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Brandvlei to Kenhardt to Pofadder:
The
tarred route from Brandvlei to Kenhardt is good for most of
the specials mentioned above, although birding is often more
productive along gravel side roads. As one heads further north,
the countryside becomes more grassy. After good rains, follow
the side roads (for instance, ‘Afdeling Pad 2984’,
on the right, 68 km north of Brandvlei) into the newly grassy
plains, which often yield Black-eared
Finchlark and, occasionally, in years of good rainfall,
Pink-billed Lark. Sclater’s
Lark is also common in this area: wait for drinking
birds at the farm dams 25—40 km south of Kenhardt. In
particular, check the two dams (on either side of the road)
36 km south of Kenhardt, near the farm sign ‘Knapsak’.
Also look out for Stark’s Lark, which is most
often seen in the northern areas of Bushmanland. Bird the
patch of trees that is exactly 100.1 km south of Kenhardt
for Titbabbler, Pririt
Batis (p.85*) and Fairy Flycatcher.
The
town of Kenhardt is worth visiting for the kokerboom (Aloe
dichotoma) forest, which lies just to its south. The giant
nests of Sociable
Weaver (p.110) may be seen on the telephone poles
here; keep a look out for the associated and uncommon Pygmy
Falcon, which also breed in the nests. From Kenhardt,
one can head north to Upington and the Kalahari Gemsbok National
Park (see p.107). To complete a Bushmanland loop, take the
signposted road, 8 km south of Kenhardt, to Pofadder (marked
on some maps as passing through Kraandraai or Bossiekom, although
note that these are not towns). After 35 km along this road,
check the stony desert plains near the intersection of powerlines
for Sclater’s
Lark. This long and lonely road finally meets the
R358, 27 km south of Pofadder.
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4 Crassula Way, Pinelands, 7405, Cape Town, South Africa
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27/09/09: Dalton
Gibbs reports back from Gough
Island! Read the blog!
26/09/09: New Cape
Town Pelagics trip report from trips of 12 and 19 September
2009.
30/08/09: British
Birdwatching Fair at Rutland Water proved very successful,
with sunny weather and over 20,000 visitors. Callan's "Birding
Namibia and the Okavango" was the most highly-attended
lecture on the Saturday, with over 240 people. Congratulations
to the winners of the Birding Africa competition and the
African Bird Club raffle that we helped sponsor!
12/08/09: New Cape
Town Pelagics trip reports from August and July 2009.
Highlights: Little
Shearwater and more!
07/08/09: The
sub-adult Black Sarrowhawk visits our garden again! Read
on about Raptor Research in the Western Cape.
27/07/09: Cape
Town's Verreauxs' Eagle Chick has grown! And its sibling
never had a chance to hatch. See the pictures of the chick,
its nest and the breeding pair. Find out more about the Western
Cape Raptor Research Programme.
27/07/09: To follow modern nomenclature and systematics, we've
adopted the IOC
World Bird List, Version 2.1.
13/07/09: The 8th
African Bird ID Challenge has launched! Win a 50% discount
on a Cape Town Pelagics
trip, a copy of Southern
African Birdfinder, or African
Bird Club membership for 1 year.
6 July 09: Cape
White-eye research in our garden.
2 July 09: Cape
Town's Verreauxs' Eagle Chick has hatched! See the pictures
of the chick, its nest and the breeding pair. Find out more
about the Western Cape Raptor Research Programme.
2 July 09: Campbell
Fleming, a Cape Town scholar, avid birder and photographer,
joined Birding Africa last month as an intern. Click here,
to see what he got up to.
2 July 09: New pelagic
trip reports from the Cape Town Pelagics trips in June
2009. Highlights: Slenderbilled
Prion and Leach's Storm Petrel
30 july 09: Our latest Cape Fynbos and Karoo trip
reports feature Hottentot
Buttonquail, Cinnamon-breasted
Warbler and other fynbos and Karoo endemics...
26 June 09: Tungsten
mining threatens RAMSAR site, South Africa's Verlorenvlei.
Read the Media Release.
22 June 09: Claire
Spottiswoode, one of the Cape Birding Route founders,
was part of the exploratory team at Mount Mabu. The mountain
is part of the newly discovered largest
rainforest in Southern Africa.
11 June 09: A colour-ringed
Black Sparrowhawk visits the Birding Africa office garden.
Read why it's a 10 months old male!
14 June 09:
Wildlife
at the office of The Cape Birding Route, Birding Africa
and Cape Town Pelagics.
31 May 09:
Michel Watelet wins the 7th African Bird Club & Birding Africa
ID Challenge. Test your African birding skills and WIN
a Birding
Africa Cape town day trip or a copy of the Birdfinder!
30 May 09:
A tragedy unfolds at Kommetjie south of Cape town as 44 beached
False
Killer Whales were shot. Click here for more details and
pictures.
14 March 09: Raptor
Watch in Cape Town on 14 March 09
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