Southern African Forum (1 Viewer)

Second Big Birding Day - Nxabega

Nxabega is a concession in the heart of the Delta, a little way west of Chief's Island. I had received an invitation from Nxabega to join their guides for BBD, and needless to say I was delighted to accept.

The potential for encounters with dangerous game meant that most of our birding would be done from a game-viewing vehicle, but, since there was only myself and a squad of experienced safari guides, we managed to sneak in a couple of good walks in the bush.

Since the secret of scoring on BBD is to be where the birds are, we decided that, at first light, when birds are most active, we would start with three of the most productive habitats on the concession. These were a) in the vicinity of the Lodge itself b) mixed woodland and c) the spectacular riparian forest that fringes Delta islands. From there we would move out into savannah, floodplain grasslands, wetlands and permanent swamp with a couple of diversions into open-water lagoons and smallish islands. In this way we hoped to cover most of the habitats on the property.

There were some surprising omissions- only one dove, and only one bustard/korhaan, which are usually easy at Nxabega. African Scops-owl, normally fairly common, led us a dance - eventually we went and sat in the middle of the airstrip under the stars, switched the engine off, and listened. And there it was, that soft "prruup", borne on the cool night air from a forest patch close to the lodge. We had an exciting moment on our night-hunt for owls when we came across a beautiful female leopard.

The little blue-cheeked bee-eater gave us a bad moment (see photo). When we came upon him sprawled on the sandy track we thought we had come upon a tragic traffic accident. It was only when we drove right up to him that he condescended to get to his feet and fly up into the tree above and start preening. He had been enjoying a sunbathe. The pygmy goose (photo) is noteworthy in that I have failed to get close to them for years. All you usually see is their white wing flashes as they fly away from you at top speed. This one is the first laid-back pygmy goose I have ever met.

Our efforts yielded 160 species. Not a bad effort.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Species observed
Apalis, Yellow-breasted
Babbler, Arrow-marked
Babbler, Hartlaub's
Barbet, Black-collared
Barbet, Crested
Bateleur
Batis, Chinspot
Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked
Bee-eater, European
Bee-eater, Little
Bee-eater, Swallow-tailed
Bee-eater, White-fronted
Boubou, Swamp
Brubru
Buffalo-weaver, Red-billed
Bulbul, Dark-capped
Bush-shrike, Orange-breasted
Bustard, Black-bellied
Camaroptera, Grey-backed
Cisticola, Chirping
Cisticola, Rattling
Cisticola, Zitting
Cormorant, Reed
Coucal, Coppery-tailed
Coucal, Senegal
Coucal. White-browed
Crake, African
Crake, Black
Crane, Wattled
Crombec, Long-billed
Cuckoo, African
Cuckoo, Levaillant's
Darter, African
Dove, Red-eyed
Drongo, Fork-tailed
Duck, Comb
Duck, White-faced
Duck, Yellow-billed
Eagle, Wahlberg's
Eagle-owl, Verreaux's
Egret. Cattle
Egret, Great
Egret, Little
Egret, Slaty
Egret, Yellow-billed
Firefinch, Brown
Firefinch, Jameson's
Firefinch, Red-billed
Fish-eagle, African
Flycatcher, African Dusky
Flycatcher, Spotted
Francolin, Crested
Go-away Bird, Grey
Goose, Egyptian
Goose, Spurwinged
Greenbul, Yellow-bellied
Green-pigeon, African
Greenshank, Common
Ground-hornbill, Southern
Guineafowl, Helmeted
Hamerkop
Hawk-eagle, African
Heron, Black
Heron, Goliath
Heron, Green-backed
Heron, Grey
Heron, Purple
Heron, Rufous-bellied
Heron, Squacco
Honeyguide, Greater
Hoopoe, African
Hornbill, African Grey
Hornbill, Red-billed
Hornbill, Southern Yellow-billed
Jacana, African
Kestrel, Dickinson's
Kingfisher, Grey-headed
Kingfisher, Malachite
Kingfisher, Pied
Kingfisher, Striped
Kingfisher, Woodland
Kite, Black-shouldered
Kite, Yellow-billed
Lapwing, Blacksmith
Lapwing, Crowned
Lapwing, Long-toed
Mousebird, Red-faced
Neddicky
Openbill, African
Oriole, Black-headed
Owl, Barn
Owlet, African Barred
Oxpecker, Red-billed
Oxpecker, Yellow-billed
Painted-snipe, Greater
Palm-swift, African
Paradise-flycatcher, African
Parrot, Meyer's
Pelican, Great White
Pipit, African
Pipit, Plain-backed
Plover, Three-banded
Pratincole, Collared
Prinia, Black-chested
Prinia, Tawny-flanked
Puffback, Black-backed
Pygmy-goose, African
Quail, Common
Quail, Harlequin
Robin-chat, White-browed
Roller, Broad-billed
Roller, Lilac-breasted
Roller, Rufous-crowned (Purple)
Ruff
Sandgrouse, Double-banded
Sandpiper. Marsh
Sandpiper, Wood
Scimitarbill, Common
Scops-owl, African
Scrub-robin, Kalahari
Scrub-robin, White-browed
Shrike, Crimson-breasted
Shrike, Lesser Grey
Shrike, Magpie
Shrike, Red-backed
Snake-eagle, Brown
Snipe, African
Sparrow. Southern Grey-headed
Spoonbill, African
Spur-fowl, Red-billed
Spur-fowl, Swainson's
Starling, Burchell's
Starling, Greater-blue-eared
Starling, Wattled
Stilt, Black-winged
Stork, Marabou
Stork, Saddle-billed
Stork, Yellow-billed
Sunbird, Scarlet-chested
Sunbird, White-bellied
Swallow, Barn
Swallow, Red-breasted
Tchagra, Black-crowned
Teal, Red-billed
Thick-knee, Water
Thrush, Groundscraper
Tinkerbird, Yellow-fronted
Tit, Southern Black
Turtle-dove, Cape
Vulture, Hooded
Vulture, White-backed
Waxbill, Blue
Waxbill, Common
Weaver, Golden
Weaver, Red-headed
Weaver, Southern Brown-thoated
Whydah, Pin-tailed
Wood-dove, Emerald-spotted
Wood-hoopoe, Green
Woodpecker, Golden-tailed

