Springbok c6 hours, stopping for lunch en route. Pm - Goegap N.P, birded the area around first entrance gate.

Thu 26/11

Am - Goegap N.P: Birded the area between the entrance gate and the office and then drove round the reserves circular route. Pm - Drove to Pofadder, failed to locate a Red Lark site near Aggeneys.

Fri 27/11

Am - Red Lark site 25 km east of pofadder. Pm - Drove to Augrabies Falls N.P. with short detour to the Orange River bridge at Kakamas. Birded around the Camp Site and then drove to the Oranjekom view point in the evening.

Sat 28/11

Spent the day in the Park: Am - birded around the camp site and drove to Fontein Pm - chilled out during the heat of the day and drove to Echo Corner late pm,

Sun 29/11

Am - birded the pools and stream near the HQ complex, mid am left for Graaf-Reinet. Lunched at Bristown. Pm - Booked into the Hotel then after a quick look over the reservoir drove around the game viewing area.

Mon 30/11

All day around Graaff-Reinet: Am -Walked the trail from the Spend Gate.Late am/early pm drove around the game viewing section. Pm birded the south western section.

Tue 01/12

Am -Walked the trail from the Spend Gate, going further than yesterday, reaching the ridge overlooking the next valley. Pm - Drove to Grootvaderbos

Wed 02/12

Am - Grootvaderbos. Late am/ early pm drove to Heidelberg for lunch and to fix a puncture. Pm - Drove to De Hoop, birded around the campsite and Koppie Alleen. Drove back to the campsite after dark.

Thur 03/12

Spent the day around De Hoop: Am- birded around Die Mond. Late am/ early pm - birded around Potberg. Pm - Koppie Alleen and drove to Tierhoek and around the circular drive.

Fri 04/12

Am - Birded around Tierhoak. Pm - Drove to Hout Bay.

Sat 05/12

Am - We had sites just North of Capetown for several species which we had missed, so we did a Pm - Had lunch and drove to airport - flew at 16.00

Sites Visited

Cape Peninsular area

Cape of Good Hope N.R.

The reserve opens about 1 to 2 hours after dawn, it opened at 7 am when we were there. Our main reason for visiting the reserve was to do some sea watching, although summer is not the best time of year. We sea watched from the car park at the Cape of Good Hope (sea level) and from the road near the entrance to Cape Point. We also visited Olifantsbos bay which is the only place we saw Plain-backed Pipit.

Kommetjie

A coastal village situated on the west coast of the Cape Peninsular. The small sheltered bay here is particularly good for Cormorants, we had all four coastal species here. Just to the east of the village the M65 passes a couple of pools, one of which is accessible through a new housing estate.

Fynbos site between Kommetjie and Simon

Take the M65 from Kommetjie east until you reach a major set of traffic lights (called robots in s.africa), turn right (south) on to the M6, just before the brow of the hill there is a pull in/ track on the right, with a couple of logs blocking the track entrance. Park here and bird the track through the Fynbos covered hillside.

Boulders

This is the famous Penguin Colony situated just south of Simon.

Partridge Point

Just before the main cost road cuts in land to the south of Simon's Town, there is a promontory called Partridge Point. The offshore rocks here are good for Cormorants and Cape fur seals.



Rondevlei

The reserve is situated about 25km from Cape Town and is situated just off Prince George Drive which is an extension of the M5. The reserve is open daily from 08.00 to 17.00. It is a wetland reserve, the only access to which is along a 1km path which has good viewing facilities from a series of hides and lookout towers.



Strandfontein Sewage Works

This is a large complex of settling ponds, which can be viewed from a series of tracks running along the edge of the ponds. Access is supposed to be by permit only, which we did not obtain and were not questioned. We visited the site on a Sunday which is apparently the best day to visit, due to disturbance by wagons during the week. We were advised, for reasons of safety, to leave the site well before dusk.



Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

From the N2, take the M3 south, turn on to Rhodes Av, at the first set of traffic lights turn right (towards Hout Bay) and follow the signs to the gardens, for approx 2 Km. The most productive area is the natural forest above the gardens.

Rockjumper site nr Rooiels Bay, Harold Porter Botanical Gardens and Helderberg.



The rockjumper site is situated on the outskirts of Rooiels Bay. Just after a turning the Rooiels Bay (I think a cafe was signposted) there is a dirt track which runs parallel to the coast, this track has a gate across it after a couple of hundred yards. Park at the gate and continue on foot. We saw a part of four rockjumpers after about half a Km, just after the last ruined building.



Harold Porter B.G. is situated just east of Betty's Bay and is signposted off the R44, There is small fee for entering the reserve, which has a good cafe. We called here specifically for Victorins Warbler. When you arrive ask for the key to Leopards Kloof for which a deposit has to be paid. This is valley, which is signposted, is good for the warbler. The far section of the valley is not open for "normal" public access, hence the request for the key. The best area for the warbler is apparently just through the gate. We failed to see it here, but scored about 100 yards from the gate on the way back to the car.

