Birding

Why is the Wild Coast such a birder??s paradise? The short answer is that there is an almost bewildering array of different habitats, each of which supports a thriving population of bird species. The Port St Johns region abounds with more than 230 species of birds, making it the ideal twitcher's destination. Hluleka Nature Reserve is the home of the Narina Trogon and vast numbers of sunbirds. The coast supports many different sea-birds while the lagoons provide browsing for large numbers of fresh-water birds and waders. Grassland birds like wydahs abound in the rolling grasslands, while the small protected riverine forests are the ideal homes for forest birds. The clear air provides thermals for cruising raptors. So the secret of the Wild Coast is that the different habitats are usually extremely localised and small and close together. While the birds themselves might be quite indifferent to this fact, it means that serious birders will find many different and distinct species in quite a small location.

A comprehensive list of sightings is provided below, showing the wide range of birds, as well as the frequency of occurrence of such sightings. This list represents birds actually recorded in the Port St Johns area (and as far South as Umgazi River and as far North as the Mtafufu River), by local birders in the last 10 years. Included are sightings up to approximately 10 km inland.

In this list, numbers in brackets refer to the South African Bird List Number of the species (ref: Roberts Birds of Southern Africa by G.L. Maclean.), while the following codes have been used to signify the frequency of occurrence:

• C : commonly seen in the area (everyday birds )
• U : common to uncommon, but need to be looked for
• R : one or two sightings in the area
• C L : uncommon, but plentiful in certain localities e.g. Cape Parrots.