A lovely reminder of my visit there in November - the birds were building their nests then!

Great photos on this post and the next what camera do you use?

Sal said:

I have just been to Durban, and whilst there, spent a couple of mornings in the botanical Gardens there. This is an area of approximately 50ha, with masses of lovely mature trees and shrubs, a small lake fringed with vegetation including mature trees, grass and a lovely bed of lotus lilies amongst others. The variety of vegetation means that it is host to a variety of birds – at least 130 species at the last listing.
I spent much of the time around the lake as there was so much activity going on there. Everything seemed to be preening! Egyptian Geese, Sacred Ibis, Pink-backed Pelicans, Grey Herons, Black-headed Herons, Spoonbills, Hadedas, Spurwing Geese – all preening madly. And of course everyone was also in the midst of raising offspring, most of whom looked about half grown. Other birds on the lake were Black Crakes and Common Moorhen. Around the margins were Southern Red Bishops, Thick-billed Weavers, Red-eyed and Laughing Doves, Fork-tailed Drongos, Black-eyed Bulbuls, lesser Swamp Warblers, and elsewhere, Southern Black Flycatchers (lots of spotty squeaking adolescents too), Dusky Flycatchers, Cape Robin Chats, Fiscal Shrikes, Olive Thrushes; Kurrichane Thrushes, Indian Mynas, Yellow-eyed Canaries, Bronze Mannikins, Specatacled Weavers, Grey-headed and House Sparrows, Cape White-eyes, Black and White-bellied Sunbirds, Crested and Black-collared Barbets.

I watched the most delightful bathing ritual indulged in by a couple of Hadedas who looked like drowned rats by the time they had finished, and a very detailed and self-indulgent preening by a Grey Heron. I noticed that several birds did a sort of skypointing movement – but opening their beaks in some cases. Was this a yawn or was it some kind of ritualistic movement? The spoonbill opened its beak wide – quite a sight; so did the pelican, but the Sacred Ibis kept its beak closed.
The lotus lily bed was in flower and the sight was amazing. The flowers started off looking like giant tulips in a deep pink, then as they opened they became paler, to a creamy colour, the tips and edges of the petals still flushed with pink. The Bishops and the Thickbilled Weavers loved this area and perched on the seed heads calling loudly.

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Dryocopus said:

A lovely reminder of my visit there in November - the birds were building their nests then!

Great photos on this post and the next what camera do you use?

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Oh yes! I believe I saw that very nest, completed and looking fantastic! Those Thick-billed Weavers build such neat smooth nests.

I use a Sony A100 with a Sigma 70 - 300 zoom. Wish I could afford a bigger lens, but maybe one day . . .

