This report was provided by Johan van der Westhuizen.
Twelve birders in three vehicles left the Eastcliff SPAR at 06:30 in perfect weather conditions, destination the De Mond Nature Reserve. The going was slow once we hit the gravel roads as birds were everywhere. Denham’s Bustards were seen at regular intervals with a lone Lanner Falcon seen hunting over the fields. A phone call alerted us to an Osprey seen closer to the Reserve. Almost 40 bird species were logged onto the Birdlasser list by the time we arrived at the entrance to the Reserve. Seven more birders joined the group here.
The wind started picking up and clouds moved in, and it suddenly became quite chilly. After a quick cup of coffee, the group ventured onto the boardwalk running along the edge of the lagoon. Most of the birds were on the opposite side of the lagoon and this made identification and photography quite challenging. Common Greenshank, Common Ringed Plovers and Grey Plovers were abundant. A lone Little Egret entertained the crowd with its fishing antics. Numerous Terek Sandpipers were spotted as well as Greater Sand Plovers, which turned out to be “lifers” for a couple of people. The Tern were roosting on a sandbank quite far away and consisted of mostly Common Terns with one or two Sandwich Terns and a number of Damara Terns thrown into the mix. The weather soon put a stop to the birding along the Lagoon, as people started to return to the picnic area for a much-needed breakfast and a warm cup of coffee.
The Hermanus group decided to make a detour to the Agulhas National Park as it was still early, hoping to find a special bird species seen there a couple of weeks ago. As we stopped at the Pin provided, the sun came out and our spirits lifted. We walked the 10 meters to the edge of the Salt Pan and there they were, right in front of us. Chestnut-bander Plovers! Only one person amongst the twelve has ever seen one. What a special sighting. Small chicks were seen scurrying after their parents, enticing the customary “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd. The photographers were snapping away, making the most of the ideal conditions and the very accommodating subjects.
What a way to end an otherwise challenging day! We returned to Hermanus, once again feeling privileged to live in this special part of the world and to be part of the Birding community.
Our next outing is on the 26th of April to the Greyton area, via the Helderstroom road.