Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary: South Africa, Day 3, 3 September 2018

A whole day to explore the vastness of the Tankwa Karoo! After watching the sunrise we began with a walk around the immediate vicinity of the guesthouse before breakfast. It was a real pleasure in the low golden morning light with c4 Red-capped Larks, Capped Wheatear, several Large-billed Larks, 2 Familiar Chats, Sickle-winged Chat, Tractrac Chats, African Pipit, Cape Sparrows, Rock Martins and 2 Black-headed Canaries.

Familar Chat

African Pipit

Red-capped Lark

Sickle-winged Chat

Cape Sparrows

Familiar Chat

Rock Martin

Tractrac Chat

After breakfast we headed walked to a nearby dried up watercourse that had plenty of promising looking trees and bushes. Here I winkled out c4 Pririt Batis, Karoo Thrush, c6 White-backed Mousebirds, 2 Karoo Scrub Robins, several Common Waxbills and a Dusky Sunbird.

Pririt Batis

Karoo Scrub Robin

Eventually we jumped into the car and headed out into the wilderness - almost immediately bumping into a trackside Pale Chanting Goshawk. We called in at a nearby dam which had a very small amount of water in the bottom. Southern Red Bishops were everywhere with African Reed Warbler, Three-banded Plover, African Plain Martins and 3 Orange River White-eyes.
During the course of the rest of the day which took us up to the NP HQ again we added 3 Bokmakerie, Grey-back Cisticolas, 2 African Pied Starlings, Tractrac Chats, 3 Namaqua Warblers, 1 Rufous-eared Warbler, 1 Spike-heeled Lark, c10 Common Ostriches, 2 Yellow Canaries, a Greater Kestrel nesting on top of a telegraph pole plus plenty of Oryx, Springboks and a troop of Chacma Baboons.
Over a sundowner glass of wine we were entertained by the local Karoo Bush Rats, Southern Masked Weavers and a confiding Familar Chat.