Flock at Sea 2013 cruise and arid north west birding, Mar 2013

Links

• List of birds for the trip

Total birds for the trip: 214
Nicola lifers: 31
Pieter lifers: 29

After work on the 27th, we started the long drive through the night to Beaufort West. We took turns driving and consumed lots of coke and lollipops to keep awake. We had folded the back seats down and set up our hiking mattresses and pillows, so that the non-driver could get some shut-eye. This set-up worked quite well, and by 3 the next morning we were in Beaufort. We pulled up at a truck stop to sleep the rest of the night, and apart from Nicola screaming in her sleep from a nightmare, the night passed uneventfully. We woke up at 6am and got ourselves tea and coffee from a garage shop. We headed off to Karoo National Park to try and pick up our first lifers for the trip. What a beautiful park, lonely and desolate, and largely untouched by man. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there and ticked off four of the six birds we were hoping to find here: Karoo lark, Karoo long-billed lark, Sickle-winged chat and Southern tchagra, dipping on Karoo eremomela and Cinnamon-breasted warbler. In the early afternoon we headed for our guesthouse, checked in and got an early night.

Another early morning start as we headed towards Cape Town where our ship was waiting. We picked up a few birds along the way, the most exciting being a Black harrier. We arrived at Cape Town harbour and started the daunting process of checking in our luggage (first long queue), and then getting ourselves into some underground concrete basement of the dockyard (second long queue) where we had to wait for checking in. Finally we boarded the MSC Opera and then had a third queue (thankfully shorter) for immigration. Finally free to roam, we navigated the endless decks of glitz and glam and found our cabin, dropped off our hand luggage, and then went back out into the world of money to find some food. And find it we did: there was a cafeteria, a pizza parlour, a burger and chips place, two restaurants, a morning croissant service, an ice-cream cart and in case you were lazy – room service. There were endless amounts of free food available 24/7 but as we soon discovered, of a low quality. Everything was edible, but only a handful of dishes were actually worth the effort of eating. After lunch we went exploring and found the ships duty free shopping court, library, gym and ridiculously expensive spa. Returning to our cabin, we unpacked and then made our way onto the top deck where we all waved madly as the eTV helicopter circled overhead taking pictures of us for the Saturday evening news. We were standing behind the Sea of the “Save our Sea birds!” sign held up by volunteers. After waving the helicopter goodbye, we turned our attention to the sea and saw a few cormorants, gulls and terns as we left the harbour, along with some dolphins cavorting in the waves. In the late afternoon we attended a good talk on how to ID pelagic birds, swallowed some sea-sickness tablets and then off to dinner and bed.

Our first full day at sea! We spent a few hours on the top deck and picked up our first pelagic lifer: Shy albatross; but most of our time was spent running back and forth, following the bird guides directions over the 2-way radios to try and catch a sight of the latest bird to fly over. We soon realized this was a fools game as the ship had to keep moving and most birds were only visible for a few seconds. After lunch we found the best spot to watch – from the double tier of balconies on the very prow of the ship. However a good proportion of the 1000+ birders on board were crammed into this space so you had to wait impatiently until a gap opened up, grab it and then you dare not leave it! But the discomfort was worth it as we picked up lifer after lifer and by the end of the day we had seen Atlantic yellow-nosed and Black-browed albatrosses, Leach’s, Wilson’s and European storm-petrels, Sabine’s gull, White-chinned and Great-winged petrels, Cory’s and Sooty shearwaters and Long-tailed and Parasitic jaegars. We went to bed satisfied with a good day’s birding.

