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WINGS Birding Tours – Photo Gallery

South Africa: Kalahari to the Cape

We begin our tour in the rolling red dunes of the Kalahari Trans Frontier National Park, so called because it straddles the border between South Africa and Botswana. Here birds range from the large like this stately Kori Bustard… …to the tiny like this Kalahari Scrub Robin. …and mammals also range in size from the impressive Gemsbok… …to the cute African Wild Cat. This is also the only place on the tour we see the local ‘Namib’ form of Common Fiscal… …while the loud calls and vibrant plumage of Crimson-breasted Shrike make it a hard bird to miss. Moving south we enter Bushmanland, a dry region where the distinctive huge nests of Sociable Weavers are found on almost every roadside pole. This is a rich area for birds and we’ll be out at dawn to look for Ludwig’s Bustard and Karoo Korhaan… …and we are sure to see large numbers of beautifully camouflaged Namaqua Sandgrouse This is a great region for larks and we’ll make another dawn excursion to look for the fabulous endemic Red Lark… …while others of that family will include Karoo Long-billed Lark. Heading towards the atlantic coast we enter Namaqualand where, if the austral winter rains have been good, we may be treated to some amazing displays of wildflowers. Moving down the coast we’ll call in at Lambert’s Bay, a small fishing town famous for its massive colony of nesting Cape Gannets. Moving back inland we cross the Cedarburg mountains and find ourselves in the awesome landscape of the Great Karoo… …where our isolated but wonderfully cosy guesthouse provides the perfect base from which to explore the Karoo in search of birds… …such as the endemic Karoo Eremomela… …the very vocal Chestnut-vented Tit Babbler… …Rufous-eared warbler… …or Southern Black Korhaan. Even in the grounds of our guesthouse we may see such stunning birds as this Bokmakarie… …or Cape Sparrow. Moving south we leave the Karoo and pass through miles of arable fields where we regularly encounter flocks of Blue Cranes… …and we approach the end of the tour at the end of the continent and the Cape of Good Hope… …where our excursions will include a visit to the world-famous botanical gardens at Kirstenbosch… …which has a superb collection of proteas, a family of plants endemic to southern Africa whose stunning flowers… …attract an equally stunning array of birds such as this Lesser Double-collared Sunbird… …Orange-breasted-Sunbird… …the vibrant Malachite Sunbird… …and Cape Sugarbird, one of two species of a family also endemic to southern Africa. Other highlights there could include the dainty Swee Waxbill. Elsewhere we’ll look for Cape Rockjumper – another endemic… …and visit a colony of African penguins… …where we are also bound to find some African Oystercatchers. Finally we take to the sea for a pelagic, where our main aim will be to find a trawler which always has hundreds if not thousands of birds in tow… …allowing us to get really great views of a variety of petrels and albatrosses including Shy Albatross… …and dainty Pintado Petrels. …and back on dry land we of course pose for the obligatory group photo.

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