A clear beautiful morning – so although the birding was not quite what we hoped for, the weather was perfect and the harbour, the city and the Queen Mary 2 all looked stunning.
There were lots of Grey headed gulls in and out of breeding plumage, Common Ringed Plovers also going into breeding plumage. Egyptian and Spur-winged Geese, a couple of Greenshank, Curlew Sandpipers, Goliath & Grey Herons, Little Egrets, Kelp Gulls, Blacksmiths, Caspian & Swift Terns and lots of Pink-backed Pelicans. Superb displays by the Fish Eagles and a Black Sparrowhawk went by at speed. Later on we walked down to the boardwalk and found the Black Spar’s nest. Some of us were lucky enough to see the Mangrove Kingfisher and Purple-banded Sunbird – total count for the morning 53.
After an update by Roy on BMCG – 9 of us retired to Buds for lunch and little liquid refreshment whereupon another great time was had by all!
Elena Russell
(PS: the butterfly is a White-barred Acraea – John Bremmer’s photos of the Fish Eagle the rest of the photos are Dave Rimmer’s)
Jenny Norman and I (Elena Russell) visited Tala Game Reserve on Easter Sunday (last Sunday of the month & BLPN members get the discounted entrance fee! but remember you must contact them first don’t just rock up). The hordes did descend but we got there early so had the dam and picnic site to ourselves for the first few hours and got a good list going – we then set off to explore the rest of the reserve. Lots of cisticolas; Zitting, Lazy, Croaking, Levaillant’s and Neddickys but no Rattlers. We dipped on some of the more common birds, not one Euplectes species was seen all day but we twitched on a few summer visitors which we thought might have already flown i.e. Willow Warbler, Red Backed Shrike and Spotted Flycatcher.
The game is plentiful and a baby giraffe had us oohing and aahing as well as young Eland, Kudu and Wildebeest and we did see the Rhino. I joked about no oxpeckers whereupon we came upon a superb Kudu bull with a pair of Red-Billed Oxpeckers + a juvenile on its back. Shortly afterwards we met up with one of the rangers (John) and had a brief chat (have you ever known Jenny not to have a chat) and he said that there used to be only about 5/6 oxpeckers in the reserve but over the past few months had increased to about 50 – due he thought to the fact that the Parks Board had had a breeding programme going and had released a number of Red-billed Oxpeckers in Umfolozi/Hluhluwe a few years ago and some of these birds must have migrated down to various reserves in KZN.
John also happened to mention that a few weeks ago a Flamingo flew in an stayed for a week and that the Pale Chanting Goshawk still appears about every 6/8 weeks and seems to hang around the entrance area and Acacia Lodge for those birders who would like a rarity on their KZN list.
We had good views of Martial and Fish eagles, Jackal Buzzard, Black shouldered Kite and an African Marsh Harrier quartering a grassy hillside in the late afternoon was special. At the end of a very good day’s birding a Long Crested Eagle brought our count up to 99 – we didn’t crack a 100!
Red-billed Oxpecker
Burchell’s Coucal
Red-backed Shrike
Black-shouldered Kite
Diedrick’s Cuckoo
Malachite Kingfisher
Rayed Blues
Elena Russell & Jenny Norman – (Jenny’s photographs).
Sally and I are back from our impromptu wanderings around Natal. We headed to Mahai for 5 days, Ithala and Ndumo for 4 days each then 2 days each in Bonamanzi and Richards Bay.
We had interesting sightings in most places.
To enlarge the photos – single click (left mouse button). To return to the text either select the back button (if enlarging the large photos) or find the “X” at the top left for the enlarged smaller photos.
Mahai
At the Tower of Pizza restaurant (10kms before the entrance gate to the Royal Natal NP) at roosting time the tree behind the restaurant served as the roost for what appeared to be thousands of Amur Falcons. The sky turned black (much like the swallows used to do at Mount Moreland) and then they fell as rain into the tree making a loud racket as they did so.
Even more surprising at the same venue in the trees and cell phone tower beside the main road, we saw at least 70 (and likely more) Southern Bald Ibis taking up their roost positions for the night. Some were even on the wires across the road.
