The hotel Boer-bean trees got pre-breakfast off to a shiny
start with gleaming argumentative Malachite Sunbirds ruling the show over the
SBC Sunbirds and Sugarbirds. There were Southern Fiscals and Fiscal Flycatchers
in the gardens and down at the river the Southern Masked Weavers were dangling
under fresh green nests and African Reed Warblers were seen well as the foraged
in the lush vegetation.
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| Jacaranda |
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| Cape Sugarbird |
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| Malachite Sunbird |
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| Southern Masked Weaver |
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| Southern Red Bishop |
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| Southern Red Bishop |
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| Brown Throated Martin |
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| Egyptian Goose |
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| Southern Fiscal |
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| Helmeted Guineafowl |
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| Helmeted Guineafowl |
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| African Reed Warbler |
It was soon to eat, pack and hit the road. The day began back up on the Witzenberg
Valley Road for another attempt at Protea Canary and although they again refused
to appear we had a blinding little session with a male Cape Rock Thrush
gleaming in the sunshine, spiralling Sacred Ibis and White-necked Ravens, a
Cape Bunting that actually sat on a pinnacle close by and sung and to cap it
all off a Ground Woodpecker came in and perched up for us all to see in the
scope. It was shaped like a Green Woodpecker but with a slate grey head,
equally beady white eyes and pinky blood coloured underparts. Ian was hopping with delight that we had seen
this enigmatic and unpredictable bird.
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| White-necked Raven |
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| Ground Woodpecker |
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| Ground Woodpecker |
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| Cape Bunting |
We tried the little wet gully down the road and stood in the
shade and watched birds come and go.
Still no Protea Canaries but we did see so much more with a family of
Fiscal Flycatchers, an out of place Speckled Mousebird, Streak-headed
Seedeaeters, Bokmakerie, Cape Sugarbirds, Canaries, Bulbuls and White-eyes, and
SBD Sunbirds.
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| Streak-headed Seedeaeter |
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| Cape White-eye |
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| Fiscal Flycatcher |
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| Skimmer sp |
The plane was to head back up to the start of the Tankwa
Karoo to have another go at the riverine area.
As hoped the Namaqua Warblers started calling immediately and this time
a couple of us got a good view of this Prinia like species.
We got lucky and found a pair of Yellow-bellied Eremomelas feeding
in the bushes and they were joined by both Layard’s Warbler, Karoo Prinia and a
rock jumping Long-billed Crombec. Back
on the road I saw a large shadow over and looked up to find a Verreaux’s Eagle
circling overhead. It was soon joined by
its partner and after deciding which way to go they glided off along the
ridge. I was beaming. Seeing this raptor had always been one of my
hoped for birds since I was a kid. I
even remember painting one when perched on a cliff when I was at school. That wing shape and flashes of white within
coal blackness. Simply awesome.
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| Long-billed Crombec - odd little things |
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| Yellow-bellied Eremomela |
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Yellow-bellied Eremomela - dull but tricky to find
|
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| Verreaux’s Eagle |
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| Verreaux’s Eagle |
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| Verreaux’s Eagles |
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| Verreaux’s Eagle |
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| Incoming! |
A troop of Chacmha Baboons were in the river bottom loosely
feeding with some goats and a couple sat up to let the wind flow through their
long hair while a big fluffy Cape Grey Mongoose trotted across in front. It in no way resembled the sleek brown one of
yesterday! A party of Red-faced
Mousebirds stopped long enough for Hazel to see them and a Jackal Buzzard
circled.
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| Chacmha Baboon |
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| Chacmha Baboon |
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| Jackal Buzzard |
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| Jackal Buzzard |
We had a long day on the road after this but there were
stops and roadside goodies such as Cape Crows, Pale Chanting Goshawks, Steppe
Buzzards, Booted Eagles and plenty of water birds on the ‘dams’. A wee stop even gave us a mixed party of
Sparrows and Southern Red Bishops coming down to drink at a leaky pipe,
breeding Blacksmith Lapwings and Cape Wagtail and zooming Little Swifts.
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| Blacksmith Lapwing |
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| Speckled Pigeon |
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| Hadada Ibis |
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| Southern Red Bishop |
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| Southern Red Bishops and a Cape Sparrow |
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| Cape Wagtail |
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| Cape Sparrow |
We stopped at Capedry in Montagu for lunch. I may have purchased some dried fruity things
and bottle of Cab Sav to take home.
Others may have bought enough to see them through the next few days! The town also held a small pond with a large
African Sacred Ibis and Cattle Egret colony with a few Reed Cormorants mixed
in. The smell was somewhat pungent. White-breasted Cormorants and Egyptian Geese
were on the lake platform but we could not find a Malachite Kingfisher.
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| Capedry almonds drying in the sun |
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| African Sacred Ibis |
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| African Sacred Ibis |
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| African Sacred Ibis & Reed Cormorants |
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| Reed Cormorants |
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| Reed Cormorants |
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| Reed Cormorants |
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| African Sacred Ibis |
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| Western Cattle Egrets |
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| Western Cattle Egret |
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| Western Cattle Egret - feed me! |
From Montagu we followed the mountains and stopped at an
acacia filled river valley to look for Southern Tchagra with no joy but there
were a host of small birds getting very agitated about what was probably a
Boomslang moving through the trees but although we could not see the snake we
were able to get fantastic views of the attacking gang which included a family
of angry Pirit Batis, Red-faced Mousebirds, Namaqua Warblers and Cape Weavers.
Pale Chanting Goshawks hunted from the telegraph poles and another pale Booted
Eagle circled overhead.
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| Namaqua Warbler - Neil Colgate |
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| Namaqua Warbler |
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| Namaqua Warbler |
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| Pirit Batis |
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| Pirit Batis |
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young Red-faced Mousebird
|
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Pale Chanting Goshawk
|
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| Pale Chanting Goshawk - Neil Colgate |
From here we cut through the Tradouw Pass which was quite
spectacular. A roadside stop gave us a
singing but hiding Victorin’s Warbler and there were Cape Canaries,
Streaky-headed Seedeaters and Yellow Bishops feeding in the verge. We got lucky and a Knysna Woodpecker called
and appeared I the closest tree. A smart
‘typical’ African woodpecker but with big spotting instead of barring
underneath. This is a local speciality
and it was good to see one so well.
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| Knysna Woodpecker - Neil Colgate |
The same tree also held a pair of Cape Batis and a Giant
Kingfisher called from the hidden river while up slope there were Red-winged
Starlings and floaty tailed Cape Sugarbirds.
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| Cape Batis |
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| Yellow Bishop |
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| Red-winged Starling |
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| Cape Sugarbird |
On again and at the other end of the valley we spent some
time at the bridge over the Grootvaderbosrivier. Lesser Swamp Warblers sung and
amongst the mix of hirundines there were several Black Sawwings. A male Pin-tailed Whydah sat up long enough
for most to see but the best bird here was a male Klaas’s Cuckoo that put on
quite a show.
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| Klaas’s Cuckoo - Neil Colgate |
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| Klaas’s Cuckoo - Neil Colgate |
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| Klaas’s Cuckoo |
We passed several large Jersey Cow dairy farms before
turning off to Honeywood Farm, our delightful home for the next two nights. The
lodges were wonderful and ours overlooked the valley and mountains and a circling
Forest Buzzard became the last new bird of the day before we walked up in the
dark for a fine homecooked dinner. There
were no owls or nightjars on the walk back but I did find a Leopard Toad. Sleep
came easy.
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| Oh my... |
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| Leopard Toad |
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| A forest Cockroach sp |
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