[ovenbird43]

I just returned home yesterday from a nearly month-long trip to South Africa, my first visit to the African continent. I went alone, which earned many incredulous reactions while abroad, lone female travelers being rather a rarity apparently.

A detailed, daily report will follow but here is my basic itinerary: I flew to Johannesburg via Chicago and London, arriving on July 16th. I picked up my rental car and drove straight to Wakkerstroom, where I spent the first 4 days and nights. Next up was about 10 days in Kruger National Park, and a quick stop for some Afromontane forest birding on my way back to Johannesburg. Then I flew to Cape Town, where I spent the last week birding the coast, fynbos and the karoo, and joining one of the word-reknowned pelagic trips.

[ovenbird43]

The trip there

The journey from NW Arkansas to South Africa took a full two days or so. I had been on long overnight flights before, but never two in a row, and on the way there I had a 14-hour layover in London that added to the length of the trip. However it also gave me a chance to get my first taste of UK birds, so the excitement and birding really began in London:

The flight to London was long and uneventful. I don't sleep well (or at all, usually) on planes, but the anticipation of the likes of my first Robins had me alert and anxious to leave the airport after getting through customs the morning of the 15th. After a quick coffee, during which I reviewed some of the field marks for the expected species in the Collins guide I had purchased, I stored my excess carry-on luggage, hired a taxi and set of for the park at Virginia Waters. Black-headed Gull and Woodpigeon were my first species, seen right from the taxi on the way there!

There were plenty of birds right in the parking area that kept me busy for a while, with a stunning Goldfinch singing from the top of a small tree, some gorgeous little Blue Tits, and a mixed-species flock containing Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Creeper and Long-tailed Tit. I finally made my way into the park proper and scanned the lake. Black-headed Gulls and Coots were plentiful, and there was a Great Crested Grebe right close to the shore, awesome! I began walking along the trails by the lake, and soon had my first Robin, a speckled juvenile- smaller than I had imagined, and very cute! Then another mixed-species flock, more Coal Tits along with Great Tits and Nuthatches.

I wandered around the park for nearly 6 hours, some of my other findings included Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Song and Mistle Thrushes, Spotted Flycatcher and Grey Wagtail. The warblers were curiously scarce, perhaps the peak singing period was over for the season? I thought Blackcap at least would be a certainty, but the only warblers I saw were Garden and Reed Warblers. No Dunnock either, which would have provided a new family tick, but I have to say that I pleased with the 38 species that I did find. All too soon it was time to head back to the airport (especially as I wanted to avoid rush-hour traffic).

From there it was a 10.5-hour overnight flight to Johannesburg. By now I was quite tired, but even the combination of beer, dramamine and melatonin failed to put me to sleep! For a while I managed to enter a state that was less than totally conscious but not totally asleep. So I was quite exhausted when, at long last, we landed in Johannesburg the following morning. It was thus with some trepidation that I climbed into my rental car for my first shot at driving on the left side of the road. I found that there is much more than just remembering what side of the road to drive on- I kept looking the wrong way for the rearview mirror, reached with the wrong hand for the gear shift, misjudged where the tires were. But I forced my weary brain to concentrate and made it out of Johannesburg without incident. The drive didn't necessarily get easier from there though: as I left the N3 to head south-east to Wakkerstroom, I encountered some severely rutted (even though paved) roads, and found that the highways often jogged though town but lacked clear signs to indicate so. I spent a frustrating 20 or 30 minutes trying to find the correct way out of one town, during which I was rear-ended for stopping to let a pedestrian finish crossing the road (fortunately I was hit gently enough that it didn't leave a mark). And, when such frustrations weren't present, I had to fight off overwhelming sleepiness. But eventually I made it to Wakkerstroom in one piece. But I couldn't quite rest yet- I tried to check into the farm lodge at which I had reserved a room, but nobody was there except a housekeeper who spoke only enough English to tell indicate that she wasn't expecting anyone and that I should leave. Just great. So I stopped at the first hotel in town, the Wakkerstroom Country Inn, where I managed to get a room. They gave me a most welcomed glass of brandy during check-in, and I got a delicious dinner and glass of mulled wine at their restaurant before collapsing into bed for a good 13-hour night's sleep.

