We had planned a trip up the River Kromme at St Francis Bay as we made our way along the Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town but the weather was so bad that it was cancelled (too wet and windy) and our first opportunity to get out and see some birds was on our second day in Knysna (yes it has stopped raining but it still isn’t very warm).
We walked along the edge of the Woodbourne Trust Nature Reserve and Bird Sanctuary near The Heads (which feature in nearly all the tourist photos of Knysna).
It was like home from home to start as the first bird we saw was a grey heron but it soon became a bit more exotic with African sacred ibis and Egyptian geese.
From the edge of the reserve we could easily see avocets, black winged stilts, Blacksmith lapwings and common greenshank but the real treat was an African spoonbill which flew out and then back over our heads. We rewarded ourselves with lunch.
Reed cormorant (I think)
Little egret
African sacred ibis
Egyptian geese
Common greenshank and black-winged stilts
Common greenshank
Blacksmith lapwing
Avocet
African spoonbill on its way out
…and on its way back
Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos 