Birding the Bot River Lagoon, Rooisand Nature Reserve
The beautiful Bot River Lagoon is a prime bird watching spot in the Overberg. It is incorporated into the Rooisands Nature Reserve, part of the Kogelberg Biosphere, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a bird hide and walkways create accessibility for all.
The habitat is a mix of open water, lagoon edge, marsh and coastal thicket. Populations differ depending on the time of year. The Rooisand Ramble is an easy 2 hour walk of about 5 km and the trail will take you to the northern side of the estuary, which usually presents far better sightings.
Water Birds
Cormorants, gulls and terns, greater flamingos, great crested grebe, grey and black headed heron, great white pelican, SA shelduck, common greenshank, blacksmith lapwing, Kittlitz’s plover, curlew sandpiper, common whimbrel, Caspian tern, common tern, sandwich tern, swift tern, three banded plover, marsh sandpiper, bar-tailed godwit, African spoonbill, black oystercatcher, sacred ibis, pelican, little egret, black-winged stilt, African snipe are some of the species to be spotted.
Other Birds
Rock kestrel, osprey, bar-throated apalis, long-billed crombec, common fiscal, Cape bulbul, Cape robin-chat, grassbird, yellow bishop, malachite sunbird, barn swallow, Levaillant’s cisticola, African pipits, African fish eagle.
Some of the specials that will excite keen birders are African Openbill, European Oystercatcher, African Grass-Owl and Hottentot Buttonquail, with Southern Tchagra along the access road.
In addition to the birding, you may be lucky enough to see the herd of feral horses, which roams the flats of the estuary, made up from the descendants of horses that were abandoned after the Anglo-Boer War.
The Rooisand Nature Reserve is situated halfway between Kleinmond and Arabella Golf Estate along the R44.
| More info on the town of Pringle Bay | More info on the Cape Overberg |
Related Articles
Book your accommodation right here on ShowMe.
You can find the top hotels, lodges and Airbnb establishments conveniently placed on the map below. All you need to do is click on the place that’s conveniently located and within your budget and then make a booking. What could be easier?
If the map is not where you want to be, click on the ShowMe Pin and then enter the exact name of the location and the map will adjust accordingly.
