Enjoying Flock at Sea 2013

Much excitement as we were leaving Cape Town Harbour on a glorious summer day to share a few days at sea with over 1000 birders and some special friends!

Birdlife South Africa put together a remarkable event, which included lectures, bird guides on deck to help with seabird identification and at the same time raised awareness for the plight of our seabirds. The event made TV, we all stood on deck as the eNCA helicopter circled around the MSC Opera and Birdlife has also submitted an application to Guinness World Records, this is the youtube link. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfWFMOLwds0)

An undoubted highlight for Fred and me was the opportunity to hear Peter Harrison talk and share his unbridled passion for seabirds. Peter is the renown author of Seabirds published 30 years ago and still the reference book. We spent many hours on deck lapping up all his insights and loving the experience of learning about these incredible birds.

Shy Albatross with its distinctive underwing pattern and 'thumbprint'

American Golden Plover at Walvis Bay

The first glimpse of an Albatross is the highlight of any pelagic outing and we had wonderful views of numerous Shy and Black-browed Albatrosses.
My previous pelagic day trips out to sea from Simonstown left me decimated by seasickness and not able to really take in all the details of the birds. This trip I felt great (super meds!) and loved getting to grips with the Shearwaters, the Jaegers, the Petrels and the Storm-Petrels, even adding some lifers to my list.




We disembarked (with much frustration, took over 2 hours away from our birding time) at Walvis Bay to spend some time in the desert for Dune Lark and then back to the Salt Pans. I was suffering from FOMO in the extreme and was hugely relieved to eventually get one of the rarities showing so well - the American Golden Plover!
I am still grinding my teeth when I read about all the other fabulous sightings that day....but happy with this one special sighting.

Conflicting Commitments and a Pectoral Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper at the Quarry near Kgomo-Kgomo

Recently I was part of a conversation with special friends about the decisions and actions we take and this constant pull between conflicting commitments that we make.

My commitments for this quarter felt straight forward, my commitment to health and getting ready to be the 'mother of the bride' which involves a simple regime of eat less, sleep more and exercise smartly - simple in construct but a challenging commitment; my commitment to add value to the work that I have a privilege to be part of; my commitment to friends and family; my commitment to all the admin required for my travels in March; my commitment to my varied passions and interests.

So come the weekend and I realise what conflicting commitments actually means. A long invigorating walk, a lie in, watching the tennis final, getting on with my craft projects, learning more about my Mac, a movie with Fred, all possible all on plan....

But instead there was no more excuses for not getting up at 4am, loading the Jeep with camera and birding gear and doing a 300km round trip to the Zaagkuilsdrift Road for the Pectoral Sandpiper. Especially after this comment posted by Trevor Hardaker on Facebook:

As a keen South African birder at the moment, there is just NO way that you CANNOT have Pectoral Sandpiper on your list yet...:) These rarities are now seriously increasing in regularity and are popping up all over the place, so one really should put in a little bit of effort to go and see one.

Yay, Pectoral Sandpiper on my list. And what a gem, obliging and most satisfying lifer to start 2013.

Just love the way this bird can stretch its neck and have such a different jizz!

Summer Road Trip, Target: Barlow's Lark Part 2

Lunch at the mouth of the Orange River, Alexander Bay, any further north and we would be in Namibia! 

 The second leg of our search for the 'pure' Barlow's Lark was along the road from Alexander Bay which follows the Orange River inland towards the Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. We did some off road driving into the hills between Beauvallon and Brandkaros (as per Birdfinder yet again).

Stark beauty of the mountainous desert of the Richtersveld.

Succulents which are the surprising hidden gems in the desert

One of many attempts to pick up movement, anything would have been good.

We found a pair of Barlow's Larks on the third attempt, confiding, almost curious about why we were sharing its remote arid hot world. Gorgeous sighting. Worth the sunburn!

Barlow's Lark in the baking midday heat.

Road out, stopping to take photos of the marvelous trees of the Richtersveld.
Memorable day in the field....

Summer Road Trip, Target: Barlow's Lark

Tracking down Barlow's Lark among the coastal sand dunes just north of Port Nolloth off the Alexander Bay road.

Dredging for diamonds in Port Nolloth

 

As always Callan Cohen's book Southern African Birdfinder is a gem in the field and I followed instructions to the letter. The book along with my iPhone loaded with Sasol Birds to confirm the call, and we were ready.

First pass with the Barlow's Lark was in the potential hybridization zone with Karoo Lark, was just past Port Nolloth among the scrub of the coastal dunes. The fog bank along the west coast kept the temperatures manageable as we patiently walked the area. I eventually picked up both the call and movement, larks! Very exciting sighting and some great photos from Fred.

