A group of 17 birders set off on a mellow Kirstenbosch morning, when it seemed the birds were having a bit of a lie-in, as we did not immediately see the usual suspects as we entered the Garden, though Daryl and Lynette had opened the score when they spotted an African Goshawk in the car park, even before we had set off.
There were a couple of overseas visitors in the group, and we were happy to be able to help them record some of their Lifers during the walk – however the Lemon Dove aka the “Marching Dove” remained elusive on this hike, after they had almost walked over our feet the previous week. One of our overseas guests, determined to get his Lemon Dove had returned to the Enchanted Forest after the walk, where he had had success with recording the Marching Dove, as well as another curious bird he’d managed to snap – and this turned out to be a Lesser Honeyguide!
Raptors remained elusive, with a distant sighting of a buzzard against the cliffs of Nursery Buttress and a passing Black Sparrowhawk. Otherwise there were sightings (or hearings) of most common birds including Bar-throated Apalis and Olive Woodpecker, and in the end we did clock up a respectable 31 different species.
Overall, it was an enjoyable birding start to the new year.
Gigi Laidler.
photographs by Graham Pringle, Otto Schmidt, Margaret McIver, Derek Longrigg.
Thanks to Dennis Laidler for the species list,
African Black Swift
African Dusky Flycatcher
African Goshawk
Alpine Swift
Bar-throated Apalis
Black Sparrowhawk
Bronze Mannikin
Cape Batis
Cape Bulbul
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Spurfowl
Cape Sugarbird
Cape Turtle Dove
Cape White-eye
Common Waxbill
Egyptian Goose
Forest Canary
Hadeda Ibis
Helmeted Guineafowl
Malachite Sunbird
Olive Thrush
Olive Woodpecker
Orange-breasted Sunbird
Red-eyed Dove
Red-winged Starling
Sombre Greenbul
Southern Boubou
Southern Double-collared Sunbird
Speckled Mousebird
Spotted Eagle-Owl
Swee Waxbill