Tag Archives: nature

Budding Little Birders – An Outing to False Bay Nature Reserve

While visiting Cape Town last week I had the privilege of guiding a class of Grade Three girls, whose teacher is an ex-colleague of mine, on a bird-watching excursion. Each year she does a theme on birds which includes an outing to The False Bay Nature Reserve formerly the settling ponds of the Strandfontein Sewerage Works. I know this park and its birds very well which is why the teacher asked me to be their guide. Of course, I took my ‘driver’ along with me and he enjoyed it just as much as I did.

He and I visited the park the day before to get an idea of where the various species were likely to be found. The photos posted in the blog are from both days. It was rather windy on our recci day and most of the birds were gathered in large groups on P1 and P2. On the day of the excursion, the wind had dropped but it was overcast with a spit and spot of rain which did not dampen the spirits of the little girls at all. There were seven cars filled with eager little girls and their equally interested parents. We were able to get out of the cars quite frequently and at all the ponds we visited we managed to see a variety of beautiful water birds.

In preparation for the outing, the girls had been assigned a bird to research and then had to present an oral to the rest of the class. This also helped them to remember the names of the birds as they associated the bird with the girl who did the oral.

The girls were delighted to tick off most of the assigned birds. I am sure the girls who didn’t find their bird will see them at another time.

**Arabella’s** Black-winged stilts were seen in many of the ponds.

Aren’t **Nuhaa’s** birds pretty – Cape Teals

**Ava** had Cattle Egret and she saw quite a number of them.

Greater Flamingo was **Nura’s** bird and what a lot there were!

Oh, put your wings down! It’s just a Cape Shoveler passing by!

**Jade’s** bird – A black-headed Heron observing the masses of birds of P1

**Abigail,** I think the Egyptian Geese always improve the scenery.

**Risima** got Pied Avocet and we saw lots.

Look, **Thea** – Lots of your birds! A flotilla of shovelers

**Nuhaa’s** Cape Teal with the pink bills and **Thea’s** Cape Shoveler socialising with them

A gathering of Bianca’s Blacksmith Lapwings with stilts and avocets in attendance

**Kayla** was delighted to find her bird. It’s a dabchick, she said but also knew its new name – Little Grebe.

Lots of **Alia’s** Hartlaub’s Gulls – I wonder what happened to the one in the middle!

It was wonderful to find Lesser Flamingo. They are not as common as Greater Flamingo in this park.

There were lots of Elle’s bird, the Kelp Gull, to be found. Here they are with Olivia’s Sacred Ibis and **Arabella’**s Black-winged Stilts.

**Fatima’s** Bird – Great White Pelicans

**Sara’s** bird appeared from time to time – Glossy Ibis

We were surprised to see large groups of **Talullah’s** Bird, The Common Moorhen

Usually, she is shy and tries to hide away.

**Frances’s** Yellow-billed Duck was at our very first pond.

**Annabelle** was assigned the handsome Spur-winged goose and a number of them were happy to come along to greet the girls.

**Emma** was assigned the Swift Tern now known as a Greater Crested Tern – There were many of them with their yellow bills among the Hartlaub’s Gulls.

Rania Did you see a red-billed teal? I don’t remember seeing one but I believe some of the girls did. So here is a photo from another time.

Some of the girls didn’t get to see their birds on their outing day so the challenge to them is to try to see it in the near future. I am sure they will.

Below are photographs from my archives – not necessarily taken at Strandfontein.

Ann Rose, one day I am sure you will see a shelduck. As you know the male and female are not alike. These two were taken at Addo Elephant Park

Audrey, your bird is the beautiful African Darter. Keep your eyes open for one.

Grace, I was very surprised we didn’t see any cormorants. They usually love visiting Strandfontein.

What a great time we all had on this excursion. For me, it was great to see the enthusiasm of such young children. Their teacher has certainly kindled an interest in birds and wildlife in them. These little girls have been introduced to a hobby they can be involved in for the rest of their lives.

A Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness – Day 4

4 Replies

Last night we put our camp chairs into the back of the car just in case it rained and rain it did! We had quite a few downpours during the night but by morning it had all gone away and we awoke to sunny skies.

This morning I was at the showers by half past seven and the Earl and I left camp at half past eight to meet our daughter and granddaughter at the Sedgefield Market. Only I had misread the time on my watch – it doesn’t have numbers – and it was an hour earlier! It was only when we saw the digital time in the car that we realised my mistake! So we did a scenic tour around Wilderness and then wandered around the Wild Oats Market until Lauren and Shannon met us at 9.

The Farmers’ Market at Sedgefield is well worth a visit. It is held every Saturday morning and is popular with locals and tourists alike.

