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Rita and myself spent three blissful days at Little Stone Cottage at Laaiplaats near Mossel Bay. We attended a wedding in George and grabbed the opportunity to get away from people and do some birding at the same time.

We could not have chosen a better place. The cottage is well equipped, comfortable and ideally located. Our hosts, Marius & Joeline are a delightful couple who are passionate about nature and conserving this remnant of indigenous forest as well as its fauna & flora.

For more info (and the birdlist) click on this link : Little Stone Cottage

Birding was great early in the morning and quieter in the heat of the day. Forest birding is difficult, but also very rewarding if one is patient. Marius opened up various trails that one can walk in the forest.

I managed a total of 58 species with highlights being a Scalythroated Honeyguide  which visited us while we were having a braai. Just sitting on the deck is also very rewarding with birds like the Half-collared Kingfisher , Giant Kingfisher, Knysna Turaco, ect seen. There is also a family of Brownheaded Kingfishers very active near the deck of the cottage.

Little Stone is very highly recommended but do take everything with you as you are a long way from shops and if you cannot live without your TV, laptop or cellphone( limited Vodacom reception at cottage) then rather go somewhere else!

Below are some photos to give you an idea of what to expect. Also some of the birds I managed to capture.
Please enjoy.

_ Egyptian Goose, African Black Duck, Hadeda Ibis, Western Cattle Egret, Black-shouldered Kite, Common Buzzard, Forest Buzzard, Jackal Buzzard, Crowned Lapwing, African Olive Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Cape Turtle Dove, Laughing Dove, Tambourine Dove, Knysna Turaco, Klaas's Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, White-rumped Swift, Speckled Mousebird ,Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Half-collared Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Olive Woodpecker, Cape Batis ,Southern Tchagra, Southern Boubou ,Black Cuckooshrike, Common Fiscal, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Paradise Flycatcher, Cape Crow, Cape Bulbul, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Black Saw-wing, Barn Swallow, Rock Martin, Common House Martin, Greater Striped Swallow, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Neddicky, Karoo Prinia, Bar-throated Apalis, Cape White-eye, Olive Thrush, Fiscal Flycatcher, African Dusky Flycatcher, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Swee Waxbill, Common Waxbill, Cape Wagtail, African Pipit, Forest Canary, Yellow Canary, Streaky-headed Seedeater.

_ Helmeted Guineafowl, Cape Spurfowl, Spur-winged Goose, Egyptian Goose, South African Shelduck, Cape Teal, Yellow-billed Duck, Cape Shoveler, Red-billed Teal, Hottentot Teal, Maccoa Duck, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Greater Flamingo, African Sacred Ibis, Hadeda Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Western Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Black-headed Heron, Purple Heron, Little Egret, Great White Pelican, Reed Cormorant, White-breasted Cormorant, African Darter, Black-shouldered Kite, Yellow-billed Kite, African Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, African Swamphen, Common Moorhen, Red-knobbed Coot, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Blacksmith Lapwing, Kittlitz's Plover, Three-banded Plover, Common Greenshank ,Common Sandpiper, Grey-headed Gull, Hartlaub's Gull, Kelp Gull, Caspian Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Rock Dove, Speckled Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Laughing Dove, Little Swift, White-rumped Swift, Pied Kingfisher, Pied Crow, White-necked Raven, Cape Bulbul ,Brown-throated Martin, Barn Swallow, White-throated Swallow, Little Rush Warbler, Levaillant's Cisticola, Zitting Cisticola, Karoo Prinia, Common Starling, Red-winged Starling, House Sparrow, Cape Weaver, Southern Red Bishop, Cape Wagtail, Cape Longclaw, African Pipit, Cape Canary.

