The Western Cape for Oriole Birding - Day 1: 11th November 2025

An overnight flight saw us touch down at lunchtime in Cape Town and meet up with Wilfred our guide and Ian our birder driver. No one wanted lunch but a drink was much appreciated and as usual with any airport there were the first birds to seen while supping a smoothie!

Large Rock Martins (now split from what is now Red-throated Rock Martin that we saw in Uganda) hawked around the building and ubiquitous Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow and Starling were soon found.  I was surprised to see House Crow and did not realise that they had hitched a ride to the southern tip of Africa too while the hulking Pied Crows were more expected. With a bit of a gear sort we were on our way and quickly adding urban birds like Speckled Pigeons, Hadada (the South Africans say Hadeeda which seem far more apt) and African Sacred Ibis, White-rumped Swifts zooming under culverts, Red-winged Starlings and both Hartlaub’s and Cape Gulls.

Our destination was the vast reserve that is the Strandfontein waterworks.  The next few hours were a joyous introduction into the local wetland birding and although it was a little fragrant at times there were always birds to look at.  Some familiar and others less so.  

I do not remember the last time I saw so many new ducks!  Amongst the familiar ones were noisy Egyptian and towering Spur-winged Geese and Fulvous Whistling and Yellow-billed Ducks while there were mixed flocks of silvery Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler and a few Red-billed Teal. 

Yellow-billed Duck

Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler, Knobhead, Great 'Mingo

Cape Shoveler, Yellow-billed Ducks, Spur-winged Geese, Cape Teal with African Sacred Ibis and Red-billed Teal above

Egyptian Goose

Egyptian Geese

Spur-winged Geese, ducks and an Avocet

Scanning of the deeper pits gave us good views eventually of Southern Pochards along with rafts of Black-necked and Little Grebes while Red-knobbed Coots were common and often close to the van. I can only apologise to my readers that these subsequently became known as Knobheads…

Red-knobbed Coot

Southern Pochard

Southern Pochard

Three South  African Shelduck were loafing on a sand bank where dirty looking Great White Pelicans were dozing and Caspian Terns bathed amongst the two previously mentioned gull species. One lagoons held a party of Whiskered Terns that sat into the wind on a jetty and they were joined by two Swift Terns – a species I had contrived not to see on recent adventures.

Hartlaub's Gull

imm Kelp Gull

Hartlaub's Gull

Swift Terns and Whiskered Tern

Hartlaub's Gull, Whiskered Tern, Yellow-billed Ducks and Caspian Terns

Great Very Off-White Pelicans

Whiskered Terns, Cape Shovelers and Cape Teal

Thousands of African Sacred Ibis were breeding on one specific lagoon and there were always some  flying around.  Most were dirty and some of the young birds were truly filthy and I think they had been on the local landfill.  There were Glossy and Hadada Ibis too as well as Western Cattle and Little Egrets and both Black-headed and Grey Herons.  White-breasted Cormorants passed over and a single Reed Cormorant was seen.  

A vaguely white African Sacred Ibis 

African Sacred Ibis - the more normal attire here

Glossy Ibis, Cape Shoveler, Red-billed Teal, Cape Teal, Blacksmith Lapwings and Avocets

Black-headed Heron

Glossy Ibis 

The African Sacred Ibis colony was to the left

Kelp Gulls and African Sacred Ibis 

Kelp and Hartlaub's Gulls

Scanning the margins gave us Moorhens and an African Swamphen and Blacksmith Lapwings kept us on our toes with harsh calls and flashing pied wings.  While watching a pair of these a Three Banded Plover moved and revealed itself on the same patch of stones. Amazing to think that this species has now been seen in Georgia!  There were a few other waders with Avocets and Black-winged Stilts and dramatic gatherings of Greater Flamingos that unfortunately did not hold their Lesser cousins.

Blacksmith Lapwing - perfect disruptive plumage

Three-banded Plover

Greater Flamingos

Greater Flamingos

Greater Flamingos

A family of Helmeted Guineafowl were drinking in a ‘stream’ (I use that term lightly) and even the tiny youngsters took flight when we inadvertently spooked them.  Two Cape Spurfowl were seen on a culvert wall where Brown-throated (Plain) Martins skimmed down low between the concrete sides like Luke Skywalker on the Death Star valley run, avoiding the flitting attention of Cape Wagtails running along the top.

Cape Spurfowl - we did not know just how obliging these would become!

Helmeted Guineafowl take off!

Cape Bulbul and Common Waxbills were seen in the reedbeds where Lesser Swamp Warblers showed well and Little Rush Warblers sung. There were few Barn Swallows around and a pair of White-throated Swallows were nesting under a bridge.  Levaillant’s Cisticola and the familiar Zitting Cisticolas were seen and Rock Kestrel and Black-winged Kite were noted amongst the low hunting Yellow-billed Kites.

Levaillant’s Cisticola

Yellow-billed Kite

Yellow-billed Kite

The day was waning and so were we so we made our way to the Woodbridge Lodge in the suburb of Milnerton and even unloading the van added what were to become familiar birds with Southern Double Collared Sunbird, Cape Canary (they look like Citril Finches) and the typical African triumvirate of Red-eyed Dove, Laughing Dove and Ring-necked Dove.

Dinner was taken at the rather splendid Bossa eatery at the gold club, overlooking the sandy beach, crashing surf and sun setting over Table Mountain, Devil’s Peak and Lion Head while African Black Oystercatchers, Sandwich and Common Terns and Hartlaub's Gulls passed us by. What a start. 

I shall highlight new species for myself in green throughout.