Birding is about missing the bird...

Flashback:

Its early morning, 31 January, Harare, Zimbabwe and the early morning outing is to Monavale Vlei.(http://www.monavalevlei.com.) 
The target bird the Streaky-breasted Flufftail. Meeting Bob Warren-Coddrington and birding with his dog Rommel must be one of my birding highlights. Rommel is trained to respond to Bob and his whistle and bounds enthusiastically through the vlei flushing crakes and with much luck the rare and elusive flufftail! l was filled with delight watching Rommel and was trying desperately to keep my eyes glued to his antics, while at the same time wading through the vlei, drenched to my knees, boots getting stuck in muddy holes...
The inevitable happened, Rommel flushed a Marsh Owl and a crake, I was distracted and missed the 3 second window to see the Flufftail, also no sign of any of the potential crakes found in the vlei. But I  loved the experience and the lifer for the morning was Yellow-mantled Widow, a handsome fellow.

Meeting Bob and Rommel at Monavale Vlei

Rommel working the vlei for fluff tails.

Obliging lifer for the morning, Yellow-mantled Widow.

Marsh Owl flushed by Rommel

An unsuccessful Flufftail stakeout at Marlborough Vlei, Harare.

The same day we headed to Marlborough Vlei, not a pleasant urban location with litter and maize production encroaching into the vlei. Here the target was the Red-chested Flufftail. Maddeningly close, calling persistently. We sat in the vlei reeds for the longest time, damp bottoms and warily watching the spiders.
No flufftail.
We did however see good views of the Rosy-breasted Longclaws.

Later that morning our local guide Ian Riddell took us walking on the outskirts of Harare and I was working hard for a glimpse of a Collared Flycatcher. No one else in the group saw a flycatcher and my sighting was too brief so we left with a result of 'unconfirmed'.

Its now early December in Johannesburg and the email alerts started to come through about a Collared Flycatcher in the suburbs, no more than 12 kilometers from my home. What a turn for the books. 

I am struck by how much effort I put into that one day of birding in Harare and here I am this morning with a Collared Flycatcher on my list. All I did was endure traffic last evening, popped into Malcolm Wilson's garden where he graciously welcomes all us twitchers, quietly kept an eye on the canopy of the huge acacia which dominates the front of his home, waited about half an hour, and there was a female Collared Flycatcher.

The vagaries and joy of birding.

Mount Gorongosa and the famed Green-headed Oriole

Mount Gorongoza, home of the Green-headed Oriole

I certainly worked for the Green-headed Oriole.

Apart from traveling across Zimbabwe, just skirting the effects of Hurricane Dando, experiencing the wet conditions in central Mozambique and navigating heavily rutted roads, we were thrilled to be part of a birding safari with Etienne Marais into central Mozambique.
The day at Gorongoza Mountain was a trip highlight and it started with a very early morning wake-up call from our tented camp. We had spent a great evening over a home cooked dinner with the van Zyl's and their delightful daughters at their Gorongoza Adventures Camp, so the 3.30am call felt brutal. The camp is about 3 km from the main southern gate to Gorongoza National Park and we needed to make our way to the far north of Gorongoza NP to the iconic Gorongoza Mountain which at 1863 meters, dominates the surrounding plains.
Its a long, steep, tortuous 4x4 accent up the lower slopes of the mountain, made more challenging in the dark with the tall maize sweeping both sides of our Jeep. The relief as the sun started to rise was dimmed by the dismay at seeing what the tricky dirt track still had to throw at the small convoy.

We parked the vehicles as the sun was rising, made coffee and took in the views across the subsistence farming landscape dotted with small hutted compounds.
The group prepared for the 3km hike to access the thick tropical rainforest which shrouds the mountain, into the habitat of the isolated population of Green-headed Orioles.

Andy Featherstone in the forest

Making our way through the crops on the plains below the Mount

I was sweaty-palmed with excitement once we were in the forest,  surrounded by the calling Orioles, the group was onto the birds immediately. I missed them. And felt desolate, all this effort...
The group moved on and up the mountain path and our young guide quietly told me to hang back, be still, drop my binoculars and be patient. She shared her insights about the Orioles behavior, calls and how to tell the difference between the male and female (tail feather details). As the birds flew back to our location Andy and I were able to revel in seeing these glorious birds high in the canopy.

Appreciating the calls and views of both the male and female Green-headed Oriole

Views across the plains driving down from Mt Gorongoza

 The thrill of the drive, the walk, the mystical forest and its famous inhabitants made for a special day on the mountain. The Green-headed Oriole, wonderful....