Day Guiding and Tours

Sample day trip itinerary

Tanqua Karoo Day (Cape Town - Ceres - Tanqua Karoo - Cape Town)

The parched brown expanses, aloe-lined escarpments and lonely isolated hills of the Tanqua Karoo provide an apt setting for such fine and sought-after dry western endemics as Karoo Eremomela, Cinnamon-breasted Warbler, Namaqua Warbler and Fairy Flycatcher, among many others.

The steep, rocky slopes and dense acacia thicket of the small picnic site of Skitterykloof (sometimes called Katbakkies) offers fine and varied birding. These slopes are also legendary as the most accessible site in the world to see Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. Familiarity with this species' call is absolutely essential, as it is otherwise almost impossible to locate. A reticent and little-known inhabitant of arid, rocky hill-slopes, the Cinnamon-breasted Warbler is peculiar enough to have been accorded its own genus. Its behaviour most closely resembles that of shy and diminutive rockjumper, bounding about sun-baked boulders and calling fervently before inexplicably disappearing for long periods.

Other species that we hope to encounter here are Black-headed Canary (nomadic) Southern Grey Tit, Layard's Titbabbler, Mountain Chat and Grey-backed Cisticola. Pale-winged Starlings regularly overfly the valley, and Ground Woodpeckers sometimes hurl invective from the ridges. As ever, it is worth keeping an eye skyward for the likes of Black and Booted Eagles and Rock Kestrel. The acacia thicket in the picnic site is usually alive with birds, even at midday. The essentials here are Fairy Flycatcher and Pririt Batis (p. 00). Other interesting birds of this habitat are Pied Barbet, White-backed Mousebird, African Marsh Warbler (summer), White-throated Canary and Cape Bunting.

Emerging from the hills and onto the semidesert plains of the Tanqua Karoo, one enter a whole new habitat for birds - where almost everything is an endemic! We'll take the R355 to Calvinia, notorious as the longest road in South Africa uninterrupted by a town (250 km in all). Common birds of the relatively moist scrublands just north of the road fork are Pale Chanting Goshawk, Karoo Lark, Karoo Chat and Yellow Canary. We'll also search for Karoo Eremomela. A co-operative breeder, it occurs in small, agitated flocks that remain constantly on the move, thoroughly gleaning low bushes before the birds follow each other onwards. Other typical birds of this habitat are Karoo Lark, Karoo Chat, Rufous-eared Warbler and Grey-backed Cisticola.

As we head north bushes are few and far between and the ground gleams with the mineral patina of the desert pebbles. This is classic Tractrac Chat country: birds are most often spotted, as they flush near the road and display their white rumps as they fly a short distance to perch, again on a fence or low bush. Spike-heeled Lark is also regularly seen. From this point on, we'll keep alert for Black-eared Finchlark, a nomadic species found throughout the Karoo and which often moves around in flocks. While driving, you are likely to spot the conspicuous, all-dark males fluttering over the road, although they invariably land frustratingly behind the bushes by the time you've stopped the car! It is worth keeping an eye out for pairs of superbly camouflaged Karoo Korhaans. Pale Chanting Goshawks are reasonably common throughout the Tanqua Karoo, and Greater Kestrels frequently wander into the area. If we are lucky enough to visit after recent rain, you will see that pools forming close to the road invariably attract South African Shelduck, drinking flocks of Namaqua Sandgrouse and irruptive seedeaters such as Lark-like Bunting. We'll also search for Namaqua Warbler in the watercourses. Formerly classified as a prinia, this species has recently been assigned its own genus, Phragmacia, picturesquely named after its habitat of mixed Phragmites reeds and Acacia thicket. It is a much more secretive bird than the similar Spotted Prinia, but every bit as noisy. If we're really fortunate, we may even spot a Burchell's courser on the plains in some of the areas where we've seen them in the past.

Accommodation

Over years of birding experience in the area, we have selected a handful of birder-friendly guest houses and lodges along the route which we can recommend. The accommodation is selected on the level of service and hospitality, country charm, the fantastic settings and adjacent birding opportunities. We can book accommodation from Cape Town to the Kalahari, and a few highlights from our collection are included on the pages of this site. Go to Cape Birding Route > Accommodation for more.


Costs

Please contact us to cost your personalized trip.