Black Oyster Catcher nest on the Wild Coast

The Wild Coast is all about the rugged coastline, beautiful beaches, rolling green hills, dramatic waterfalls, spectacular river mouths, friendly and hospitable people.  So in fact that many visitors often miss the little things.  And y'all know how I can go on about not just looking at the bigger picture when you are travelling.

A little while ago I was staying at Wavecrest Hotel and took an early morning walk down to the river mouth.  It was raining all night and the morning was cloudy and gloomy so I left my camera in my room and just went to enjoy the fresh air.  Close to the river mouth I watched a pair of Black Oyster Catchers eyeballing me awhile making a heck of a lot of noise.  I realised that they must have a nest close by but what interested me more was how close I was to them without them flying off.  Darn, and me without my camera.  So I schlepped back to the hotel to fetch my camera and headed back to the beach.  As I was approaching one was walking around between the boulders and on spotting me flew back to its mate making a lot of noise again.  Now I know that is how they try to lure any potential danger to a nest away from it so I decided to have a look.      

I approached the area carefully as I have never seen a Black Oyster Catcher nest before and wasn't sure what to look for.  And suddenly there it was right in front of me.  By my footprints I actually passed not more than two meters away from it earlier before fetching my camera.

The camouflage was amazing but more amazing was the fact that the nest was nothing more than a slight hollow in the sand filled with shells and pebbles. 

I didn't want to get too close as (future) mom and dad was swearing at me from nearby so I popped the long lens on the camera to get one last closeup before giving them their space back.  Isn't that scene just a work of art?

Blue cranes in the Overberg

Road trip stories.  I have many. Why?  Because it's a lot more exciting than just flying to your domestic destination.  So except for speed, what is the most exciting thing that could happen on an average flight? Chicken or Beef?

Road tripping to Cape Town with Shefetswe and Erenei, we were driving somewhere between Caledon and Bot River in the Overberg when my eye caught something in a field next to the road.  As I spotted it Shefetswe remarked, "Wow! Check the Blue Cranes." Well, I don't know which came first but I slammed on the brakes and shouted hold on... or shouted hold on and slammed on the breaks.  Shefetswe did remark afterwards that he just saw the gravel next to the road approach quickly.  I don't know what he was on about.  There was no skidding wheels and I had everything under control.   

The slight whiplash was well worth the sighting though.  About 100 Blue Cranes together in the field. Not something you get to see every day from where we come from.   

 

Why was this sighting to special for us?  The Blue Crane is South Africa's National Bird and is a threatened specie that is classified as Vulnerable.  This took place in September which is normally a time when flocks have broken up and breeding pairs dominate the choice areas.  This means that in Spring and Summer you normally see pairs or pairs with youngsters in open fields.  The flocks that remain together move to the fringes of the breeding areas and it must have been a flock like that which we saw..

50 Shades of Grey... and Orange

Our weekend in St Francis Bay gave me the perfect material for a Random.... post.  This time random shades of grey and orange.

 

Orange, grey and white flowing together on the rocks along Cape St Francis' Wild Side on the walk to the blow hole. 

This rock I found on the walk to Shark Point had me dotty...

Check out the different colours of clay used by this swallow in building its nest on the porch at Dune Ridge Country House.  Now this is the real 50 shades of grey.

Birds and boat (and a new camera)

A fishing boat sailing along Port Elizabeth's Wildside with a flock of terns on the rocks in the foreground.  This is the last picture I have to post taken with my Fiji bridge camera.  The camera was in the boot of my car that was stolen about two months ago.  The good news is that, after what felt like forever, the insurance finally paid out.  I started shopping for a new camera (not that there is much available in that price range) and the Damselfly told me to think of myself for a change, pay in a bit and get a DSLR.  It means I have a new toy.  A brand new Nikon D3100.  I know it's an entry level DSLR but it does mean that I can now finally take my photography up a step.  Watch this space.

