Winter birding in South Africa

Marje Hemp finds the top 10 bird-watching escapes in South Africa.

Bird-watching in winter is a much more laid-back activity than in summer. The migrants have flown north, shorter days enable lazier morning starts and you can take advantage of the many winter accommodation specials on offer.

De Hoop Nature Reserve
is 34 000-hectare reserve in the Overberg region of the southwestern Cape is a prime birding site, especially during the months of July through to November. Another advantage is that visitors are not restricted to their cars. De Hoop is made up of the scenically attractive coastal zone and the Potberg section, which hosts the Western Cape’s last breeding colony of Cape vultures.  e fourkilometre Klipspringer Trail, which ascends the Potberg, offers some good vulture and raptor viewing, as well as fynbos birding (orangebreasted sunbird, Cape siskin and Cape rockjumper). If you’re lucky, the endemic black harrier can sometimes be seen quartering over this part of the reserve.

If good winter rains fall, then the large vlei at De Hoop attracts many water birds, including greater fl amingos. In the surrounding riverine bush, you’ll find southern tchagras, olive pigeons, southern boubous and Knysna woodpeckers. Stands of proteas attract sugarbirds and, in late winter, males can be seen displaying with their long tails.

Specials:
Cape vulture, secretary bird, black harrier, southern tchagra, Knysna woodpecker, African black oystercatcher.

Don’t miss:
Southern right whales calving and mating at Koppie Alleen (July to November).

Where to stay:
De Hoop has a wide range of accommodation, from simple selfcatering cottages to a luxury beach house. There are also facilities for camping and caravanning. Tel 021-659-3500, web http://www.capenature.co.za. Buchu Bush Camp offers lodge accommodation and a restaurant one kilometre from the main gate. Tel 028-542-1602 or web http://www.buchu-bushcamp.com.

Kruger National Park
One of Southern Africa’s finest birding destinations, Kruger provides easy access to a wide variety of habitats. In winter, some focused birding can score 75 to 100 species in a three to four day visit when the days are pleasantly mild to warm. Bird-watching is enhanced as the vegetation thins out and winter-flowering coral trees, Cape honeysuckle and a variety of aloes attract many nectar feeders such as Cape white-eyes and sunbirds.

Many resident birds are in breeding phase. The larger raptors begin courtship and nest building in June and become more active during the day, resulting in excellent sightings of bateleur, martial eagle and African hawk eagle during their territorial displays. Owls and parrots also breed at this time and woodpeckers become very active, searching dry bark for larvae and insects. Waterholes are good spots to watch for a variety of seedeaters that need to drink daily. Birding is always good in the rest camps as the birds are attracted to any additional food source.

Specials:
African finfoots at the high-level bridge at Sabie, Arnot’s chats on the tar road between Shingwedzi and Punda Maria, whitebacked vultures’ nest in a tree at Pafuri Camp, grey-headed parrots on the Mahonie loop outside Punda Maria, racket-tailed rollers near Crooks’ Corner.

Don’t miss:
A night drive (dress warmly). Sunrise in winter is two hours later than in summer, so birding is best between 06h30 and 10h00, and from 15h00 until dusk.

Where to stay:
There are many rest camps and bush camps. Refer to The Getaway Guide to the Kruger National Park or web http://www.sanparks.org.

Bird guide:
Brett Hilton-Barber’s Best Birding in Kruger (Prime Origins Press).

Gate times:
April – Sept open 06h00; close July 17h30, Aug – Sept 18h00.

Giant’s Castle
 is scenic area in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is probably best known as a hiker’s paradise, but birding there can be extremely rewarding. Two or three days in the rest camp could net up to 100 species. The popular vulture hide allows close-up views and excellent photographic opportunities of many raptors, including the magnifi cent bearded vulture. Walks around the indigenous gardens in camp or to Bushman’s Caves will also be worthwhile.

Specials:
Bearded vulture, Cape vulture, Verreauxs’ eagle, Gurney’s sugarbird, Drakensberg rockjumper, ground woodpecker.