[Dryocopus]

Originally Posted by ovenbird43

I just returned home yesterday from a nearly month-long trip to South Africa, my first visit to the African continent. I went alone, which earned many incredulous reactions while abroad, lone female travelers being rather a rarity apparently.

Not kidding - re the lone woman! Sounds like a great itinerary. Wakkerstroom was my favourite birding place to explore on own (even with a group) as Drakensburg needed an experienced guide/driver! Loved both!

Still not explored Cape Town altho high on next big trip list.

Look forward to your report.

This summer I spent 14 days in Tanzania....my report will follow...but on my blog.

Corinna

[Dryocopus]

Wish I had known you were arriving in July as I could have ensured you visited a couple of other close venues where you would have seen a wider variety of our local species! As I live very close to the airport and could have driven u around.
You did very well in one place self finding. Did someone recommend Virginia Waters?

I know the feeling of sleeplessness but as to doing that drive from Jo'burg to Wakkerstroom under those circumstances I tip my hat to you!

[ovenbird43]

Originally Posted by Dryocopus

Wish I had known you were arriving in July as I could have ensured you visited a couple of other close venues where you would have seen a wider variety of our local species! As I live very close to the airport and could have driven u around.
You did very well in one place self finding. Did someone recommend Virginia Waters?

I had started a thread here http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=203046 asking for advice, and Virginia Waters was among the suggested sites. I also had vague aspirations of walking to Windsor Castle from there, but I would have had to walk much faster than the birding allowed.

As it is though I may be returning to the UK as soon as next year, my husband has friends there and we've been tossing around ideas for a trip to Europe next summer.

[ovenbird43]

17 Jul

My first full day in South Africa! Even so it was with some small reluctance that I crawled out of my nice warm bed and out into the near-freezing room, refreshed from the sleep and yet still exhausted. Once I got my sweater on and started moving around though I was eager for some action. I did a quick bit of birding around the hotel as I waited for breakfast to start. In the tree outside was a flock of Red-winged Starlings, and Cape Turtle-Doves and Laughing Doves roamed the streets. Some thick shrubbery in someone's yard held Dark-capped Bulbuls and a few Speckled Mousebirds. A Common Fiscal was perched on a fence. As I walked back toward the hotel, a bird flew up and landed on the wire above me, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Bokmakierie!

After breakfast and coffee I set out in the car to explore some of areas surrounding Wakkerstroom that are outlined in Cohen et al's Southern African Birdfinder. I started at the wetlands near the birding centre headquarters. An African Marsh-Harrier flew above the dense reed thicket, and the field contained African Stonechat and Long-tailed Widow (non-breeding plumage, sadly). I also spotted my first Cape Longclaw, a bird I had been eager to see due to the striking convergence in plumage coloration to that of the North American meadowlarks. The main wetland area near the bridge was full of waterbirds, including Grey Heron,Red-knobbed Coot, Little Grebe, Cape Shoveler and Hottentot Teal. The sun in my eyes made for difficult viewing conditions and I decided I would return in the evening.

In the afternoon I went for a loop drive along the gravel roads north of town. Shortly into the trip I found one of my main area targets: a pair of Southern Bald Ibis! Beautiful birds, and very glossy. Cape Longclaw and African Stonechat were common, and soon I was seeing my first larks- having previously birded only in the Americas, at this point I only had one lark species on my life list and I was excited about the lark diversity on offer. The first few flushed unidentified, but soon I managed to pull up near some in good light- Red-capped Larks, which I would quickly learn was the most common species in the area.