A Pale Chanting Goshawk in Addo

I have never been a big bird expert.  When I started working as a tourist guide I went to a lot of effort to increase my birding knowledge, but a LBJ (little brown job) and an Overtheroadian were still the most common answers I gave when something flashed across the road as we drove along somewhere.  Addo Elephant National Park has a bird checklist of over 400 species with about 200 occurring within the main game area. In all the years that I worked as a guide and visited Addo, my favourite bird to spot was probably the Pale Chanting Goshawk.  Don't ask me why.  I just liked this light grey bird with its bright orange beak and legs.

The Pale Chanting Goshawk is a bird of prey of the family Accipitridae.  It is found all over southern Africa and usually a resident of dry, open areas with low rainfall.  This species grow 56 – 65 cm long with a wingspan of about 105 cm.  They eat a variety of vertebrate prey, mainly lizards, but also small mammals and birds as well as large insects. This one I spotted on my last visit to Addo sitting on top of a thorn tree, but they often walk around on the ground as well.

Heron at dusk

Spending one night at Trennery's on the Wild Coast, I decided that I wanted to explore a bit.  Upstream from the Qolora River Mouth is a spot called The Gates and it was here that I caught this heron sitting on a branch at dusk. 

The Cormorant and the Kingfisher

"Hey bro, my wings are bigger than yours"

 

A Cormorant and Pied Kingfisher sitting at the end of a jetty on Groenvlei outside Sedgefield

Malachite Sunbird in Addo

Addo Elephant National Park boats with over 450 different bird species making it not just great for elephant and game watching, but also bird watching.  I'm not always too bothered with trying to photograph birds with my superzoom as it isn't really fast enough to take proper pictures of them, but on my last visit I had a borrowed SLR with a long lens and snapped away at anything that moved.  One of those was this Malachite Sunbird. 

The adult male is metallic green when breeding, with blackish-green wings.  In non-breeding plumage, the male's upperparts are brown apart from the green wings and tail, the latter retaining the elongated feathers.  The female has brown upperparts and dull yellow underparts with some indistinct streaking on the breast.  The Malachite Sunbird is found in South Africa in hilly fynbos (including protea stands as well as areas with aloes) and cool montane and coastal scrub, up to 2,800m altitude.

You can't help but smile when you watch a penguin

One of the things that Libby Sharwood at the South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (SAMREC) in Port Elizabeth always say is, "You can help but to smile when you watch a penguin." 

 

The African Penguin is highly endangered with only just over 20 000 breeding pairs left in the world, most of these right on my doorstep on St Croix Island in Algoa Bay.  SAMREC does an amazing job both in the care and rehabilitation of birds that come to them as well as with the education side through schools and visitors (both local and international) that visit the centre.  They do need people to do so much more than smile though.  They need people to act and the easiest way to act is to visit SAMREC as every cent made through the entrance fees collected goes straight back into penguin conservation at the centre.  Even better, adopt a penguin or sponsor one of the solar panels for their Penguins go Green project.

A Saturday morning hike on the Flamingo Trail

I'm probably the most overweight, unfit active guy there is.  There is no hesitation to go if I get the opportunity to get out and about and because of my love for the outdoors I make an effort to explore and do as much as possible.  I've been fortunate that I've had the opportunity to do most of the day walks around Port Elizabeth with the exception of only a few.  One of those being the Flamingo Trail in the Swartkops Nature Reserve and I didn't think twice about joining the Zwartkops Conservancy on a guided walk of the trail.

The Flamingo Trail is 6 - 8 km long and best done as a guided trail with the guys from the conservancy.  The walk starts at the Motherwell storm water canal and follows the estuary in a westerly direction.  The Swartkops estuary is an important breeding ground for numerous waders and sea birds and is also home to up to a thousand flamingos, hence the name of the trail in case you wondered.  The surrounding reserve is there to protect the estuary as well as the Valley Thicket (or Valley Bushveld) on the northern slope and escarpment of the reserve.

Those joining the walk split into two groups.  One group did the longer trail which rounded the estuary and follow the banks past Redhouse.  I had more active things to do later in the day plus Chaos Boy was tagging along for the walk so opted to do the shorter one which took us along the northern bank and then up onto the escarpment.  I was in good company though with fellow Geocachers Seekoei and erenei as well as Cathy Dempsey from Dempsey's Guesthouse deciding to also do the shorter one.

