The western cape is one of the most scenic  landscapes in the world with the unique Cape Floral Kingdom. This region offers the highly localised endemics African Penquin, Bank Comorant, Cape Rock-jumper, Cape Sisken, Victorin?s Scrub-warbler and Knysna Warbler. Fantastic bird watching sites. The tour includes six Important Bird Areas: -

• Boulders Simonstown

• Strandfontein Pans

• Agulhas Plain

• De Mond Nature Reserve [Ramsar Site]

• De Hoop Nature Reserve [Ramsar site]

• Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve

Boulders is home to over a thousand pairs of African Penquin. This is also a good area to see Cape Cormorant [Breeding Edemic], Crowned Cormorant, Sugarbird and White-backed Mousebird.

Strandfontein provides abundant and diverse birdlife and it is possible to see more than 70 species during an afternoon visit.

Agulhas Plain [Overberg] provides a large diversity of open country species, including the South African National Bird the Blue Crane.

De Mond is a beautiful spot and hosts a breeding colony of the highly threatened Damara Tern. [Breeding Endemic]

De Hoop Nature Reserve has a 14km long vlei with abundant water birds and migrant waders. The southern cliff face of the Potberg hosts the last breeding colony of Cape Vulture in the western cape.

Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve is an extensive wilderness area with a 250-hectare indigenous forest with the region?s richest bird diversity.

Bird Lists: -

Specials:-

Birds:-

African Marsh Harrier, Verreaux?s Eagle, Black-necked Grebe, Greater Flamingo, Great White Pelican, Pied Avocet, Maccoa Duck, Swift Terns, Olive Woodpecker, Levailliant?s Cisticola,  Common Fiscal, Malachite Sunbird, Pintailed Whydah.

 Mammals: -

Elephant, Lion, White Rhino, Leopard, Buffalo, [Big 5] White Lion, Cheetah, Gemsbok, 

 Trees: -

Cape Beech ? Rapanea melanophloeos, Real Yellowwood ? Podocarpus latifolius, Sweet Thorn - Acacia Karoo, White Milkwood ? Sideroxylon inerme, Sagewood ? Buddleja salviifolia, Hard Pear - Olinia ventosa, White Pear ? Apodytes dimidiate, White Stinkwood ? Celtis Africana.

Accommodation: -

Tour Price Range: -

From as little as $1,189  per person sharing to $4,689 per person sharing for the Aves Western Cape seven day Birding Tour. 

Day 1

10:30

Meet at Cape Town International Airport and transfer to The Cellers - Hohenort Hotel.

11:30

Book in to Hotel

12:30

Lunch

14:00

Bird Hotel Grounds

15:00

Bird Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.

Birds: -

Cape Sugarbird, Swee Waxbill, Forest Canary, Cape Batis, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Cape Spurfowl, Helmeted Guineafowl, Cape Robin Chat, African Olive Pigeon, Lemon Dove, Red-eyed Dove, Rufous?chested and Black Sparrowhawk, Karoo Prinia, Sombre Greenbul, Olive Thrush and Southern Boubou.

18:00

Return to Hotel

20:00

Dinner

Day 2

Iteninary for Pelagic Trip. [Weather permitting.]

05:00

Depart for Simonstown for Pelagic Trip. [Day trippers regularly see over 10,000 seabirds of up to 30 species.]

Birds: -

African Penquin, Black-browed, Shy, Atlantic Yellow-nosed, Indian Yellow-nosed, Northern Royal, Wandering and Grey-headed Albatross, Southern Giant and Northern Giant Petrel, Antartic Fulmar, Great-winged, Soft-plumaged and Pintado Petrels, Antartic Prion, White-chinned and Spectacled Petrels, Cory?s, Great, Flesh-footed, Sooty and Manx Shearwater, European, Leach?s, Wilson?s and Black-bellied Storm-Petrel, Cape Gannet, Artic, Long-tailed, Pomarine and Subantartic Skua, Sabine?s Gull and Artic Tern.

18:00

Return to Hotel

Iteninary for those not going on Pelagic Trip .

