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Jay · 30-11-2009 14:20:36

Come birding with us on the Berg River! We will take you on a leisurely boat trip along the Berg River Estuary. Bring your camera and photograph the famous Great-white Pelicans of Bokkomlaan as well as huge flocks of Lesser and Greater Flamingoes.

The Estuary is also home to many species of duck, egret and heron, as well as Cape clawless Otter. The silt-filled sandbanks of the Berg River are ideal feeding grounds to countless waders and waterbirds. These coastal wetlands have the highest density of waders in the entire Eastern Atlantic flyway and support some 127 water and 250 resident bird species.

This is also a well know site for spotting rare vagrants, as migratory waders from the Middle East, East Atlantic and Mediterranean flyways use this estuary as a feeding ground. Rare birds spotted here include Common Redshank, Hudsonian Godwit, Lesser Yellowlegs, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, White-rumped Sandpiper, Red Phalarope and Common Black-headed Gull.

Click here for a trip report...

for details,contact: birdingontheberg@gmail.com

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MarcellC · 30-11-2009 14:24:10

looks like an awesome trip Jay - will definitely give you guys a shout if I'm down there

Marcell Claassen
Birding beyond Sunset
Birding in Rwanda (Rwanda Bird Atlas e-mail) (New website for birding in Rwanda coming soon)
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." ~John Muir

Jay · 30-11-2009 14:25:29

big_smile that would be great cool

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DotDaan · 30-11-2009 14:37:42

Sounds very cool Jay big_smile

I can levitate birds, but no one seems to care.

Boetie · 30-11-2009 14:40:21

Now how can I sneak into the Cape without the family knowing??? roll

"I have nice equipment because it helps me create crap faster and with greater precision." -- cdifoto

Jay · 30-11-2009 14:58:09

it is great fun DD as well as very rewarding birding-wise wink

and LOL, Boetie!

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Leo · 30-11-2009 19:44:46

Just what I need to give my birdlist a turbo-boost...but so many choices and so little time.... neutral It really sounds great Jay!

Jay · 30-11-2009 20:05:48

well if you ever head this far South West wink

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Moegaai · 18-03-2010 12:34:42

The time spent on the boat on the Berg was very pleasant and in great company. We may not have seen the special we were looking for (which I thought would be close to an impossibility in any case), but had beautiful sightings of so many others beautiful species.

Including my time in Kleinmond and Langebaan, here's some of my favourite pics of the weekend (excluding the specials also seen!):

African Black Oystercatcher

Swift Tern (with Eel for lunch)

Cape Teal

Cape Grassbird (western,spotted race)

Yellow Canary

Southern Black Korhaan (f)

Southern Black Korhaan (m)

Last edited by Moegaai (18-03-2010 12:50:08)

I think therefore I bird

Jay · 18-03-2010 12:50:32

So glad you enjoyed the experience, Moegaai, and we equally enjoyed your company! You certainly got some stunning shots, well done cool cool

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Happy people are generally lucky...which makes them even happier!

Laine · 18-03-2010 13:15:02

love those BIFs Moggie and the Cape Grassbird pic! great photies! cool

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Charlie · 18-03-2010 13:56:49

Thanks Moegaai - glad to hear you had a good time on the boat, and your photographs are truly stunning! big_smile

Looking forward to you 'birding on the berg' again with us one day! wink

The best thing about life is that it comes one day at a time!

wildtuinman · 19-03-2010 15:22:07

Great photos!

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Jay · 22-03-2010 18:07:06

Charlie and I took another 4 people out on the Berg River this morning; thankfully the cloudy weather of the last few days cleared entirely and we had just the most perfect weather! We had one enthusiastic birder and 3 who were keen to learn on board, and the river, as per usual, delivered the goods.
We spotted all the usual suspects: Great White Pelican, Greater Flamingo, African Darter, Grey, Black-headed and Purple Heron, Little Egret, Cape Cormorant, White Breasted Cormorant, Pied Kingfisher, Black-winged Stilt, African Spoonbill...

As we arrived at the river, we spotted a Malachite Kingfisher, who wasn't too keen to turn round though, LOL! We spotted African Marsh Harrier twice, once the bird flew parallel to the boat for quite some time! Common Whimbrel, Common Greenshank and Curlew Sandpiper were also spotted, as were Caspian, Swift and Sandwich Tern. An Osprey flew high overhead at one time and an African Reed-warbler was kind enough to perch on the reed grasses alongside the river, so too did a Levaillant's Cisticola.

We came across a group of at least 20 Yellow-billed Ducks and a pair of Cape Teal. The boat flushed a pair of juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron and 2 Spotted Thick-knees were seen in the grass not far back from the Night-Herons.

And of course the ever present Hartlaub's and kelp gulls were aplenty!

Greater Flamingo

Black-winged Stilt, African Darter and Greater Flamingo

Curlew Sandpiper

African Marsh-harrier

Common Whimbrel

African Spoonbill and Great White Pelican

Caspian Tern

Purple Heron

Malachite Kingfisher