Take the N2 headed to Cape Town from Gqeberha and then the off-ramp to Thornhill. Turn right onto the old R102. The road to Gamtoos Mouth is signposted and lies between Thornhill and the Gamtoos River. After turning down to the Gamtoos Mouth, stop and bird along the road until you reach the mouth, after about 6 kms. If you continue along the R102, further on you will find the bridge over the Gamtoos River and here you can look for African Pied Wagtail, Water Thick-knee and Common Sandpiper along the river. Five species of kingfisher have also been seen here.
Down the road to the river mouth on your left is thick subtropical thicket where Knysna Warbler are sometimes heard. The flood plain is on your right and in dry periods Denham's Bustards can be seen here. In wet cycles the flood plain is partially underwater.
Drive to the end of the tar road at the lagoon. (The river is on your right and cliffs and dense subtropical thicket on your left). The cliffs hold breeding colonies of Horus Swifts and Pied Starling. On one occasion a juvenile Spotted Eagle Owl was seen here. Forest birds are often seen in the bush and raptors on the cliffs.
Walk the bush trails or the beach paths. Bush specials are African Marsh-Harrier, Cape Batis, Knysna Woodpecker, African Dusky Flycatcher and Olive Thrush. Terek Sandpiper, Curlew, Common Whimbrel, European Oystercatcher, Black Crake, African Snipe, Goliath and Purple Heron, African Rail, European Hobby (on the dunes) and Caspian Tern are some of the lagoon species.
When you reach the first buildings park at a grassy layby on the right. From here you get a distant view of the main mudflats (only at low tide, which is three hours after low tide in Gqeberha). A scope can pick up excellent birds. Over the years Eurasian Curlew, European Oystercatcher and Crab Plover have been seen on the mudflats. Marsh Owls were once seen on the saltmarsh on the right of the mudflats.
Drive onto the gate of the reserve and pay an entrance fee. At the end of the blind mouth cross the end of the river and walk about two kilometres along the edge of the river towards the mouth. Apart from the megas mentioned above, the mudflats have waders such as Terek Sandpiper, Red Knot, Greater Sand Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit in summer. These birds can only be seen at low tide. Broad-billed Sandpiper were found here once by Geoff Lockwood.
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Terek Sandpiper – Gregg Darling |
Bar-tailed Godwit – Corné Erasmus |
Go back and walk over the dunes from the blind mouth. You will reach a vlei where there are often Purple Herons and African Snipes. The dunes have shifted radically in the last 25 years and there was a totally isolated blind mouth further on. Eurasian Hobbies (on the dunes), Red-chested Flufftails (calling from the extensive reedbeds) and once the famous Citrine Wagtail (a first for Southern Africa) were once seen here as well as a male Garganey. An interesting record over the saltmarsh once was a Sand Martin. There are many small birds that still roost in this huge reedbed. Around the chalets at the village quite a few forest birds occur in the dense bush, such as Lemon Dove and Brown Scrub-Robin.
In wet cycles the seasonal vleis on the old road a few kilometres past the old bridge are good for Glossy Ibis.