06:30

Breakfast

07:15

Depart for Strandfontein and bird the Strandfontein pans.

Birds: -

Greater Flamingo, Great White Pelican, Little Grebe, White-breasted Cormorant, Spurwinged Goose, South African Shelduck, Cape Shoveller, Maccoa Duck, Hottentot Teal, Red-billed Teal, Black Headed Heron, Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Glossy Ibis, African Black Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, Kittlitz Plover, Common Sandpiper, African Marsh Harrier, Pied Kingfisher, Barn Swallow, White-necked Raven, African Pipit, Cape Longclaw, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Levaillant's Cisticola, Karoo Prinia, Cape Canary.

10:30

Depart for Rondevlei Nature Reserve and bird the reserve. 

Birds: -

Great crested Grebe, Caspian Tern, Common Moorhen, Reed Cormorant, African Darter, Yellow-billed Duck, Cape Teal, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Little Bittern, African Spoonbill, Blacksmith Lapwing, Three-banded Plover, Common Greenshank, African Purple Swamphen, Black Crake, Cape Spurfowl, Black-shouldered Kite, Malachite Kingfisher, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Pied Crow, Southern Boubou, Cape Wagtail, Cape Bubul, Olive Thrush, Cape Robin-Chat, Cape White-eye, Cape Grassbird, Cape Sparrow, Common Waxbill.

12:45

Return to Hotel for Lunch

14:30

Depart for The "Boulders" Simonstown, home of the globally threatened African Penguin.

We will visit the largest mainland African Penguin colony and look out for the Cape and Crowned Cormorant's on the offshore boulders. We will look for White-backed Mousebirds, Cape Sugarbird, Southern Boubou and Brimstone Canary in the thickets.

18: 00

Return to the Hotel.

20:00

Dinner

Day 3

06:00

Bird Constantia Greenbelts

Birds: -

Knysna Warbler, Cape White-eye, Cape Siskin, Cape Batis, Buff-spotted Flufftail, African Wood-Owl, Southern Double-collared Sunbird.

07:00

Breakfast and Book out of Hotel

08:00

Depart for Helderberg Nature Reserve, Somerset West, Western Cape.

Birds: -

Protea Seed-eater, Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Cape Bulbul, Black Saw-wing, Bar-throated Apalis, Fiscal Flycatcher, Cape Grassbird, Amethyst Sunbird, Olive Woodpecker, Little Grebe, Streaky-headed Seed-eater.

11:30

Depart for Rooi Els along the spectacularly scenic coastal road.

Birds: -

Cape Rock-jumper, Ground Woodpecker, Verreaux's Eagle, Cape Rock-Thrush, Cape Siskin.

 13:30

Lunch at Leopard Restaurant at the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens.

14:30

Bird Harold Porter Botanical Gardens

Birds: -

Victorin's Srub-Warbler, Cape Siskin, Karoo Prinia, Jackal Buzzard, Swee Waxbill,  Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, African Black Duck, Rock Martin, African Paradise Flycatcher, Dusky Flycatcher, Southern Red Bishop, White-throated Swallow and Verreaux's Eagle.

17:00

Depart for the Marine Hotel, Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa.

18:00

Book into the Marine Hotel, Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa.

20:00

Dinner

Day 4

07:00

Breakfast and Book out of the Marine Hotel, Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa.

08:00

Depart for Cape Agulhas and the Agulhas Nature Reserve via Stanford, Gansbaai, Pearly Beach and Struisbaai.

Birds: -

Agulhas Clapper Lark, Agulhas Long-billed Lark, Black Harrier, Blue Crane, Denham's Bustard, Rock Kestrel, White Stork, Capped Wheatear, Red-capped Lark and Large-billed Lark.

12:00

Depart for Bredarsdorp via Struisbaai.

13:00

Lunch in Bredarsdorp, Overberg, Western Cape, South Africa.

14:30

Depart for De Mond Nature Reserve.