Dave Kennedy said:

Our efforts yielded 160 species. Not a bad effort.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

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I would say a very good effort! And some nice birds. I always have this sense of wistful envy when someone lists a bird I have yet to see. And here there are several - the Blue-cheeked bee-eater, Coppery-tailed and Senegal Coucals, Slaty Egret, Meyer's Parrot, Collared Pratincole. Sounds like a great day.

Did you see this one? Thick-billed Weaver at another nest!
I laughed at the Hadeda - in UK at an outdoor cafe we have Robins and Chaffinch (s) - here we have a rather larger bird!

Oh and just which Weaver have I here? The photo with it showing all its head was not recovered and I cant remember which it was! I've blown it up as far as I can!

Dryocopus said:

Did you see this one? Thick-billed Weaver at another nest!
I laughed at the Hadeda - in UK at an outdoor cafe we have Robins and Chaffinch (s) - here we have a rather larger bird!

Oh and just which Weaver have I here? The photo with it showing all its head was not recovered and I cant remember which it was! I've blown it up as far as I can!

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Well I definitely saw two Thick-billed Weaver's nests!

I dont know what weaver that is. It appears to have pink feet and could have a red eye, but I see no black mask. Maybe the feet are not pink and that is a dark line through the eye which would make it spectacled. There are people who can tell just from the pattern of weaving of the nest! I have tried to bring out the colour a bit, see below, maybe someone else can tell us for certain.

Nxabega reprise

Sal said:

I would say a very good effort! And some nice birds. I always have this sense of wistful envy when someone lists a bird I have yet to see. And here there are several - the Blue-cheeked bee-eater, Coppery-tailed and Senegal Coucals, Slaty Egret, Meyer's Parrot, Collared Pratincole. Sounds like a great day.

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Not only a great day, Sal, but a great visit. I stayed in the Delta for 4 days, and had some terrific experiences. Take a look at the bull ellie, for instance. He wandered into camp one afternoon and simply lay down for an afternoon kip against an old anthill. I had no idea elephants did that. You can see my tent just beyond him. He was lying right on the path that led to my tent.

And how about the spotted bush snake Philothamnus semivariegatus semivariegatus? How on earth do you go straight up a tree without arms or legs? And every morning I wake up and think well, I may not be much, but at least I'm better-looking than a hyena.

Best wishes,
Dave

It's a real pleasure for me, so far away at the moment, to see the pictures and read the posts of all you exceptionally lucky people who have all these wonderful birds and animals as part of your daily life. I am soooo jealous.
I'm hoping that we can get out to our place in Marloth Park again in March (depends upon work unfortunately).
We will definitely be visiting in winter as my youngest son is 21 in September and for his present wants us to take him and his girlfriend to Marloth - what a fantastic choice!
ps - it's -11C here at night with daytime highs of +3C. I need to come out in March for some warmth and sunshine!
Allan

Dave Kennedy said:

Not only a great day, Sal, but a great visit. I stayed in the Delta for 4 days, and had some terrific experiences. Take a look at the bull ellie, for instance. He wandered into camp one afternoon and simply lay down for an afternoon kip against an old anthill. I had no idea elephants did that. You can see my tent just beyond him. He was lying right on the path that led to my tent.

And how about the spotted bush snake Philothamnus semivariegatus semivariegatus? How on earth do you go straight up a tree without arms or legs? And every morning I wake up and think well, I may not be much, but at least I'm better-looking than a hyena.

Best wishes,
Dave

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Oh, but Dave, that is a very handsome hyaena as Hyaenas go, and it seems you were fairly close?The most amazing pic is that of the elephant. I didn't think that adult elephant lay down in the daytime either, although I know that young ones do. So I did a littel research:

During an ongoing study focussing on male
elephant reproduction, adult bulls could be
observed several times sleeping in RP (recumbent position) during
the day. Between June and December 2007, a
total of twelve observations of sleeping
behaviour were recorded in the northern part of
Kruger National Park on nine of 177 days spent
in the field (see Figure 1).
Sleeping behaviour has been observed between
the hours of 08:00 and 15:00 and sleep periods
in RP lasted 41 ± 13.5 min (mean ± SD, see
Figure 2). The breathing rate measured (3.75
breaths/min) was comparable to the rates
formerly reported for adult elephants.
André Ganswindt and Stefanie Münscher
Section of Veterinary Wildlife Studies, Dept of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science,
University of Pretoria

Apparently they tend to swap sides after half an hour or so because they are so heavy and it becomes uncomfortable, but maybe lying up against an anthill allowed him to stay in the same position for longer. Canny old chap!
What was also amazing is how close he was to your tent!!

Thanks for the interesting post.

