South Africa

30Mar/123

Birding with Great White Sharks

Exactly one year ago today, I was in Cape Town, South Africa. It was my last full day in the country before heading back to the US. I knew I wanted to try and get out on the water somehow or at least go to a nearby park that might have some species I didn't find yet. Then some friends convinced me that we should all go out on a Great White Shark cage diving trip to the famous Seal Island, in False Bay. This is the only location in the world where great whites launch themselves out of the water, in order to catch seals. It sounded like fun, plus I could possibly get some interesting seabirds if I went out that far.

Approaching Seal Island - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

One of the first birds we noticed as we rode the small boat out to Seal Island, were the endemic Cape Cormorants. This species is only found along the western and southern coasts of southern Africa and one of its most famous breeding colonies is on Seal Island. Other common species were Swift Terns, Cape Gannets, Cape Cormorants, Kelp and Hartlaub's Gulls, and Great Cormorant. We also saw a few Parasitic Jaegers and some Great Cormorants. As we approached the island, more and more African Jackass Penguins were seen as well as thousands of Cape Fur Seals. It was pretty obvious why Great White Sharks love this place - its loaded with newborn seals.

Bank Cormorant - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Swift Tern - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Seal Lions filling the waters around the island, no wonder great whites love it here - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Cape Fur Seals filling the waters around the island, no wonder great whites love it here - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Cormorants, gulls, and penguins all standing together among a number of seal lions - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

We made one close pass along one side of the island, allowing great looks at the birds and seals and then we went out to deeper water about a quarter mile from the island. Here we dragged a cut-out of a small seal behind the boat as well as dragged dead fish behind the boat. Our main goal now was to lure in a shark, so that we could each get down into a cage and be able to see the shark while underwater with it. I was getting nervous, so I focused my attention on looking for birds. After minutes of waiting, we noticed something had just barely made itself visible above the water, behind the boat and then dropped down out of view. The crew on the boat said it was the nose of shark breaking above the water as it nudged the fake seal. Moments later, the shark launched out of the water after the fake seal. Soon we had two sharks swimming around the boat , one was 4.3 meters and the other was 3.1 meters in length. The crew prepared the diving cage and asked for volunteers. No one offered, so I sucked it up and volunteered my self. Not only was I terrified to get in the water, alone with two massive sharks but the water was freezing. I quickly slid down inside the cage, instantly becoming numb to the cold water (or just too scared to even feel anymore). Then I floated there for a few minutes, with no sign of the sharks. The worst part was that the was was so murky that day, I couldn't see more than about 3 meters in from of me....so the shark would be very close by the time I could notice it. During the 20 minutes I was down in the cage, I saw both the sharks pass right by the cage a number of times. They never attacked the cage, so that was nice.

Cape Fur Seals - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Great White Shark - Photo by Alex Lamoreaux

Filed under: birding, birds in flight, Photography, South Africa, travel 3 Comments

16Apr/110

Pigeons and Doves of South Africa

written by Alex Lamoreaux

South Africa is blessed with quite a collection of pigeon and dove species. Of the 15 species that call southern Africa home, I was able to see 12. Ranging in size from the massive African Olive-Pigeon to the tiny Emerald Spotted Wood-Dove, they are all beautiful and at least one species can be found in every habitat you could encounter in South Africa. Below are a few photos I took of some of these beautiful birds.

Let’s start with my favorite of the southern African pigeons, the African Green-Pigeon. This species eats only fruit and can often be seen climbing around in a fig tree like a parrot, searching for food. This species, in my mind, is the most beautiful of all the pigeons and doves in SA, and lucky for birders, is quite common in the proper habitat.

African Green-Pigeon

The Speckled Pigeon is one of the most common birds in urban areas of South Africa and is a nice change from the boring and dirty-looking Rock Dove. This bird can also be found in rocky, mountainous areas.

Speckled Pigeon

Another common species is the Red-eyed Dove; a rather large dove with a striking red eye just as its name suggests. The Red-eyed Dove is very diverse in its habitat preferences and also very noisy and annoying when you are trying to sleep in in the mornings and it wakes you with its loud call.

