Birding in Fish Hoek from Seaside Cottages

Seaside Cottages is a Birder’s Nest

Seaside Cottages is a proud birding destination and we host birders from all around the world. Sit on the spacious sundeck of your chosen self-catering accommodation and watch the birds in our beautiful garden habitat. Flowering aloes, succulents and Fynbos attract sunbirds, Cape sugarbirds, seasonal cuckoos and chatty bulbuls. If you wander around the verdant lawns between the cottages, the deafening shrieking Blacksmith Plovers draw you sneakily away from their nests, the indignant geese blurt their presence from the rooftops and the Hadeda ibis awaken guests in the early hours as they soar over the dunes in search of breakfast.

Quite our favourite bird at Seaside Cottages is the spotted dikkop! The spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis), also known as the Cape thick-knee, is a wader in the family Burhinidae. It can reach up to 45.5 cm in height with long legs and brown-and-white speckled plumage for camouflage in the grasslands. Its head is large and round with a prominent yellow eye and a short, stout beak. This nocturnal bird squats on the ground during the daytime, making it difficult to spot, and hunts on the ground, feeding on insects, small mammals and lizards.

Birdwatching in Winter at Cape Point

If you want to see some of the best ocean birds in winter then simply visit the captivating magic of the Cape of Good Hope within Cape Point Nature Reserve. Train your binoculars on Cape Cormorant, Cape Gannet, White-chinned Petrel, and Sooty Shearwater offshore. On windy days, keep an eye out for Shy and Black-browed Albatross, along with frequent sightings of Sub-Antarctic Skua, Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Yellow-nosed Albatross, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, and Broad-billed Prion.

While Cape Point is primarily known as a botanical reserve, it is also home to nearly 250 bird species. Of these, about 70 species breed in the area, including two fynbos endemics: Cape Sugarbird and Orange-breasted Sunbird. Birds are especially conspicuous during spring when pincushion and Protea species are in bloom. The reserve also hosts raptors like the Verreaux’s Eagle, African Fish Eagle, Jackal Buzzard, and Peregrine Falcon.

Birdwatching in Spring in Glencairn

Southeasterly winds stir up great sea-watching conditions so take a drive to Glencairn nestled between Fish Hoek and Simon’s Town. Park at the railway station or the whale-watching site just north of it. The best birding here happens from October to February–March, especially in the afternoon on the first or second day of the southeaster when birds are blown into False Bay. Enjoy sightings of Cape Gannet, Arctic Skua, Sooty Shearwater, and White-chinned Petrel which are frequent visitors, while Pomarine Skua, Cory’s Shearwater, Soft-plumaged Petrel, Great Shearwater, and Long-tailed Skua are less common but still possible sightings.

Birdwatching above Clovelly Golf Course

Park at Sunbird House on the hill above Clovelly Golf Course and follow the trail along the Silvermine River at the base of Kleintuin Mountain. Keen twitchers get a chance to see fynbos endemics such as Cape Sugarbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird, and Cape Siskin. Other species include Bar-throated Apalis, Cape Grassbird, Cape Robin-chat, Jackal Buzzard, Southern Boubou, and Bokmakierie.

Boulders Beach African Penguin Colony, Simonstown

Boulders Beach is home to one of only two mainland breeding colonies of the African Penguin. The colony, established in 1983, reached a peak of 1,200 breeding pairs in 2005 but has since declined to around 800 pairs due to overfishing, which has shifted food sources like sardines and anchovies farther east. The African Penguin is now classified as endangered, with fewer than 20,000 pairs remaining.

Cape Town’s Birding Diversity

Cape Town and its surrounding areas provide some of the most scenic birdwatching opportunities in South Africa. With a rich variety of habitats including fynbos, renosterveld, afromontane forests, and semi-desert Karoo plains, the region is a biodiversity hotspot. Though the total bird species count hovers around 400, the area boasts unique endemics like the Cape Sugarbird, Cape Rock-jumper, Orange-breasted Sunbird, and Protea Seedeater. Cape Siskin, African Penguin, Bank Cormorant, African Black Oystercatcher, and Victorin’s Warbler are also species more easily spotted here than elsewhere.

Visit Seaside Cottages this spring and be amazed by all the beautiful birds! Set off on birdwatching walks and take as many photographs as possible of diverse species. Fish Hoek is the best base for birders this spring.