With more than 250 species recorded, Golden Gate is an excellent birding destination. It offers many grassland and montane (forest on mountains above 1006m/3300ft) specials including several endemics unique to South Africa. It is one of the more reliable sites to find the sought after bearded vulture. There is a ‘vulture restaurant’ providing food for these endangered birds, as well as for Cape vultures. Migratory birds are present from November to April.
Birding Specials Treats for Avid Birders
(E) endemic = only lives in South Africa(NE) near-endemic = lives in South Africa and neighboring countries
- Alpine swift
- Bearded vulture
- Black stork
- Black swift
- Buff-streaked chat (NE)
- Cape rock thrush
- Cape vulture
- Common kestrel
- Drakensberg rockjumper
- Drakensberg siskin (NE)
- Greater double-collared sunbird
- Grey-winged francolin (E)
- Ground woodpecker (NE)
- Gurney’s sugarbird (NE)
- Lanner falcon
- Lazy cisticola
- Malachite sunbird
- Mocking cliff chat
- Mountain wheatear
- Peregrine falcon
- Red-winged francolin
- Rock pipit
- Sentinel rock thrush (NE)
- Southern bald ibis (NE)
- Southern double-collared sunbird
- Verreaux’s eagle
- Wailing cisticola
- Wing-snapping cisticola
Best Time for Bird Watching
The best time for bird watching in Golden Gate Highlands is November to April (summer) when the Eurasian and intra-African migrants can be found. It gets very cold during the winter (May to September), and some bird species seek shelter in the lower altitudes.