Outing to Zandvlei Nature Reserve.

 

On a very fresh Winter morning 18 members of the Cape Bird Club gathered at 8.30am at the reserve to attend the outing. The weather however was really kind with little or no wind and sunny, which was not what had been expected. Our thanks must go to Kyran Wright, the Biodiversity Area Coordinator: Greater Zandvlei and Westlake, for checking that all was well on the morning and making us feel welcome.

After a brief welcome by Graham, who explained the layout for the few members who had never previously visited Zandvlei, we set off at 8.45am. At this stage we had already logged some 12 species before leaving the car park so things boded well for the morning.

Close to the start of the walk is a small hide overlooking a pond surrounded by tall reeds. Here we saw both Cape and Southern Masked Weavers and a Lesser Swamp Warbler with its melodious song. Sitting on top of a nearby tree was a Black-headed Heron enjoying the morning sun.

Moving on to the canal separating the reserve from Marina da Gama there were a few Lesser Flamingos in the Central Pan as well as a solitary African Spoonbill but we later saw a couple more. The canal was quite full and with all the debris which the recent rains have washed down, didn’t produce many birds at all.

Next stop was the tall lookout at the Northern end of the vlei and this produced a number of birds including Cape, Reed and White-breasted Cormorants, African Darter, Kelp, Hartlaub’s and Grey-headed Gulls, Great Crested Grebe, Red-knobbed Coot and Pied Kingfisher.

Further on there was quite an interesting close view of an African Spoonbill and Little Egret feeding together. The Spoonbill was obviously disturbing the bottom and the Egret, in close attendance, kept darting in to catch whatever was coming to the surface. A happy relationship!!

On his recce the previous week, Graham had seen two Water Thick-knees on the far bank in the bay, and so the search was on to see if they were still around. After a few minutes, unbelievably, Linda Hibbin spotted one on the bank amongst a whole lot of dead sticks, so well camouflaged that it took some effort to see it, even knowing where it was. Eventually most of the group got to see it.

The group then moved inland to the Salt Marsh Hide which unfortunately was non-productive. However, for the first time in the morning, everyone got a clear sighting of a Little Rush Warbler, sitting at the top of a high reed and calling. It then performed its “displaying flight” on a couple of occasions.
Next was the Central Pan where there were a number of Lesser Flamingos, some really pink and very attractive with their burgundy coloured bills. A fairly large flock of noisy Pied Avocets then flew in and landed on the Pan. They always appear so pristine. The pan produced little else, apart from a couple of Cape Shovelers and Yellow-billed Ducks.

The track heading back to the starting point proved quite challenging with all the industrious excavation work done by the Cape Dune Mole-rats and more than one of the group got caught out with sinking deep into the sand! This meant that there was no looking for birds in the sky!
The group then visited the fairly new hide at the north-eastern corner of Central Pan, a first visit for many of the birders. This just produced closer views of the Flamingos, a Cape Shoveler and Pied Avocet.
It was then time to collect coffee etc from the cars and get together in the picnic area, which some dozen of the group chose to do.

At the end of the day, the weather had been extremely kind and the total tally for the outing was 53 Species which was not at all bad for mid-winter. The general consensus was that it had turned out to be an enjoyable outing with an optimum number of birders and good company.
Thanks to Daryl de Beer for taking the photographs and John Magner for also keeping the List.

Photographs by Daryl de Beer.

Report by Graham Pringle.

 

 

Trip: ZANDVLEI OUTING 6 AUGUST 2024
Date: 2024-08-06 to 2024-08-06
Observations: 53
Species: 53
Species (heard only): 0

Pentad: 3405_1825, Start: 2024-08-06, End: 2024-08-06, Species: 6, Observations: 6
1. Red-knobbed Coot, 2024-08-06 09:43
2. Cape Cormorant, 2024-08-06 09:27
3. Little Egret, 2024-08-06 09:23
4. Great Crested Grebe, 2024-08-06 09:23
5. Grey-headed Gull, 2024-08-06 09:21
6. Pied Kingfisher, 2024-08-06 09:21

 

Pentad: 3400_1825, Start: 2024-08-06, End: 2024-08-06, Species: 47, Observations: 47
1. Black-winged Kite, 2024-08-06 16:06
2. Laughing Dove, 2024-08-06 15:28
3. Common Starling, 2024-08-06 14:38
4. Levaillant’s Cisticola, 2024-08-06 14:37
5. Cape Shoveler, 2024-08-06 12:26
6. White-breasted Cormorant, 2024-08-06 12:25
7. Kelp Gull, 2024-08-06 12:24
8. Lesser Flamingo, 2024-08-06 12:23
9. Alpine Swift, 2024-08-06 12:20
10. Pin-tailed Whydah, 2024-08-06 11:08
11. African Sacred Ibis, 2024-08-06 11:06
12. Cape White-eye, 2024-08-06 10:52
13. Common Waxbill, 2024-08-06 10:23
14. Black Sparrowhawk, 2024-08-06 10:13
15. Common Moorhen, 2024-08-06 10:09
16. Pied Avocet, 2024-08-06 10:08
17. Malachite Kingfisher, 2024-08-06 10:02
18. Little Grebe, 2024-08-06 10:02
19. Water Thick-knee, 2024-08-06 10:00
20. White-backed Mousebird, 2024-08-06 09:51
21. Spur-winged Goose, 2024-08-06 09:34
22. Cape Teal, 2024-08-06 09:14
23. African Darter, 2024-08-06 09:10
24. Hartlaub’s Gull, 2024-08-06 09:08
25. Grey Heron, 2024-08-06 09:07
26. Cape Wagtail, 2024-08-06 09:06
27. Little Rush Warbler, 2024-08-06 09:03
28. Brown-throated Martin, 2024-08-06 09:02
29. Egyptian Goose, 2024-08-06 09:01
30. Blacksmith Lapwing, 2024-08-06 09:00
31. Southern Masked Weaver, 2024-08-06 08:56
32. Reed Cormorant, 2024-08-06 08:53
33. Cape Weaver, 2024-08-06 08:52
34. Lesser Swamp Warbler, 2024-08-06 08:51
35. Karoo Prinia, 2024-08-06 08:41
36. Cape Sparrow, 2024-08-06 08:40
37. Red-eyed Dove, 2024-08-06 08:39
38. African Black Swift, 2024-08-06 08:39
39. Yellow-billed Duck, 2024-08-06 08:33
40. Cape Bulbul, 2024-08-06 08:29
41. Pied Crow, 2024-08-06 08:27
42. Cape Spurfowl, 2024-08-06 08:25
43. Black-headed Heron, 2024-08-06 08:25
44. Hadada Ibis, 2024-08-06 08:22
45. Cape Robin-Chat, 2024-08-06 08:20
46. Southern Double-collared Sunbird, 2024-08-06 08:19
47. African Spoonbill, 2024-08-06 08:18