Birds: -

Damara Tern, Black Harrier, Jackal Buzzard, Agulhas Clapper Larks, Fiscal Flycatcher, Southern Tchagra, Secretarybird, Cape Crow, Red-capped Larks, Capped Wheatear, Cape Longclaw, Yellow Canary, Acacia Pied Barbet, Cloud Cisticola.

17:00

Depart for Arniston, Overberg, Western Cape, South Africa.

Birds: -

Blue Crane, Grey-winged Francolin, African Pied Starling, Cape Bunting, Bokmakierie, White Stork, Denham?s Bustard, Rock Kestrel, Crowned Plover, Pintailed Whydah, Stonechat, Cape Wagtail, Plain-backed Pipit, Wattled Starling, Yellow Bishop,

18:00

Book into Hotel in Arniston.

20:00

Dinner

Day 5

06:30

Breakfast and bookout of Hotel.

07:30

Depart for the De Hoop Nature Reserve, Overberg, Western Cape, South Africa.

Birds: -

African Black Oystercatcher, Black Harrier, Cape Vulture, Southern Black Korhaan, Knysna Woodpecker, Bokmakierie, Karoo Korhaan, Jackal Buzzard, Cape Sparrow, Cape White-eye, Cape Weaver, Denham?s Bustard, Acacia Pied Barbet, Great Crested Grebe, Helmeted Guineafowl, White-breasted Cormorant, Rock Pigeon, Black Swift, White-rumped Swift, Brown Throated Martin, Hoopoe, Fork-tailed Drongo, Common Waxbill

Mammals: -

Bontebok, Cape Mountain Zebra, Eland, Grey Rhebok, Cape Grysbok, Cape Clawless Otter, Caracal and Rock Dassie [Hyrax].

11:30 

Drive to Swellendam via Potberg Cape Vulture Breeding Colony.

Birds: -

Blue Crane, Cape Vulture, Jackal Buzzard, Southern Black Korhaan, Karoo Korhaan, Grey-winged Francolin, Southern Grey Sparrow,Cape Weaver, Steppe Buzzard, Rock Kestrel, Ostrich, Cape Turtle Dove, Little Swift, White-necked Raven, Familiar Chat, Grassveld Pipit, White-throated Canary,

12:45

Lunch in Swellendam.

14:30

Drive to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, via Suurbraak, Tradouw's Pass and Barrydale, Little Karoo, Western Cape, South Africa.

Birds: -

Jackal Buzzard, Knysna Woodpecker, Forest Buzzard, African Crowned Eagle, African Goshawk, African Cuckoo Hawk, Narina Trogon, Blue-mantled crested Flycatcher, Red-winged Francolin, Red-necked Spurfowl, African Paradise Flycatcher, Terrestial Brownbul, Olive Bush-shrike, Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Amethyst Sunbird,

16:30

Book in to Tilney Manor, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo, Western Cape, South Africa.

 20:00

Dinner

Day 6

06:15

Birding and Game Drive.

09:30

Breakfast

Birds: -

Verreaux?s Eagle, Booted Eagle, Ludwig?s Bustard, Southern Black Korhaan, Karoo Korhaan, Pied Starling, African Rock Pipit, Layard?s Tit-babbler, Karoo Eremomela, White-backed Mousebird, Fairy Flycatcher, Chestnut-vented Tit-babbler, Cape Bunting.

Over 200 bird species identified in the reserve.

Mammals: -

White Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino, Leopard, the ?Big 5?. Sanbona Wildlife Reserve is home to the critically endangered and highly elusive Riverine Rabbit which is the 13th most endangered mammal in the World.

Flora: -

Approximately 650 plant specie

10:30

Tea at Lodge

11:00

Bird around Lodge

13:00

Lunch

15:30

Birding and Rock-art Trail

19:30

Dinner

20:30

Night Bird and Game drive.

Day 7

06:15

Birding and Game drive

09:00

Breakfast

10:30

Depart for Robertson via Montagu and Ashton, Little Karoo, Western Cape, South Africa.

12:30

Lunch in Robertson

14:00

Depart for Cape Town via Worcester, Du Toitskloof Pass and Paarl birding en route.

18:00

Arrive at Cape Town International Airport.