A bank of fog covered our approach to Walvis Bay at 7am. We had breakfast already by 06:30 and were eagerly looking for new birds as we entered the harbour. Soon we realized that a long queue of people will want to disembark so at 07:15 we joined it about 10m from the front. We docked late and only about an hour and 15 minutes after we joined the queue were we able to leave the ship. To our dismay we discovered that we were not waiting for only 3 other people as per our tour instructions. There were two large vehicles, each holding ten people and we would not leave before both vehicles were full. As there were only 2 Namibian immigration officials, the waiting turned into an ordeal and it took until just before 11:30 for our two vehicles to fill up – THREE HOURS to disembark the ship! At last all of our group made it off. We were all very disappointed with the loss of time but with Geoff Lockwood as our guide, we were still very hopeful to find Gray’s lark as we headed north to Swakopmund. On the salt road opposite the salt works we stopped for a beautifully perched pale form Tractrac chat and ended up walking for a good half hour across the stony plains, searching this ideal habitat of Gray’s lark. Unsuccessful, we returned to the vehicles and soon heard news from another group who found the larks a bit closer to the salt works. Off we went and we had barely stopped the car in a spot that looked ideal when I spotted two little birds fluttering on the ground beside us. And there they were – two exceptionally well camouflaged Gray’s larks. We soon spotted a third, fourth and fifth lark and then everyone tried to get a few good close-ups. With our aim achieved we had a fair bit of time to drive around the edge of the salt works' pans and apart from common birds like Curlew sandpipers, Sanderlings, Black-winged stilts, Greater and Lesser flamingoes, we had far-off views of Chestnut-banded plover (lifer) and Common redshank (Southern African lifer) and fantastic sightings of Damara tern (lifer). Strangely, a lone Common whimbrel was walking around the gravelly desert as we got back on the road and headed back to Walvis Bay. Getting back on the ship was less of a pain and within half an hour we were back on the front deck as the ship sailed out of Walvis Bay harbour, hoping to connect with Black terns that were spotted earlier in the morning. We dipped on the Black tern, but as the sun set on a cloudy sky, we still picked up three more lifers: Pomarine jaeger, Subantarctic skua and Arctic tern. Another fantastic birding day despite the time lost in the morning.

Monday dawned very foggy and me (Pieter) feeling a little uneasy on the legs. It seemed the ship was trying to catch up on lost time too as we were cruising at quite a pace and even over the relatively smooth surface, it was pitching and rolling like a (excuse the pun) drunken sailor. Luckily I wasn’t nauseous and found that if I lay down and kept my head still it was all right. So we used this as an excuse to relax and not worry too much about birding (it turned out we didn’t have to feel very guilty as nothing new was spotted during the day). The ship’s TV was a lost cause but luckily we had plenty to watch on the computer and had a nice easy day. Our suitcases had to be packed and ready before we went to bed as these had to be placed outside the cabin before midnight. With this chore complete, we were off to bed, looking forward to the rest of our trip.

Oh, the waiting. Rushing off to breakfast at 6am to get ready early to disembark proved pointless. A bank of fog in Table Bay made for some very pretty sunrise pictures but probably also caused us to dock more than an hour late. At least we were expecting more immigration officials than we had in Walvis Bay and we did actually manage to get off the ship by about 10:15. Finding our suitcase was easy and then it was a quick rush to get to the car and out of Cape Town, heading north towards West Coast National Park. Stopping only for a few quick views of some Rock kestrels, we were soon in West Coast NP and drove up to the first Geelbek hide. The tide was still high and only flamingoes were wallowing in the deep water. But the tide was on its way out so we decided on a seafood lunch at our wedding venue (Geelbek restaurant) and I had the first palatable coffee in five days. After lunch the hides were in great condition and most of the common species turned up: Eurasian curlews, Sanderlings, Curlew sandpipers, Grey plovers, Black-winged stilts, Ruddy turnstones, Common, Kittlitz’s and White-fronted plovers. Alas, no rarities were around and after a good hour’s birding from the hide, we headed back out making a quick stop at Seeberg hide as well. Just as we entered Langebaan we spotted two female Southern black korhaans on a bright green lawn – a bit of an oddity as they're usually well hidden in tall brown grass. We checked into our friendly B&B, bought some dinner and got an early night.

The rising sun caught us driving towards Velddrif. The tide was out and at the estuary hide we were able to spot a number of birds but most were far out on the sandbanks. Around Cerebos salt works we added a few more birds but nothing new. After another quick turn at the estuary hide, we drove up past Rocher pan towards Verlorenvlei , Graafwater and eventually Clanwilliam. It was getting hot but a nice picnic spot in Pakhuis pass was a perfect spot for lunch. Beyond Pakhuis pass the Cederberg has burnt badly and it was a long and dry drive up towards Calvinia. It was late in the day and we were hot – we only cared for dinner and bed.

