eHowzit.co.za coverage of the Vulture Hide Launch on 8th February 2014

Outing report- 2nd March 2014 Bushbuck Trail, Southbroom

Text & photos by Doug Butcher

 

view from the Frederika Reserve

Attendees: Doug Butcher,  Barrie Willis and Sue Hansbury,  Bob and Hazel van Rooyen, Margaret Jones, Irma Smook, Stanley and Asothie Gengan, Chris Miller, Russell and Lorna Johnson.

 

A clear day to start with.  The open area before the woodland walk gave some good sightings of Sombre Greenbul, Collared Sunbirds, Palm Swift, Bronze Mannikin, Diderick Cuckoo and Grey-headed Bush-Shrike.

The wooded area gave us many sounds but not so many sightings.  We were greeted at one point when Russell and Lorna Johnson who were expected to meet at the tennis area had gone on a walk themselves (thinking we were not going to pitch up) and had covered a lot of ground.  We then had a larger group of 12.
 

 

Crowned Hornbills and Southern Boubou were among those sighted in the quiet forest type vegetation.
 

Breakfast by the tennis club (nobody playing today) and then we walked to the Frederika Reserve.  We crossed the golf course over the 7^th fairway and no-one got hit by a ball!  We came out on the beach at the Southern end of the reserve.  Trying to go up the path proved difficult as the bush had encroached so much that even a Duiker would have had to crouch!.  So we went back to the beach again and walked up towards the viewing deck.  This proved to be a long way and so we trundled back to our lunch spot.  Seen on this strip of beach were Water Thick knee, Kelp Gulls and several White Fronted Plovers.

 

 

A very pleasant morning and then a bite of lunch.

White-fronted Plover

Birds recorded: (compiled by Barrie Willlis) Red-Winged Starling, Cape Turtle-Dove, African Palm-Swift, Sombre Greenbul, Grey-Headed Bushshrike, Collared Sunbird, Dark-Capped Bulbul, Bronze Manikin, Diderick Cuckoo, Fork-Tailed Drongo, Laughing Dove, Black-Headed Oriole, Cape Glossy Starling,   Amethyst Sunbird, Purple-Crested Turaco, Tambourine Dove, Red-Eyed Dove, Burchell's Coucal, Cape White-Eye, Crowned Hornbill, Southern Boubou, Olive Sunbird, Green Wood-hoopoe, Black Saw-Wing, Lesser Striped-Swallow, Blacksmith Lapwing, Water Thick-Knee,   Kelp Gull, Klaas's Cuckoo, Hadeda Ibis, White-Fronted Plover. (31 species).