Southern Bald Ibis – MahaiSouthern Bald Ibis, Mahai
Nearby there is a Parks Board reserve called Poccolan-Robertson’s Bush NR. (GPS: S28.33.890; E29.05.053). There is an Eskom power plant pumping facility at Kilburn Lake immediately before the reserve. Venturing to the top we found an excellent mix of Bushveld and Highveld birds. The two habitats meeting in a transition zone. There were Chorister Robin-Chats mixing with Acacia Pied Barbets for example.
Chorister Robin-Chat, Mahai
Bush Blackcap was heard and seen in the bush beside RN NP Reception. Other specials seen/heard in the area include: Ground Woodpecker, Cape Rock-Thrush, Bokmakierie, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Peregrine and Lanner Falcons, Fiscal Flycatcher, Malachite Sunbird, Mountain Wagtail, Barratt’s Warbler, Cape Vultures.
African Olive Pigeon, Mahai
Cape Glossy Starling, Mahai
Cape Rock-Thrush – female, Mahai
Cape Rock-Thrush – male, Mahai
Cape White-eyes, Mahai
Ground Woodpecker, Mahai
Ground Woodpeckers, Mahai
Groundscraper Thrush, Mahai
Levaillant’s Cisticola, Mahai
Malachite Sunbird, Mahai
Mountain Wagtail, Mahai
Red-collared Widowbird, Mahai
Spotted Eagle-Owl, Mahai
On the path between Tiger Falls and Gudu we were lucky to see a Grey Rhebok – a species of antelope neither of us had seen before. The way it fled over the steep and dense grass terrain was amazing.
Golden Gate
The new Vulture Hide is quite impressive. It has 2 rooms. One with windows totally glassed and the other with pull up flaps for photographers beside each look out window – as shown below.
Golden Gate Vulture HideGolden Gate Vulture Hide
However no-one could tells us who to contact to find out about new carcass placements. Several Black-backed Jackal were seen and a couple of Cape Vultures flew overhead. 30 or more White-necked Ravens hung onto the cliff face below the “Restaurant”.
Ithala
The camp site now has a HOT water outdoor shower with 2 shower heads side by side.
Ithala Shower
Two Blue Cranes at a water hole just after the Lookout Point on the Ngulumbeni Loop.
Blue Cranes, Ithala
Shelly’s Francolin unperturbed by us – but a lifer for me! Often heard in the past but until now never seen.
Shelley’s Francolin, Ithala
The following butterfly took us by surprise. We were looking down when suddenly what we thought was a leaf took off. Its camouflage was unbelievable – if we had not seen it move we would never have spotted it. Someone please ID it for us.
Ithala Butterfly – for ID Please
Some other sightings of interest include:
Secretarybird, Ithala
Red-billed Oxpecker, Ithala
Red-billed Oxpecker- juvenile, Ithala
Mocking Cliff-Chat, Ithala
Mocking Cliff-Chat, Ithala
Ithala Smelly Pooh – please ID
Ithala Smelly Pooh – please ID
Eland, Ithala
Ndumo
The water levels in the pans were so high that trying to find waders was impossible from any of the hides. However on a drive with Bongani to the back of the Nyamithi Pan we eventually saw many – some in breeding plumage like this Little Stint.
Little Stint in breeding plumage alongside a Common Ringed Plover, Ndumo
Opposite Nyamithi Hide there must be over 500 Yellow-billed storks, 100 Pink-backed Pelicans, Great White Cormorants all nesting in the Fever trees. Numerous Spur-winged Geese are also present.
Nesting Site, Ndumo. Only a small portion shown.
A number of other sightings can be seen in the following gallery:
Senegal Lapwing, Ndumo
Saddle-billed Stork, Ndumo
Martial Eagle – juvenile, Ndumo
Malachite Kingfisher with dinner for his young in the base of the uprooted Fever tree, Ndumo
Grey-headed Bushshrike, Ndumo
Gorgeous Bushshrike, Ndumo
Common Sandpiper, Ndumo
Black-winged Stilt, Ndumo
African Harrier-Hawk, Ndumo
African Green Pigeons, Ndumo
African Fish-Eagle, Ndumo
Yellow-billed Stork, Ndumo
Yellow-billed Stork – Ndumo
Trumpeter Hornbills, Ndumo
Woodland Kingfisher – Ndumo
Woodland Kingfisher – Ndumo
Tembe
As always an excellent place to find impressive elephants and to get chased by the youngsters. Birding was quiet in most areas.
