Baviaans Kloof 2009
Baviaanskloof is nestled deep between the Kouga Mountains and Baviaanskloof Mountains and south east of Willowmore. This is one of the most wonderful parts of SA and a birder's paradise, a place where the birds of the dry Karoo, the fynbos and the wetter eastern areas meet.
I have just returned from a 5 days trip to the area with clients and we had a wonderful time. Large parts of the western side are still private property where farming is conducted, while the eastern parts are managed by EC Parks Board. The road in the western side is not bad, but about 20 km into the nature reserve from the west, it becomes impassable for ordinary cars and you need at least a bakkie. There is a lot of good guest farms / houses in the western side as tourism is playing an important role to the area. The area is very dry at the moment, according to the people, the least running water in the Baviaans River in memories. Only a few of the drifts have a bit of water and not what you normally will find in the kloof.
Day 1 took us from Beaufort West via Meiringspoort and Toorwater to the Vaalwater Lodge on the western entrance of the kloof. Down the Karoo plains we picked up the common Karoo species like Karoo Chat, Booted Eagle, Karoo Longbilled Lark, Sth Pale Chanting Goshawk and Afr Redeyed Bulbul.
We stopped in the lovely Meiringspoort for breakfast and in the bush adjacent to the picnic spot, we saw Sombre Greenbul, Bar-throated Apalis and Southern Boubou. A short distance into the kloof we had good views of Ground Woodpeckers perching on a rock and a pair of Afr Black Duck in a pool. A stop at the Waterfall in the kloof gave good views of Alpine, Afr Black, Little and White-rumped Swifts, a pair of Black Eagles soaring overhead, Cape Rock Thrush and Cape Canary.
We continued via De Rust and then turned off the tar road towards the mountains. A while later you reach another kloof in the Swartberg Mountains which is poorly known by people, Toorwaterpoort. The old railway line from Oudtshoorn to the Eastern Cape goes through this kloof as well as the
Traka River from the Karoo to the Little Karoo. It gets it's named from the warm water spring nearby, which the early inhabitants believe has some magical power. The spring is still there but in disuse at the moment. With arrangements you can walk through the poort along the railway line.
Well, this is an interesting part of the Little Karoo and en route we ticked off some more Cape Rock Thrushes, Klaas's Cuckoo, Streaky-headed Seed-eater, Afr Paradise-Flycatcher, Black-throated & White-throated Canary, Namaqua Dove, Longbilled Crombec, Fairy Flycatcher, Blue Cranes and Speckled Mousebird. We rejoined the tar road a few km outside Willowmore and found some Eur
Bee-eaters. We filled up with fuel in Willowmore for the next part to the kloof.
South of Willowmore there was some rain lately and birds were more active with more Blue Cranes, Common House-Martin, Spike-heeled & Redcapped Larks, Yellow and Blackheaded Canary, Sicklewinged Chat, Sth Black Korhaan and a small flock of Ludwig's Bustards.
We reached Vaalwater Lodge (www.vaalwaterlodge.co.za. ; e-mail: info@vaalwaterlodge.co.za. ; tel +27 44 9231941 ; cell +27 84 4905998 ) which is situated on top of the mountains and before you enter the kloof via Nuwekloof Pass. The lodge is very comfortable, good and neat chalets and facilities and a good overnight stop to the kloof. Birds around the lodge were not plentiful, probably due to the drought.
Day 2: We left the lodge early morning and towards Nuwekloof Pass we picked up Cape Clapper Lark displaying, Afr Stonechat and more Ludwig's Bustard. Nuwekloof Pass, also built by Thomas Bain, is a spectacular road with very interesting plants and geological formations. It is also the best place to see the very endemic and endangered Willowmore Cedar trees (Widdringtonia schwarzii) which grow high up in the kloofs. Bird wise we spotted Greybacked Cisticola,Layard's Titbabbler, Orangebreasted Sunbird, Booted Eagle probably nesting, Jackal Buzzard and Amethyst Sunbird.
We continued down the farmland areas where Southern Boubou and Bar-throated Apalis are very common. We found a pair of Hamerkop nesting on a cliff above the river (they have just finished the third nest on the cliff), 3 Black Storks together which is rare, Greater Doublecollared Sunbird, Neddicky, more Common House-Martins feeding with other swallows over a lucerne field, several Black Eagles, Klaas's Cuckoo, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and Black Sawwing before we got to Zandvlakte Guest Farm.
We stayed for 2 nights at Zandvlakte (www.baviaanskloof.com ; e-mail: zandvlakte@gmail.com. ; tel +27 49 8391002), the last accommodation before you enter the nature reserve. The accommodation is very good with all the necessary to make it a memorable stay. It is highly recommended. It is situated on a working farm, so you have all the farm sounds for free. A late
afternoon walk brought Red-fronted Tinkerbird, White-browed Scrub-Robin, Lesser Striped Swallow, Pintailed Whydah, Tambourine Dove calling, Afr Dusky Flycatcher at its nest, Brimstone Canary, Black-collared Barbet and Yellow-throated Petronia.
