Dot’s Dash in 2024

On Wednesday I had the privilege of leading a group of eight Hurriers for a hike at Dot’s Dash in the Kolgelberg. We had perfect, cloudy, cool, windless weather which made the day very pleasant for walking. For a couple of people it was their first experience of this wonderful walk, but sadly, the flowers were not at their best, so they were not able to appreciate the true grandeur of the area. Our walk covered only 6.7 kms, but we all knew we had had a hard day by the time we were finished, having just descended the very steep path to Fairy Glen. Those big rock steps really take it out of one’s knees and we were all a bit wobbly

As mentioned the flowers were far from their best, with virtually no Erica pillansii, normally the highlight of the area. We did record a number of other species and some of the Proteas were magnificent, along with many other Ericas. A large Puff Adder on the path just managed to avoid being trodden on by me – we were both relieved to avoid contact! We also saw 4 Ground Woodpeckers and a number of Sunbirds and Sugarbirds, but little else.

Birding at Strandfontein Sewage Works

A quick trip to the ever popular birding spot at the Strandfontein Sewage Works on Saturday morning certainly produced vast numbers of birds, if not that many species. We saw all of the usual suspects, although it was very difficult identify many of the birds due to the severe glare and strong prevailing wind.

There was one pond that had some interesting waders present, and we were able, through some careful analysis of photographs taken, to identify Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and a few other more common varieties in this group. Apparently there were Sand Martins present at the same site, but we failed to spot them.

It was an interesting morning, nevertheless, and a pleasure to introduce David to a site where he will no doubt spend time in the future.

A Birding trip to the De Hoop Nature Reserve

A trip last week to the De Hoop Nature Reserve with the Hermanus Bird Club was fraught with terrible drama and some excellent birding. The really sad part was when our friend and birding enthusiast fell very badly on the steps of his cottage and passed away as a result. We were all terribly shocked and our collective prayers and thoughts are with Marie as she tries to come to terms with her dreadful loss. Peter was a very keen birder and never missed an opportunity to join us on our outings, where he quietly made his contribution to our overall successes. He will be sadly missed.

On the birding front, we started off brilliantly when Renee spotted a pair of unusual brown birds at the Napier sewage works. They were quickly identified as Spotted Crakes, really rare birds for this part of the world but, sadly, they took off before I could get at my camera!

Within the Reserve, we saw the usual flocks of waders and fynbos specials, enjoying cruises on the lagoon as well as spending much time in the sandy lagoon edges. There were no less than 35 members of the club present, so we managed a fairly good list of around 147 species

A highlight for some of us was a trip to the Harwegskloof Renosterbos Conservancy, where we identified many of the special species that thrive in this endangered biota. These included Protea Canary, Secretarybird, Cape Griffon, Willow Warbler and many Cisticolas and Larks.

De Hoop is an excellent venue with a wide variety of interesting things to do. One particularly well conceived and put together exhibition was the small, but outstanding museum, depicting how the local people have evolved in the area. One could spend many hours there and would no doubt learn a great deal.. The management are also to be congratulated on their hospitality and the facilities they made available for our use.

Coastal Blooms

A walk along the Hermanus Cliff Path this morning revealed some beautiful local blooms with the sea as their background. These included Haemanthus, March Lilies, Cliff Lilies and Aloes. It is always a great place to walk, and, having the flowers and the sea, really enhanced the occasion.

A Walk in Fernkloof

Gert invited us to join him this morning in a walk over Kanonkop and then down Adder’s Ladder. We have not walked in Fernkloof for some months, following the devastating damage caused by the late September floods and it was gratifying to note the work that has been done to restore the paths that were swept away.

The veld along the Jeep Track was stunning with fields of pink Ericas, however, it was sad to see the amount of damage caused to Protea cynaroides by the baboons, that rip the flower buds apart to get at the odd insects within. On the geological front, the extent of the landslips is amazing and it will take years for the vegetation to recover in these areas.

We were thrilled to put up a pair of the rarely seen Fynbos Buttonquails. We only see these birds on the odd occasions that they may be present near the paths and are, therefore, roused by passing walkers.

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A Family Reunion at Gweilo

We celebrated Michael and Andrew’s birthday with the family at Gweilo, a large house in a very beautiful setting on the Goukou river, upstream from Stilbaai. It was a joyful occasion and we were joined by Hanna and Amy, making for an extended get-together for the first time since we started these, now established, reunions. We had three nights there with much supping and canoeing on the river, many games enjoyed in the normal competitive spirit, and a great deal of time spent birding. 

The birding, by all and sundry, came about because we decided on New Year’s Eve to start a Hazell Family Birding Big Year, so we were all frantically searching and comparing sightings and lists! Even those who had never had an interest have now joined the fun and we will no doubt be a formidable birding force by the end of the year! James is the undisputed leader and we are all going to have our work cut out to keep up with him. 

We had amazing dinners, with many new chefs emerging as the younger members of the family displayed their skills, much beer and wine was consumed and the singing around the Ghetto Blasters was amazing! We hope there will be many more such get-togethers as the family starts to move off in different directions as university careers end and working life commences.

Renee and I spent a day around Voelvlei on the way to Gweilo. necessitating a night at Gouritz Mond. We were chasing the rare White-rumped Plover and believe that we saw it, along with many other waders. We have never seen Voelvlei so full, and it made for difficult birding as many of the roads were flooded.

Renee and I drove home via Witsand, in the hope of getting a few more birds. We found a good pan on the way into the village, with many waders, so spent some time there. We were fascinated by the millions of snails that collect on the fence posts along the side of the roads. This apparently a mechanism whereby they seal themselves in against drought, since they rely on moisture which is unavailable in summer.

A Fabulous Day Birding

Today Renee and I went birding on the Agulhas Plain. It was a fabulous day with perfect, warm, still weather. We were searching for a Black-winged Pratincole, a bird that does not normally occur in the area, but which had been reported earlier in the week. By some miracle we found no less than three of them along with a myriad of other birds, 108 species in total, including African Snipe, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, around 120 White Storks all gathered in one spot, a flock of around 100 Great White Pelicans, around 1000 Egyptian Geese around one dam, and huge numbers of waders on the farm Vogelsang. It was really wonderful to see such numbers, but the strange thing was that when we crossed the road to Struisbaai on our way back, the birds just fell away and we hardly saw much more.

The Hazell family decided to embark on a Birding Big Year and we started on 1 January, with even the non-birders taking part. Everyone is enthusiastic about the challenge and we hope that this lasts for the whole year. Here are a few of the birds seen so far.

Marbled Reed Frogs in Hermanus

During the last week I have come across three Marbled Reed Frogs in Prestwick Village, Hermanus. The first was, as might be expected, sitting on a leaf in a shady part of the garden, the second was upstairs next to my bed (we lost it in the dark, but later found it in the bathroom) and the third was on a wooden pillar on the veranda. It is a beautiful little creature, about 20mm long and with very long back legs. Having never seen one previously, I wonder if this is the start of an invasion of these little fellows.

Birding Big Day – How We Fared

It is interesting to look at the results of the BBD for 2023. 320 teams submitted results, with numbers of species varying from 1 to 325. The winning score (325) is an outstanding result and reflects the ability of the team as well as the area chosen. The map and table below show where the winners did their birding – and it certainly wasn’t in the Western Cape!

Our team, the ‘Grey Herons’ achieved 135, which placed us in 130th position overall. There were 59 entrants in the Western Cape and we managed to come 17th. The winning team was from George (Tripin Trogans) and they achieved the excellent score of 252, which placed them 10th overall.

Cape Town Bird Club was very well represented, fielding no less than 16 teams! What a pity that there is so little interest from the Hermanus Bird Club, from which, I think, we were the only entrants.

For a full analysis of the results one can go to https://www.birdlasser.com/events/bbd2023