I joined Sion and Tiana Stanton for a short visit to Rondevlei this morning to see what was about. Unfortunately, the wind was howling, so it made birding a little difficult, but we still managed to find the long staying Goliath Heron (a Western Cape rarity) and also got reasonable views of an African Snipe that was foraging out on the open mud despite the strong winds. My highlight of the day was however non-avian when I got a reptile lifer in the form of Aurora House Snake, an animal which I have been searching for for quite some time. These harmless snakes are rather good looking being on overall olive colour (with a whitish belly) and a strong orange stripe from the head right down the back. Needless to say, I could not get either Sion or Tiana to hold it while I photographed it and had to ask the lady at the entrance kiosk to do the honours! Thankfully, she was quite happy to do so and showed no fear of the animal at all, unlike the other visitors who walked past us rather quickly on their way into the reserve...