Apalis Bar-throated,  Batis Cape,  Bishop Southern Red,  Bishop Yellow,  Bokmakierie, Bulbul Cape,  Bunting Cape,  Canary Cape,
Coot Red-knobbed,  Cormorant Reed,  Crake Black,  Crane Blue,  Crow Pied,  Cuckoo Klaas's,  Darter African,  Dove Laughing,  Dove Namaqua ,
Dove Red-eyed,  Egret Cattle,  Fiscal Common,  Flycatcher Fiscal,
 Francolin Grey-winged,  Goose Egyptian, Goose Spur-winged,  Grebe Little,  Guineafowl Helmeted,  Gull Kelp,  Heron Black-headed,
Honeyguide Lesser,  Hoopoe African,  Ibis African Sacred,  Ibis Hadeda,  Kite Yellow-billed,  Korhaan Southern Black,  Lapwing Blacksmith,
Lapwing Crowned,  Lark Red-capped,  Longclaw Cape,  Martin Banded,  Martin Brown-throated  Martin Rock,  Masked-Weaver Southern,
Moorhen Common,  Mousebird Red-faced,  Mousebird Speckled,  Mousebird White-backed,  Pelican Great White,  Pigeon Speckled ,
Pipit African,  Plover Kittlitz's,  Plover Three-banded , Prinia Karoo , Robin-Chat Cape,  Rush-Warbler Little,  Scrub-Robin Karoo,
Shelduck South African,  Sparrow Cape,  Sparrow House, 
Sparrow Southern Grey-headed,  Starling Common,  Starling Pied,  Stonechat African,  Sunbird Malachite,  Sunbird Southern Double-collared,  Swallow Greater Striped,  Swallow Pearl-breasted, Swallow White-throated,  Swamp-Warbler Lesser,  Swift Little,  Turtle-Dove Cape,  Wagtail Cape,  Waxbill Common,  Weaver Cape,  Wheatear Capped,  White-eye Cape,  Whydah Pin-tailed. 

I was lucky enough to spend four blissful days at the Goudini Spa. But of course I had to do some relaxed birding as well. The Spa is situated on the mountains slopes. Although there are plenty of trees the total bird species is a bit disappointing. The most dominant birds are Cape Canaries and Red-winged Starlings. In total I found about 16 species. The most exciting bird I saw was a Black SparrowHawk flyover.
If you decide to venture a bit further the Karoo National Park in Worcester  is a good bet. On a good day you could find up to 60 species in the park. I found about 40 species in a 3 hour walk.  The most sought after species you will find here is the Southern Tchagra and Fairy Flycatcher. Just remember to be there early. The birds are very active early on, but by 10 :00 you don't see that many birds.
Another good bet is when you drive out of the Spa, take the road to the left. This road becomes a dirt road and after about 5 km meet up with the main tar road to Worcester. The birding along this dirt road is very good. Even without really birding with intent we still managed to see 58 species.
The Goudini Spa Is a wonderful breakaway and you will enjoy the warm spring water.

Acacia Pied Barbet, African Reed Warbler, African Sacred Ibis,
African Stonechat, Alpine Swift, Black Sparrowhawk, Black-shouldered Kite Blacksmith Lapwing, Bokmakierie, Brown-throated Martin, Cape Batis, Cape Bulbul, Cape Canary, Cape Robin-Chat, Cape Sparrow, Cape Spurfowl Cape Teal, Cape Turtle Dove, Cape Wagtail, Cape Weaver, Cape White-eye Chestnut-vented Tit-babbler, Common Fiscal, Common Starling,
Common Waxbill, Egyptian Goose, Familiar Chat, Fiscal Flycatcher,
Greater Striped Swallow, Grey-backed Cisticola, Hadeda Ibis, Hamerkop, Helmeted Guineafowl, Jackal Buzzard, Karoo Scrub Robin, Laughing Dove, Lesser Swamp Warbler, Levaillant's Cisticola, Little Swift,
Malachite Sunbird, Olive Thrush, Pied Crow, Red-eyed Dove,
Red-winged Starling, Reed Cormorant, Rock Dove, Rock Kestrel,
Rock Martin, Southern Boubou, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Speckled Pigeon, Streaky-headed Seedeater, Swee Waxbill,
White-backed Mousebird, White-necked Raven, Yellow Bishop,
Yellow-billed Duck

