skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Our afternoon activity was to check out the famous Simonstown penguin colony. This colony at Boulders Beach is one of just a few on mainland Africa, but what a colony it is. A gentle boardwalk led us down to the beach where Jackass (African) Penguins lounged around under, next to, and almost on top of the boardwalk for all to see. A crowd of onlookers took in the "penguin parade" but the birds themselves seemed completely unmoved by all the fuss: they have been "performing" here for decades after all. While we all buzzed excitedly around them (just a few feet away), they just dozed in the afternoon sun, or scratched one another (known as allopreening), in a seeming state of oblivion to the surrounding horde. Many of them were going through various advanced stages of moult, leaving many looking bedraggled, and far from at their best, unsightly bits of fluff hanging off their normally immaculate "dinner suit" plumages from various places. All-in-all, a must visit spot if you ever find yourself "stranded" in Capetown!
A more relaxed day around the Western Cape again today, although with some big, big highlights. A visit to Rooi Els (see photo) was our starting point. Spectacular rocky outcrops, dusted with burnt orange lichens, form the edge of the Hottentot Mountains here, that plunge down dramatically into the Atlantic Ocean in the sheltered cove of False Bay.
Our main goal here, was to get one of the most highly desired of all the Cape specialties: the striking Cape Rockjumper. Scrambling around rocks is one way to get this one, although we opted for an easier course, walking the flat, rocky coastal track, and scanning up towards the cliffs on the landward side of the trail. A chilly, windy day greeted us, making life a little hard, although a pair of eye-catching Verreaux's Eagles skirting the cliffs above was a more than welcome distraction. After an hour or so, we picked up some movement on the lichen-covered ashy-grey rocks uplsope, and after training our 'scopes, came upon the rich chestnut underside, soooty black chin, and gleaming white moustache of a beautiful male Cape Rockjumper (see photos), looking sprightly and alert on a small outcrop. This wonderful bird is one of two members of the rockjumper family, that is endemic to Africa. A White-chinned Petrel trying to slip by just off the headland was a surprise bonus, although a male Cape Rock Thrush (steadfastly refusing to perch in good, photographable light) was more expected in this area. In the afternoon, after stopping in at a local sewage farm (birders are drawn to such great places!), we headed out to Simonstown for some penguin action...see next post.
If you're after animals in South Africa then the Western Cape is not ordinarily the place that you would pick to go. However, on this day at least we jammed into a few animal "crackers". Our first wildlife surprise came in the form of a Cape Grysbok sneeking off into the brush at Koeberg Nature Reserve, shortly after a Common Duiker had also been in the same area. Then just after we started rumbling down the Darling Wildflower Route (where the flowers themselves were an immediate distraction from the blooms and birds), a shuffling awkward looking lump of hair scrambling off the road got our attention: a Cape Dune Mole-rat (family spalacinae) , a strange, blind and ungainly looking mammal, that by all rights should have been well below ground at the time. The things went up a whole 'nother notch when we tried to negotiate our way around a car that had seemingly rather annoyingly randonly stopped in the middle of the road at West Coast NP. Cursing their bad driving and angling our way around them we were immediately hit with the object of their distraction (and hence unpredictable driving behavior), a deep chestnut coated animal was humkering down in the grass playing with some unseen prey below. It took a few moments to click but once this slick cat raised its head, revealing its distinctive pointy ear tufts we were in no doubt that we were coming face to face with the scarce Caracal, a rare sight indeed in broad daylight. Having revelled in this as quickly given it the title of "bird of the day" we headed out to the rocky shores of Yzerfontein where African Black Oystercatchers could not distract us from a massive Southern Right Whale lingering at the surface off shore, while a number of playful Rock Hyraxes jumped aroundon the rocks beside us. A smart end to a day with over 100 bird species seen, that were undoubtedly overshadowed at times by the wildlife on offer.
Back out on the Western Cape today covering some of the same birding, bloomin' and wildlife sites from yesterday (Koeberg Nature Reserve, come Nuclear Power Station, West Coast National Park, Darling Wildflower Route), in addition to a couple of new ones: and YzerfonteinVelddrif. Some of the same from yesterday, (Cape Penduline Tits at Koeberg, Southern Black Korhaans at Darling-this time in impressive display flights, perched up Karoo Lark at West Coast NP-not a regular occurrence!, Cloud Cisticolas strangely up in the clouds along the Darling route), as well as a few different birds, and most notably, animals.
The Darling Wildflower Route was of course alive with flowers and vibrant blooms at this time (see photos), and again the reedbeds were a living construction site as they were once more loaded with Cape Weavers bustling around their newly built nests, and fiery red glows emanating from the rushes proved to be a number of male Red Bishops pumped up and ready to breed (see photo).
The different birds came in the form of Chestnut-banded Plover "slacking" on the edge of a harsh, dry salt pan in Velddrif, and a bold Spotted Eagle-Owl perched brazenly, and I might say a little menacingly, in the daylight also near Velddrif, and two Cape Clapper Larks in regular display flights near Koeberg.
After a 24 hour delay left me stranded in Atlanta for while (due to the considerable flooding there), I finally landed in Capetown last night and today went on a full-on recce of the territory with Josh Engel. Too much to mention in a great days birding full of Cape endemics galore and just great birds all round. Nipped in and out of many spots around the western Cape, including Paarl Bird Sanctuary, Koeberg Nature Reserve, the Darling Wildflower Route and the West Coast National Park in a truly action-packed days birding. Three new families were more than I could have hoped for out of a first day on the Cape, that included Cape Sugarbirds that fought the drizzle and fed out on the bright blooming proteas on Paarl Mountain (along with a lone bedraggled and sodden Orange-breasted Sunbird), Ostriches strutted unafraid in the heathy surrounds of West Coast NP, and Secretarybird flew onto my list overhead on the Darling Wildflower Route, while a pair of Blue Cranes fed quietly below.
Other highlights included a superb Southern Black Korhaan (see photo) that boldly called from a mound of earth on the Darling Route, a family of African Black Ducks (see photo) and Fiscal Flycatchers (see photo) at Paarl (see photo), (where Cape Shovelers and Maccoa Ducks also put in an appearance), Cape Penduline Tits at Koeberg, African Black Oysterctahers, Bokmakieries, and singing Karoo Larks at West Coast. A profusion of new species like Cape Bulbul, Cape Robin-chat and Karoo Scrub-robin abounded around the western Cape. Birds of the day though were several Black Harriers that ghosted across the heath-like strandveld vegetation, one of Africa's rarest (under 1000 birds in the world, TOTAL), and most striking raptors (and it does have more than a few!)
Aside from these choice moments blooming proteas were just as noteworthy, the fine colors of the Paarl proteas drawing in many a sunbird and sugarbird to check them out (see photos).
