South Africa trip

I have recently returned from 7 weeks in South Africa. I spent most of that time at Tswalu game reserve in the Kalahari. It is South Africa’s largest game reserve.  I was working on a project looking at the association between Sociable Weavers and Pygmy Falcons. This study aims to determine the nature of the interaction between these two species, and delve into the demography and life history of the Pygmy Falcon. We spent most of my time looking for Pygmy Falcon nests and monitoring the nests we found. We also looked at which other species share their nests. In my spare time we spent time birding and ringing in the area.

For more information on the Pygmy Falcon project see http://users.utu.fi/robtho/index.html

At the end of my stay at Tswalu, I flew down to Cape Town for 3 full days of birding Table Mountain, Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens and the peninsula for more endemics.

In total I managed 216 species of bird. Birds marked in bold are endemic species of Southern Africa.

More photos under the list.

African Penguin

Cape Gannet

Greater Flamingo

White-breasted Cormorant

Bank Cormorant

Cape Cormorant

Crowned Cormorant

Reed Cormorant

African Sacred Ibis

Hadeda Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Black-headed Heron

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

Little Grebe

White-faced Whistling Duck

Egyptian Goose

South African Shelduck

Yellow-billed Duck

Cape Shoveler

Red-billed Teal

Hottentot Teal

White-backed Vulture

Lappet-faced Vulture

Verreaux's Eagle

Martial Eagle

Black-chested Snake Eagle

Yellow-billed Kite

Jackal Buzzard

Steppe Buzzard

Forest Buzzard

Black-shouldered Kite

Pale-chanting Goshawk

Gabar Goshawk

Black Sparrowhawk

Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk

Peregrine Falcon

Rock Kestrel

Pygmy Falcon

Common Ostrich

Helmeted Guineafowl

Orange River Francolin

Cape Spurfowl

Common Buttonquail

Red-knobbed Coot

Common Moorhen

African Swamphen

Kori Bustard

Red-crested Koorhan

Northern Black Koorhan

Black-winged Stilt

African Black Oystercatcher

Spotted Thick-knee

Blacksmith Lapwing

Crowned Lapwing

Ringed Plover

Three-banded Plover

African Snipe

Wood Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Ruff

Little Stint

Kelp Gull

Grey-headed Gull

Hartlaub's Gull

Swift Tern

Sandwich Tern

Common Tern

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Double-banded Sandgrouse

Burchell's Sandgrouse

Speckled Pigeon

Feral/Rock Dove

Lemon (Cinnamon) Dove

African Mourning Dove

Red-eyed Dove

Cape Turtle Dove

Laughing Dove

Namaqua Dove

Grey Go-away-bird

African Cuckoo

Black Cuckoo

Jacobin Cuckoo

Dideric Cuckoo

Klaas's Cuckoo

Pearl Spotted Owlet

Verreaux's Giant Eagle Owl

Spotted Eagle Owl

Western Barn Owl

Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

Alpine Swift

African Black Swift

Common European Swift

Little Swift

White-rumped Swift

African Palm Swift

Speckled Mousebird

White-backed Mousebird

Red-faced Mousebird

European Bee-eater

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Lilac-breasted Roller

African Grey Hornbill

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Common Greater Scimitarbill

African Hoopoe

Crested Barbet

Acasia Pied Barbet

Greater Honeyguide

Lesser Honeyguide

Golden-tailed Woodpecker

Cardinal Woodpecker

Ground Woodpecker

Spike-heeled Lark

Sabota Lark

zFawn-coloured Lark

Eastern Clapper Lark

Barn Swallow

White-throated Swallow

Greater Striped Swallow

South African Cliff Swallow

Black Saw-wing Swallow

Common House Martin

Rock Martin

Fork-tailed Drongo

Eurasian Golden Oriole

White-necked Raven

Pied Crow

Cape Crow

Ashy Tit

Southern Pied Babbler

Cape Bulbul

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Dark-capped Bulbul

Sombre Greenbul

Olive Thrush

Karoo Thrush

Groundscraper Thrush

Short-toed Rock Thrush

Familiar Chat

Ant-eating Chat

Mountain Wheatear

African Stonechat

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Cape Robin-Chat

Cape Grassbird

Long-billed Crombec

Cape Penduline-Tit

Yellow-bellied Eremomela

Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler

Layard's Tit-Babbler

Zitting Cisticola

Desert Cisticola

Neddicky

Rattling Cisticola

Grey-backed Cisticola

Black-chested Prinia

Karoo Prinia

Rufous-eared Warbler

Barred Wren-Warbler

Fiscal Flycatcher

Chat Flycatcher

Marico Flycatcher

African Dusky Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

African Paradise Flycatcher

Cape Batis

Pririt Batis

 Cape White-eye

Orange River White-eye

Cape Wagtail

African Rock Pipit

African Pipit

Red-backed Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike

Common Fiscal

Brubru

 Southern Boubou

Crimson-breasted Shrike

 Brown-crowned Tchagra

Bokmakierie

Cape Glossy Starling

Burcchell's Starling

Red-winged Starling

Common Myna

Common Starling

Wattled Starling

Cape Sugarbird

Malachite Sunbird

Orange-breasted Sunbird

Southern Double-collared Sunbird

Marico Sunbird

Dusky Sunbird Dusky Sunbird

House Sparrow

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow

 White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

Sociable Weaver

Red-billed Buffalo Weaver

Southern Masked Weaver

Southern Red Bishop

Pin-tailed Whydah

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Scaly-feathered Finch

Violet-eared Waxbill

 Black-faced Waxbill

Green-winged Pytilia

African Quail-Finch

Swee Waxbill

Black-throated Canary

Yellow Canary

Cape Canary

Forest Canary

Cape Siskin

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Cape Bunting

Golden-breasted Bunting



 





Double-banded Sandgrouse



Red-crested Koorhan