African Darter, African Marsh Harrier, African Sacred Ibis ,
African Spoonbill, Black-headed Heron, Blacksmith Lapwing,
Brown-throated Martin, Cape Bulbul, Cape Canary, Cape Shoveler,
Cape Spurfowl, Cape Teal, Cape Wagtail, Cape Weaver, Cape White-eye, Common Fiscal, Common Moorhen, Common Starling, Common Waxbill,
Egyptian Goose, Great White Pelican, Grey Heron, Hadeda Ibis,
Hartlaub's Gull, Helmeted Guineafowl, Hottentot Teal,
House Sparrow, Laughing Dove, Lesser Swamp Warbler,
Levaillant's Cisticola, Little Grebe, Little Rush Warbler,
Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Crow, Pin-tailed Whydah, Red-eyed Dove, Red-knobbed Coot, Reed Cormorant Rock Dove Speckled Pigeon White-breasted Cormorant Yellow-billed Duck

OK so now I have the new equipment and after some frustrating  rainy
day's I finally had the chance to test it.
On a beautiful sunny day I shot out to Intaka Island. From my previous session with the lens I knew that the portrait photo's was sharp and clear. My main objective was to do some Bird In Flight Shots. With my previous equipment I was lucky to get maybe one in a hundred shots in focus. What immediately impressed me was how quick the autofocus was.  I shot in AV mode. I had my ISO on 800 and my F stop on F5.6. This gave me a shutter speed of up to 4000. Although my panning skills can definitely improved , I still got about 5 keepers out of every 10 shots. By keepers I mean "In Focus". I started shooting at big water birds in flight. As my confidence grew I started shooting smaller birds. As can be seen by my photos, the smallest bird is a sparrow. Previously I battled to get a Sacred Ibis in focus. What also impressed me about the camera is how well it handles noise. All the flight shots was taken with ISO 800. As can be seen on the photo's the noise is minimal and can be easily cleared up with a noise program.
I for one is very happy with my purchase. I now have some gear that will allow me to constantly produce good Bird Photos. 

The Pentax SMCP-DA* 300mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM Lens is a high-quality telephoto lens that is designed for exclusive use with Pentax digital SLR cameras. It offers a focal length that is equivalent (in 35mm format) to 450mm. This wide coverage is ideal for a variety of telephoto applications, including portraiture, sports and scenery. Pentax DA* (DA-Star) zoom lenses come equipped with the SDM System, which assures smoother, quieter auto-focusing operation by using a built-in supersonic motor. When mounted on the K10D digital SLR camera body, the focus mode is automatically switched to SDM-assisted auto-focusing. When mounted on older Pentax digital SLR camera bodies, the conventional autofocus mode using a camera-mounted motor is selected.

Like all Pentax lenses, this lens is treated with smc coating for maximum light transmission, sharp definition, and high contrast images. In addition, SP (Super Protective) coating made of a special fluoride compound has been applied to the front surface of the lens through the use of a unique evaporation process. As a result, the lens offers excellent water- and oil-repellent performance and makes for easier cleaning should the lens be accidentally smeared with fingerprints or cosmetics.

Note! Not compatible with "full-frame" (35mm size) cameras

Key Features Designed for Digital SLRs The image circle in DA-series lenses is designed to perfectly match the 23.5mm x 15.7mm size of the CCD used in Pentax digital SLRs to optimize camera performance. This design also contributes to a drastic reduction in size, weight and production cost, compared to 35mm-format counterparts with similar specifications. DA*-Series DA*-series lenses feature tightly sealed, weather-resistant and dust-resistant construction that enhance durability for use in rain or dusty conditions. SP Coating SP (Super Protective) coating made of a special fluoride compound has been applied to the front surface of the lens to offer excellent water- and oil-repellent performance. Quick-Shift Focus Quick-Shift Focus System allows to instantly switch the focus mode from AF to manual with a slight twist of the focus ring. High Optical Quality Incorporates Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass lens elements to compensate for chromatic aberration.