Helderberg Nature Reserve

This reserve lies on the southern slopes of Helderberg Mountain, just NE of Somerset West. From Cape Town on the N2, take the first signpost marked 'Somerset West'. Follow the signs into town and at the first set of traffic lights (at the Main Street / Lourensford Road intersection) turn left. Follow signs for the reserve for 4.5 km to the entrance. We got lost coming from Strand and had to ask for directions.

This is an excellent Fynbos site, where a number of loop trails, of varying distances, can be followed.

West Coast N.P.

This reserve is situated about 90 Km north of Cape Town and can be accessed from the town of Langebaan to the north of the reserve or from the R27 which runs from Cape Town to Velddrift. We birded the area around the hides on the southern and western shores of the lagoon. Many birds were also seen from the car (Raptors, Black Korhaan). There is a cafe at the southern end of the lagoon.



Goegap National Park

This national park lies just to the east of Springbok, the entrance of which is by the airport, and is signposted from the R355. The park is supposed to open at 8am but we found the entrance gate open at 6 am. We did most of our birding between the entrance gate and the office, especially in the shallow valley which lies to the south of this section of road and the small valley in front of and behind the office. We also drove around the loop trail. There are no cafe facilities here



Red Lark site nr Pofadder

The N14 passes through an area of red sand dunes, 25 Km to the east of Pofadder. This is typical Red Lark and a known site. First thing in the morning we spent a couple of hours birding an area of dunes to the south of the road where we found a single Red Lark as well as excellent views of a pair of Spotted Eagle Owls. We also spent an hour birding to the north of the road around mid morning. Typically with this habitat birds were generally scarce, but we saw several species not encountered elsewhere.

Augrabies Falls National Park

Augrabies Falls N.P. lies about 40 Km to the NW of Kakamas, which is situated about 100 Km W of Upington.

The country here is extremely arid except for near the headquarters where there are a series of reed filled channels and pools. The area around the head quarters and campsite is also well vegetated and it is these areas that produced the best birding. We drove the trail to both Echo Corner and Oranjekom but neither area proved to be particularly fruitful, although Oranjekom was the only place where we saw Yellow-bellied Eremomela.



Graaf Reinet - Karoo Nature Reserve

The Town of Graaf Reinet is surrounded by the Karoo nature Reserve. We visited several areas of the reserve;

• The game viewing area to the north of the town, not particularly productive for birds as the birding was done from the car. A map of the area can be obtained at the (unmanned) entrance.
  
  
• The SW section where we entered at the Spend gate.
  
  
• The SE section
  
  

Grootvadersbos

This forest reserve lies to the east of Swellendam and is the wost westerly site for a number of forest species such as Narina Trogan. Sadly we did not give the forest the time it deserved but we did score on our main target bird Knysna Scrub Warbler. The camp site here is excellent, but there are no shops of cafe.

On the evening of our arrival we specifically looked for and saw the warbler. The following morning we followed a track, in error, which took us into the moist Fynbos habitat above the main forest, we should have gone straight into the forest. As a result of this and having to leave early to have our tyre fixed, we only spent a couple of hours actually in the forest.



De Hoop

This reserve is situated 55km east of Bredasdorp and is about 260 km, by road , from Cape Town. We camped here for two nights at a total cost of 35R per night (for up to 6 people) plus 10R for 2 bundles of firewood for the braai. There is no cafe of shop here, the nearest shop and petrol being at Ouplaas about 15 km from the camp site.

Most of our birding was carried out from Die Mono, around the campsite, Koppie Alleen and TierHoek. At Tier Hoek there are there a couple of small sheltered, wooded valleys leaving down to the Vlei, which were very productive.

It was very windy at this site, which made open country birding almost impossible!

The highlight of this reserve was the Southern Right Whale, seen from Koppie Alleen, which we were very luck to see so late in the season.

We also visited Potberg late one morning, where we saw up to 6 Cape Vultures soaring over the hillside.



Sites North of Cape Town:

All the following sites are reached from the N27 which runs North from Capetown to Velddrift.

White-backed Duck Site

Several miles north of Cape Town the N27 passes an obvious wooden bridge and golf course to the west of the road, this is a good site for roosting terns and waders. Travelling north there are a series of lakes to the east and after a couple of miles you come to a set of traffic lights with a left turn to Bloudergstrand. This turning dissects two pools, which often hold White-backed Duck, its also the only place we saw Purple Heron.



Botanical Site

Approximately 80 Km north from Cape Town the N27 is crossed by the R315, turn right on to the R315 and after about 3 km there is a fenced off grassland nature reserve. The reserve is about 1 km square and contains a couple of small pools (one of which was dry when we were there). This is a site for Cloud Cisticola plus other grassland species such as Orange-throated Longclaw and Clapper Lark.



Jacobs Baai

This is a site for Sicklewing Chat and also the only site where we saw Lanner. The site is near Vredenburg.