West Coast National Park:

The still, aquamarine waters of the sheltered, 16-km long Langebaan Lagoon, the jewel of the West Coast, provide excellent birding. Granite inselbergs rise sharply from its northern shores, while South Africa’s largest saltmarsh lies at its southern end. The West Coast National Park has become a legendary birding site, best known for the large numbers of migrant waders that crowd the mudflats during summer. These can easily be observed from the well-positioned bird hides, offering local birders an excellent chance of finding rarities. The top-class strandveld birding, spring flowers and proximity to Cape Town (taking the direct route along the R27, it is less than an hour from the city) all make the West Coast National Park a most productive, pleasant, and accessible birding destination.

Approaching from the south along the R27, the well-marked turn-off to the West Coast National Park is 10.9 km beyond the R315 Yzerfontein/Darling junction. An entrance fee, which includes a map and birdlist, is payable at the gate. A meandering tar road leads northwards into the park, passing through some excellent strandveld. Roadside birding in the park is highly rewarding. Ostrich are readily seen, resembling giant prehistoric reptilians rather than birds as they stride across the vegetated dunes.

Cape Francolin is very common throughout the reserve, and coveys of the smaller and scarcer Grey-wing Francolin should be carefully searched for on the road edges in the early morning and evening. Black Harrier (p.57*) may be seen quartering low over the vegetation anywhere in the park. Black-shouldered Kite prefer roadside perches, and many roost communally at night in the large reedbeds on the eastern side of the lagoon, after gathering in one of the lonely palms trees in this area. Flocks of Pied and Wattled Starlings occur throughout the park. Southern Black Korhaan (p.57*) is regularly seen at the roadside, especially between Geelbek and the park’s northern exit near Langebaan village.

Because the vegetation is so dense, visitors are unlikely to see many of the mammals that occur here. Two small antelope, Common Duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) and Steenbok (Raphicerus campestris), are often startled at the road edges (especially in the early morning), giving a brief view of themselves before darting back into the vegetation. The peculiar tortoise roadsigns along this route refer to Angulate Tortoises (Chersina angulata), which are commonly seen crossing the park roads.

The strandveld vegetation throughout the park harbours species such as White-backed Mousebird, Karoo Lark, Cape Penduline Tit, Cape Bulbul, Cape Robin, Karoo Robin, Titbabbler, Layard’s Titbabbler, Grey-backed Cisticola, Long-billed Crombec, Bar-throated Apalis, Grassbird, Bokmakierie, Lesser Double-collared Sunbird, Malachite Sunbird, Cape Weaver, White-throated Canary, Yellow Canary and Cape Bunting.

Check for Pearl-breasted Swallow among the flocks of commoner European and White-throated Swallows.

The Geelbek mudflat bird hide (1 on site map overleaf) allows for superb wader watching in summer, and is arguably South Africa’s best waterbird hide. The array of desirable vagrant waders that have been found here over the last few years (see p.50) render it the favoured haunt of dedicated twitchers such as Trevor Hardaker, who make the pilgrimage here with fanatical regularity. It allows for close-up views of a large diversity of wading species; common summer migrants include Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Sanderling, Knot, Turnstone, Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper (unusually common here), Whimbrel, Grey Plover, Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, and a smaller number of resident White-fronted and Chestnut-banded Plovers. A few of the localized Curlew are always present, and it usually takes some careful scanning to pick up the scarce but regular Terek Sandpiper and, with luck, Greater Sandplover or Redshank.

Timing is very important: the area is at its most rewarding on the correct part of the tidal cycle. This is notoriously difficult to predict, although the best viewing usually begins about 4.5 hours after the ‘High tide in Table Bay’ as listed in Cape Town newspapers. At about this time, the water drops and slowly begins to expose the mud and its invertebrates on the surface. The longer-legged waders land first, soon to be joined by the smaller species as the water recedes further still. If you get the timing wrong, try the Seeberg hide (opposite), which is better at high tide, or console yourself with the view of the distant white cliffs of the lagoon’s western shore. These were recently in the international limelight when the most ancient of recorded Homo sapiens footprints were discovered here (having lain preserved in rock for the past 117 000 years).

A wide variety of other waterbirds may be seen from the hide, including South African Shelduck. African Rail is regularly seen darting in and out of the sedges, especially in the early morning on the right-hand side of the hide. African Marsh Harrier breeds in the adjacent reedbeds, and Osprey passes overhead in summer. The approach to the hide is by way of a wooden boardwalk that serves to protect a splendid tract of multicoloured saltmarsh. This endangered vegetation type is very sensitive to disturbance and takes many years to recover from damage from trampling. Check the small pools here for Kittlitz’s Plover, Black-winged Stilt, Blacksmith Plover and Cape Wagtail. Noisy Levaillant’s Cisticola, African Sedge Warbler and Cape Reed Warbler occur in the adjacent reedbeds.