Birding the West Coast - Velddrif — Mark Booysen Photography

As you all know I (like many of us) have not been able to head off into the African bush on holiday due to covid-19 restrictions. I am really enjoying my macro journey by photographing jumping spiders but decided to go back to my roots of bird photography!

My wife and I have been doing day trips up the West Coast lately so Velddrif was a logical choice for a bird photography session.

Location

Velddrif is a coastal fishing town located around 145km north of Cape Town. Due to it being located on the estuary where the Berg River flows into the sea at St Helena Bay the bird life is incredible and plays host to around 30,000 birds - amazing! In addition there are also saltworks that can be visited - the most popular being Kliphoek Salt Pans that can be accessed via Kuifkopvisvanger resort.

Species

There are well over 350 different species to be found here as it is a habitat for land, sea and river birds.

camera gear

Bird photography gear could not be more different from macro photography gear even if it tried! Due to the skittish behavior of birds you need the longest lens that you own, my typical setup is as follows:

Canon 5D Mark IV paired with EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II and EF 1.4x III Extender (that is an effective focal length of 560mm!)

Bokkomlaan

One of my favourite spots in Velddrif is Bokkomlaan named after the salted silvery fish that are strung into bunches and hung to dry. There are various jetties along this historic gravel road so be on the lookout for kingfishers, darters, seagulls and various other sea birds that perch on these jetties. At low tide the waders (called that as they often have long legs to wade in the water) visit to eat the critters that are exposed once the water level drops.

Bokkomlaan has numerous restaurants making it enjoyable for the entire family and not only enthusiastic photographers. The “slow pace” makes it a perfect spot to unwind from the stresses of everyday life!