The recently burned road edges (acting as firebreaks I assume?) seemed to attract a lot of birds, especially Red-capped and Spike-heeled Larks, and African Pipit. The chats put on a good show, featuring Anteating Chat and Mountain Wheatear, and the star being a beautiful male Sentinel Rock-Thrush. At one point I heard Blue Cranes in the distance, they sound just like Sandhill Cranes. I couldn't locate the ones I heard, but I did spot a pair further down the road, what stunning birds! On my way back a Secretarybird topped off a great afternoon.

I returned to the wetland about an hour before sunset and watched the activity from the hide. In addition to the birds seen earlier in the day, I spotted Common Moorhen and African Purple Swamphen, Squacco Heron, Levaillant's Cisticola, and much more. Just below the hide both Black Crake and African Rail emerged from time to time. In the distance I could see a few Grey Crowned Cranes foraging. As the sun set, a couple of African Snipe whizzed by the hide and a Black-crowned Night Heron emerged from its roost. It also got very cold very quickly, so I celebrated a great day's birding with a hot shower and another glass of mulled wine with dinner.

[ovenbird43]

Some of my crappy photos of awesome birds

[borealowl47]

Wonderful read so far,looking forward too more!

[MKinHK]

Wakkerstroom' a great place -looking forward to hearing more. Sounds like African Black Crake was a whole lot easier than the american one - no need for tapes or midnight marsh stomping.

Its interesting to hear visitors enjoying common English birds - 38 species is good going in mid-summer, and you're right - walking to Windsor would have left no time at all for birding.

Glad to see you managed to nail what should now, for the sake of clarity be referred to as Unamerican Robin!

Cheers
Mike

[ovenbird43]

18 July

I had scheduled this day and part of the next with the local guide Lucky to help me find some of the trickier species, especially the endemic larks since they weren't singing this time of year. I picked Lucky up at 7:00 am and we headed first to the east, where we would search the lower elevation grasslands for bustards and korhaans.

It was slow going at first but after about an hour of searching we had our first Denham's Bustards, 5 of them in the distance across a field. Farther down the road a small stream held a gorgeous little Malachite Kingfisher, as well as African Black Duck. Soon Lucky spotted our next main area target, a pair of Barrow's Korhaans, and with his help we were able to drive through a gate onto private land for close views.

We returned to Wakkerstroom around late morning and then headed north towards Amersfoort. We birded along the way but the next destination was a field about 40 km north where we were to search for Botha's Lark among other specials. Along the way we had good looks at Blue Korhaan, one of my most-wanted species of the Wakkerstroom area! We made it out to the fields, and got out to walk around in search of the larks. It was now noon and things were pretty quiet, and two hour's searching yielded only Red-capped and Spike-heeled Larks, along with other common grassland birds. We drove south through a rocky area in search of Ground Woodpecker, no woodpeckers in sight but we did find Eastern Long-billed Lark. We finished up the afternoon at Fickland Pan, successfully flushing both Rudd's Lark and Yellow-breasted Pipit.

[ovenbird43]

19 July

I again picked up Lucky at 7:00 am, and his suggestion was to try again for Botha's Lark. I wasn't keen on the idea as I was starting to get burned out with the long drives, but it turned out to be well worth it. The larks were (unsurprisingly) much more vocal this morning than they had been yesterday afternoon, and the Red-capped Larks were even performing some aerial displays as if it were spring. A pair of African Quailfinches flew overhead and landed, disappearing into the grass, but we managed to circle around and spot them on the ground, what beautiful little birds! Then Lucky heard the flight calls of a pair of Botha's Larks, so we took off in hot pursuit. I had him remind me what the key field marks were, and we managed to get decent looks of them in flight but never on the ground. Then we took off after the Pink-billed Larks that Lucky heard, and got better looks at these guys, we managed to approach some of them quite closely on the ground. Afterwards we searched the other side of the road in hopes of better views of Botha's Larks, no go but we did flush two Marsh Owls, awesome!

En route back toward Wakkerstroom we drove by the same rocky area as yesterday, and this time we were rewarded with two stunning Ground Woodpeckers sitting on rocks and preening in the mid-morning sun. Another much-wanted bird in the bag!

