Goegap Birding

Text and pictures by Peter Chadwick. www.wildlife-expressions.co.za

Source: This article was taken from the March Issue of Country Life Magazine

Searching for flowers and birds in the Northern Cape

The heat was already starting to put a shimmering haze onto the horizon and it was only nine in the morning. My family and I were heading northwards on the backroads between Nieuwoudtville and Goegap Nature Reserve, which was to be our next destination as part of a two-week journey through the arid Northern Cape.

Having left Nieuwoudtville early we trundled slowly along, first passing through the town of Loeriesfontein where we stopped briefly to refuel and to have a look at the Windmill Museum before hitting the long dirt road again. This back route took us through some interesting habitats, scenery and towns with interesting names such as Aalwynsfontem, Platbakkies and Gamoep, eventually leading us to Goegap Nature Reserve.

Tired from sitting in the car and yearning for a bit of exploring on foot, a roadside break near a pair of windmills was eerily silent apart from the buzzing of an irritating fly around my ear and the clanking of the windmill’s parts as it pumped water into an adjacent reservoir. Rock hyrax sat silhouetted on the tops of rocky outcrops and a pair of bat-eared foxes first lay flat and then jinked off rapidly as we walked in their direction. The only birds to be seen were a family of four Spike-heeled Larks that scurried around the dry scrubveld and two Ludwig’s Bustards that flew past high above.

Karoo windmills. Rustic huts at Goegap. Quiver trees standing on a rocky koppie. Dassie rats are common on rocky outcrops.

Jumping back into the vehicle, we were soon passing Jackal Buzzards and Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks perched on the telegraph poles. A pair of hovering Pied Crows caused me to stop, where I found a springbok that had become enmeshed in the farm fence, suffering a slow agonising death, and now providing food for a myriad of beetles as well as the crows.

At another water reservoir flocks of Yellow Canary and, more excitedly, Damara Canary flew down to drink amongst the black-headed sheep. Rocky outcrops along the route produced Karoo Chat and Mountain Wheatear; and at an abandoned farm house flocks of Speckled Pigeon were now the only occupants other than a pair of Cape Sparrows who had their untidy nest tucked amongst the eves.

Rain had not fallen as was hoped this year and despite this being the height of the flower season any form of blossoming colour was hard to find – it was apparently the driest year in more than a decade. When I did find a patch of yellow daisies I stopped to photograph them and was also rewarded with viewing a hunt that rivalled any made by a large predator such as a lion or leopard. A long-tongued hover-fly that probed into the flowers’ pollen was pounced upon in a perfect ambush by a large predatory fly and carried away on powerful wings.

Arid Gamoep scenery. A succulent covered in masses of thorns. A Bokmakierie searching for insects on the ground. Rustic road signage within Goegap.

It had started to rain lightly by the time we arrived at Goegap Nature Reserve in mid-afternoon and after passing through the gate we drove up to the reception past a dozing herd of gemsbok that lay together with a lone springbok ram with a broken horn. Ant-eating Chat, Capped Wheatear and Familiar Chat were plentiful along the route, while flocks of Pale-winged Starling and Cape Weaver sat in the trees above the kiosk at reception, ever hopeful that scraps would be thrown their way. Having booked in, we headed back to our chalet under increasingly heavy rain and chuckled at a chacma baboon that had crawled into a hole with just its head sticking out and was looking rather sorry for itself as it became more and more drenched. A Common Fiscal, on the other hand, revelled in the wetness and ruffled its feathers constantly in joy of the rain.

Our chalet was situated in a perfect birding spot alongside a dry riverbed covered with thorny Acacia karoo trees and nearby a large koppie. Around the koppie numerous rock hyrax fed unconcernedly and Rock Martin circled above, whilst among the bushes and trees an Acacia Pied Barbet called. Speckled Pigeon and Cape Sparrow flocks flew past constantly but dashed off quickly when a Rock Kestrel flew in to land on one of the cliffs. It was not long before the resident camp birds came to investigate us, and Karoo

Thrush, Cape Glossy Starling, Laughing Dove, Cape Turtle-Dove, Cape Bunting, Bokmakierie, Southern Masked-Weaver and even a Karoo Scrub-Robin were soon outside the door of our chalet.

Gemsbok walking across the open. An alert steenbok ram.

As the afternoon neared its end we again jumped into our vehicle to go off and explore some of the reserve’s roads. Large-billed Lark sat atop small bushes and called constantly now that the rain had briefly stopped.

Namaqua Sandgrouse could also be heard and it was only after hard searching that we found a few birds well camouflaged on the ground and amongst the very dry scrub.

A faint rainbow formed briefly across the sky and was accompanied by a cold icy wind that was to stay with us over the remaining two days on the reserve.

Rounding a bend in the road we came upon a large colony of Brants’ whistling rats that stood huddled against the wind at the burrow entrances. Occasionally one of these enchanting rodents would venture off from the safety of its burrow to break off a small branch of a low bush and return to its burrow entrance to munch on it.

Around another corner a steenbok ram stood motionless as we passed by and then a klipspringer dashed off nimbly across the boulders when we surprised it as it fed.

Dainty male and female Dusky Sunbird flittered between pale purple flowers probing their perfectly curved beaks into the similarly shaped flower heads. Amongst the bushes, Bar-throated Apalis, Karoo Prinia, White-backed Mousebird, Layard’s Tit-Babbler and Cape Bulbul were sighted and added to our growing bird list.

Half-mens flowers

Early the next morning, and after a welcome hot brew of coffee accompanied with rusks, my family and I set off to tackle the 4×4 route that winds through the koppies and took us to the high ground. African Pipit, White-throated Canary and Southern Double-collared Sunbirds were new sightings and a real treat was watching a pair of Verreauxs’ Eagle hunting together.

Black-backed jackal were heard constantly along the route but remained elusive, as did the Hartman’s mountain zebra that we had hoped to track down.

On completing the journey, a stop over at the small succulent garden that also showcased the strange looking half-mens plant and good examples of quiver trees was extremely rewarding when we found a family of dassie rats all sunning on a rocky ledge, the six youngsters jostling with one another for the sunniest spot. Nearby, a Namaqua rock mouse fed on seeds and above it a Common Fiscal fed its two ravenous young in their nest.

The strange looking half-mens tree.

Despite the unsuccessful flowering season and the unusual cold weather; our trip to Goegap Nature Reserve was still very worthwhile, especially with the opportunities provided for viewing some of the smaller and normally overlooked species that we had encountered, and I will definitely return during a year when the flowers cover the fields in splendour.

Footnotes

Season and Weather This semi-desert area has an erratic and uncertain winter rainfall of between 80 and 160mm per annum. Temperatures vary from a cold -10°C in winter to warm summer temperatures of between 30 and 40°C

Habitats The reserve encompasses the typical granite koppies and sandy plains of the Namaqualand. Plant life typically consists of those with short lifespans that turn the veld into bright carpets of colour during spring.

Specials Verreauxs’ Eagle, Cape Eagle-Owl, Dusky Sunbird, Damara Canary.

Accommodation Limited accommodation facilities are available including a bush camp with camping sites and rustic chalets. There are a number of picnic facilities for day visitors as well as a braai lapa and kiosk. 4×4 trails can be booked at an additional rate.

Getting There Easiest access is via the N7 and the town of Springbok. The nature reserve is well signposted from Springbok and lies approximately 15km from the town. The reserve may also be reached on the R355 via Loeriesfontein and Gamoep.’