Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden – South Africa

About

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is located in Cape Town, South Africa. This forest supports three types of fynbos, a type of shrubland only in the Western Cape. It is home to the Garden, a reserve area established in 1913. Prior to the garden being built and established, the forests were neglected. But today, it is a thriving area full of biodiversity and a popular destination for tourists, casual birders, and professional photographers. The Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway allows visitors to walk through the forest canopy. It is commonly called “The Boomslang,” named after a snake skeleton because of the simple design that resembles it. It is known for rare plant species in addition to the birds that dwell there. There is a wide variety of bird-pollinated plant species here. The most famed areas are home to the proteas and ericas. These plants draw in some of the most beautiful and colorful birds: the Malachite Sunbird, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Orange-breasted Sunbird, and Cape Sugarbird. These birds in these flowers are a professional photographer’s dream! The Cape Batis, Cape White-eye, Karoo Prinia, Helmeted Guineafowl, Cape Spurfowl, and Egyptian Goose are some other birds that are known to be found here in the forest – both on the ground level and within the thick vegetation of the tree canopy. You can see endemic birds close up! At least 40 birds can be seen in the summer on a two to three-hour walk through the garden, but over 100 species total can be seen here. Owen traveled to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in September 2015.

© Owen Deutsch

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Birds found here

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  Malachite Sunbird

  
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  Orange-breasted Sunbird

  
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  Cape Sugarbird

  
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  Helmeted Guineafowl

  
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  Common Chaffinch