Hartbeespoort dam birding : Endemics, Habitats, Access and facilities
Hartbeespoort dam for birding is great. It is about 38 km from Pretoria and about 84 km from O.R. Tambo International Airport. There is parking available at the dam wall. Swift species, black eagles, etc can be seen in the rocky areas. At the Leopard Lodge Park over 280 pairs of Red Data Cape Vulture are nesting. If you explore right around the dam, you can come across some really nice birds.
Cape Vulture, African Hawk-Eagle, Bat Hawk, Half-collared Kingfisher, White-backed Night-Heron, and African Finfoot are listed as specials.
The Owl Rescue Centre, that our magazine promote in each Standard edition, is also located in this area. Here is a blog post about who to call when if you come across an owl that needs rescue:
https://www.wwbirds.co.za/dir/injured-owl-who-to-call/
The Aloe Farm can also be included in this trip. It is on the R104 (Old Rustenburg rd) at Hartbeespoort dam, about 4,5km past Chameleon Village, between Pretoria and Rustenburg, South Africa.
If you are looking for Sunbirds, this is the place to go. This is also where I met the late Ed Raubenheimer who sadly passed away. He was one of the best bird photographers in South Africa. I learned a lot from Ed and he will be sadly missed.
Other birding spots to discover in North West Province:
If you like Hartbeespoort dam for birding then you might also be interested to visit Pilanesberg:
https://www.wwbirds.co.za/dir/pilanesberg-birding/
Here is a link to my Facebook profile:
https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100016619924913
I hope you enjoyed this blog post and please leave a comment about your experience at Pilanesberg or anything you would like to share with us.
Content creator: Petrus A. van Tonder
