Birding in West Coast National Park

Winter secrets of one of South Africa’s most important coastal wetland parks

Above: Male Southern Black Korhaan (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List) at Seeberg, West Coast National Park, South Africa. Photo ©Zoë Chapman Poulsen.

Winter has arrived with a vengeance at the Cape. Down at the southwestern corner of Africa, temperatures of the southern hemisphere winter become cooler. Exposed to the full force of the Atlantic weather, cold fronts roll in from the west bringing intense rainfall and often gale-force winds.

But in between the storms the weather is pleasant and calm, bring sunshine and warmth. This is a perfect time to enjoy the outdoors, while the weather is not so hot and the Mediterranean sun is less intense.

Above: View over the wetlands of Langebaan Lagoon towards one of the Geelbek bird hides, West Coast National Park. Photo ©Zoë Chapman Poulsen.

We decided to take a short break on the West Coast in the seaside town of Langebaan. Located on the shores of the spectacular Langebaan Lagoon and north of West Coast National Park, this coastal town is a popular getaway destination for holidaymakers, only a two-hour drive from the City of Cape Town.

West Coast National Park has the Ramsar wetland of Langebaan Lagoon as its centrepiece, but also offers visitors an insight into what the landscapes of South Africa’s West Coast would have looked like years ago before the…