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Sedgefield Bird List

I think its a good idea to offer a Sedgefield Bird List as a basic guide for visitors and newbies to our town. Our village environment and surrounds is abundantly able to provide the keen birder with a great birding experience. Besides that, Birding can become a captivating hobby for retirees and new arrivals to the Garden Route. Sometimes one just needs a little help to get started.

I have categorised our local birds to make it easier to look for them in our area when you are out walking or cycling or perhaps just sitting in your garden. We have inland waterbirds/waders, seabirds,  raptors, night birds and a plethora of charming and interesting feathered flyers that pay regular visits to our garden.

I suggest a pair of binoculars is an essential investment to really get the most out of birding.

Swift terns in shallow water at the Swartvlei River-mouth

Inland Waterbirds

  • Bittern Little
  • Cormorant Reed
  • Coot Red-knobbed
  • Crake Black
  • Darter African
  • Duck Yellow-billed
  • Duck White-faced 
Cape Shoveler on the grassy bank of the Swarvlei LagoonCape Shoveler
  • Egret Little
  • Flamingo Greater
  • Goose Egyptian
  • Grebe Great Crested 
  • Grebe Little
  • Greenshank
  • Gull Kelp
  • Heron Black-headed
  • Heron Grey
  • Heron Purple
Female Giant KingfisherGiant Kingfisher-female
  • Ibis Glossy
  • Ibis Sacred
  • Kingfisher Giant 
  • Kingfisher Pied 
  • Kingfisher Malachite
The little jewel-like Malachite KingfisherMalachite Kingfisher
  • Lapwing Blacksmith
  • Moorhen common
  • Plover 3-banded
  • Shoveler Cape
  • Spoonbill African
African SpoonbillsAfrican Spoonbills
  • Stilt Black-winged
  • Sunbird Malachite
  • Swamphen Purple

Seabirds

Kitzlitz PloversKitlitz Plovers
  • Cormorants Cape
  • Cormorants White-breasted
  •  Gull Cape 
Pair of African Black OystercatchersAfrican Black Oystercatchers
  • Oystercatcher African Black
  • Plover Kitlitz
  • Tern Caspian
  • Tern Swift

Nocturnal Birds
(active at night)

Fiery-necked NightjarFiery-necked Nightjar
  • Spotted Thick-knee
  • Nightjar Fiery-necked
  • Spotted Eagle Owl
Little Sparrow-hawk with captured doveLittle Sparrowhawk that caught a dove in the drive-way, sitting on the perimeter wall at the side of our house.

Garden Birds

Female Cape BatisCape Batis (female)
  • Apalis Bar-throated
  • Batis Cape
  • Bokmakierie
  • Boubou Southern
  • Burchell's Coucal
  • Bulbul Cape
  • Canary Brimstone
A Summer visitor-the Emerald CuckooEmerald Cuckoo
  • Cuckoo Diderick 
  • Cuckoo Emerald
  • Cuckoo Klaas's
Fiscal Flycatcher with its fledglingFiscal Flycatcher & fledgling
  • Dove Laughing
  • Dove Red-eyed
  • Dove Ring-necked
  • Drongo Fork-tailed
  • Fiscal Common
  • Flycatcher African Paradise
African Black-headed OrioleBlack-headed Oriole
  • Flycatcher Fiscal
  • Grassbird Cape
  • Greenbul Sombre
  • Guineafowl Helmeted
  • Hoopoe African
  • Ibis Hadeda
Cape SugarbirdCape Sugarbird
  • Kingfisher Brown-hooded
  • Mousebird Speckled
  • Oriole Black-headed
  • Prinia Karoo
  • Robin-Chat Cape
Male Greater Double-collared Sunbird and Female Amethyst SunbirdGreater Double-collared Sunbird (male) & Amethyst Sunbird (female)
  • Starling Red-winged
  • Sparrow Grey-headed
  • Sugarbird Cape
  • Sunbird Amethyst
  • Sunbird Greater Double-collared
  • Sunbird Southern  Double-collared 
  • Swallow Barn
  • Swallow Greater-striped
  • Swallow White-throated
  • Thrush Olive
White-throated SwallowWhite-throated Swallow
  • Turaco Knysna
  • Wagtail Cape
  • Waxbill Common
  • Weaver Cape
  • White-eye Cape
  • Woodpecker Knysna
  • Woodpecker Olive
  • Whydah Pin-tailed 

Raptors

  • Eagle African Fish
  • African Harrier-Hawk
  • Buzzard Forest
  • Buzzard Jackal
  • Sparrowhawk Little  
Jackal Buzzard
Spotted Eagle Owl familySpotted Eagle Owl Family

I trust you will have found this Sedgefield Bird list helpful. I do not claim that it is comprehensive but these are birds I have seen in the area as many of my photos will attest. I am never far from my camera! 

I am happy to add to this Sedgefield Bird List if anyone cares to send me a photo of a bird I haven't listed here. Please fill in the info on my "Contact Me" page. I shall credit you with any photo I post on my page.

This list is no substitute however for a good bird book or an on-line digital bird program such as "Roberts Multimedia Birds of Southern Africa" which I can highly recommend!

Yellow-billed StorkYellow-billed Stork - seen Dec 2013 on the bank of the Lagoon near the Swartvlei Caravan Park, a rare sighting as this bird is out of its range here.
African Fish EagleAfrican Fish Eagle
Yellow-billed ducks - mother with her chicksFamily of Yellow-billed Ducks

Related Links

Garden Route Birding - South Africa's Garden Route offers unique Birding opportunities with 30 endemic species in 5 biomes.  This diverse range of habitats is home to approximately 300 species of birds.