Black-crowned Tchagra, TembeElephants, Tembe
Bonamanzi
The birding was quiet so we spent part of our time at False Bay. Some birds seen include:
Bearded Scrub-Robin, Bonamanzi
Thick-billed Weaver, Bonamanzi
Brown-hooded Kingfisher, False Bay
Long-crested Eagle, False Bay
Richards Bay
A small collection of 5 different terns (Common, Lesser Crested, Swift, Sandwich and Little) and 2 gulls (Kelp and Grey-headed) were together on the sand banks along the end of the Casurina trail – see following gallery:
Sandwich Tern in breeding plumage, Richards Bay
Sandwich and Lesser Crested Terns in breeding and non-breeding plumage, Richards Bay
Little Terns in non-breeding plumage – Richards Bay
Little Tern in breeding plumage, Richards Bay
Lesser Crested Terns, – one in breeding plumage, Richards Bay
Lesser Crested Terns – one in breeding plumage – Richards Bay
Terns, Richards Bay
Terns – Richards Bay
Swift Tern in breeding plumage, Richards Bay
Red-billed Firefinch – female, Richards Bay
White-fronted Plover coming into breeding plumage, Richards Bay
Just to let you know that after being with us at Le Domaine for 4 months last year, the Half-collared Kingfisher is back. It was seen several times over the weekend. We are hoping this will be an annual ritual to which we can look forward. Paul & Sally Bartho
16 people : 13 members & 3 non members : bird count 76
The day was a little cloudy but after the rain on Friday night I thought the outing was going to be called off but it turned out fine and the birding not too shabby! Of interest was a sub adult Diderick Cuckoo showing a lot of green plumage and the white stripe behind the eye but the bill was still bright red. We also had Yellow billed kites gathering in the sky and on the trees preparing for their migration – at one stage there must have been between 40/50 kites in the sky. We saw the YBK’s again later in the day but not so many the second time. We were also lucky to see a Willow Warbler – maybe the last one of the summer – thanks to Sandi’s good spotting and ID. Sightings of note were a pair of Lanner Falcons + juvenile, Crowned and Fish eagles, Common Buzzard, plus the resident Orange Breasted Bush Shrike in the trees by the road leading to the office.
Mike Roseblade and Jane Morris organised and managed the weekend very successfully despite the threatened adverse weather. Over 120 different species were seen or heard. Some of the specials are listed later and a number of photos are attached as an album for those interested.
Twenty nine members attended the outing, arriving a various times in the afternoon during the heavy storm.
The group gathered for the briefing meeting and braai at 5:30. The braai went ahead despite the rain as the management made sure we had a covered braai and a well equipped Lapa.
Saturday morning the party was split into 2 groups exploring the upper area near reception. The drizzle dampened things to a certain extent but most persevered and continued onto the Mkomazi River bridge and were rewarded with plenty of birding activity.
The group then went to the area where the Blue Swallows are usually seen some 4 kms further up the mountain. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated and made viewing difficult. Although the Blue Swallows were not seen where they were expected, the group had excellent sightings of Yellow Bishops, Broad-tailed Warblers, Fan-tailed Widowbirds, Red-collared Widowbirds.
Despite this misadventure to seek the Blue Swallows they were seen by a number of the group on different occasions.
Afternoon birding was limited to the campsite area because of the rain.
Again the braai area was put to good use and entertainment followed.
Sunday awoke to a much brighter and sunny day. Tents had a chance to dry out! The morning was spent very successfully birding the full extent of the campsite – and it is a long well spread out shady campsite.
