Our May outing will be to Jessie Walton’s farm near Grabouw. We will meet at the Onrus Trading Post (OTP) at 8:00 am and proceed from there. Sightings can commence once we are in the Elgin Valley. Please remember to bring a mask and snacks. John will be our leader.
Monthly Archives: April 2021
The April Challenge. Why Bother?
Three possible teams apologised for not being able to take part. That left Margie and Barbara as one team, and Renee and I made up the other. And that was it!!
It was a really enjoyable experience for those of us who participated. Renee and I identified 90 species, whilst Margie and Barbara got 77, but the important thing was that we were doing something that was stimulating and awakened our somewhat dormant birding interests. The vast majority of our members missed out on what they should have been at in their element doing. One wonders whether the club should worry about more such events, but I am not that easily discouraged.
The results can be seen at
Birding from the Water
Adele, of Alpha Sierra Adventures, is starting a kayak based operation on the river at Stanford and can take up to six pax on river cruises at a cost of R350 per person for 2-3 hours. This will certainly offer a new and interesting way to view our feathered friends.
She can be contacted at ladysophiaswim@gmail.com]
April 8 Hour Challenge
On Tuesday 13 or Wednesday 14 April, there will be an eight hour birding Challenge for club members. You can choose your day. Singly, or in teams of up to four people, you are required to identify as many species as possible in an eight hour period of your choice, and in an area of your choice, provided it starts and ends in Hermanus. Honesty is required. Please submit your lists to me at the end of the day at corylus@hermanus.co.za
There will be no prizes, except that the winners will be announced and they will have bragging rights for the forseeable future.
Good luck and I hope we get more than a few entrants.
Gabrielskloof – The Real Bird List!
Some late entries have meant that the previously published bird list for this trip has a few omissions.
Herewith the updated list of 72 species.
Swartrivier Road and Gabrielskloof Outing
There were 14 members on this morning’s outing to Gabrielskloof, the first such event for a long time! We traversed the Swartrivier road before meeting at Gabrielskloof, where the owner, Bernard Heyns, met us and made us welcome. The highlight of this road was a pair of Secretarybirds, stalking prey quite close to the road!
Once we entered the farm, we spent time around the various dams and went up into the fynbos ridge at the back of the property. We managed to see most of the fynbos birds and were particularly happy with a pair of Hamerkops on one dam. In total, we managed to identify 68 species. We even had a drive through the adjacent property, Anysbos, which we must have entered unknowingly from Gabrielskloof, but we were not seen and therefore not in trouble!
Coservation Conversations with BLSA
View this email in your browser   Join Trevor Hardaker on Tuesday 6 April at 19:00 (SAST), as he highlights his birding experiences at the West Coast National Park, which is a ‘must visit’ destination for any birding enthusiast. This talk is the second in our SANParks Series. BirdLife South Africa is a firm believer that conservation needs to start with conversation. This Tuesday, 6 April 2021 at 19:00 (SAST), BirdLife South Africa’s weekly webinar series ‘Conservation Conversations with BirdLife South Africa’ will host Trevor Hardaker, Founder of SA Rare Bird News and Zest for Birds. As a hugely avid birder, Trevor spends a lot of time in the field watching and photographing birds and has developed a huge passion (some would say an unhealthy obsession!!) for the hobby after almost 4 decades of birding. He has been fortunate to travel fairly extensively, both locally and abroad, in his pursuit of birds but, when asked what his favourite birding destinations are, he will always include what he considers to be his local patch, the West Coast National Park. With over 300 species recorded in this park just an hour’s drive north of Cape Town, Trevor will introduce us to some of the birds we are likely to encounter in the park, give an overview of the various habitats one will find there and also give us some tips on when the best times to visit certain areas are, especially when it comes to the waders and trying to tie our visits in with the correct tides, etc. As his interests extend beyond birds, he will also give some brief coverage of some of the other biodiversity in the park and, naturally, will share with us some of the very long list of the rarities that the park has played host to over the years. This is a talk not to be missed! Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers of the Conservation Conversations webinars are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of BirdLife South Africa, its partners or funders. BirdLife South Africa is not responsible and does not verify any of the information presented on this platform for accuracy. The primary focus of this platform is to educate and raise awareness for the conservation of our birds and biodiversity. To register for this webinar series please click here *Once you have registered for this talk you will automatically be registered for the upcoming webinar series and will not need to re-register going forward. Weekly reminders with the Zoom link will be sent to your inbox (be sure to check your spam/junk folders if you do not receive the link).  Warning:The webinar series has grown in popularity and we are expecting high viewer volumes that may exceed our 500 viewer capacity on Zoom. Please do not panic if you cannot get in through Zoom, you can still watch the webinar live on the BirdLife South Africa Facebook Page using the Facebook Live video stream.  . To watch through Facebook Live click here Support Conservation Conversations this April and WIN!  Are you enjoying these webinars?Consider a small donation towards their production by scanning the QR code below. We welcome any support towards the production of these webinars, donate towards Conservation Conversations with BirdLife South Africa from as little as R20 by either scanning the QR code below or clicking here to donate through the Quicket website directly. If there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us via conversations@birdlife.org.za  Support the Conservation Conversations webinars here  We have successfully launched the audio version of Conservation Conversations which can now be streamed from all major podcast streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play. To listen to the audio from each of our episodes click the link below. Thanks to volunteer Carl Bierman for assisting with the production of the podcast. Listen to the Conservation Conversations podcast here  How to access our webinarsThanks to fantastic online platforms like Zoom, we are able to bring you live slide shows and videos from anywhere in the world. If you have never used Zoom or an online webinar platform before, do not fear, here are a few easy steps to follow that will allow you to access the talks: Visit https://zoom.us/download to download the free Zoom application to your computer or cellular device. Visit the new “Conservation Conversations” webpage to see the schedule of upcoming talks by clicking here. Click on the blue drop-down bar with the talk that you are interested in and then click the green ‘Register for this talk’ button. Fill in your name and email address on the form and submit it. You will receive the Zoom invitation link to access the talk in your inbox shortly thereafter. Use that link on the assigned presentation date to access the Zoom meeting room and watch the webinar live. We recommend logging in 10 minutes before each webinar starts. Want to find out more? Visit the BirdLife South Africa Conservation Conversations webpage where you can find the schedule of upcoming talks and the registration forms to sign up for these presentations. We look forward to seeing you all online this Tuesday and if there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact us via conversations@birdlife.org.za Visit the Conservation Conversations Website Copyright © 2021 BirdLife South Africa, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are a member of BirdLife South Africa or you have signed up to receive BirdLife South Africa News. 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Thursday’s Walk – CORRECTION!!
The outing to Swartrivier road and Gabrielskloof will start with members meeting at the Onrus Trading Post at 7:30 am, and not 8:00 am as previously posted. Apologies for the error. The walk will be led by Barbara Palmer.
Walk on Thursday 8 April
We will meet at the Onrus Trading Post at 8:00 am on Thursday morning for our outing along the Swartrivier road and Gabrielskloof. The plan is to have a snack at the Winery after our outing, so bring some tea for mid-morning, and your masks, please
Hermanus Bird Club 