Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary
Posted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 10:49 am
A little gem of a place in the middle of Pretoria, I visited on February 1 and was surprised by the variety of birds present.
I was a bit confused at first as the signs took me to the car park of the Blue Crane Restaurant and the car guard told me that it only opened at 09:00 - he meant the restaurant, not the bird sanctuary which opens at 06:00 in the summer.
The sanctuary is on the other side of the restaurant and you can either walk through or you can drive around and park near the entrance where there was another car guard.
Adjacent to the gate is a building which houses a wetlands diorama with some stuffed birds. There is a verandah to this building which overlooks the dam and is a great place for photos as the sun rises directly behind you!
A 50 metre boardwalk which is fenced on the dam side takes you to the hide; the fence has observation slots in it so the dam can be viewed.
On the opposite side of the walk are two enclosures which house Blue Cranes and Crowned Cranes.
One of the first things I saw was a tiny chick - I named it "Fugly".
Later I saw Fugly with Mom.
Everywhere I go I see these.
And these.
And these.
At around 08:00 an attendant came to the verandah with a bucket of sweet corn and started throwing it into the water. The gyppos arrived.
To be continued.....
I was a bit confused at first as the signs took me to the car park of the Blue Crane Restaurant and the car guard told me that it only opened at 09:00 - he meant the restaurant, not the bird sanctuary which opens at 06:00 in the summer.
The sanctuary is on the other side of the restaurant and you can either walk through or you can drive around and park near the entrance where there was another car guard.
Adjacent to the gate is a building which houses a wetlands diorama with some stuffed birds. There is a verandah to this building which overlooks the dam and is a great place for photos as the sun rises directly behind you!
A 50 metre boardwalk which is fenced on the dam side takes you to the hide; the fence has observation slots in it so the dam can be viewed.
On the opposite side of the walk are two enclosures which house Blue Cranes and Crowned Cranes.
One of the first things I saw was a tiny chick - I named it "Fugly".
Later I saw Fugly with Mom.
Everywhere I go I see these.
And these.
And these.
At around 08:00 an attendant came to the verandah with a bucket of sweet corn and started throwing it into the water. The gyppos arrived.
To be continued.....
