Historically, the 'Zuurverld' as it was known,
contained many bird species that lived here.
As with all developing towns and villages, many rare species were caught, eaten and destroyed.
We are fortunate in that, many concerned people, whose love of the flora and fauna of the area, have gone out of their way to preserve and encourage the birds to come back, live and breed are now seeing the results of their efforts.
Herein under, without too much fuss, we list 'sightings' by Barton Young, a conservationist extrodinaire! His list includes birds as far a field as Bushmans river and Kenton-on- Sea, up the Kowie river and on the Royal Alfred marina.
BIRDS:( excluding Ernes and sea birds)
Ostrich, Dabchick, Cormorant Whitebreasted & Reed, Darter, Heron
- Grey, Blackheaded, Purple, CattleEgret & Blackcrowned Night, Hamerkop,
Stork - White & Black, Ibis - Sacred & Glossy, African Finfoot,Goose
- Egyptian & Spurwinged, South African Shelduck, Duck - Yellowbilled
& African Black, CapeTeal, Hawk - Little Sparrow & Black Sparrow,
Kite - Yellowbilled & Blackshouldered, Eagle - Black,Booted, Martial,
Crowned, African Fish & Steppe, Buzzard - Steppe & Jackal , African
Goshawk,Gymnogene, Rock Kestrel, Palechanting Goshawk, Lesser Kestrel,
African Marsh Harrier, LannerFalcon, Secretary Bird, Rednecked Falcolin,
African Quail, Helmeted Guineaufowl, Blue Crane, BlackCrake, Moorhen, Stanley's
Bustard, Black Korhaan, Plover - Threebanded, Crowned & Blacksmith,Sandpiper
- Common, Wood & Greenshank, Ethiopian Snipe, Dikkop - Spotted &
Water, WhitewingedTern, Pigeon - Feral, Rock, Rameron, Dove - Redeyed,
Cape Turtle, Laughing, amaqa,Cinnamon,Greenspotted & Tamborine, Narina
Tragon , Knysna Lourie, Cuckoo - Redchested, Black, Klaas's, Diederik &
Jabobin, Burchell's Coucal, Owl - Spotted Eagle, Wood, Cape Eagle &
Pearl Spotted,
Fierynecked Nightjar, Swift - Black, Whiterumped, Horus, Little &
Alpine, Mousebird - Speckled & Redfaced, Kingfisher - Pied, Giant,
Malachite, Brownhooded & Pigmy, European Bee Eater, Hoopoe,Redbilled
Woodhoopoe, Crowned Hornbill, Barbet - Blackcollared & Pied, Redfronted
Tinker Barbet,Honeyguide - Lesser & Greater, Woodpecker - Knysna, Cardinal
& Olive, Redthroated Wryneck, Lark -Rufousnaped & Redcapped, Swallow
- European, Black Saw-wing, Whitethroated, Pearl Breasted,Greater Striped
& Lesser Striped, Martin - Rock, House, Brownthroated & Banded,
Cuckoo Shrike -Black & Grey, Forktailed Drongo, Blackheaded Oriole,
Crow - Black & Pied, Whitenecked Raven, Tit -Southern Grey & Southern
Black, Bulbul - Blackeyed, Terrestrial & Sombre, Thrush - Olive &
Cape
Rock, Chat - Familiar, Mocking, Anteating & Stone, Robin - Cape,
Whitebrowed & Karoo, Titbabbler,Warbler - Cape Reed & Willow, Apalis
- Barthroated & Yellowbreasted, Longbilled Crombec, Cisticolas -Greybeaked
& Levaillant's, Neddicky, Prinia - Tawnyflecked & Spotted, Flycatcher
- Dusky, Black, Fiscal & Paradise, Barise - Cape & Chinspot, Cape
Wagtail, Richard's Pipit, Orangethroated Longclaw, Shrike,Southern Boubou,
Puffback, Southern Chagra, Bokmakierie, Olive Bush & Redbacked, Starling
, Sunbird,Cape White Eye, Sparrow, Cape & lower region, Greyheaded,
Weaver - Forest, Spectacled & Cape, Red
Bishop, Widow, Bluebilled Firefinch, Waxbill, Redheaded Finch, Pintailed
Wydah, Black.
Widowfinch, Canary - Yelloweye, Cape, Bully, Yellow, Whitethroated
& Streakyheaded, Bunting -Goldenbreasted & Cape.
If there are any that have been left out, then
it is the fault of the author, not the man.