(3)   Jackass Penguin  ,   Spheniscus demersus  ,   (R)
(53)   Cape Gannet  ,   Morus capensis  ,   (U)
(55)   Whitebreasted Cormorant  ,   Phalacrocorax carbo  ,   (C)
(56)   Cape Cormorant  ,   Phalacrocorax capensis  ,   (C)
(58)   Reed Cormorant  ,   Phalacrocorax africanus  ,   (C)
(60)   Darter  ,   Anhinga melanogaster  ,   (C)
(62)   Grey Heron  ,   Ardea cinerea  ,   (C)
(63)   Blackheaded Heron  ,   Ardea melanocephala  ,   (C)
(66)   Great White Egret  ,   Egretta alba  ,   (U)
(67)   Little Egret  ,   Egretta garzetta  ,   (C)
(68)   Yellowbilled Egret  ,   Egretta intermedia  ,   (U)
(71)   Cattle Egret  ,   Bubulcus ibis  ,   (C)
(72)   Squacco Heron  ,   Ardeola ralloides  ,   (R)
(74)   Greenbacked Heron  ,   Butorides striatus  ,   (R)
(81)   Hamerkop  ,   Scopus umbretta  ,   (C)
(86)   Woollynecked Stork  ,   Ciconia episcopus  ,   (R)
(91)   Sacred Ibis  ,   Threskiornis aethiopicus  ,   (U)
(94)   Hadeda Ibis  ,   Bostrychia hagedash  ,   (C)
(101)   Whitebacked Duck  ,   Thalassornis leuconotus  ,   (U)
(102)   Egyptian Goose  ,   Alopochen aegyptiacus  ,   (C)
(104)   Yellowbilled Duck  ,   Anas undulata  ,   (C)
(105)   African Black Duck  ,   Anas sparsa  ,   (U)
(114)   Pygmy Goose  ,   Nettapus auritus  ,   (R)
(116)   Spurwinged Goose  ,   Plectropterus gambensis  ,   (C)
(126)   Yellowbilled Kite & Black Kite  ,   Milvus migrans  ,   (C)
(127)   Blackshouldered Kite  ,   Elanus caeruleus  ,   (U)
(131)   Black Eagle  ,   Aquila verreauxii  ,   (U)
(139)   Longcrested Eagle  ,   Lophaetus occipitalis  ,   (U)
(141)   Crowned Eagle  ,   Stephanoeatus coronatus  ,   (U)
(148)   African Fish Eagle  ,   Haliaeetus vocifer  ,   (C)
(152)   Jackal Buzzard  ,   Buteo rufofuscus  ,   (C)
(160)   African Goshawk  ,   Accipiter tachiro  ,   (U)
(169)   Gymnogene  ,   Polyboroides typus  ,   (U)
(170)   Osprey  ,   Pandion haliaetus  ,   (U)
(198)   Rednecked Francolin  ,   Francolinus Afer  ,   (C)
(200)   Common Quail  ,   Coturnix coturnix  ,   (U)
(203)   Helmeted Guineafowl  ,   Numida meleagris  ,   (C)
(209)   Crowned Crane  ,   Balearica regilorum  ,   (U)
(212)   African Crake  ,   Crex egregia  ,   (U)
(213)   Black Crake  ,   Amaurornis flavirostris  ,   (U)
(218)   Buffspotted Flufftail  ,   Sarothrura elegans  ,   (U)
(223)   Purple Gallinule  ,   Pophyrio porphyrio  ,   (U)
(226)   Moorhen  ,   Gallinula chloropus  ,   (C)
(228)   Redknobbed Coot  ,   Fulica crisatata  ,   (U)
(229)   African Finfoot  ,   Podica senegalensis  ,   (R)
(240)   Afican Jacana  ,   Actophilornis africanus  ,   (C)
(245)   Ringed Plover  ,   Charadrius hiaticula  ,   (C)
(246)   Whitefronted Plover  ,   Charadrius marginatus  ,   (C)
(248)   Kittlitz??s Plover  ,   Charadrius pecuarius  ,   (U)
(249)   Threebanded Plover  ,   Charadrius tricollaris  ,   (C)
(255)   Crowned Plover  ,   Vanellus coronatus  ,   (C)
(258)   Blacksmith Plover  ,   Vanellus armatus  ,   (U)
(262)   Turnstone  ,   Arenaria interpres  ,   (U)
(264)   Common Sandpiper  ,   Tringa hypoleucos  ,   (C)
(266)   Wood Sandpiper  ,   Tringa glareola  ,   (U)
(269)   Marsh Sandpiper  ,   Tringa stagnatilis  ,   (U)
(270)   Greenshank  ,   Tringa nebularia  ,   (C)
(283)   Broadbilled Sandpiper  ,   Limicola falcinellus  ,   (R)
(288)   Bartailed Godwit  ,   Limosa lapponica  ,   (U)
(290)   Whimbrel  ,   Numenius phaeopus  ,   (C)
(297)   Spotted Dikkop  ,   Burhinus capensis  ,   (C)
(298)   Water Dikkop  ,   Burhinus vermiculatus  ,   (C)
(312)   Kelp Gull  ,   Larus dominicanus  ,   (C)
(316)   Hartlaub??s Gull  ,   Larus hartlaubii  ,   (R)
(322)   Caspian Tern  ,   Hydroprogne caspia  ,   (CL)
(324)   Swift Tern  ,   Sterna bergii  ,   (C)
(326)   Sandwich Tern  ,   Sterna sandvicensis  ,   (C)
(327)   Common Tern  ,   Sterna hirundo  ,   (C)
(328)   Arctic Tern  ,   Sterna paradisaea  ,   (C)
(335)   Little Tern  ,   Srerna albifrons  ,   (C)
(348)   Feral Pigeon  ,   Columba livia  ,   (U)
(349)   Rock Pigeon  ,   Columba guinea  ,   (U)
(350)   Rameron Pigeon  ,   Columba aquatrix  ,   (U)
(352)   Redeyed Pigeon  ,   Streptopelia semitorquata  ,   (C)
(354)   Cape Turtle Dove  ,   Streptopelia capicola  ,   (U)
(355)   Laughing Dove  ,   Streptopelia senegalensis  ,   (C)
(358)   Greenspotted Dove  ,   Turtur chalcospilos  ,   (U)
(359)   Tambourine Dove  ,   Turtur tympanisrtria  ,   (C)
(360)   Cinnamon Dove  ,   Aplopelia larvata  ,   (R)
(361)   Green Pigeon  ,   Treron calva  ,   (C)
(362)   Cape Parrot  ,   Poicephalus robustus  ,   (CL)
(370)   Knysna Lourie  ,   Tauraco corythaix  ,   (C)
(371)   Purplecrested Lourie  ,   Tauraco porphyreolophus  ,   (R)
(377)   Redchested Cuckoo  ,   Cuculus solitarius  ,   (C)
(378)   Black Cuckoo  ,   Cuculus clamosus  ,   (C)
(382)   Jacobin Cuckoo  ,   Clamator jacobinus  ,   (R)
(384)   Emerald Cuckoo  ,   Chrysococcyx cupreus  ,   (U)
(385)   Klaas??s Cuckoo  ,   Chrysococcyx klaas  ,   (U)
(386)   Diederic Cuckoo  ,   Chrycococcyx caprius  ,   (U)
(391)   Burchell??s Coucal  ,   Centropus supercillosus  ,   (C)
(394)   Wood Owl  ,   Strix woodfordii  ,   (R)
(400)   Cape Eagle Owl  ,   Bubo capensis  ,   (U)

Wild Coast Community Tourism Initiative

Postal Address: PO Box 18171, Quigney 5211, South Africa

Physical Address: Tourism Centre, Eastern Cape Tourist Board, Quigney, East London 5211, South Africa

Telephone: +27 43 7222203
Fax: +27 43 7222219
info@wildcoast.org.za