As the first faint rays of light, over a distant horizon heralded the dawn of a new day, the rush hour began with a cacophony of sound and frenetic activity. The night shift of penetrating calls of Fierynecked Nightjars and their “Good Lord Deliver us” praises and the screeches of the resident Barn Owls gave way to Bokmakerrie and Cape Robin-Chat as they heralded their territories from the tops of bushes and trees.
In the distance the African Fish Eagles iconic calls echoed through the air. Skeins of Egyptian and Spurwinged Goose flew overhead towards the vlei after a night of feeding on the farmlands neighboring the reserve. They crossed the paths of Whitebreasted Cormorant, Little Egret and Hadedah as these birds left their overnight shelter to begin a day of foraging.
I first visited De Hoop Nature Reserve, situated in the Overberg of the southern Cape, where all this activity was taking place, as a “birding mad” teenager in the early 1980’s. I made the pilgrimage in order to try and glimpse the rare Cape Vulture, a colony of which was situated on the Potberg Mountain and which is still the only remaining colony in the Western Cape. I remember also being in awe of the impressive number and variety of species on the De Hoop vlei, never thinking at the time that I would have had the privilege of managing this incredibly diverse reserve and be able to learn its inner secrets while at the same time also discovering a wealth of rare and endangered species.
The Cape Vulture colony is still in existence and now numbers around 150 birds after an all time low of only 30 birds. To me this is one of the real conservation success stories, whereby an entire community has taken ownership of the colony. The vultures which range far and wide beyond the reserve boundaries rely on the farmers to leave out their dead sheep and cattle in the fields and this they willingly do, proudly advertising to all that they look after the vulture’s future. Sick vultures are immediately reported and then taken to the local vet in Bredarsdorp who also proudly nurse the birds back to health for later release at De Hoop.
The road to De Hoop via Swellendam or Bredarsdorp traverses over rolling farmlands and the dirt roads allow you to slow your driving to a sensible bird viewing speed. The most obvious birds are the Blue Crane, which are found at the highest densities of anywhere in the country, once again due to the supportive farmers who treasure our National bird. Denham’s Bustard also occur, but are extremely shy, seldom allowing prolonged views, while the Agulhas Long-billed Lark is the mega tick of the farmlands and this drab colored bird can often be seen in the early mornings singing from fence posts.
On arrival at the entrance gate, you will be welcomed with a friendly smile from either Sebastian Jones or Hendrick Arendse, who is also the local bird guide. Their manners are impeccable and their knowledge of the reserve is useful in planning the opportunity to maximize birding. Hendrick recently obtained his bird guiding certificate after being sponsored by Birdlife South Africa to become a guide.
Perhaps the most obvious feature when driving through the gate and dropping over the ridge is the 16 kilometer long vlei which is a Ramsar wetland and at times contains over 30 000 birds. Great White Pelicans arrive in flocks of up to 400 strong. Caspian Terns carry out continual patrols over the vlei and in the summer months Whitewinged Terns arrive in fluctuating numbers. African Spoonbill, Great Crested, Blacknecked and Little Grebe are all common along with a variety of duck species. A pair of Peregrine Falcon has specialised in hunting these water birds and aerial battles occur as the prey tries to avoid the extremely fast and agile predator. Both Greater and Lesser Flamingo are rare visitors when the water levels drop and they even bred here in the 1950’s when the vlei flooded its banks.
The great thing about De Hoop is that unlike many other reserves, you can get out of the vehicle at any time to follow an elusive flash of feathers which disappears into the undergrowth and one of Hendricks’s favorite routes is the thicket vegetation along the banks of the vlei. Here the vlei trail wanders for upto 14 kilometers, starting from near the camp facilities. Here specials such as the Southern Tchagra & Knysna Woodpecker can be found amongst the more common Acacia Pied Barbet, Greater Honeyguide, Cape Bulbul, Southern Boubou, Longbilled Crombec and Malachite Sunbird. The rocky kranzes along the latter sections of the vlei provide nesting and roost sites for both Spotted Eagle-Owl and the rarer Cape Eagle-Owl, so be absolutely sure of your identification between these similar species. Common Kestrel and Whitenecked Raven also make use of the numerous ledges to breed. The return walk through the limestone fynbos and renosterveld allows close encounters with the larger residents of De Hoop, namely the Eland, Bontebok and Cape Mountain Zebra who are often closely attended by Pied and Red-winged Starling and flocks of Cattle Egret who all glean insects disturbed by these large animals. Cape Grassbird, Greybacked Cisticola and Karoo Prinia all flitter amongst the shrubs and bushes and Blackheaded Heron, Black Crow, Spotted Thick-knee and Greywing Francolin inhabit the more open areas. Ostrich wander throughout and during spring and summer months the males become highly protective of their crèches of young, so don’t get too close unless you are happy to test your sprinting abilities!
The old historic “Opstal” as it is locally known is in the process of being fully upgraded by Madikwe Investments and will soon provide a range of high quality accommodation and tourism facilities. The area provides for a plethora of species with Helmeted Guineafowl, Capped Wheatear, African Pipit and Pintailed Whydah feeding at ground level, while the skies above are occupied in the summer months by Barn, Whitethroated and Greater Striped Swallows and Brownthroated, Banded, Common House and Rock Martin. Speckled Mousebird, Familiar Chat, Cape Weaver and Cape Spurfowl are all common around the campsites next to the vlei where they become part of your holiday, hoping to illicit scraps of food. African Hoopoe and Cape Wagtail nest in the cracks of the stone walls that are scattered around the historic buildings.
On the drive from the camp down to Koppie Alleen and towards the beach watch out for the fynbos endemic Black Harrier as they quarter low over the ground. Blackshouldered Kite and Jackal Buzzard are other common raptors while rarer sightings of Martial Eagle, Secretary Bird, African Goshawk, Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk and Black Sparrowhawk may also be had. Whitethroated Seed-eater and Yellow Canary feed on the seeds of the various grasses and restio’s growing next to the roads. In the protea stands Cape Sugarbird and Orangebreasted Sunbird flit among the flower heads along with Greater Doublecollared Sunbird.
On arrival at the beach parking at Koppie Alleen expect to be greeted by friendly Three-striped Mouse, Redwinged Starling and Cape Bunting. On the Intertidal rock platforms Kelp Gull and African Black Oystercatcher are common and in summer they are occasionally joined by the European Oystercatcher, Grey Plover and Ruddy Turnstone. Large flocks of Swift and Sandwich Tern patrol the coastline and the rare Damara Tern also puts in scarce appearances. From May to November, the seas are filled with the highest densities of Southern-right Whale found anywhere in South Africa. They come to the protected waters to give birth and mate and by sitting on a high point you can easily count in excess of 50 of these magnificent marine mammals. In the extreme east of the reserve African Penguins have set up a small breeding colony thus being only the third land-based colony of this endangered bird.
De Hoop Nature Reserve is definitely one of those reserves, where through continual exploring and return visits you can discover a wealth of bird, animal and rare plant species while enjoying a comfortable and relaxing holiday away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Text Peter Chadwick - www.wildlife-expressions.co.za