Before sunrise we left our guesthouse to get some early morning birding at Akkerendam Nature Reserve. Unfortunately we discovered the reserve only opens at 8am. We drove back through town onto the dirt road towards Ceres and picked up a few common birds along the side, before returning to Akkerendam just after 8am. We had high hopes for Cinnamon-breasted warbler and Karoo eremomela and drove first to the picnic site and then to the dam itself. The dam had a fair number of waterbirds, most notably a single Great crested grebe but even after a walk around the dam, we again dipped on both our target birds. Leaving a little earlier than planned, we took a slow drive up towards Brandvlei. Unfortunately there were so many Stop/Go road works on the way that we couldn’t stop at all the good spots to wait and look for Sclater’s lark and we ended up arriving in Brandvlei early. We visited some of the closer spots recommended in SA Birdfinder but did not find anything of note. Back in Brandvlei we bought a few nice lamb chops and then drove out to our accommodation at Oom Benna’s. We had the entire self-catering house to ourselves and after we rested a little in the heat of the afternoon we took a slow drive on some of the farm roads; alas no new birds seen. Then, as we started our braai and darkness started to settle, we saw shapes flying around and dropping down to the ground outside the house. I suspected these might be nightjars and Nicola quickly got out the spotlight. When another one dropped to the ground about 3m from us, Nicola had the spotlight ready and I the binoculars. And there we had it – Rufous-cheeked nightjar!

Early on Friday morning we left our Oom Benna’s and went looking for our target birds as per the guidance of SA Birdfinder. The desert air was still cool in the morning but it promised to be another hot day. Early on we picked up a few common birds but after reaching our third recommended spot for the day, Nicola spotted something moving along the reddish gravel next to the road. We started getting excited as we eliminated other possible larks and after about 5 minutes’ diligent work we had our first lifer for the day – Red lark! Another birding couple arrived soon after and together we spent some time at a farmer’s water trough, waiting for Sclater’s lark. But all that came were Lark-like buntings, Grey-backed sparrowlark and Yellow canaries. We also tried the second and third water troughs on the recommended route but added nothing spectacular. Marginally disappointed we took an uncharted farm road heading north back towards the R27 and after only 10 minutes we stopped to look at something moving around the grasses about 10m off the road. This turned into another female Yellow canary but as Nicola was looking at it she spotted something black perched inconspicuously on a bush. A closer look revealed our second lifer for the day – Black-eared sparrowlark, a very elusive and tricky bird to find; we were ecstatic! And not five minutes later we got a third when I spotted movement on some whitish gravel and we got excellent views of our first Stark’s lark. With an unprecedented 3 lifers in the day, we were very happy and made our way back on to the R27 and headed up towards Upington. Just before Kenhardt some lapwing-like birds flew past just in front of the car and landed just off the verge. Immediately realizing it must be coursers, I screeched to a halt and started reversing when a third bird landed about 15 metres in front of us. Jerking the binoculars up before it flew off I yelped when I realized it was our FOURTH for the day – Burchell’s courser! After managing to get a few pictures of the single bird, we carried on through some more frustrating roadworks, eventually arriving in Upington around 4pm. We checked into our guesthouse with welcome air-conditioning, bought some food and settled for the night.

With the holiday approaching its end, we were still hopeful for some new birds but an early morning trip to Spitskop Game Reserve outside Upington held nothing new although there were plenty of Capped wheatears, Northern black korhaans, Chat flycatchers and even a lone Ludwig’s bustard. We had a long drive for the day so before 11am we headed for the N14 and drove to Delareyville where we spent our last night. On Sunday morning we had a chilly and windy morning at Barberspan Bird Sanctuary that, although it didn’t produce any new birds, really was in prime birding condition and we added Kori bustard, Chestnut-backed sparrowlark, Willow warbler, White-fronted, Kittlitz and Common ringed plovers, Common greenshank, Ruff, lots of Rock kestrels, calling Zitting and Desert cisticolas, Grey, Black, Goliath and Squacco herons, SA shelduck, Cape teal, Yellow-billed stork and African spoonbill plus a whole bunch of other common birds. However, with still another 450km to drive, we left at 10am, patiently waited at some more roadworks and eventually arrived home around 4pm.

Birding-wise a really fantastic holiday. It’s getting harder and harder picking up lifers and although we expected to get some pelagic birds, getting 16 pelagics plus another 13 terrestrials (15 for Nicola) exceeded our expectations significantly. The Flock at Sea cruise was amazing to experience. The guides were fantastic on the ship and on shore and the one talk we did attend was excellent. However, the boat itself failed to impress and I think it’s unlikely we’ll get on a luxury cruise ship again.