27 - 29 October

Friday 27 October 2023 saw the start of two weekends for the Simply Birders at Bezhoek Tented Camp. We arrived to hot and dry conditions with the threat of cold weather and even the possibility of snow for the Sunday morning making for an interesting weekend's birding. As no major rain had fallen yet for the summer we knew conditions would be tough but with a night drive, two morning drives and a sundowners drive scheduled we knew it would be a good weekend.

After an early dinner and a few easy birds to get the weekend started, we set off for the night drive. Weather conditions were such that the night drive did not offer too much. We mainly saw some common antelope and a few Thick-knees. Despite the slow start the group was very positive. The tail end of our night drive did however give us the only nightjar for the evening in the form of European Nightjar.

Saturday was a 5 AM start. We set off for a small patch of woodland near the camp to setup for the amplified dawn chorus experience. Once setup, we sat and listened to the amazing array of sounds through the headphones, adding quite a few species by call that could not be seen or even heard without the unaided ear. We had stunning close up calls of Cape Grassbird, Kurrichane Thrush, Striped Pipit and African Goshawk.

What struck me in particular was the reaction of the guests listening through their headphones. Having recorded bird calls for decades, I have experienced this amazing spectacle many times. The guests on this weekend had not. The expressions of amazement and the comments afterwards really reiterated why the years of developing this setup has been worth the effort. To have everyone sitting in their seats with a plug to connect their headphones on their seats made it an amazing and comfortable moment for the whole group.

With dawn chorus over we set off for more woodland birding along the banks of the Olifants River. The woodland offered up the usual suspects such as Southern Black Tit. We ended up on the banks of the river for morning coffee. This gem of a spot always offers nice river bank birding. Whilst enjoying our coffee we added all 3 Wagtails in African Pied, Cape and Mountain Wagtails.

Just as we were finishing up we had stunning views of Striped Pipit calling from the top of the cliffs overlooking the river. We were also serenaded by a reclusive Orange-breasted Bushshrike.

From there we drove up and out of the river valley and headed up to the grasslands at the top of the cliffs overlooking the river. This offered up many of the usual grassland species and gave us an amazing moment to experience a large number of displaying Desert Cisticola. These birds are very tricky to separate visually but with them being vocal and displaying, the identification became a whole lot easier.

We added a few more grassland species such as Plain-backed Pipit as well as good numbers of European Bee-eater who were hawking insects from the power lines. We ended up back at the restaurant for a delicious breakfast.

After breakfast, and yearning for more birding, we took a walk to the little dam near the tented camp. This offered a welcome boost to our lists. The particular highlights of this walk included Pearl-breasted Swallow and Banded Martin. The heat and dry conditions made the birding slow and we headed back to camp for the welcome cool of the swimming pool, large trees and cool drinks. The birding around the restaurant is always good and this time around we added Ground-scraper Thrush, African Paradise Flycatcher and Southern Black Flycatcher

We set off on our afternoon sundowners drive to a magical place called Disneyland, named as such by the staff at Bezhoek. This stems from the amazing rock formations in the area. If you use your imagination you can see all sorts of shapes in the rocks.

On the drive there we added Black-crowned Tchagra, Black Cuckoo and African Fish Eagle. The highlight though without a doubt was the cutest Black-backed Jackal pups I have ever seen. They were oh so tiny yet incredibly inquisitive. The sunset at Disney was really memorable and we paused for a group photo before the drama that was to follow heading back to camp.

As we headed back we could see ominous weather closing in from behind, to the left and to the right of our game drive vehicle. The lighting was impressive and yet scary at the same time. Being in such an elevated and exposed position it was imperative we got back to camp as soon as possible. Our drivers were on top form getting us back to camp as soon as we could, driving in the dark with storms closing in around us.

Sunday
On Sunday morning we set off early again. This time we headed into the cycad rich part of the reserve. The weather was chilly but the possible snow that was reported failed to materialise. This made for a more pleasurable morning that anticipated.

We added some additional grassland species in Zitting Cisticola, Quailfinch, and Capped Wheatear. The welcome addition of Red-breasted Swallow was also a lifer for a few members of the group.

We stopped for another coffee stop. The reserve has such amazing natural vistas that where ever you stop the coffee stop will always be memorable. While we were enjoying our coffee an adult Black-chested Snake-eagle soared overhead.

After coffee we set off again and the excitement was not over. We soon picked up an African Cuckoo-hawk also patrolling the skies.

We added a few more noteworthy birds in Coqui Francolin, Red-billed Oxpecker and stunning views of Yellow-throated Bush Sparrow.

We headed back to camp for a final breakfast to end off what was an amazing weekend. We ended up on a tally of 98 species for the weekend.

The feeling of the group was definitely one of awe. This is a feeling all first time visitors to Bezhoek feel. To have such an amazing birding venue so close to Johannesburg, and one that you are not even aware is there, really fills you with a feeling that you cannot put into words.

Sunday

After the stunning evening, we set out early again for the Sunday morning drive. We added a few species but had no idea as to how the morning would unfold.

We added Plain-backed Pipit, Red-winged Francolin and the cutest baby African Wattled Lapwing you have ever seen. The Plain-backed Pipit even offered up some amazing sound recordings.

The light and the atmosphere at Bezhoek Dam was astounding. We were even trying to identify a raptor using the spotting scope that was sitting on a fence about ten kilometres away!

Suddenly we got a call of an amazing bird that was calling right near camp! We all bundled into the game drive vehicles and headed back to camp as quick as we could. We were waiting at the camp and heard nothing of our target special for 35 minutes. We had given up hope but then we heard a distant hoot. We chased the ghostly sound back and forth between the trees until finally!!! The highlight of the last 2 weeks.

Narina Trogon!!!

Let's just put this into perspective for a minute. This is a bird that is more often associated with forested areas in most birders minds. They can, however, be found in woodland areas too. This often comes as a surprise to many birders.

These are such elusive bird to track down that many birders, despite hiring guides, often dip and take many attempts and many years to get this species on their life list.

Even at Bezhoek, it is such an unusual bird that the staff have not seen this bird there in the last three years.

Amongst the members of our group, many birders still needed it as a lifer and some had been trying for over fifteen years without success.

And the fact that everyone got to see it, see it well and even get photographs is testament to what an unusual end to these two weekends this was

We ended up on a tally of 115 species and some amazing specials as well as memories that no one will forget any time soon.