The Western Cape for Oriole Birding - Day 6: 16th November 2025

With another substantial packed breakfast we were ready to go good and early and a quick check of the river gave us the wonderful Bishops, Weavers and two Purple Herons while the Boer-Bean trees were already hopping with early birds.

Basically the whole day was spent on one very long, very dusty road (the R355) that crosses the Tankwa Karoo from Ceres to Cavinia – a distance of over 200km between the two towns with almost nothing in between.  We trekked as far as Tankwa Padstal way station before turning back.

It was a day of many short stops and began in with a Lark hunt.  Our primary target was Cape Clapper Lark and it took just a few seconds to hear the first one and watch him drop from his song flight with rattling wings that sound a bit like castanets. Red-capped and Large-billed Larks were also in song and were watched on the track and we got lucky with the Flapper and one came and perched up on the fence for us.

Cape Clapper Lark

Cape Clapper Lark

Grey-backed Cisticolas flicked across the road and African Stonechats and Pipits were seen while we scanned the fields where Blue Cranes danced and White-necked Ravens attended a water trough.  Two Grey Rhebok were our first new antelope of the day.

Grey Rhebok

As we dropped down into the valley and joined the Tankwa road properly we put up a Black Stork from along the van which headed back up and over the ridge.  This is a rare bird down here and only the second Ian had seen in South Africa.  This short stop gave us singing Cape Buntings and Cape Grassbirds but neither were visible.

Black Stork

The sinuous and deeply cut stream was staked out for Namaqua Warbler and we quickly heard a couple but they did not show but find a pair of Cape Penduline Tit, Brown-throated Martins, African Reed Warbler, Long-billed Crombecs and Mountain Wheatears.

Cape Penduline Tit - Neil Colgate

Long-billed Crombec - Neil Colgate

The Crombecs behaved very differently to the jungle ones I have seen and hopped and scurried over the boulders and scree like miniature Rock Nuthatches.  Breakfast at a shady spot revealed the ground covered in more broken glass than I have ever seen in one place but it was still a good spot with Large Rock Martins and Greater Striped Swallows hawking around us while we were bogged at by sinister looking Rock Hyraxes from the crags.

Mountain Wheatear

Mountain Wheatear

Rock Hyrax

Rock Hyrax

Rock Hyrax

Rock Hyrax

Booted Eagle and both Raven and Crow spiralled and Mountain Wheatears and Familiar Chats were collecting food.  A sylvia type warbler flew across in front of me – feeling like a chunky Lesser White-throat and when it reappeared it was just that – a Layard’s Warbler which fed unconcerned in front of us. 

Booted Eagle

Layard’s Warbler

Layard’s Warbler

Layard’s Warbler

Layard’s Warbler - Neil Colgate

Cape Buntings and Karoo Scrub-Robins were in song and Bokmarerie were heard but were still only giving flight views.  Three White-winged Starlings flew along the river below and Pied Starlings were noted too. We crossed the road and tried a cliff face for Cinnamon-breasted Warbler and I picked one up way up on the top singing and flicking its tail.  It came down a little lower and amazingly stayed around long enough to get everyone onto it in the scope.  A subtle bird that bounded around like the Crombec and was obviously at home on bare rock.  A Cardinal Woodpecker called and Mandy saw it briefly in the acacias and we were watched by another Mountain Wheatear.  There were young SDC Sunbirds everywhere and they seem to adapt to almost any habitat we have visited.

Mountain Wheatear

The landscape became even dryer and the vegetation more spartan but a green oasis to the east apparently had Hippos and we could see duck and Ostriches around the margins and an Osprey circling.

On cue Karoo Chats started to appear on the fences looking like greyer Mountain Wheatears and another stop at a line of tired acacias quickly saw us finding two more new species with delicate Fairy Flycatchers and feisty Rufous-eared Warblers looking like a cross between a Prinia and an Apalis.  They became one of my favourites this day.  A couple of Pale Chanting Goshawks were found perched up prominently and while watching one of these impressive raptors we saw a Steenbok in the grasses.

Karoo Chat

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Steenbok

A little further on a herd of Gemsbok gracefully strode alongside but were skittish and kept in the haze zone.  These were my first Oryx in the wild and those horns were so impressive.

 Gemsbok

 Gemsbok

We check out a rocky mount for Eremomelas but there was not a sound and just some Canaries and Sunbirds and a couple of Rufous-eared Warblers in the low scrub.

Mountain Wheatear - Neil Colgate

Lunch at Katbakkies ‘picnic site’ felt like it should have given us plenty of birds to find but it was hot and hard work in the thorny scrub and although we got good views of a Bokmakerie, Southern Grey-headed Sparrows, Karoo Scrub-Robins and White-backed Mousebirds there was actually nothing new here at all.  The giant Alloes were amazing though.

 Karoo Robin Chat - look at that tail!

Bokmakerie - Neil Colgate

We retraced to the main road and continued onwards and after some more roadside chats made it to the Tankwa Padstal shop, café and mechanic workshop.  What a wonderfully quirky place with carefully paced dead cars looking like they have dropped out of the sky and, well, a crashed Flying Saucer poking out of the desert. 

A closer look at this 'property' sign made us chuckle

Cape and House Sparrows and Familiar Chats joined us for a drink and icecream and there were some Ostriches out back!  

Cape Sparrows

Familiar Chat

Common Ostrich

We drove down the side track onto a vast shimmering stony plane in the hope of finding Spur-heeled Lark but other than an immature Pale Chanting Goshawk it was almost birdless so we soon turned round and came back but this time I did pick up a rather non-descript Sickle-winged Chat.

Pale Chanting Goshawk 

From this point we began the long journey back down the R355 with a few little stops giving us another listen to Namaqua Warblers which again eluded our eyes.

Suddenly the track ended and we were back on tarmac but we did not head straight back to Ceres but wiggled up onto the Witzenberg Valley Road but Protea Canaries did not appear and we had to be content with Jackal Buzzards, White-rumped and Alpine Swifts, White-necked Ravens and two rock bouncing Klipspringers – the most agile of dainty antelopes.

Klipspringer

Jackal Buzzard

Such amazing folding

Back in Ceres we still had a little time before dinner and a walk along the river gave flying views of the Giant Kingfisher once again but the African Black Duck was still wary and kept swimming out of view.  A small slim brown Mongoose crept across the lawns but it seems that Cape Grey is the only option? The Brown-throated Martins were excavating in the sandy bank and below them a group of Streaky-headed Seed-eaters were feasting on grassheads with the Cape Sparrows.  With the light going the evening chorus of shouty birds got going and could still be heard as we dined.

Southern Red Bishops - Neil Colgate

Streaky-headed Seed-eater

Cape Sparrows

I am puzzled as to how this skinny tailed beast is a Cape Grey Mongoose?  There do not seem to be any Western Cape alternatives.