Specials seen or heard included: a pair of Verreaux’s Eagles; Red-winged Francolins with young; both Turacos; Buff-spotted Flufftail (heard); Red-chested, black, Jacobin, African Emerald (heard) and Diderick’s Cuckoos; Narina Trogon; Lesser Honeyguide; Olive Woodpecker (heard); Blue Swallows; Black Cuckooshrike; Broad-tailed Warbler; Blue-mantled Crested-Flycatcher; Mountain Wagtail; Olive, Orange and Grey-headed Bush-Shrikes; Yellow Bishop.
Photos for your pleasure – to give you an idea of the habitat and some of the birds photographed – not picture perfect – sorry! Click on the first picture for a slideshow.
Mkomazi Valley
Mkomazi River in Flood
Mkomazi hillside
Mkomazi Valley
Blue Swallow hillside
Blue Swallow search party
Mkomazi Bridge covered in cow poo
Mkomazi River at the bridge
Campsite birding
Campsite birders
Common Ostrich and friends
Broad-tailed Warbler
Lesser Honeyguide
Yellow Bishop
Thick-billed Weaver showing his colours
Olive Bush-Shrike – never sits still
Olive Sunbird
Olive Sunbird
Knysna Turaco
Red-winged Francolin
Green Wood-Hoopoes
Jacobin Cuckoo
Dusky Flycatcher and dinner
Bushbuck
Blue-mantled Crested-Flycatcher
Black-backed Puffback in full puff
Black-headed Oriole
Amethyst Sunbird
African Paradise-Flycatcher
African Paradise-Flycatcher – AHV
Bar-throated Apalis
Black Cuckooshrike
Black-backed Puffback
Blue Swallow – for want of anything better unfortunately
The group then headed for the Mbona estate through the back entrance and birded all the way to Mike’s cottage at the end. Again many specials were seen including African Crowned Eagle, Bush Blackcap, Forrest Canaries, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Red-necked Spurfowl, Dusky Indigobird, Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, Giant Kingfisher and Red-throated Wryneck. And then on the way out, a few of us were treated to a viewing of a Narina Trogon. Others an Olive Woodpecker and 3 Wattled Cranes at the Karkloof Conservancy.
The day before at Karkloof Conservancy 8 Grey Crowned Cranes and 30 White Storks were seen at one hide. And at the other hide a juvenile Red-knobbed Coot had us all confused for a while – see poor photo.
Attached are some photos of Mbona and its habitat as well as some of the birds we managed to snap!
Many thanks to Mike White for letting us use his cottage after the outing to have our refreshments. The views are superb.
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Springside Car Park 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Springside 5th Jan 2013 showing all 3 groups, Paul Bartho
Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Red-backed Mannikin, Dave Rimmer
Red-backed Mannikin, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Tawny-flanked Prinia, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Neddicky, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Lesser Honeyguide, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Lesser Honeyguide, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Brown-backed Honeybird, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
African Golden Weaver, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Klaas’s Cuckoo, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Dark-capped Bulbul nest, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Common Buzzard, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Firstly thanks to the Hillcrest Conservancy and in particular George Victor for arranging access at 06:00 which was much appreciated. We had a very good turn out ±36 (all those New Year resolutions!) and our composite bird countfrom the 3 groups was 69. I think the specials were the excellent views of the Brown backed Honeybird, Lesser Honeyguide, Golden Weaver and a really superb Grassbird. Our raptor count was not too shabby either with good views of Common (Steppe) Buzzard and a pair of African Harrier Hawks, YBK’s, Long crested Eagle and brief views of a Crowned Eagle. Some photos attached.
Red-backed Mannikin, Dave RimmerTawny-flanked Prinia, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoSpringside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoSpringside 5th Jan 2013 showing all 3 groups, Paul BarthoRed-backed Mannikin, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoNeddicky, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoLesser Honeyguide, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoLesser Honeyguide, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoKlaas’s Cuckoo, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoDark-capped Bulbul nest, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoSpringside Car Park 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoCommon Buzzard, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoBrown-backed Honeybird, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul BarthoAfrican Golden Weaver, Springside 5th Jan 2013, Paul Bartho
Cheers and best wishes for good birding in 2013 – Elena
Birds are our Story 