As it was only a few hundred yards from our guesthouse in Betty's Bay it would have been a shame not to visit the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens before we began our long drive to Grootvadersbosch.
It was like a miniature Kirstenbosch and we gave it a thorough going over including the waterfall and upper slopes between the 2 'kloofs' (valleys). I failed to find Victorin's Warbler but did manage c4 Cape Siskins. Down in the gardens themselves we had Brimstone Canary, Cape Canary, Cape Rock Thrush, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, 2 Cape Sugarbirds, Cape Wagtail, 2 Swee Waxbills, 2 Olive Thrushes, Cape Bulbuls, Laughing Doves and a huge flock of c500 Red-winged Starlings overhead.
Cape Siskin
Brimstone Canary
Cape Rock Thrush
Cape White-eye
We then made our way on a longish drive to Grootvadersbosch through rolling farmland. En-route we saw several Spur-winged Geese, c10 Blue Cranes, Cattle Egrets, 1 African Fish Eagle, 4 Cape Crows (including one on a nest on a telegraph pole), Cape Longclaw, Southern Red Bishops, Yellow Bishops and a pair of Grey Rhebok as we neared our destination.
After checking in at our little cottage near the entrance gate to Grootvadersbosch we had a short stroll up the track adding a lovely vocal African Crowned Eagle, Booted Eagle, 3 Bar-throated Apalis, 2 Yellow Canaries, Alpine Swifts, African Swifts, Rock Kestrel, Cape Batis, Fork-tailed Drongo, Cape White-eyes and 4 African Dusky Flycatchers.
African Crowned Eagle
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