We set off early the next morning for the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve. The weather was cloudy with some thunder rumbling and we didn't know how much birding time we shall have. As said earlier, the area is very dry and lots of the drifts through the river one crosses, are totally dry. This influence the bird life badly.
In one of the pools with still some water, we found some Afr Black Duck, while a lonely Malachite Kingfisher tries its skills in the pool. In the patch of reeds a Little Rush-Warbler was calling for rain and you could even heard the sadness in the call of the Blackheaded Oriole. We saw some game like Kudu, Bushbuck and Common Duiker in the reserve. Along the road we saw some fresh signs of the Black Rhinos, but not themselves. At another drift with a bit of water we found Terrestrial Brownbul, while Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Greater Honeyguide and Black Cuckoo were calling from the thickets. We had good views of them all as well of a Redchested Cuckoo which eagerly responds to its call.
The clouds cleared without much rain for the kloof and we had splendid sightings of Golden-breasted Buntings, an Olive Woodpecker making a hole in a stump a mere 5 meters from the road (he was not worrying about all the photographers), Steppe Buzzard, Black Eagles, Jacobin Cuckoo, Pearl-breasted Swallow and lots of the more common birds. On the way back to the guest farm we had a Diedirick Cuckoo and close by a Lesser and Greater Honeyguide.
The next morning we returned to the nature reserve before we started going back towards Willowmore. We had excellent views of a melanistic and pale morph of Jacobin Cuckoo together, a pair of Black Storks which will probably put up nest in one of the holes in the cliffs, more Black Cuckoos, Yellow-throated Petronias, Tambourine Dove calling but not showing itself and Cardinal Woodpecker.
On the way to Damsedrif Guest Farm we had brilliant views of Black Cuckooshrike (male & female together), Pririt Batis, Brimstone Canary, Redfronted Tinkerbird and Afr Paradise-Flycatcher.
We stayed the last night at Damsedrif Guest Farm (www.baviaans.co.za/damsedrif ; e-mail: damsedrif@baviaans.co.za. ; tel +27 49 8391026) on the way back to Willowmore. It is a restored farm house which is very comfortable and you have all the peace and quiteness of the world. We went on a walk into one of the kloofs on the farm and along the way saw a lonely Black Harrier. We also saw Karoo Scrub-Robin, Layard's Titbabbler and more Jacobin Cuckoo. Up in the kloof we found a pair of Rufous-chested Sparrowhawks breeding in a wild fig tree. The last sightings for the kloof were of some Southern Tchagra and Green Wood-hoopoe.
We saw some 140 species on the trip and Baviaanskloof is highly recommended to birders, especially if you are willing to wait until the first rains come and all the drifts are filled with running water again.
~ Japie
I have just returned from a 5 days trip to the area with clients and we had a wonderful time. Large parts of the western side are still private property where farming is conducted, while the eastern parts are managed by EC Parks Board. The road in the western side is not bad, but about 20 km into the nature reserve from the west, it becomes impassable for ordinary cars and you need at least a bakkie. There is a lot of good guest farms / houses in the western side as tourism is playing an important role to the area. The area is very dry at the moment, according to the people, the least running water in the Baviaans River in memories. Only a few of the drifts have a bit of water and not what you normally will find in the kloof.
Day 1 took us from Beaufort West via Meiringspoort and Toorwater to the Vaalwater Lodge on the western entrance of the kloof. Down the Karoo plains we picked up the common Karoo species like Karoo Chat, Booted Eagle, Karoo Longbilled Lark, Sth Pale Chanting Goshawk and Afr Redeyed Bulbul.
We stopped in the lovely Meiringspoort for breakfast and in the bush adjacent to the picnic spot, we saw Sombre Greenbul, Bar-throated Apalis and Southern Boubou. A short distance into the kloof we had good views of Ground Woodpeckers perching on a rock and a pair of Afr Black Duck in a pool. A stop at the Waterfall in the kloof gave good views of Alpine, Afr Black, Little and White-rumped Swifts, a pair of Black Eagles soaring overhead, Cape Rock Thrush and Cape Canary.
We continued via De Rust and then turned off the tar road towards the mountains. A while later you reach another kloof in the Swartberg Mountains which is poorly known by people, Toorwaterpoort. The old railway line from Oudtshoorn to the Eastern Cape goes through this kloof as well as the
Traka River from the Karoo to the Little Karoo. It gets it's named from the warm water spring nearby, which the early inhabitants believe has some magical power. The spring is still there but in disuse at the moment. With arrangements you can walk through the poort along the railway line.
Well, this is an interesting part of the Little Karoo and en route we ticked off some more Cape Rock Thrushes, Klaas's Cuckoo, Streaky-headed Seed-eater, Afr Paradise-Flycatcher, Black-throated & White-throated Canary, Namaqua Dove, Longbilled Crombec, Fairy Flycatcher, Blue Cranes and Speckled Mousebird. We rejoined the tar road a few km outside Willowmore and found some Eur
Bee-eaters. We filled up with fuel in Willowmore for the next part to the kloof.