Allan Hobbs said:

It's a real pleasure for me, so far away at the moment, to see the pictures and read the posts of all you exceptionally lucky people who have all these wonderful birds and animals as part of your daily life. I am soooo jealous.
I'm hoping that we can get out to our place in Marloth Park again in March (depends upon work unfortunately).
We will definitely be visiting in winter as my youngest son is 21 in September and for his present wants us to take him and his girlfriend to Marloth - what a fantastic choice!
ps - it's -11C here at night with daytime highs of +3C. I need to come out in March for some warmth and sunshine!
Allan

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Allan, it is 40C with 75% humidity here at the moment - not so great, truly!! But how good to be able to look forward to two possible visits! Hope work does not interfere with the March visit. I'm not going up there till 30th May, so I've a long time to wait! But I take your point about the SA birds and seeing and hearing about them, I should feel exactly the same if I were in your position so I do empathise!

Sal said:

Oh, but Dave, that is a very handsome hyaena as Hyaenas go, and it seems you were fairly close?The most amazing pic is that of the elephant. I didn't think that adult elephant lay down in the daytime either, although I know that young ones do. So I did a littel research:

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Sal,
Thanks for this excellent info. Clearly they do sleep, although it seems from your stats quoted that they probably don't do it very often. The astonishing thing about this one was how he did it. I was standing watching him from exactly the same place from where the photo was taken. He was standing with his backside to me, and I could see when he swung his head that he was drowsy. Without warning, he simply crashed over on his side as you see him in the picture. I really thought he had had a heart attack! He only lay for a relatively short time - maybe ten minutes - then he got up with surprising agility and wandered off through the forest.

I've attached a pic of him coming into camp. He hung around the camp for about 90 minutes.
Dave

Fascinating Dave, and thanks for the extra pic which I guess was taken from your tent or thereabouts. Healthy looking guy.

Hi,
I am an English birder and will be taking our annual holidays to South Africa in late August this year with my wife and 17 year old son. Neither are particularly into birding but both really enjoy wildlife in general, with my son being particularly interested in butterflies and other insects.

We have just booked flights and started to look for accommodation. Our intention is to spend the last 6 nights of the trip in Kruger NP, but have been quite alarmed to find that a lot of the accommodation in the park rest camps are already booked up, so we need to move quickly.

Based on availability, our plan will be as follows:-
1 night Skukuza
2 nights Olifants (my son wants to do the Astronomy night drive)
3 nights Berg-en-Dal

Do you think that travelling from Olifants to Berg-en-Dal is OK in 1 day or is this too much? There is little availability at the camps in between on the dates we are looking at.

Thanks

Martyn

Dave Kennedy said:

And how about the spotted bush snake Philothamnus semivariegatus semivariegatus? How on earth do you go straight up a tree without arms or legs? And every morning I wake up and think well, I may not be much, but at least I'm better-looking than a hyena.

Best wishes,
Dave

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Hi Dave
Brilliant trip that - I'm getting itchy feet!
The Elephant photo is amazing!
Have you had a look at my photo of a weaver bird in Durban? Sal has kindly lightened it - if it is a Spectacled Weaver- they were seen on that day.
Thanks.


As for looking better than a Hyena - I do hope your social skills and family bonding is as good as a Hyena!:-O
They get such a bad press! Not surprising looking like that .

sidwemn said:

Hi,
Our intention is to spend the last 6 nights of the trip in Kruger NP, but have been quite alarmed to find that a lot of the accommodation in the park rest camps are already booked up, so we need to move quickly.

Based on availability, our plan will be as follows:-
1 night Skukuza
2 nights Olifants (my son wants to do the Astronomy night drive)
3 nights Berg-en-Dal

Do you think that travelling from Olifants to Berg-en-Dal is OK in 1 day or is this too much? There is little availability at the camps in between on the dates we are looking at.

Thanks

Martyn

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Hi Martyn

Yes, accommodation bookings open 11 calendar months before the time you want to spend in a SANPark, and it does tend to go rapidly! Olifants to Berg-en-Dal is possible if you leave early (when the gate opens) and do not spend time watching game on the way! We go from Berg-en-Dal to Satara which is not as far and it takes us the whole day because we do stop and look at things a lot. You are looking at a distance of 219km for which the suggested time taken is 8hrs and 45 minutes. Bear in mind that 50kmp is the maximum speed allowed, and that you may have to stop on occasion to allow herds of elephant or buffalo to cross the road. Of course you may also have to stop because four cheetah are lying in the road and you can't bear to leave them! In August, the gate to each camp opens at 0600 and closes at 1800hrs. This means that you have 12 hours max in which to do the journey, bearing in mid that you may need to stop for the loo here and there (You can do this at Satara, Tshokwane and Skukuza, all en route. You can also get food here).

