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Trip report - West Coast Day Excursion Date:16 March 2008 Client: Alan Wilkins Guide (and report written by): Marius Wheeler We set out early morning to see what was to be seen along the West Coast – hopefully many good birds. The weather was looking fine and it promised to be a great day. First on the list was the usual “city birds” Hartlaub's Gull, Kelp Gull, Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon), Common Starling, etc.
Our first planned stop was Dolphin Beach but this idea was hijacked along the way! Passing Milnerton Lagoon – there were a good number of bird species to be seen. It was low tide and the birds were taking advantage of the low water conditions. In no-time we saw African Spoonbill, Common, Sandwich and Swift Terns, various duck species, Grey Heron, Sacred Ibis, Reed and White-breasted Cormorants and Common Greenshank. Various other species were seen including some spectacular views of hundreds of Common Starlings and various species of swallow and Martin feeding side by side on the Milnerton Golf Course. The Starlings go for the insects in the grass and in the process, cause many of them to fly-up. These in turn are taken by the swallows.
We proceeded on to the Dolphin Beach ponds where we had great views of a group of Great White Pelicans feeding. We also had stunning views of Purple Swamphen, White-backed Duck, Little Grebe, White-rumped Swift and Greater-striped Swallow. We also had a pair of Purple Herons gracefully flying overhead.
At last we hit the road north. We had some “usuals” along the way – Black-shouldered Kite, Steppe Buzzard, and Pied Crow. We took the Darling Hills gravel road towards Darling and were immediately rewarded with great views of a male and female Souther-black Korhaan. We also got to see Black-headed Heron, Helmeted-Guineafowl, Yellow Canary, Cape Spurfowl, Cape Sparrow, a pair of Blue Crane as well as a single Rock Kestrel. In the wheat fields we located both Red-capped and Large-billed Lark species. Further along the way we saw Diederik Cuckoo, Cape Weaver, Cape Robin-Chat, African Hoopoe, Wattled Starling, Pied Starling as well as White-backed Mousebird.
Midday we stopped off in Darling at the famous Evita se Perron – for a quick lunch and some drinks. We had a buffet lunch – consisting of a selection of Bobotie, Vegetarian quiche and salad!! For Darling – I suppose that could be considered a Sunday lunch buffet! The food was good and the Perron was well worth the visit.
After lunch we headed for the West Coast National Park. We spent around 4 hours in the park. We had good views of Spur-winged Goose, Le Vaillant's Cisticola, Cape Bulbul, Bokmakierie, Ostrich, Karoo Lark, Cape Bunting, White-throated Canary, Chestnut-vented Titbabbler, Red-eyed Dove, Yellow- Bishop, Black Harrier, Grey-winged Francolin, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Kittlitz's Plover, Sanderling, White-fronted Plover, South African Shelduck, etc. etc. It was a great way to end the day and I enjoyed the day in the company of Alan. Wishing him all the best for his return to the UK and hope to see him again in the future!
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