Outing to the Soetwater Enviro Centre, Kommetjie.

05 November 2024 – Led by Gigi Laidler.

A “fresh breeze” is how the weather App, Yr Weather  www.yr.no described wind conditions on Tuesday morning, 5 November. And “fresh” the wind certainly was! Very fresh at 36 kilometres per hour.

Our group of about 20 birders gathered at the Soetwater Enviro Centre and ventured on to the beach where we spotted some of the “usual suspects” of Kelp and Hartlaub’s Gulls, African Oystercatchers, Sacred Ibises, Cape and Crowned Cormorants, among others. Always a pleasure to see, one of the resident Eurasian Whimbrels flew off, calling plaintively. There was little evidence of the usual bird activity in the bushes leading to the beach.
About 20 birders braced themselves against the “fresh breeze”, scanning for birds near the Enviro Centre.
African Sacred Ibises were fossicking in the kelp on the rocks.
After about 15 minutes on the beach, we slowly made our way northwards towards the campsites in search of any “bush birds” that might brave the strong winds.

Our species list increased very slowly, as any sightings were scarce, and many species like the Bokmakierie were only heard. As we meandered through the camping area, more energy seemed to be directed to chatting than birding. A nice surprise was spotting a Cape Gannet flying close enough for good views with binoculars and heading in the direction of Cape Point.

When we reached the northern boundary of the campsite, a number of birders donned their botanising hats and went off in search of the Green Woodorchid that had been seen in the area. Here is the attractive Green Woodorchid.

Returning to the Enviro Centre along the shore, we caught sight of the resident Spotted Thick-knees scuttling along the edge of the rocky shoreline, while some more African Oystercatchers monitored our progress from the rocks.

Back at the Enviro Centre, we enjoyed our tea, sheltering in the courtyard area where Lappies Labuschagne joined us briefly to tell us a bit about the history and what activities take place at Soetwater, including the rehabilitation of injured birds. The good news he shared with us is that Soetwater is expected to be proclaimed as a nature reserve in the near future.

We had an enjoyable outing despite the windy conditions, and we thanked Lappies for hosting us again. We look forward to visiting the reserve again in the future.

Photographs by Daryl de Beer, Linda Hibbin and Gigi Laidler.
Report by Gigi Laidler.