24-25 January 2019: Fighting off the Dandilions

I was privileged to bird with Tim Cockcroft in the Port Alfred area, and he soon found

the elusive Lesser Sand Plover in the Hamburg estuary – another lifer – another

Madiba jive! Tim also introduced me to Fred – a revered and long-staying Great

White Pelican in the area. The fact that wild birds have names should have alerted

me – but my radar was u/s (unserviceable). Strange things happen in this part of the

Eastern Cape.

Knysna Warbler, Port Alfred

Knysna Woodpecker, Port Alfred

The next morning, after finding the Knysna Woodpecker and Knysna Warbler in Port

Alfred, Tim took my gullible self to Bathurst. Now Bathurst is a perplexing village;

filled with rather eccentric, free-spirited people. (Tim is from Port Alfred, not

Bathurst). Signs ask you not to step on the fairies, and there is a rumour that the

statue of a large pineapple is actually endowed with otherworldly powers. Then Tim

showed me the warning sign: “Beware of the Dandilion”! – and I knew I had to be on

high alert for the rest of the day. Deep in the riverine forest of the Kowie River I kept

a sharp lookout for a dandy lion, secretly impressed that it would not be an ordinary,

run of the mill lion that would have me for lunch. Tim bravely and steadfastly kept on

guiding in this life-threatening situation, but I need to confess that the reason we

dipped on the Finfoot was misdirected interest on the bushes, and you don’t find

Finfoots in the bush

Included below is Tim’s trip report:

A previous client of mine returned for two half days of birding in my area. Sybrand

van Niekerk is working on his year list for an "Africa Big Year"... yes, he's travelling

the entire continent to get as many different bird species as he can in one year.

Yesterday afternoon we took advantage of the tide in the estuaries and targeted

waders. Curlew Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Little Stint and Common Ringed

Plover were numerous, with Terek Sandpiper and Grey Plover also present, but in

smaller numbers. The Lesser Sand Plover seen a few weeks ago was present once

again. Little and Sandwich Terns were also seen during the course of the afternoon.

This morning we continued the quest to add to his list, this time targeting local

specials, such as Knysna Woodpecker and Knysna Warbler, both of which we found.

Other birds seen were Spectacled Weaver, Tambourine Dove and White-throated

Swallow. We then headed out of town to a private farm, birding along the way. Olive

Woodpecker, Green-backed Camaroptera, Chorister Robin-Chat, Blue-manted

Crested Flycatcher and Grey Sunbird were more "year target" birds added to his list, with Crowned Hornbill and Brown Scrub Robin ending the morning on a very

satisfactory note.

Tim Cockcroft