As you walk through our pristine estate you will notice that birds are our most obvious

wildlife in the estate. Our current bird list is 160 species (September 2021) but there are

probably a few more to add to this list.

Our estate now developed and cloaked in a beautiful woodland terrain and our list shows

a predominance of woodland species. We have some small patches of natural grassland 

and has attracted many birds that are dependent on such habitat.

Sugarbush Park, along the western edge of the estate has been left virtually untouched

and is our natural connection to the botanical gardens.

The Protea grasslands dominate Sugarbush Park and the properties toward the mountain.

This is where to look for species like Mocking Cliff-chat, Cape Rock Thrush, Red-winged

Starling, Cape Glossy Starling, Neddicky, Bokmakierie, Red-winged and Coqui Francolins,

Chinspot Batis, Cinnamon-Breasted Bunting, Natal Spurfowl, the Brown- and Black-crowned

Tchagras, Pin-Tailed Whydah, red-collared widowbird, arrow-marked babblers

Verreaux's eagle (Black Eagles)
Other raptors that have been seen within the estate include

Eagles
Black-chested Snake-eagle, Long-Crested eagle , Brown Snake eagle, African Hawk-

eagle - rare, Booted eagle - rare

Acipitaters (Sparrowhawks)
Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Black Sparrowhawk, Little Sparrowhawk and the African

Cuckoo Hawk - rarely seen

Falcons

Peregrine Falcon - rare, mainly seen in Walter Sisulu Botanical gardens, Amur Falcon - rare

Kites

Black-winged Kite - rare, Yellow-Billed Kite - rare, migrant

Buzzards
Common Buzzard, European Honey Buzzard - migrant

Owls
Spotted Eagle Owl and Barn Owl, Scops owl - rare

Bee Eaters
European Bee-eaters are common in summer throughout the estate and the odd

White-fronted bee-eater

Cuckoo's
Red-chested (Piet-my-vrou) Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo, Diederik Cuckoo, Levaillant’s Cuckoo.

These cuckoos are Parasitic birds and use other bird nests to lay their eggs in after they

remove the existing eggs from the nest.

Rowdy Hadedas breed within the grounds in various locations and are probably well known

to most residents. Spotted Dikkops are fairly common and together with and the migrant

Speckled and Rufous-cheeked Nightjars make up for some of the sounds heard at night.

The Greater and Lesser Honeyguides, Cardinal and Golden-tailed Woodpeckers. Birds that

feed in the grasslands include Bronze Mannikin, Blue Waxbill, common Waxbill, Tawny-Flank

Prinea, Cape Wagtail, Black-throated Canary and Streaky-headed Seedeater. Jamesons 

Firefinch, African Firefinch, Fiscal Flycatcher, African Paradise Flycatcher, Crested- and

Black-Collared barbets, Yellow-Fronted Tinkerbird, Cape Robin-Chat, Southern BouBou,

Cape White-Eye, Southern-Masked Weaver, Cape weaver, Thick-Billed Weaver, Helmeted

Guinea Fowl and Indian Myna

Strolling along the boundary fence alongside the Crocodile river you will see a variety of

Ducks, Kingfishers, Herons, Geese, Sacred ibis, Hamerkop, Reed Cormorant, African

Reed thrush

• African Black Duck, Yellow Billed duck
• Hamerkop
• African Grey Hornbill
• Giant Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher - Migrant, Half-collared Kingfisher, Malachite

Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher and the Brown-hooded Kingfisher,

• Common Moorhen
• Purple Heron, Black-Headed heron, Grey Heron, Striated Heron
• White-throated Swallow, Greater-Striped swallow, White rumped swifts, African

Black swift

• Blacksmith Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing
• African Hoopoe and Green Wood Hoopoe
• Four species of sunbird occur including the iridescent metallic-green coloured

Malachite Sunbird and the colourful Greater Double-coloured Sunbird both of

which are attracted to flowering proteas and aloes especially during the winter

months as well as the Amethyst and White-Bellied sunbirds

Burchell’s Coucal, Black-Headed Oriole, Grey-Headed Bush Shrike, Black-Backed Puffback,

Common Fiscal, African Olive Pigeon, Go-Away-bird, Speckled- and Red-Faced Mousebird,

Ring-Necked dove, Red-eyed dove, Speckled pigeon, Cape Turtle Dove and the Laughing

Dove, Southern Grey-Headed Sparrow, Cape Sparrow and the House Sparrow

Updated by Shane Wilken Photographer and bird enthusiast. Regular sightings and photos

are posted on (Featherbrooke Birding) Facebook site