Don’t miss:
The Bearded Vulture Hide open from May to September. The fee is R150 a person (minimum of three). For hide reservations, tel 036-353-3718.

Where to stay: Giant’s Castle Rest Camp bookings via Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife reservations, tel 033-845-1000, e-mail bookings@kznwildlife.com, web http://www.kznwildlife.com.

Bird guide:
Southern Africa Birdfinder (Struik Publishers)

Gate times:
From April – Sept 06h00 to 18h00.

Tanqua Karoo
The open plain north of Ceres is one of the best places to get to know some Karoo endemics and simply enjoy solitude and scenery. Start at Karoopoort where many Karoo endemics occur, including rufous-eared warbler, blackheaded canary, Cape penduline tit, yellow-bellied eremomela and Karoo lark. Karoo chats are always plentiful. At the Skitterykloof picnic site, fairy flycatchers and pririt batises are relatively common. The megatick here is the cinnamon-breasted warbler on the rocky hillside slopes, so it’s best to learn its call.

Along the R355 and P2250 to Tanqua Karoo National Park, there’s good birding and, in the riverine thickets, you will hear Namaqua warblers. The vast open plains are home to more desert-adapted species: Karoo korhaan, tractrac chat and spikeheeled lark with occasional eruptions of sparrowlarks if the rains have been good. The park is one of the best places to see the rare Burchell’s courser. Search the area near the airfield at Tanqua Guest House and the gravel road that runs along the southern boundary of the park.

Specials:
Karoo eremomela, cinnamonbreasted warbler, Burchell’s courser, double-banded courser, Ludwig’s bustard, Namaqua sandgrouse; Karoo korhaan.

Where to stay:
Tanqua Guest House and two restored farm cottages at the southern edge of the park; all self-catering. No electricity or cellphone reception. Be sure to fill up and bring sufficient provisions. Tel 027-341-1927 or web http://www.sanparks.org.

Guides:
Birding Africa offers a guided two day Tanqua loop, e-mail info@birdingafrica. com or tel 021-531-9148. If you want to go it alone, http://www.capebirdingroute.org has all the information you need.

Ongoye Forest, southern Zululand
Ongoye is a pristine coastal scarp forest 15 kilometres inland from Mtunzini and is famous as the only known home of the rare green barbet in southern Africa. It also boasts several other species high on a birder’s list, including eastern bronze-naped pigeon, yellow-streaked greenbul and spotted ground-thrush. Its distinctive chopchop call is the only way to track down the green barbet.

Its cryptic colouration provides ideal camoufl age and less confident birders would do well to hire a local where to find target species, but they can also entice them out by imitating their calls.

Ongoye is excellent for forest specials such as green twinspots, olive woodpeckers and olive bush-shrikes. From the open granite hilltops, look out for African crowned eagles and black-breasted snake eagles. Access has been improved with a new concrete strip road. Several walking trails are available from the lodge.

Specials:
Green barbet, crowned eagle, Narina trogon, tambourine dove. The Kermit-like forest tree frog is an another added bonus.

Don’t miss:
A visit to the nearby Dlinza Forest Boardwalk in Eshowe and to Mtunzini to see two winter specials: mangrove kingfisher near Umlalazi Lagoon and spotted ground-thrush in the dune forest.

Where to stay:
Ongoye Birder’s Lodge can accommodate up to six self-catering guests. There is no electricity or cellphone reception. Contact BirdLife Travel 082-777-7202 or e-mail travel@birdlife.org.za. Guides can be booked by phoning the Zululand Birding Route 035-753-5644 or e-mail guides@zbr.co.za. Mtunzini Forest Lodge offers self-catering wooden chalets, tel 082-777-7202.

Cape Recife, Port Elizabeth
One of South Africa’s best and most accessible winter birding spots, Cape Recife lies at the western extremity of Algoa Bay and is a proclaimed nature reserve. This prominent headland is renowned as a tern hotspot, particularly on the shoreline near the lighthouse.