South of Willowmore there was some rain lately and birds were more active with more Blue Cranes, Common House-Martin, Spike-heeled & Redcapped Larks, Yellow and Blackheaded Canary, Sicklewinged Chat, Sth Black Korhaan and a small flock of Ludwig's Bustards.
We reached Vaalwater Lodge (www.vaalwaterlodge.co.za. ; e-mail: info@vaalwaterlodge.co.za. ; tel +27 44 9231941 ; cell +27 84 4905998 ) which is situated on top of the mountains and before you enter the kloof via Nuwekloof Pass. The lodge is very comfortable, good and neat chalets and facilities and a good overnight stop to the kloof. Birds around the lodge were not plentiful, probably due to the drought.
Day 2: We left the lodge early morning and towards Nuwekloof Pass we picked up Cape Clapper Lark displaying, Afr Stonechat and more Ludwig's Bustard. Nuwekloof Pass, also built by Thomas Bain, is a spectacular road with very interesting plants and geological formations. It is also the best place to see the very endemic and endangered Willowmore Cedar trees (Widdringtonia schwarzii) which grow high up in the kloofs. Bird wise we spotted Greybacked Cisticola,Layard's Titbabbler, Orangebreasted Sunbird, Booted Eagle probably nesting, Jackal Buzzard and Amethyst Sunbird.
We continued down the farmland areas where Southern Boubou and Bar-throated Apalis are very common. We found a pair of Hamerkop nesting on a cliff above the river (they have just finished the third nest on the cliff), 3 Black Storks together which is rare, Greater Doublecollared Sunbird, Neddicky, more Common House-Martins feeding with other swallows over a lucerne field, several Black Eagles, Klaas's Cuckoo, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and Black Sawwing before we got to Zandvlakte Guest Farm.
We stayed for 2 nights at Zandvlakte (www.baviaanskloof.com ; e-mail: zandvlakte@gmail.com. ; tel +27 49 8391002), the last accommodation before you enter the nature reserve. The accommodation is very good with all the necessary to make it a memorable stay. It is highly recommended. It is situated on a working farm, so you have all the farm sounds for free. A late
afternoon walk brought Red-fronted Tinkerbird, White-browed Scrub-Robin, Lesser Striped Swallow, Pintailed Whydah, Tambourine Dove calling, Afr Dusky Flycatcher at its nest, Brimstone Canary, Black-collared Barbet and Yellow-throated Petronia.
We set off early the next morning for the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve. The weather was cloudy with some thunder rumbling and we didn't know how much birding time we shall have. As said earlier, the area is very dry and lots of the drifts through the river one crosses, are totally dry. This influence the bird life badly.
In one of the pools with still some water, we found some Afr Black Duck, while a lonely Malachite Kingfisher tries its skills in the pool. In the patch of reeds a Little Rush-Warbler was calling for rain and you could even heard the sadness in the call of the Blackheaded Oriole. We saw some game like Kudu, Bushbuck and Common Duiker in the reserve. Along the road we saw some fresh signs of the Black Rhinos, but not themselves. At another drift with a bit of water we found Terrestrial Brownbul, while Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Greater Honeyguide and Black Cuckoo were calling from the thickets. We had good views of them all as well of a Redchested Cuckoo which eagerly responds to its call.
The clouds cleared without much rain for the kloof and we had splendid sightings of Golden-breasted Buntings, an Olive Woodpecker making a hole in a stump a mere 5 meters from the road (he was not worrying about all the photographers), Steppe Buzzard, Black Eagles, Jacobin Cuckoo, Pearl-breasted Swallow and lots of the more common birds. On the way back to the guest farm we had a Diedirick Cuckoo and close by a Lesser and Greater Honeyguide.
The next morning we returned to the nature reserve before we started going back towards Willowmore. We had excellent views of a melanistic and pale morph of Jacobin Cuckoo together, a pair of Black Storks which will probably put up nest in one of the holes in the cliffs, more Black Cuckoos, Yellow-throated Petronias, Tambourine Dove calling but not showing itself and Cardinal Woodpecker.
On the way to Damsedrif Guest Farm we had brilliant views of Black Cuckooshrike (male & female together), Pririt Batis, Brimstone Canary, Redfronted Tinkerbird and Afr Paradise-Flycatcher.
We stayed the last night at Damsedrif Guest Farm (www.baviaans.co.za/damsedrif ; e-mail: damsedrif@baviaans.co.za. ; tel +27 49 8391026) on the way back to Willowmore. It is a restored farm house which is very comfortable and you have all the peace and quiteness of the world. We went on a walk into one of the kloofs on the farm and along the way saw a lonely Black Harrier. We also saw Karoo Scrub-Robin, Layard's Titbabbler and more Jacobin Cuckoo. Up in the kloof we found a pair of Rufous-chested Sparrowhawks breeding in a wild fig tree. The last sightings for the kloof were of some Southern Tchagra and Green Wood-hoopoe.
We saw some 140 species on the trip and Baviaanskloof is highly recommended to birders, especially if you are willing to wait until the first rains come and all the drifts are filled with running water again.
~ Japie
