Birding Kirstenbosch

[Heini Wehrle]

hy there
when would be the better time to go and photograph birds in kirstenbosch botanical garden? End of september or end of february??

Kind regards
Henry

[HiltonP]

September / October are nesting months, so I would expect the birds to be active, looking for food to feed the hungry mouths, etc. In our garden (15kms from Kirstenbosch) the birds have already hatched some youngsters, and are actively feeding others. It's earlier than normal, but I think the unusual weather this winter has confused their clocks!

Do your birding at Kirstenbosch with caution. The best places to see birds are on the upper slopes, on the edges of the gardens where they merge with the mountain. This is where many of the attacks on visitors and groups have occured. Ask the gardens staff about guided walks done with a security guard, they have them every couple of hours. Only problem is that the security guards use dogs, which won't let you get very close to birds!

[dwinter]

This is a very old post, but I feel I have to reply because, in my opinion, this information is misleading and frankly not true.

Kirstenbosch is one of the SAFEST places to watch birds in Cape Town. I have been birding in Kirstenbosch for the last 20 years and have never had a problem.

There have been incidences where people walking above Kirstenbosch on the lower reaches of the mountain and on the mountain top have been robbed, but as far as I know there have not been any reports of this for at least two years.

As with birding in any area in Cape Town, one needs to always be careful and vigilant, but Kirstenbosch is certainly (IMO) one of the safer areas.

As for birding with a security guard with a dog - this is complete hogwash - security guards are not for hire and dogs are banned from the garden. Ever since dogs have been banned from the garden larger mammal species like Cape Fox and Caracal have been sighted in the gardens.

For more information about birding in Kirstenbosch see www.getbirding.com

[HiltonP]

My post was dated 2007. Kirstenbosch had a very real security problem then, it wasn't hogwash, and was documented elsewhere here on ODP. As for security and dogs, well, I can recall seeing them first hand patrolling both the upper paths, and lower lawns as recently as last year (2009).