The famed Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

13 October 2025 - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens; Site 3

Fortunately I didnt have to take the slow coastal road to the famed Botanical Gardens, but by the time I arrived after lunch, the clouds had started rolling in. Again, many tour buses in the car park. 

Whilst walking to the ticket office I had a large raptor circling overhead and stopped to grab a few pics before hearing a car hoot, as I had been oblivious to standing in the middle of the road - it does happen, as I'm sure many will attest to. We still do not have 100% consensus on what it is - but for now a 'Steppe' Buzzard. Although there are records of 'Cape' Buzzard which is a possible hybrid between Steppe and Mountain Buzzard. If anyone has any thoughts/opinions on this raptor, do let me know.

Possible Steppe Buzzard (Buteo b. vulpinus)

At the ticket office, again I was assumed to be a tourist, despite my SA accent. But once through the gate, I was into these magnificent gardens which like Strandfontein, I hadn't visited in over 30-years. If you haven't visited, I can highly recommend that you do - not just for the birds, but the gardens themselves.

I had hardly got into the main gardens and was already onto many birds in the first section as it slowly got gloomier where I easily spent over an hour. 

I had the grey form Cape White-Eye's 

Cape White-Eye (Zosterops v. capensis)

Common Waxbill's

Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild)

Numbers of Cape Canary's including juveniles

Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis)

Juvenile Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis)

a cracking male Eurasian Chaffinch

Eurasian Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Countless Southern Double-collared Sunbirds

Southern Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus)

and was astounded by the number of obliging Forest Canary's

Female Forest Canary (Crithagra scotops)

Not sure if this abstract works?

Male Forest Canary (Crithagra scotops)

Conscious of the time, I continued upward to the main Protea Garden where one of my photographic targets was Orange-breasted Sunbird. I started off a Dusky Flycatcher sitting quietly in some cover

African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta)

Followed by a couple of Cape Bulbul

Cape Bulbul (Pycnonotus capensis)

Then Cape Spurfowl

Cape Spurfowl (Pternistis capensis)

Followed by numbers of Cape Sugarbird which were quite abundant. Not surprising that many of the species seen here have 'Cape' in their names....

Female Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer)

Male Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer)

As it got gloomier and darker with some light drizzle, the Olive Thrushes made an appearance and a killing on the emerging earthworms.

Olive Thrush (Turdus olivaceus)

No luck at all with the Sunbird, so I made my way back toward the entrance, only to be stopped by a small flock of the diminutive and colourful Swee Waxbill's feeding on the grass and occasionally being flushed by visitors into the surrounding flower beds

Female Swee Waxbill (Coccopygia melanotis)

Male Swee Waxbill (Coccopygia melanotis)

Here a Cape Robin-Chat calling from the top of a shrub

Cape Robin-Chat (Dessonornis caffra)

Back down near the entrance, a Cape Grassbird popped up from the undergrowth and seemingly took cover from the rain under a Lily and started singing - I call this image "Gimme Shelter'

Cape Grassbird (Sphenoeacus afer)

The last bird, was a male Malachite Sunbird on the top of an Aloe

Male Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa)

On the way out, I took a few floral images. I would have done my visit to these gardens a dis-service had I not!

Floral display

followed by the impressive and magnificent mature trees along the service road, just outside the entrance - colour or B&W?

Magnificent trees

By now it was raining a little harder and it was almost closing time on what had been a thoroughly enjoyable day exploring a few birding sites in and around Cape Town. So, back into my car and off to check into my hotel near Rondebosch for a shower and a well-deserved meal with a few cold ones!