Up to seven species of terns occur here, including roseate and Antarctic terns in winter. Roseates breed on Bird Island in Algoa Bay and are in full breeding plumage from June to September.

You’ll see swift terns, Cape gannets, Cape and white-breasted cormorants and the occasional white-chinned petrels, sub-antarctic skuas and sooty shearwaters in winter.

Damara terns can often be seen in spring and autumn.

There are two sewage ponds, one with a bird hide, that attract waterfowl and there are walking trails through the coastal dune scrub. Look out for southern tchagras, malachite sunbirds, sombre greenbuls and sometimes Knysna woodpeckers. There have been some security problems at Cape Recife, so it’s best to visit in groups and head straight for the parking area at the point. Call Pine Lodge for the latest information.

Specials:
Roseate tern, Caspian tern, Antarctic tern (very prominent in winter), African black oystercatcher.

Where to stay:
Pine Lodge Resort (tel 041-583-4004) at the entrance to the reserve has organised security patrols. Visitors get permits there. Contact Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism tel 041-582-2575 or web http://www.nmbt.co.za for other options.

Guides:
Bird & Eco Tours, tel 041-466-5698 or web http://www.birdtours.co.za.Waterberg Escarpment
The Waterberg stretches for 150 kilometres from  abazimbi in the west to Mokopane in the east, with a variety of habitats and more than 350 bird species. Ther are several private and public nature reserves in the area. In winter, the raptors are more easily visible and clearly displaying, and the weather is generally mild, although nights can be freezing.

The whole range is renowned for its raptors, including Verreauxs’ eagle, cuckoo hawk and African harrier hawk. African finfoots and whitebacked night herons can be seen at the Mokolo Dam and at the Palala River bridge.

Even the main roads can be rewarding: lizard buzzards often perch on the telephone poles between Vaalwater and Melkrivier.

Marakele National Park supports the largest Cape vulture breeding colony in the country and offers access to the highest point of the Waterberg, where Gurney’s sugarbirds can be seen on the protea slopes. The rest of the park is dominated by bushveld where crimson-breasted shrikes and redcrested korhaans can be seen.

Specials:
Yellow-throated sandgrouse (Koedoeskop area about 30 km south of Thabazimbi), Shelley’s francolin and Temminck’s courser. Blue cranes gather in winter on some farms in the Rankin’s Pass area.

Don’t miss:
Feeding a young black rhino at Clive Walker’s Waterberg Rhino Museum at Melkrivier, tel 014-755-4484. Curio shopping at the Black Mamba in Vaalwater.

Where to stay:
Lindani Game Farm offers luxury self-catering lodges and an impressive bird list. Tel 014-755-4336 or web http://www.lindani.co.za. Masebe Nature Reserve has bird guides and accommodation at Nthubu Bush Camp. Tel 015-290-7300. At Marakele National Park, Tlopi Tented Camp units overlook the Apiesrivierpoort Dam. Web http://www.sanparks.org. Jembisa Palala River Reserve, tel 014- 755-4415, e-mail lodge @jembisa.com. Kololo Private Game Reserve, e-mail info@kololo.nl. Mabote River Camp, tel 015-453-0792, e-mail info@mabote.com. For further information and birderfriendly accommodation, web http://www.limpopobirding.com.

Witsand Nature Reserve
Some 70 kilometres west of Griquatown in the arid North West, Witsand is home to the famous roaring white sands or brulsand. Perennial water has given rise to a unique ecosystem with an array of endemic plants and abundant birdlife. Adjacent to the dunes lies dense woodland and open savannah, offering typical arid-region birding similar to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Up to 150 bird species occur there.

This small reserve boasts a world first: a sunken bird hide from which to view sandgrouse. Sightings are good all year round, but are best in winter when it is dry and the birds travel vast distances to water.