We completed the morning with a drive 20 km south of Wakkerstroom in search of African Rock Pipit. Well, one can't be everywhere in the early morning, and the pipits weren't calling or responding to Lucky's imitations. A couple pairs of stunning Buff-streaked Chats were most welcome though, along with Wailing Cisticola, Mountain Wheatear and Rock Kestrel.

I dropped Lucky off in the early afternoon, grabbed some lunch and found an internet cafe, and generally enjoyed being out of the car for a while. I also went for my first run since leaving home. In the evening I returned to the wetland hide, and found mostly the same species as before but with the addition of both Half-collared and Giant Kingfishers and Purple Heron. I also saw the first of many unidentified accipiters, this one being pursued by a flock of Red-winged Starlings. The size alone suggested Black Sparrowhawk but I guess I'll never know for sure, in the dim light of the setting sun I couldn't make out a single plumage detail.

[Jos Stratford]

Originally Posted by ovenbird43

...we've been tossing around ideas for a trip to Europe next summer.

If you fancy a little to the east...

[Jos Stratford]

Happy days spent at Wakkerstroom, nice to see it's still got the magic. Will follow this report with interest, your planned itinerary pasing through many localities I know well. I am sure you will have me licking my lips, eager to get out again, especially the pelagic

[Dryocopus]

I too really loved birding at Wakkerstroom.
Great read so far!
Looking forward to more!

[ovenbird43]

Originally Posted by Jos Stratford

If you fancy a little to the east...

We'll probably do as much as time and money allows. So far thinking UK and Germany at a minimum, my husband did an internship there and still speaks fluent German, and has been eager to show me some of the places he visited.

[ovenbird43]

20 July- moving on

My last morning in Wakkerstroom, it was time to start heading northeast, and the next day into Kruger! I left soon after waking up to make long drive to Nelspruit. The drive was blessedly uneventful, some road works slowed me down now and then and a few more frustrating unsigned turns but nothing major. ("road works"? "hides"? I think I picked up some British lingo )

I got into Nelspruit in the early afternoon, and spent the next hour or so taking care of business- finding lodging, buying an electrical outlet adapter which I had foolishly forgotten about beforehand, getting some groceries. Afterwards though I had just enough time for a little walk around the Nelspruit Botanical Gardens for my first taste of lowveld birds. Among the first birds I saw was a member of a new family for me, Cape White-eye. Some Black-collared Barbets were next, and my first sunbirds, White-bellied Sunbird. The birding was quiet as the path wound through the forested section, although some rustling in the undergrowth led me to a pair of skulking Spectacled Weavers. Once the path back out into a brushy area though I hit the jackpot, a busy mixed-species flock, new birds left and right! Fork-tailed Drongo, Black-backed Puffback, Grey-headed Bushshrike, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Kurrichane Thrush, Ashy Flycatcher, and omigosh even a Klaas's Cuckoo! In came a woodpecker, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, and then a pair of Yellow-fronted Tinkerbirds right in my face- surprisingly this would turn out to be my only sighting of this species. All too soon it was time to start walking back to the car lest I get locked in after the gardens closed, but one more goodie was in store for me as I walked back through the forest, a wonderful little Red-capped Robin-Chat.

I went to bed very anxious and excited about the next day's trip to Kruger National Park.

[Jos Stratford]

Originally Posted by ovenbird43

("road works"? "hides"? I think I picked up some British lingo )

Yo, hopefully you got to see some Arctic Skuas on the pelagic

[ovenbird43]

Originally Posted by Jos Stratford

Yo, hopefully you got to see some Arctic Skuas on the pelagic

Oh, not sure I'd go that far! As it turns out we didn't see them anyway.

