Attendees: Eric Kok, Stanley & Asothie Gengan, Barry Willis & Sue Hansbury with Cameron, Bob and Hazel van Rooyen
Izotsha Creek is an old hunting ground that the club had not visited for several years and the few members who turned up on an overcast but pleasant Sunday were not sure whether it would be worth our while getting up at the usual early hour. Nothing ventured, nothing gained – it turned out to be quite a productive morning’s birding, thanks to Eric Kok for a well-led outing.
Meeting up at the fruit stall, we were greeted by, amongst others, Thick-billed and Village Weavers, a flock of Bronze Mannikins and the startled flight of Spurwing and Egyptian Geese, the latter honking in panic.
Crossing the road to the wetland area, an African Goshawk called “Quick! quick! quick! from high above our heads. Moving towards the reeds, Dark-cap Bulbuls were in evidence together with Burchells Coucal, Purple-crested Turaco and Tawny-flanked Prinia. Through a gap in the reeds we noted a Woolly-necked Stork feeding on the far embankment and as we walked around a congregation of Blacksmith Lapwings took objection to my presence and dive-bombed me, narrowly missing. An African Fish Eagle flew over and settled in the top of the trees opposite.
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| African Fish Eagle |
Other birds in the back-water: Yellow-billed Duck, Pied Kingfisher, Green-backed Heron, Common Moorhen, African Reed Warbler, Red-collared Widowbird. A couple of waders in the distance were defying description but later from the beach side we were able to identify them as Common Greenshank.
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| Common Greenshank |
We thought we had found another pair when we noticed one individual had only one leg and was hopping around until voila! the leg reappeared and the joke was on us.
The remains of the old narrow-gauge railway bridge provided an excellent drying perch for African Darter and Reed Cormorant.
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| African Darter (x2) and Reed Cormorant |
Making our way back to the cars (for breakfast of course) we saw Yellow-fronted Canary, Chinspot Batis, and Rufous-winged Cisticola.
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| Rufous-winged Cisticola |
Suitably refreshed we took the path towards the beach, noting White-bellied Sunbird, Spectacled and Cape Weavers. A roundabout route led to the beach, a bit soggy in places, and we made a wide berth to find a narrow place to cross the river, where the ladies were gallantly assisted over the rocks by the gentlemen. Once there we were happy to observe a flock of Swift Terns swooping around, a Little Egret, Kelp Gull, Three-Banded and White-fronted Plovers.
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| White-fronted Plover |
And the morning was closed out with more coffee and a pleasant chat. Thanks everyone!
Full list of birds seen:
Barbet, Black-collared
Batis, Chinspot
Boubou, Southern
Bulbul, Dark-capped
Cameroptera, Greenbacked
Canary, Yellow-fronted
Cormorant, Reed
Cormorant, White-breasted
Coucal, Burchell’s
Darter, African,
Dove, Red-eyed
Drongo, Fork-tailed
Duck, Yellow-billed
Egret, Greater
Egret, Little
Fish-Eagle, African
Fly-catcher, Southern Black,
Goose, Egyptian
Goose, Spurwing
Goshawk, African
Greenbul, Sombre
Greenshank, Common
Gull, Kelp
Heron, Green-backed
Heron, Grey
Ibis, Hadeda
Kingfisher, Giant
Kingfisher, Pied
Lapwing, Blacksmith
Longclaw, Yellow-throated
Mannikin, Bronze
Moorhen, Common,
Myna, Indian
Oriole, Black-headed
Plover, Three-banded
Plover, White-fronted
Prinia, Tawny-flanked
Puff-back, Black-backed
Red-capped Robin-Chat
Sparrow, House
Spurfowl, Natal
Starling, Black-bellied
Stork, Woolly-necked
Sunbird, Amethyst
Sunbird, White-bellied
Swift, Common
Tern, Swift
Turaco, Purple-crested
Wagtail, Cape
Wagtail, Pied
Warbler, African Reed
Weaver, Cape
Weaver, Spectacled
Weaver, Thick-billed
Weaver, Village
Weaver, Yellow,
White-eye, Cape
Widowbird, Fantailed
Widowbird, Red-collared
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