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Black Korhaan Tour -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The western seaboard
of South Africa, stretching along the Atlantic shores from Cape Town
northwards to the Olifants River, is best known for its superb beaches,
bountiful sealife, internationally recognized coastal wetlands, and
spring wildflower displays that are nothing short of spectacular.
Birding is excellent: there is an abundance of migrant waders and
other waterbirds, and rewarding ‘strandveld’ birding.
Highlights range from the quiet elegance of a Black Harrier
quartering low over the scrublands of the West Coast National Park,
where the Langebaan Lagoon attracts thousand of wintering waders,
to harsh shouts of a male Southern Black Korhaan
in display.
Working northwards from Cape Town, we bird a number of specific sites
in coastal sandveld and the adjacent wheatlands. This area is most
active in winter and spring, when the surrounding wheatlands are filled
with birds; after the summer harvest it becomes progressively drier
and less active. Small numbers of Blue Crane may
be found in the adjacent fields. Red-capped Lark,
Capped Wheatear, Familiar Chat,
African Pipit and Cape Sparrow are
common in this vicinity. In spring Banded Martin
and Pearl-breasted Swallow can be spotted among the
more numerous Greater Striped and Barn Swallows.
This area provides a host of western specials including the stunning
Southern Black Korhaan, Pied Starling,
Grey-wing Francolin, Karoo Lark,
and the unusual western race of Cloud Cisticola.
The West Coast National Park, our focus for the rest of the day, provides
further great birding, including access to Black Harrier
and Chestnut-banded Plover and thousands of wintering
waders during summer. The strandveld vegetation throughout the park
harbours species such as White-backed Mousebird,
Karoo Lark, Cape Penduline Tit,
Cape Bulbul, Cape Robin-chat, Karoo
Scrub-robin, Common Titbabbler, Layard’s
Titbabbler, Grey-backed Cisticola, Long-billed
Crombec, Bar-throated Apalis, Grassbird,
Bokmakierie, Southern Double-collared Sunbird,
Malachite Sunbird, Cape Weaver,
White-throated Canary, Yellow Canary
and Cape Bunting. A detour to the north may provide
us with Grey Tit, Sickle-winged Chat
and the localised Cape Long-billed Lark.
Black
Harrier 
