The closest birding spot to my home, mentioned in Birding Gauteng (Chapter 14) is the Kloofendal Nature Reserve on the West Rand. I have made numerous trips to this site and one of my biggest highlights was seeing a Dwarf Bittern at the little dam - unfortunately the sun was in the wrong position so my pics were not ideal:
The birds that I have seen around the dam include (it is clearly not the most productive dam in Gauteng): Reed Cormorant, African Black Duck and Little Grebe
One of the highlights of visiting this nature reserve has been seeing various Sunbirds - so far I have seen Amethyst, Greater Double-collared, Malachite, Marico and White-bellied:
The other birds that I have seen up on the footpaths through the koppies include: Bar-throated Apalis, Crested Barbet, Chinspot Batis, European Bee-eater,Bokmakierie, Southern Boubou, Dark-capped Bulbul, Cinamon-breasted Bunting; Grey-headed Bush-Shrike; Yellow-fronted Canary; Levaillants Cisticola; Rattling Cisticola; Wailing Cisticola; Long-billed Crombec; Pied Crow; Red-headed Finch; Common Fiscal; Fiscal Flycatcher; Helmeted Guineafowl; Brown-backed Honeybird; African Hoopoe; Black-shouldered Kite; Bronze Mannikin; Red-faced Mousebird; Neddicky; Long-billed Pipit; Tawny-flanked Prinia; Cape Robin-Chat; Cape Rock-Thrush; Streaky-headed Seedeater; Southern Grey-headed Sparrow; Cape Glossy Starling; Red-winged Starling; Greater Striped Swallow; Spotted Thick-knee; Karoo Thrush; Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird; Common Waxbill; Southern Masked Weaver; Thick-billed Weaver; Cape White-eye; Red-collared Widowbird; Green Wood-Hoopoe and Red-throated Wryneck.
My disappointment has been not to locate the breeding pair of Black Sparrowhawk on my numerous trips to the reserve. Here are pics of the nest they are supposed to breed in each year:
On a trip to the spot on the 5th February 2011, I spotted a rare sighting for the spot - Violet-backed Starling:
On a trip to the spot in September 2011, I saw Mocking Cliff-Chat, Rattling Cisticola, Long-billed Crombec, Fiscal Flycatcher, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Marico Sunbird, White-rumped Swift, Thick-billed Weaver and Red-throated Wryneck. Here are some pics :