Opposite the market grounds are a few shops and more craft market stalls and when the kids arrived we went there and found a lovely restaurant where we could sit comfortably, have breakfast and chat. It was lovely to catch up with Shannon as we did not see when we visited for the Christmas holidays as she was in Queenstown with her fiance. She is getting married in March and the whole family will be gathering at St Francis Bay for the Easter Weekend. As you can imagine most of our conversation was about the forthcoming Big Event!

The other side of The Market – Lovely sculptures

The rest of the Gecko gang did their own thing all day today and gathered for a communal braai for the last evening which we missed as we had to leave to attend a function in Struisbaai. Our good friends Cath and Alec kindly left with us to provide support should anything go wrong. We really appreciate their support.

Thanks to all the Gecko Gang for a fantastic getaway. We had such fun and thoroughly enjoyed bonding with everybody at Ebb and Flow.

John Magner as I mentioned before took the opportunity to do a pentad for SABAP2. This project is very important for tracking the movement of birds in South Africa and where they are likely to be found. Many dedicated birders send in their cards to help with this project and we really appreciate their contributions.

This is the list that John got during our Gecko Camp. I have put an asterisk on the ones I personally saw too.

Laughing Dove,*

White-throated Swallow*

Red-eyed Dove*

Ring-necked Dove*

Knysna Turaco,*

Black-headed Oriole,

Bar-throated Apalis*

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow

Cape White-eye*

White-breasted Cormorant*

Egyptian Goose*

Helmeted Guineafowl*

African Hoopoe*

Sombre Greenbu*l

Southern Boubou*

Fork-tailed Drongo*

Reed Cormorant*

Common Moorhen*

African Fish Eagle

Cape Batis*

Purple Heron

Burchell’s Coucal

Hadada Ibis,*

Fiery-necked Nightjar

Cape Weaver*

African Black Swift

Little Swift

Pied Kingfisher

Red-faced Mousebird*

Barn Swallow*

Lesser Swamp Warbler*

Pied Crow*

Hartlaub’s Gull*

Little Grebe*

Blacksmith Lapwing*

Kelp Gull*

Southern Double-collared Sunbird*

Red-knobbed Coot,*

Malachite Kingfisher*

Western Cattle Egret*

Cape Wagtail*

African Swamphen*

Little Rush Warbler,

Great Crested Grebe*

Domestic Goose*

Giant Kingfisher,

Fiscal Flycatcher*

Black Saw-wing*

Southern Fiscal*

African Sacred Ibis*

Yellow-billed Kite*

Red-winged Starling*

Swee Waxbill

Forest Canary

Cape Bulbul*

Bird List of John Magner

A Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness – Day 3

4 Replies

The day started a little later for me this morning and I only emerged from my Gecko just before 08h00. It was slightly cooler weather and it looked like it might rain. Once again we were all left to spend the day as we chose. John popped by to say that he and Jane would be going into town and then to do some bird trails. I asked him to please fetch me after the shopping and take me with him which he kindly agreed to.

While sitting enjoying the ambiance of our campsite and waiting to bird with John and Jane, I spotted a flash of red wings and leaped for my camera and then ran to the tree where I was sure the bird had landed. This roused the curiosity of the others in our laager and I excitedly pointed out the beautiful green bird. There were in fact three of them and everybody managed to see them.

One gave up his game of hide and seek and posed for his portrait

I really don’t know what the fuss is about!

While all this fuss was going on Jane rang to tell me to come to their site but I didn’t hear my phone so she came to fetch me – Thanks Jane – I should have been ready and waiting!

We did three different trails one of which was the Galinule Hide near the Fairy Knowe Hotel. You need to get a key to the hide from the hotel and then do a walk to the hide. It was very quiet and we did not see many birds. The most interesting flying creatures we saw were in fact human beings paragliding over the beautiful holiday homes of The Wilderness.

We then did a kingfisher trail along a boardwalk and only saw a few birds at a distance. Near where John parked the car, however, we saw double-collared sunbirds. (I will post a complete list of birds seen in my final blog tomorrow.)

A very distant photograph of a Hartlaub’s gull – We also saw kelp gulls and cororants

The last place we stopped was also part of the Garden Route National Park and is next to the Island Holiday Resort. This proved to be a very rewarding spot. The most prominent birds were the red-knobbed coots – hundreds of them. We also saw a malachite kingfisher but my photo is so blurred it is not fit for publication.

With wings folded and now looking for evidence of fish beneath the surface

Cattle Egrets – the one on the right is a juvenile

A Purple Swamphen – a little too far away for a good photograph

A White-throated Swallow taking a break from constantly flying about.

A feral domestic goose! He was hanging with the Egyptian Geese hoping to be adopted, I think.

After enjoying a great day at the Wilderness and surrounds most of us went off for dinner at a few of the local restaurants, all of which offer great food at reasonable prices. We opted for The Girls on the Square and were not disappointed. Earl had Mediterranean Calamari and Alec, Cathy and I settled for Caeser Salad served with a really stunning dressing. Cath and Alec shared a Melba Pudding and Earl and I shared a Creme Brule. We were not disappointed.

I thought the salt and pepper with their mussel shell spoons were rather cute

And the sculptures of The Three Little Pigs, AKA Warthogs were just too adorable

When we got back to camp we joined the ‘after party’ of people returned from the restaurants or beginning their own braai. The fun does not stop when you’re camping with fellow Gecko Okes!

Dankie vir ‘n lekker day, almal. Ons sien uit na meer pret môre

Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness. Day 2

2 Replies

It was a little cooler when we woke up this morning but still a very pleasant day. In fact, we are quite pleased that it is neither too hot nor too cold. By the time I peeked outside my Gecko just after 7 this morning, a handful of others were already drinking coffee and visiting others in the laager. There is such a relaxed, friendly atmosphere here and it is clear that everybody is having a good time.

The laager taken from outside the perimeter looking in.

The Earl and I had a little wander around the campsite before breakfast and I took a few more bird photographs. Of course, the really interesting birds were hiding in the foliage of the trees but at least we got to see them with our eyes even if they scorned the camera!

John and Jane are also here and they are keen birders too. For many years, John and I served on the Cape Bird Club committee and John still leads many birding outings. While here he is Atlassing for SABAP 2 so is keeping a list which he will give me at the end of the week. I will then post which birds we have seen in my final blog. Today John, Jane, Earl, Nida and I did the Half-collared Kingfisher Trail. Earl and Nida turned back a little earlier but John, Jane, and I continued up until the pont before turning back. It is a very pretty route through the forest but some of it is up and down steep steps and the ground is quite uneven. It was also quite humid as we did it in the middle of the day. It was pretty quiet as far as birds were concerned but we heard bar-throated apalis, sombre bulbul, southern boubou, and Knysna Turaco. We caught sight of the turaco but it refused to look at the camera. The half-collared kingfisher was conspicuous by its absence!

Looking across to North Camp from the trail.

We saw some lovely flora – Jane identified this as Wild Hibiscus

We did not cross over on the pont but these hikers allowed me to photograph them doing it,

And a paddle ski comes through from the other direction.

Everybody did their own thing today, some chatting at each other’s sites, going for walks or excursions to surrounding places of interest or simply chilling with a book or having a nap. We also took care of our own cooking for the evening but many shared fires and a lot of ‘kuiering’ took place.

Hoe belangrik is vuurmaak en geselskap tussen mansmense

Shirley demonstrates the importance of camp fashion

A Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness – Day 1

7 Replies

Today the Gecko Getaway officially began and by around 3 pm all twenty-two caravans had arrived. Several of us have formed a laager where a beautiful wild fig tree provides shade and privacy from the rest of the campsite. The rest of the caravans are scattered around nearby and are in easy reach of the laager.

After breakfast I joined Chris and Rita on a walk around the campsite. The Touw River flows through it and one can hire canoes or even book a scenic boat trip. We decided against these two options!

There were lots of birds about and saw weavers, wagtails, drongos, martins, sunbirds, hadedas, geese among others but I only managed to get three reasonable photographs.

Bar-throated Apalis – he was a bit camera shy!

As each Gecko arrived there was much joy at reuniting with friends made at previous gatherings and getting to know those we had not met before. Gecko owners have an instant bond!

Nida and Pottie – Lekker om julle weer te sien!

Colin the main organiser with Earl and Rita

Rita and Avril met for the first time today and are already good friends!

I am always behind the camera, so Cathy took this one of me with The Earl

In the evening all 44 of us gathered at the laager to braai together. Thanks to Johan for providing the meat, Nida for the broccoli salad, Maria for the pasta salad, John for the corn bread and Rudie for the dessert. Colin our awesome organise opened the evening by welcoming everybody to Ebb and Flow and thanked Nardus and Adeline and his wife, Diane for all their hard work in the background. Without their teamwork this wonderful getaway would not be possible. There have been other gatherings in the country, but this has been the best response yet with 22 caravans participating.

A good way to defrost the meat – hang it on the line!

Doing what South African men do best! Dit was ‘n lekker braai!

Almal het lekker saam gekuier, lekker gebraai and net ‘n bietjie gedrink! Hoe geseënd is ons om ‘n wonderlik plek soos Ebb and Flow te kan geniet met ander vriendelike Gecko eienaars!

Adventuring into Retirement

Making the most of The South African LIfestyle

Tag Archives: nature

Budding Little Birders – An Outing to False Bay Nature Reserve

A Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness – Day 4

A Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness – Day 3

Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness. Day 2

A Gecko Getaway – Ebb and Flow, Wilderness – Day 1

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: