Tokai Forest Picnic Area, 8 January 2025
The first outing of the year was considerately arranged for the afternoon in order to avoid unnecessary frustration with the traffic.
Our friends, the baboons provided plenty of entertainment, although some of us, (moi included), regarded them with a mixture of interest and apprehension. They arrived on the scene soon after we arrived, but the baboon monitors expertly nudged them onto the adjacent farmland. This didn’t prevent a few of the bolder baboons to linger longer. They approached from a distance and peeped curiously into our cars when a door was opened. We were however reassured by the constant presence of the monitors and the baboon-hotline vehicle.
Keith led the group of twenty-eight people up the forest path. It was a delightful meander with the aroma of pine needles in the air. We spotted 20 bird species. Jackal-buzzards and other raptors like Yellow-billed Kites showed up. The Olive Woodpeckersprovided a lovely sighting and opportunities for taking photos.
The group celebrated Dalene’s birthday while Brian was still incapacitated in hospital, but reportedly making steady progress.
One of the members lost a cellphone. A benefactor accompanied her to go and search for it. They stayed away for a long time… Keith to the rescue. Keith rescued the two lost ladies and the cellphone showed up in the nick of time.
Some members went further afield in the Tokai forest area while others travelled peacefully home.
Cheryl Grobler.
Outing – Darling Farms – 14-09-24
48 of us were blessed with sunny weather and NO wind! We started the outing at Duckitt Nurseries wild flower reserve. Cape Clapper Larks were still warming up, but difficult to pin point. The road was lined by lots of Lachenalia (bleek viooltjies), Geissorhiza (Kelkiewyn) and flax. Birding came second as the focus shifted to the wonderful wild flowers.
Next we visited an orchid house at Duckitt Nurseries. Seeing all the beautiful mass colour blocks was lovely. Next stop was the Waylands Flower Reserve. Due to all the rain the reserve was only opened to the public the day before – what a gem!! A true FLOWER SPLENDOUR!!!
We then went to Groote Post Winery, where we were greeted by three Blue crane, at a small dam, right next to the road. The group eagerly walked in the veld, past the broken ‘bird hide’ dam. Damaged by severe rains in July! The veld was once more lovely. Lots of different wild flowers. Bird of the day belonged to – LYDIA LACERDA, who photographed a White-headed Vulture high in the sky at Groote Post. Many birders chasing ‘Cape Province’ lists were very envious, when the bird was later identified. Darling Hills road delivered Pearl-breasted Swallows, larks, Capped Wheatear and
Rock Martin. A nice was to end the day!!
Spier Midweek outing Aug 2024
An outing to Spier is always exciting but, on this Wednesday, it started off with a lot of stress. The mist and traffic ensured that most of us arrived late for the later than normal start. A bit more disappointment awaited as all the vegetation on the dam has been cleared so no lurking Black Crakes or Little Bitten, only the normal water birds such as Cormorant’s and Coots. With slowly lifting mist we started our wonder on search for birds and we were not disappointed. Black Duck in their ideal habitat of fast flowing water greeted us on the bridge followed by lots of Yellow Bishops, Cape Weavers, Levaillant’s Cisticola and Malachite Sunbirds. The 2 Fiscals were seen and the normal bush birds started to appear as the sun came out. A quick appearance of the Black Sparrowhawk lifted the spirits. The walk back along the river past the lovely Proteas gave us lovely sightings of the Dusky Flycatcher and of course the Swee Waxbills. We were all delighted after trying very hard to spot the African Pipits on the lawn to find a Cape Longclaw, Malachite Kingfisher, and the African Stonechat. The calling Goshawk ended the day before we retreated for coffee and muffins in the sun.
Ten people and 46 birds seen, a good day.