Jenny Rump from the Zwartkops Conservancy kept pointing out interesting sights and told us about the threats that impacts on the Swartkops River and estuary.  The Zwartkops Conservancy is campaigning to have the estuary declared a Ramsar international wetland which will make it the first such wetland in South Africa situated within an urban area, and the first initiated by the public as opposed to government. The national Dept of Environmental Affairs is giving the application its full support though.

Walking along the river bank gave us some beautiful views of the river and fairly close up sightings of birds with my interest on that day being specifically flamingos.  You usually get to see the flamingos while driving along the Swartkops road towards Despatch and Uitenhage but it was great to get to see them while on foot.  It did help that we had a gorgeous windless Saturday morning and I was kinda glad I had my hat and some extra water on hand as shade is a bit on the spares side along the river banks.

After a short rest at the turning point, Jenny took us up onto the escarpment and although we were huffing and puffing when we got there it was truly worth it.  The view from up there across the estuary towards the city is magnificent.  The walk onto the escarpment and back down took us through the Valley Thicket where succulents like Aloes and Tree Euphorbias as well as Boer Beans and other smaller trees can be found.  Have I mentioned the stunning view?  

Anybody wanting more information about the Zwartkops Conservancy or interested in finding out when the next guided walk is can contact Jenny Rump at Tel – 082 853 0700 or 041 466 1815 or

email: zwartkopsconservancy@iafrica.com.

Cape Weaver in Addo

Visiting Addo Elephant National Park isn't all about elephants and other big game.  Addo is also home to over 300 different bird species, one of which is this Cape Weaver I found at Domkrag Waterhole in the park.

Egret nesting ground

Ornithologists, or just plain bird lovers for those who don't know the big word, visiting the town of Montagu in the Western Cape gets drawn to the Leidam like a mouse to cheese.  For the last two years we spent a week in Montagu during our summer holiday and during both visits I spent some time just watching the birds in the trees around the dam.  The Leidam was originally built to supply water to the town via canals with each house having an allocated time in the day during which they could draw water from the canal.  This system is still in places today although the town has grown quite a bit since those days and the area covered by the canals are basically in the western part of town.  The trees around the dam has become home to 18 species of birds (including Sacred Ibis, Herons, Cormorants, Egrets, Shrikes and Weavers) that use it as their breeding ground with more than 52 visiting species also having been identified.  One word of warning though.  If you have a very sensitive nose you should rather stay away.

Egyptian goose on Kings Beach lake

Have you even noticed that you will always find Egyptian Geese where ever there is water.  Lakes, dams, rivers, ponds and even on the off chance a backyard pool.  When the Boardwalk development opened in Port Elizabeth some years ago it wasn't long before a pair moved in and they have been there ever since, hatching their chicks every year.  The same has happened at the new Kings Beach development with a pair moving in very soon after completion.  I snapped one of them the other day while checking up on a geocache in the area.

Egret in a thorn tree

A Cattle Egret  (Bubulcus ibis) decked out in its breeding plumage sitting in a sweet thorn tree at the Montagu Leidam in the Western Cape

Orange-breasted Sunbird

I don't always get great photographs of birds with my super zoom camera as its not nearly as fast as a DSLR, but the other day I was extremely lucky on a trip to Cape Town that this sunbird sat still long enough for me to snap a pic before he flew off.

 

The Orange-breasted Sunbird, Anthobaphes violacea, is the only member of the bird genus Anthobaphes and is endemic to the fynbos habitat of south-western South Africa.  Obviously due to its restricted range within fynbos this sunbird is associated with Ericas, from which it takes nectar, insects (often taken in flight) and spiders. It breeds when the heath flowers, typically in May. The male will defend its territory aggressively, attacking and chasing intruders.  The picture was taken in early April so he was probably still taking it easy before the chasing start.

International Penguin Day

The 25th of April is Internation Penguin Day and with Algoa Bay being home to the biggest population of African Penguins in the world I thought I would do a post to celebrate it. The South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (SAMREC) is located in the Cape Recife Nature Reserve in Port Elizabeth and the staff and volunteers involved there do an amazing job in the conservation effort of this endangered specie.

