African Penguin Colony

Betty’s Bay

On Saturday night our group was joined by Mike Mandracchia.  On Saturday morning we headed out the Strand highway south east with our ultimate destination the African Penguin Colony.  Along the way we checked out Gordon’s Bay where we found our first African Black Oystercatcher.  I would be remiss if I did not note that Helmeted Guineafowl are everywhere.  Just before Betty’ Bay we hiked a short dirt road in a nice housing area.  The flowers here were beautiful and the waves crashing against the rock below were breathtaking.  This is in the same area where I took the coastal shot in my first blog so let your imagination take you there.  On a towing cliff a Verraux’s Eagles have made their nest and we stood by watching a pair of White-bellied Crows tried to drive the eagle from the area.  Surely they had a nest nearby.  The eagle just sat on the ground for a while ignoring their sweeps overhead and finally having enough took to flight and was further harassed by the crows.  This continued until the eagle soared high above.  While hiking in the area we were fortunate to find both Southern Double-collared and Orange-breasted Sunbirds.  These are beautiful birds that feed on nectar, much like the hummingbirds of the western hemisphere.  I have posted a picture of the double collared on Facebook earlier.  There were several other birds of interest along the way.  From here we went to the Penguin colony on Betty’s Bay.  There we were able to see many penguins both in the water and strolling on the land.  They are such interesting birds and of course very cute.  In addition, we were able to find 4 of the 5 species of cormorants in South Africa.  From there we went to have lunch at Jack’s café.  The meal was good.  I had a meat pie with chips.   It was big enough that I took half of it home only to have it fall on the floor when the box opened before I made it to the fridge.   Later we took a ride up the same road where we encountered a family of baboons which I have posted video of on the internet previously.  Finally, home to bed for another exciting day tomorrow.