[ovenbird43]

a few more photos from Wakkerstroom

[ovenbird43]

Kruger day 1

I left Nelspruit in the morning and headed for the Malalene gate. I was taking the long way to Pretoriuskop rest camp, where I had a campsite reserved, but with the whole day ahead of me the short way didn't appeal to me. I got through the gate and drove slowly along the main road, at first stopping for every little shape or movement that caught my eye. Grey Go-away-bird was one of the first, conspicuous and common in the treetops. Fork-tailed Drongos were also plentiful, occasionally heralding a small flock that would include Southern Black Tit, smart little Chinspot Batis and adorable tail-less Long-billed Crombec. I passed one hornbill after another on the side of the road, mostly Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill but also Red-billed Hornbill, often they were digging through elephant dung. And, I saw the first of many African Elephants to come, this one foraging right on the side of the road.

I stopped for lunch at a picnic area, where I was amazed when I saw the hordes of hornbills gathered waiting for scraps. Again mostly Southern Yellow-billed, but also a few Red-billed Hornbills. Starlings were also gathered, both Cape Glossy-Starling and Greater Blue-eared Starling to give me ID fits, but I never tired of admiring their almost unreal iridescence.

I continued on, a dirt road leading most of the way toward Pretoriuskop. Black-shouldered Kite and Bateleur were the most common raptors, but I also spotted my only Brown Snake-Eagle of the trip perched in a tree. I got good looks at a Rattling Cisticola in perched in the scrub, and once I learned its call I heard them everywhere. Black-crowned Tchagra and Brubru were added to my bush-shrike collection, with relatives White-crested Helmetshrike, characteristically in a group of six or so.

I checked into Pretoruiskop in the mid-afternoon, chose a campsite, and wandered around for a bit. A group of noisy Arrow-marked Babblers fluttered around near my tent. African Green-Pigeons foraged in a tree overhead, and Tawny-flanked Prinias foraged right out in the lawn. The tree right above my tent produced Yellow-bellied Eremomela and Bennett's Woodpecker. The flowering trees that dotted the camp attracted many sunbirds, White-bellied Sunbird being the most common, while the stunning Scarlet-chested Sunbird was the most aggressive, chasing any who dared enter his tree. A single Marico Sunbird rounded out the show.

I went for a run in the late afternoon- I'm not a big fan of running around in circles, but that was my only choice here as I ran the small rest camp loop one time after another. The birds and mammals provided endless entertainment though. I watched a group of Vervet Monkeys everytime I passed by their corner of the camp, soaked in each and every Cape Glossy-Starling that I passed (or the same ones many times actually), and saw a pair of Purple-crested Turacos low in a tree by the road- wow, just wow!

To top off the day I joined a night-drive, our group setting out at 7:00 pm. Mammals were plentiful, many of the diurnal sort: White Rhino, African Buffalo, Greater Kudu, Impala. A Spotted Hyena dashed across the road at one point, and we spotted a Common Civet lurking in the grass. The star of the night though had to be the Cape Porcupine, which gave us long, close looks as it ambled about in the road, spines all erect. On the bird front we flushed a Spotted Thick-knee and enjoyed views of a Spotted Eagle-Owl perched in a roadside tree.

[ovenbird43]

some photos from the picnic site:

[skink1978]

I'm really enjoying this report, especially now you've started to see some mammals. Really jealous of the Cape Porcupine as I missed them time and time again in various parts of SA.

[wintibird]

Originally Posted by ovenbird43

We'll probably do as much as time and money allows. So far thinking UK and Germany at a minimum, my husband did an internship there and still speaks fluent German, and has been eager to show me some of the places he visited.

You should consider Switzerland. At least in my part we speak German too and we have some good birds....
Nice report and interesting work you do (I just returned from Peru, watching several flocks...)

André

[ovenbird43]

Originally Posted by wintibird

You should consider Switzerland. At least in my part we speak German too and we have some good birds....
Nice report and interesting work you do (I just returned from Peru, watching several flocks...)

André

Switzerland is high on the wish-list as well. Good that Tom will be able to speak in people in some areas, too bad my French has rusted into uselessness!

I guess I should update my website if people are actually looking at it I am still working on that project although the focus has changed a bit, and I have preliminary results that I could add to the page.

[Birdingcraft]

Awesome trip! I so need to go to South Africa.