Why is 25 April celebrated as International Penguin Day? Well, that is the day that the Adelie penguins in the Antarctic begin their annual northward migration. How they know to start migrating on this specific day I don't know so lets say give or take a couple of days. The Adelies start migrating in the Antarctic autumn season and don't return to their colonies until the following spring. They will swim north for only about 600km and stay among floating icebergs, feeding in the surrounding ocean. This means that these penguins don't really migrate to another landmass but spent their time in the water and resting on the ice until the season changes again and they head back home. The reason for this migration is that the days in Antarctica become darker during winter and by migrating slightly north they have more daylight hours to hunt for food.

Red Knobbed Coot

While out on a paddle boat on the dam during our return visit to the Montagu Caravan Park in December, I heard a couple of birds calling in the reeds.  On closer inspection it turned out to be a mother Red Knobbed Coot and two chicks. 

 

The Red-knobbed Coot or Crested Coot, (Fulica cristata), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae.  It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain and normally found on freshwater lakes and ponds.  They build a nest of dead reeds near the water's edge or more commonly afloat, laying about 8 eggs.  Their behaviour towards their own young is so aggressive that only a few are likely to survive to adulthood.

Sacred Ibis

The Leidam in Montagu in the Western Cape must be one of the best places in the area to do bird watching.  From the bird hide next to the road one can get great views and photographs of particularly sacred ibis and egrets with herons and weavers also around.  Due to the big amount of birds around the dam there is a bit of an ... odor in the air, but the quality of the sightings makes more than up for it.

 

The African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) is a wading bird of the ibis family and breeds in sub-Saharan Africa, southeastern Iraq, and formerly in Egypt.  In Egypt it was venerated and often mummified as a symbol of the god Thoth.  The sacred ibis normally occurs in marshy wetlands and mud flats, both inland and on the coast, and that is why they thrive next to the Leidam with the river flowing by about a block away. 

 

This bird is usually silent, but occasionally makes some croaking noises, unlike its vocal relative, the Hadeda Ibis.

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

On a game drive at Pumba Game Reserve near Port Elizabeth our ranger pointed out a Brown-hooded Kingfisher sitting in a tree next to the game drive vehicle.  The next thing he said kinda got our attention.  He asked us to look around and see if we could see any body of water.  There was none.  The Brown-hooded Kingfisher doesn't necessarily feed on fish but also on insects such as butterflies, bees, wasps, locusts and ants. These invertebrates are usually hawked aerially, killed and then eaten.  This means that it doesn't have to live near water like all his other Kingfisher cousins. 

Black Sparrowhawk

Life and the universe tend to sneak you a very pleasant and unexpected surprise every now and then and I clearly got one of those pulling into my driveway the other day.  As I turned off thew road I spotted something on the lawn under one of the two big palm trees in my front yard.  There right in front of me was a bird of prey sitting on top of one of the palm trees' resident pigeons feeding away with very little regard for me trying to get a good picture of him.  After about ten minutes or so he decided to try and carry his dinner away but the pigeon was clearly to heavy for him so he literally bounced across the road and continued feeding on the other side of the road for another 15 minutes or so.

My bird knowledge is so-so and I wasn't too sure what it could be so I uploaded a pic to the PE Photography Club Facebook Page and within minutes the guys identified it as a Black Sparrowhawk.  The Black Sparrowhawk (Accipiter melanoleucus), is the largest African member of the genus Accipiter and occurs mainly in forests and non-desert areas south of the Sahara.  They nest in large trees and has a particular liking for suburban and human-altered landscapes.  It preys primarily on birds of moderate size, which explains why it took down one of the palm tree pigeons.  The adults are dark with white while the juveniles are brown which means looking at its feathers it was probably a young adult. 

Somebody commented that the fact that there are so many feathers lying around shows that its a Black Sparrowhawk as they, unlike most other birds of prey, don't eat the feathers.

It's days like this though that I wish I had a SLR camera with my prosumer super zoom, even though it generally takes fantastic pictures, just taking too long to focus and take the picture resulting in most of the pictures being slightly out of focus or blurry.

Read more about the Black Sparrowhawk on Wikipedia.