Outing to the Majik Forest, Durbanville.

07 January 2025.

Leader Keith Roxburgh.

 

 

A group of about 23 birders joined Keith Roxburgh for a walk at Majik Forest, Durbanville on Tuesday 07 January 2025. The traffic from the southern suburbs was easy due to school holidays, and the weather was perfect for our walk.
We had some really marvellous sightings of raptors during the walk, with a close-up fly-by of a juvenile African Harrier Hawk to start the morning. There were a few Yellow Billed Kites flying around, and we saw a few aerial disputes between kites and buzzards, and a sparrowhawk and buzzard. Some debate was held around the buzzards, with consensus that most were Common Buzzards, while one was probably a Jackal Buzzard. Identifying these birds leads to interesting discussions about BBJs – Big Brown Jobs. A Black Sparrowhawk was also seen at the end of the walk.

Unusually for this reserve, we didn’t see any herons nor Black Ducks around the dam. There were numerous Red-knobbed Coots and chicks, an African Darter, a few Common Moorhens, and Cape and Southern Masked Weavers. Some members of the group had good views of a pair of Malachite Kingfishers on the far bank of the dam, while a third was seen close by in the reeds. As the dam is well stocked with fish – Tilapia, Carp and others, there is ample food for the carnivorous waterbirds, as well as ample plant matter for the vegetarians.

We had a lovely sighting of a pair of Cape Batis in the forest area, duetting together. There was also a Paradise Flycatcher which was flitting around in the undergrowth and not easily seen.

There were numbers of Little Swifts, White-rumped Swifts and Greater Striped Swallows flying around. Some other birds seen were a Malachite Sunbird female, White-backed Mousebird, Fiscal and Dusky Flycatcher and Acacia Pied Barbet.

With thanks to Keith Roxburgh from the Tygerberg Bird Club for leading the walk, we had a list of 44 birds for the morning.

Photographs by Penny Dichmont and Daryl de Beer.

Report by Gillian Matthews.