Red-eyed Dove

Very similar to the Red-eyed Dove is the Cape Turtle-Dove (also known as the Ring-necked Dove). This species is smaller than the Red-eyed Dove and has black eyes. It can be found in virtually every habitat in southern Africa.

Cape Turtle-Dove

The Laughing Dove is smaller than the other species I have shown above, but makes up for it in its stunning coloration. The black-flecked necklace and cinnamon-colored back are absolutely amazing and made this one of my favorite species to see. This species is probably one of the most common and well-known species in South Africa.

Laughing Dove

Filed under: South Africa, travel No Comments

14Apr/110

Wagtails! South Africa

written by Alex Lamoreaux

Most North American birders don’t even know what a ‘wagtail’ is…it doesn’t really sound like a bird, but in Africa, the name wagtail is well known. These medium-sized relatives of our pipits are common throughout Eurasia and Africa. Within South Africa, there are six species in total. I was lucky enough to see three of these species; the Cape Wagtail, African Pied Wagtail, and Mountain Wagtail during my trip to Africa this winter.

The Cape Wagtail is by far the most common of southern Africa’s wagtails and is also one of Africa’s most commonly seen and most numerous species of bird. This species in particular is the one that has made wagtails famous in South Africa and is responsible for everyone knowing what they are, from small children to the elderly, birder or not. This species can be found in a variety of open habitats but is most often seen foraging in groomed yards and grasslands, where it slowly walks around, bobbing (or wagging?) it’s tail.

Cape Wagtail

Another relatively common wagtail is the African Pied Wagtail. This species is slightly larger than the Cape Wagtail and is more boldly colored, with very striking black and white. This species can be seen foraging along estuaries, especially where they open up to the sea. I saw many African Pied Wagtails along the mouth of rivers within the Dwesa Nature Reserve feeding alongside Cape Wagtails.

African Pied Wagtail

The third wagtail I saw was the Mountain Wagtail. This species is uncommon and restricted to mountain streams. However, one morning I was hiking along a trail in the Cwebe Nature Reserve and as I was crossing over a small stream feeding in a coastal lagoon, spotted the Mountain Wagtail below foraging on the rocks. This particular individual is missing all the toes on its left foot, but seemed to be doing just fine and wasn’t anywhere to be found about a half hour later when I returned to check up on him.

Mountain Wagtail; note missing toes on left foot

Filed under: Photography, South Africa, travel No Comments

12Apr/110

LBJ’s of South Africa

written by Alex Lamoreaux

If you think the United States has a LBJ (“Little Brown Job”) problem, then you need to visit South Africa. There are literally close to one hundred species that are perfect candidates for being classified as LBJ’s. Throwing all these tiny brown birds in the face (or bino’s) of a visiting birder, like me, was completely overwhelming.

Certainly the most confusing bunch is the birds known as ‘Cisticola’s’. Cisticola’s are small, brown, sparrow-like birds that can be found in a variety of habitats from grassland to forests to coastal areas to arid regions to mountains, but unfortunately for birders trying to sort them out to species; most are found in the same habitat: wetlands. These 20 species are virtually identical. Their call and slight differences in the black streaking on their backs separate them. In some instances it is truly impossible to actually tell the difference. Below are a few of these LBJ’s that I was able to find and positively identify.

It really doesn’t get much more LBJ than this bird; small, brown, and totally boring. The most common of the Cisticola’s and perhaps the easiest to ID is the Neddicky (pictured below) due to its short tail and unmarked back. This species is found in a variety of habitats.

Neddicky

Another common species, the Lazy Cisticola, is another easy one to ID because it also has the unmarked back, but has a much longer tail than the Neddicky.

Lazy Cisticola

With this species, things start to get tricky. This species exhibits characteristics that most of their kind shows: a small brown bird with a streaked back, mostly hidden behind brush. There are 10 other species that look almost exactly the same as this species. Luckily, I was able to narrow this one down to species by its call, its location in South Africa, and its reddish tail and the fact that its black feathers are tipped with brown (not grey).