South Africa Oct 04—25, 2007
Posted by Geoff Lockwood
Geoff Lockwood
Geoff Lockwood's interest and involvement with birds dates back to his early years at school and forms part of a wider interest in the biodiversity of the Southern Afri...Related Trips
The pelagic trip off Cape Town is always a special part of this tour, with the cold, nutrient-rich waters drawing a wealth of deep ocean seabirds into the trawling grounds and, more importantly, within reach of a day-trip out. Cetaceans are also common in Cape seas at this time of year, and provided some exciting viewing on our trip.
As we were leaving Simonstown Harbour, a party of four southern right whales were sighted less than 200 yards from the boat. The group was made up of a cow in season attended by three very keen and attentive bulls, all trying to roll her onto her back so that they could mate with her. In these circumstances, each bull tries to purge the semen of his competitors that may have already successfully mated with the cow by mating with her repeatedly. Raw sex is in the air, and groups seem totally oblivious to everything but the business of reproduction.
Leaving the whales behind, we headed out towards Cape Point and the trawling grounds beyond. A mixed flock of terns and Cape Gannets—the terns harried by several Parasitic Jaegers—alerted us to the presence of bait fish near the surface. Almost immediately we were surrounded by a large school of over 500 Atlantic common dolphins. For the next ten minutes we watched, entranced, as these beautiful animals played around our boat, surfing the bow wave and racing along next to us. The light was perfect, and the dolphins were so close that every detail of their attractive coloring and patterns was clear as they "porpoised" only yards away. We could even watch them under the water as they raced along, and we could hear their soft exhalations as they surfaced.
Further out, we linked up with a trawler just as he started to pull in the nets, and we were soon treated to the sight of thousands of albatrosses, gannets, and petrels, as well as Cape fur seals feasting on the "spill" from the nets. Processing of the catch started immediately, and for the next hour we cruised back and forth across the trawler's wake, checking to see what had been drawn to the feast of discarded fish offal.
Close behind the trawler, scores of Shy, Black-browed, and a solitary Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross squabbled over the spoils with hundreds of Giant Petrels, White-chinned Petrels, and Great and Sooty shearwaters.
Further away, numbers of exquisitely marked Pintado Petrels (or Cape Pigeons), together with numbers of Black-bellied Storm-Petrels (the latter typically on passage past the Cape at this time of year), worked for the scraps that had eluded the melee behind the trawler. We had spectacular, close views of the "stormies" as they bounced chest-first off the waves in their strange feeding behaviors, and then we reluctantly turned for home.
Our day up Sani Pass and into Lesotho is always a highlight of the tour, and this year was no different. The spectacular scenery is usually eclipsed by even greater birding, and this year the weather, the birds, and the recent rains all worked together to give us one of the most memorable days of our tour.
The tortuous trip up the pass was punctuated by great sightings of a number of special birds, starting with great views of a Bush Blackcap calling from the top of a bush, and followed by stunning views of Red-throated Wryneck, Long-crested Eagle, Gurney's Sugarbird, Gray-backed (Red-headed) Cisticola, Cape Grassbird, and our first views of the strange Ground Woodpecker—an endemic, terrestrial woodpecker that excavates its nest into an earth bank! Excellent views of other endemics—including Barratt's Warbler, Layard's Tit-Babbler, Fairy Flycatcher, Cape Rock-Thrush, Buff-streaked Chat, and Drakensberg Siskin—kept excitement levels high all the way up the pass.
At the top of the pass, rainfall tapers off dramatically and the habitat changes; vegetation resembles scrubby, semi-desert. A whole new suite of exciting birds awaited us. Stunning male Sentinel Rock-Thrushes provided vivid splashes of blue-and-orange color, while spectacular Orange-breasted (or Drakensberg) Rockjumpers eyed us warily from the side of the road, their coloring even more striking in the sparkling mountain air. A pair of Gray Tits appeared and fed unconcernedly only yards from the group, while the first of several Sickle-winged Chats flicked its wings nervously as it watched us from a low bush.
Our guides had mentioned that the first returning Mountain Pipits—a breeding endemic of these high mountains—had been reported the week before, and we stopped in likely-looking habitat to try and call out this bird. Minutes later the group was treated to stunning, close-up views of a bird that hovered in display over our heads and then perched only yards away, giving everyone walkaway views of this often elusive bird!
Further excitement came in the shape of a party of six Bald Ibis feeding right next to our vehicles. In the morning light, the incredible violet, blue, ultramarine, and magenta patches in the plumage of these stunning endemic ibises glowed like richly-colored silk, and their scarlet bald pates glistened as if lit from within. WOW!
The first of several Bearded Vultures passed briefly overhead, giving us great views of its long, narrow, eagle-like wings and strange wedge-shaped tail. This proved to be only an appetizer, however, and we were treated to several more even closer (and better) views of these spectacular icons of the high mountains before we headed back down the pass to our hotel.