2 October - First Day Birding Cape Town

Kirstenbosch Gardens

BIRD OF THE DAY - CAPE BATIS [pic by Gary Davidson]

The first full day in South Africa started with a cooked breakfast plus fruits as befitting an African B & B.

We met up with our guides Wian and Matt who drove us to a great birding site, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Birder or non birder this is a place that deserves a visit and probably a second visit as well. It delivered great birds in an environment that featured great plants; indeed it would be good to have a specific botanical tour of the place to learn more about the proteas and succulents in particular.

New birds were encountered immediately; Southern Double collared Sunbirds, Cape Robin Chat, Southern Boubou and Olive Thrush meant that the first twenty metres took twenty minutes! Above us Alpine and African Black Swifts flew and, now and again, Black Saw-wings.

Olive Thrush

Southern Boubou

Karoo Prinia, a common and vocal species, showed well.

Karoo Prinia

As we walked the birds kept appearing. Helmeted Guineafowl, Cape Spurfowl [an endemic to south Africa] were seen well as was a fast running Small Grey Mongoose that evaded photographers.

Cape Spurfowl

Cape Sugarbirds started keeping the common and ubiquitous SDC Sunbirds company. Inbetween times we encountered African dusky flycatcher, Cape Canary, Olive Woodpecker, Sombre Greenbul.

Female Cape Sugarbird

Southern Double-collared Sunbird

Cape Canary

After competing the Boomslang Walkway, an elevated walkway that snaked through the upper branches, we encountered the bird of the day - the Cape Batis. This is a beautiful little bird, an endemic, a lifer for pretty well everybody, a colourful and attractive bird that, for a short time, displayed well. both the male and female attended. Under the walkway Lemon Doves were seen; an attractive ground dwelling dove with a stupid name; obviously considered whether their name was culinary rather than descriptive in a visual sense.

Common Waxbill

Black Saw-wing

Spotted Eagle Owl was found roosting in a large hanging pot plant which showed as well as could be expected for a large bird in a pot plant. Birders n our group had to suffice with a photo that showed an orange eye of an owl staring through a hole in the pot's side.

Speckled Mousebird

shitty pic of Cape White-eye

Lunch was welcome at the cafe in Kirstenbosch although not quite as welcome as the jugs of iced lemon water. 

Ring necked Dove

Cape Sugarbird in Proteas

Post lunch the plan involved a cable car to the top of Table Mountain, a large mountain, over a kilometre in elevation that allows magnificent views of both Cape Town and the surrounding bays and ranges. First though the queues had to be negotiated. A forty minute wait allowed us plenty of time to reflect on south Africa's human diversity and therefore the accuracy of its label as the rainbow nation.

Cape Town from Table Mountain

The views from the top and the landscape on the top of Table Mountain are stunning. Lizards were the first wildlife encountered; Cape Crag Lizard and southern Rock Agama; the latter's male seen well, with its trademark blue head conspicuous, sunning itself atop lichen encrusted rocks. Speckled Pigeons, yesterday's bird of the day were quite conspicuous, as were Red winged Starlings. Orange breasted Sunbirds and Familiar Chats were two new species that ultimately seen well by most.

Familiar Chat

The way down the hill was marred by two things. The first; large numbers of people that demanded that we waited for a long tine to get back near the cable cars and, second, a rescue operation, on the slopes below the cable car terminal that suspended operations for an additional 40 minutes.

Rock Hyrax or Dassie

Orange breasted Sunbird

Table Mountain view south

Finally though we returned from the mountain and headed home to /Hout Bay before an evening meal of seafood at a local restaurant. A great meal with some excellent local beer to finish off a geat first day in Africa!