My son Michael McCarthy works overseas. He contacted us and said he will meet us in Hartenbos. He will be staying with his best friend Pg Beukes in Hartenbos. We decided to fly there, rent a car and meet up with him.
We stayed 4 days with Pg in Hartenbos. What a beautiful place. He drove us around to all the productive birding spots. The following places are good:
- Knysna Lagune. (25 Species) Pg took us on day one to Knysna. The lagune area is amazing.
- Pied Avocet
- Cape Shoveler (Lifo for me)
- Red-billed Teal
- Herons (Grey and Black)
- Pied Kingfisher
- Hartenbos-, Grootbrak lagunes and Beach Fronts. (46 Species) Highlights for me were:
- Greater Flamingo
- Giant Kingfisher
- Common Starling
- Rock Martin
- Caspian Tern
- The farm roads outside Hartenbos on the way to George is excellent. Make sure to explore these areas. Take the dirt roads. We even saw a lot of wild animals. Highlights for me were:
- Neddicky
- Malachite Sunbird
- Cape Spurfowl
- Denham`s Bustard
- Black Sparrowhawk
- Wilderness. (8 Species). We visited a friend of mine Braam Bezuidenhout and his wife Lezanne at Wilderness. We stayed two days with them. A Great area, explore the lagune, sea front and the valleys in the mountain. Highlights were:
- Cape Robin Chat
- Knysna Turaco
- Forest Weaver (Lifo for me)
My son had to fly back earlier and we moved on to Hermanus. (25 Species) We stayed with a friend of my wife`s Letitia Jonker in Hermanus for 4 days. She took us around. I recommend the following places:
- Hermanus New Harbour Area. You will find the normal Cape seabirds.
- Esplanade Hermanus. You will find the typical Cape Sea birds.
- Fern Kloof Nature Reserve. Worthwhile to drive up the mountain. Beautiful cape flora is in abundance.
- Klein River lagune is a must. A Friend of Letitia, Naki an avid birder took us to this spot. Highlights were:
- Ducks (Yellow-billed, Red Teal, Cape Shoveler)
- African Spoonbill
- Little Egret
- Darter
- Cormorants
- Bettiesbay. Do not miss this little town. It is the home of the African Penguin. You can also see the different cormorant species here i.e. Bank Cormorant, White-breasted, Crowned and cape Cormorant.
- Harold Porter Botanical Garden. What a neat setup. Well laid out, species are named and a great place for birding. This is in Bettiesbay.
- Kogelberg Nature Reserve. Travelling back to Hermanus we quickly drove through Kogelberg. This made my Cape trip; I saw the Orange-breasted Sunbird (Lifo for me) here.
Day eleven we drove through to the Cape Town and stayed in Milnerton at friend of my wife May Cassim. Although not a birder, she tried her best and took us to the following places:
- Woodbridge Island and Blaauwberg beach. (12 Species) Highlights were:
- Flamingo`s
- Ducks
- Gull`s
- Common Moorhen
- Karroo Prinia (Lifo for me)
- Black-necked Grebe (Lifo for me)
- Spier Wine Farm. (24 Species). For the serious birders do not miss Spier. The farm has several dams, and river that flow through it. This is a great opportunity for birders. Highlights were:
- Mallard Duck
- Cormorants
- Spoonbill
- African Firefinch
- Moorhens
- Little Grebe
- Herons
- Botanical gardens. Excellent spot for birding with various species. My time were limited here and I focussed on plants. In passing I saw many species. This is really worth a visit.
What an amazing 16 days in the Cape. We saw 86 species of birds and I got 5 Lifo`s. (Birds seen for the first time):
- Black-necked Grebe
- Forest Weaver
- Karroo Prinia
- Bank Cormorant
- Crowned Cormorant