Large flocks of Namaqua and Burchell’s sandgrouse arrive midmorning, while the less numerous double-banded sandgrouse gather to drink in the evening.  eir agitated calls are one of the signature sounds of Africa. These desert-adapted birds take water back to their chicks by soaking their specially adapted belly feathers while they drink. If you’re patient, other seedeaters can be seen from the hide, including red-headed finch, black-throated canary and scalyfeathered finch.

Specials:
Three species of sandgrouse, pygmy falcon, violet-eared and blackfaced waxbills, crimson-breasted boubou, yellow-billed hornbill.

Don’t miss:
Robert Moffat Mission in Kuruman (good thornveld birding in the grounds) and the Kuruman Eye en route.

Where to stay:
Witsand offers excellent chalet and camping facilities. Tel 053-313-1061, web http://www.witsandkalahari.co.za.

Gate times:
08h00 – 18h00.

Magoebaskloof
This area offers accessible forest birding and a number of forest specials, including chorister robin-chat and white-starred robin. Cape parrots may be heard calling in the early morning along the road to Woodbush Forest. Most of the birding in the forest can be done from your vehicle along Woodbush Forest Drive, past Debengeni Falls to the bottom of the gorge. It will take a couple of hours with frequent birding stops. A vehicle with good clearance may be necessary to negotiate some of the rougher roads.

Forest birding is notoriously difficult and success is best achieved by identifying calls in the various layers. Knysna touracos, grey cuckooshrikes and olive bush-shrikes feed in the top canopy while Narina trogons, Cape batises and blue-mantled flycatchers are found in the mid- to lower-stratum. Walk quietly a little way into the natural forest to discover the more secretive robins on the forest floor. At the forest edge, green twinspots, swee waxbills, African firefinches and forest buzzards can be seen.

Specials:
Black-fronted bush-shrike, Cape parrot, Narina trogon, orange ground-thrush, yellow-streaked greenbul and crowned eagle. Don’t miss: A visit to Debengeni Falls and a nearby tea estate.

Where to stay:
Kurisa Moya is a birder-friendly guest lodge in indigenous forest near Magoebaskloof, tel 082-200-4596 or 015-276-1131, e-mail info@krm.co.za. Magoebaskloof Hotel tel 015-276-5400. For other accommodation and directions, web http://www.limpopobirding.com.

Bird guides: A one- to three-hour bird walk with David Letsoalo, a knowledgable local guide, is highly recommended. Tel 051-276-1131 or 083-568-4678.

Cape Winter Pelagic
Cape Town offers some of the best pelagic birding in the world and the spectacle from June to October is phenomenal for sheer numbers and variety.

Up to 10 000 seabirds may be attracted to a single fishing trawler. The sight and sound is overwhelming as birds come in so close that binoculars become unnecessary. They range from tiny storm petrels to the largest flying bird in the world, the endangered wandering albatross, with a wingspan of up to 3,5 metres.

During winter, thousands of shy, black-browed and yellow-nosed albatrosses move north from their southern ocean breeding grounds to reap this rich harvest of food. Other species include white-chinned petrel, southern and northern giant-petrel, sooty shearwater, sub-antarctic skua and Wilson’s storm petrel.

A deep-sea boat trip not only offers first-time birders a chance to add to their life lists – a tally of 15 to 20 new species is possible – but also a good chance of whale sightings. Added bonuses are dolphins, Cape fur seals and African penguins.

Specials:
Wandering albatross, northern royal albatross, yellow-nosed albatross, spectacled petrel, Antarctic prion and Wilson’s storm petrel.

Don’t miss:
A visit to the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach near Simon’s Town.

Bookings:
Pelagics are run regularly throughout the year from Simon’s Town with experts on board. Three companies offer trips: Cape Town Pelagics tel 073-675-3267, web http://www.capetownpelagics.com; Zest for Birds tel 082-780-0376, web http://www.zestforbirds.co.za; and Anne Albatross tel 083-311-1140, web http://www.annealbatross.org.