Birding Big Day 2009 saw myself, my parents, Charlie and Coreen heading out on the Berg River Estuary by boat.  It was to be a short birding day as we had to be back for a 40th birthday celebration.

We were up by 6am counting birds in my garden and then headed out to Velddrif, also counting birds along the way.  We left shore just before 8am and  this was to be the first time for Charlie and Coreen doing the estuary by boat.  Even though the weather was temperamental, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the outing!  The highlight of the mornings birding was no doubt spotting of a Common Black-headed Gull. Charlie tried desperately to get a photograph while I kept sight of it through my binos. Unfortunately due to the bad light conditions, the auto focus couldn’t decide whether to focus on the white mist or the white belly of the bird, so therefore NO photo....but I see since then someone posted up on the SABirdnet that they had also spotted the bird at the estuary on Friday. 

Dan, the skipper, expertly maneuvered the boat through the sandbanks so that we could get as close as possible to the mud flats where literally hundreds of waders were feeding...one didn’t know where to point your binoculars! 

Charlie and Coreen were initiated into the art of balancing on a boat, hand holding their heavy long lenses while trying to capture the countless terns flying over head, alongside, around, back and forth.  And I’m happy to say they both got some really nice shots.

PHOTOS BY CHARLIE O'DONOGHUE

Dan carefully sidled up alongside the Great white Pelicans – so close in fact that my lens was zoomed out too far and I missed the shots entirely landing up with only an arrangement of blurring feathers! Luckily Charlie and Coreen were a good deal wiser and had zoomed all the way in to get their shots.  We then slowly motored past Bokkomlaan which was a real treat for my parents as this was the first time they saw what is a regular spot for them, from the water! Dan also took us as close to the flamingos as he could get and we all managed to get our first ever flamingo flock in flight shots! 

 

PHOTOS BY COREEN KUHN

We counted a few more birds on the way home and quickly downloaded our photos before heading off to our birthday get together.  Our bird count for the morning was 64 and here is the list!

         1. Great White Pelican
         2. White-breasted Cormorant
         3. Reed Cormorant
         4. African Darter
         5. Grey Heron
         6. Black-headed Heron
         7. Little Egret
         8. Cattle Egret
         9. Black-crowned Night-Heron
        10. African Sacred Ibis
        11. Glossy Ibis
        12. Hadeda Ibis
        13. African Spoonbill
        14. Greater Flamingo
        15. Lesser Flamingo
        16. Spur-winged Goose
        17. Egyptian Goose
        18. South African Shelduck
        19. Cape Shoveler
        20. Yellow-billed Duck
        21. Red-knobbed Coot
        22. Common Ringed Plover
        23. Blacksmith Lapwing
        24. Cape Bunting
        25. Southern Masked Weaver
        26. Pied Avocet
        27. Artic Tern
        28. Common Sandpiper
        29. Common Greenshank
        30. Common Starling
        31. Large-billed Lark
        32. Cape Francolin
        33. Helmetted Guineafowl
        34. Cape sparrow
        35. House Sparrow
        36. Common Fiscal
        37. White-backed Mousebird
        38. Acacia Pied Barbet
        39. White-throated Swallow
        40. Cape Weaver
        41. Swift Tern
        42. Caspian Tern
        43. Common Tern
        44. Sandwich Tern
        45. Black-headed Gull
        46. Grey-headed Gull
        47. Hartlaub’s Gull
        48. Cape Gull
        49. Malachite Sunbird
        50. Southern Double Collard Sunbird
        51. Yellow-billed Kite
        52. Steppe Buzzard
        53. Jackal Buzzard
        54. Pied Crow
        55. Black-shouldered Kite
        56. Rock Kestrel
        57. Cape White-eye
        58. Karoo Prinia
        59. Cape Bulbul
        60. Cape Robin-chat
        61. Karoo Scrub-robin
        62. Laughing Dove
        63. Cape Turtle Dove
        64. Spotted Pigeon

some of my pics for the morning....

PHOTOS BY JACKIE DURING

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