Day: November 23, 2018
De Bos Wetland Trail
Yesterday’s walk along the De Bos Wetland Trail with Frank Woodvine was thoroughly enjoyed by a total of 31 HBC members.
Frank, as always was an excellent guide pointing out a number of interesting features as we moved along.
The sun came out and we enjoyed a lovely walk, albeit a wee bit vigorous up the steep hill to the edge of the reservoir.
A total of 39 species wereseen. Lester van Groenigen’s bird list is given below.
- Cape Crow, 2018-11-01 08:50
- Cape Weaver, 2018-11-01 08:51
- Cape Canary, 2018-11-01 08:51
- Karoo Prinia, 2018-11-01 08:51
- Cape Turtle Dove, 2018-11-01 08:52
- Cape Robin-Chat, 2018-11-01 08:52
- Cape White-eye, 2018-11-01 08:53
- Olive Thrush, 2018-11-01 08:53
- Fork-tailed Drongo, 2018-11-01 08:53
- Cape Spurfowl, 2018-11-01 08:53
- Yellow Bishop, 2018-11-01 08:54
- Little Rush Warbler, 2018-11-01 08:56
- Egyptian Goose, 2018-11-01 08:56
- Southern Boubou, 2018-11-01 08:56
- Speckled Mousebird, 2018-11-01 08:57
- Cape Bulbul, 2018-11-01 08:57
- Malachite Sunbird, 2018-11-01 09:02
- Cape Grassbird…
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Outing to De Hoop
We have arranged another outing to one of our favourites – De Hoop. Dates 18-20 February 2019. As usual we will be sharing cottages – 4 to a cottage – and of course will have our catering teams to look after the starters, salads and potatoes and desserts each evening. Need of course to bring own meat for the braais each night and you own breakfast and lunch food. And of course your own beverages, but if you forget they do have supplies at De Hoop.
The price per person is R935.00.
The group size is limited to 16 and is on first come first served basis.
The rough itinerary of the short stay is as follows:
18 Feb. Leave Hermanus and plan to get to De Hoop by 14h00 when we can check in to the accommodation.
At 15h30 meet outside the cottages and consolidate transport and drive…
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Mini Birding Big Day – The Results
This evening I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours with 14 of our wonderful members who had spent the day – most kicking off at 05h30 – in a howling gale to participate in the Mini Big Birding Day. They were all exhausted but truly satisfied that it had been a day well spent. Most were club stalwarts – please join in next time!!
In these terrible conditions – the wind did not abate all day – the team with the most species sighted on the day got 125 species. A great achievement in the conditions considering the best ever score for one of these days is 136!!
To all who participated – thank you for putting in this great effort. To ALL the members of our club please consider joining in on these days when next we have one. This is a great opportunity to learn…
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Outing to Gifberg
A three night outing to the Gifberg Holiday Farm gave 19 keen birders an opportunity to see a good selection of birds and enjoy a beautiful part of the Western Cape. Arriving on Monday afternoon, we ventured out for a hike up the Gifberg river, unaware that the trail was soon to become quite rugged. John managed to get his foot stuck in a crevice and it was only good fortune that allowed him to escape with nothing more than some cuts and bruises. The outing did, however, give us a good chance to appreciate the beauty of the rock pools and potholes that abound in the area.
On Tuesday an outing across the highlands eastwards and down to the Waterval Resort, provided another fine birding opportunity with a good number of species being identified. Sadly, the waterfall had all but stopped flowing, but it was a good trip and…
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November Meeting
Please be reminded that our next meeting will take place on Wednesday 21 November at Fernkloof at 6.00 for 6.30 pm. Our guest speaker will be Carin Malan, who is an avid birder. She will take us on a photographic journey, with lots of practical tips en route, through the beautiful Kgalagadi Transfontier Park and southern Namibia.
Don’t miss this presentation which promises to be spellbinding!
Carin Malan in the Kgalagadi
The club meeting last night was amazing!.
We had over 90 attendees to last night’s club meeting. I counted 94 and there were others in the Wine lobby.
Many of our Swallows were back. We also so had a small group from a Cape Town BirdLife group visiting Stanford who decided to pop in and we gained a new member.
Guy managed to find some more chairs and benches and there were still people standing.
Carin’s talk was excellent. She and her husband have been going to the Kgalagadi regularly for over twenty years.
She gave a comprehensive travelogue on how to get there, where to stay andwhat you need to take with you, but best of all was her SUPERB photography.
Her photographs covered all of the bird species plus the big cats and all the other wild animals, reptiles and insects that you expect to see in the…
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Cruising down the river – Again
The demand for a river cruise on the Lady Stanford is such that Craig has arranged a second outing which will take place at 7:00 am on Friday 1 February. There are still six places available at the reduced rate of R125 per head. This is an opportunity to see some of the region’s best birds under ideal conditions – before the south-easter picks up – so contact Craig – pcsholmes@telkomsa.net – asap if you want to be included. First come, first served!