It seems a great pity to have to use a whole day in travel like this. I'm not sure where else you are going and from where you will be entering the park, but I wondered if it might not be better to enter at, say Orpen gate, go straight up to Olifants for two nights, then come down to Satara for two or three nights (best game region in the Park) and finally down to Berg -en-Dal for one or two, leaving via Malelane. Berg-en-Dal might be best for butterflies and insects as the camp is very rich in vegetation.

I hope that this is of some help, please ask if there is anything further and good luck with the planning. One other point is that if you make a booking now (which you must do) it is sometimes possible to change it later due to cancellations. These happen on a fairly regular basis but are snatched up quite quickly.

Dryocopus said:

Hi Dave
Brilliant trip that - I'm getting itchy feet!
The Elephant photo is amazing!
Have you had a look at my photo of a weaver bird in Durban? Sal has kindly lightened it - if it is a Spectacled Weaver- they were seen on that day.
Thanks.

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Thanks, Dryocopus. Bush trips are always amazing. With each one you learn something new.

Can't help with your weaver......can you describe any completed nests that were there? Nests are often distinctive, i.e. with or without entrance tunnel, length of the tunnel, neat nest or scruffy with bits of vegetation hanging out and so on. Could you see a face mask on the bird? Any eye stripe? What was the eye colour and back pattern? These kind of details can help tremendously in identification.

Best wishes,
Dave

December in Botswana - Delta and Selinda/Linyanti Part 1

Right, then, mid-December, now, and back to the Delta. Two nights there, followed by two more further north in the Selinda-Linyanti area

Delta birding was excellent, with a couple of quite special sightings. Since these were family occasions involving myself, wife, two daughters, son, daughter-in-law and grandson we did lots of things besides birding, but we still managed to score well, listing 79 species during our short visit. In between the birds we managed a couple of catch-and-release fishing sessions, and a great morning poling through the swamps in mekoro (dug-out canoes, except nowadays they’re fibreglass).

Birding highlights were a group of Collared Pratincoles, a Great Spotted Cuckoo (only my second-ever sighting), some fabulous little Pearl-spotted Owlets, a Black Coucal, and a very welcome - yes indeed, step up and take a bow, a Pel’s Fishing Owl, a real Delta special.

Who need a hairclip, by the way, when you can use a Painted Reed Frog?

Species List
African Crake
African Fish-eagle
African Hoopoe
African Jacana
Bateleur
Bearded Woodpecker
Black Coucal
Blackchested Snake-eagle
Black-collared Barbet
Black-crowned Tchagra
Blackeyed Bulbul
Black-throated Canary
Blue Waxbill
Broadbilled Roller
Cape Turtle Dove
Cardinal Woodpecker
Carmine Bee-eater
Collared Pratincole
Comb Duck
Common Waxbill
Crimsonbreasted Shrike
Crombec
Crowned Plover
Emerald Spotted Dove
Flappet Lark
Forktailed Drongo
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Great White Egret
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Greater Honeyguide
Green Pigeon
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey Hornbill
Grey Loerie
Greybacked Camoroptera
Ground Hornbill
Hooded Vulture
Lesser Jacana
Lilac-breaster Roller
Little Bee-eater
Little Egret
Longtailed Shrike
Malachite Kingfisher
Meyers Parrot
Openbill Stork
Pearlspotted Owl
Pel's Fishing Owl
Pied Kingfisher
Puffback Shrike
Purple Heron
Pygmy Goose
Redbilled Firebinch
Redbilled Francolin
Redbilled Hornbill
Redbilled Oxpecker
Redbilled Quelea
Redbreasted Swallow
Redeyed Dove
Reed Cormorant
Rufous-naped Lark
Sacred Ibis
Saddlebill Stork
Slaty Egret
Spurwing Goose
Squacco Heron
Swainson's Francolin
Terrestial Brownbul
Viloet-eared Waxbill
Whitebellied Sunbird
Whitebrowed Scrub-robin
White-faced Duck
Wood Sandpiper
Woodland Kingfisher

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Many thanks for your swift reply Sal.

You have confirmed my thoughts that Olifants to Berg-en-Dal would be too much in one day.

Availability at Satara is almost non existant during the period with no 3 or 4 bed rooms available and only 2 off 2 bed rooms for one of the nights and nothing for the others.

Because of this we've gone for the following:-

1 night Skukuza
2 nights at Oliphants
1 night at Satara (taking the last two rooms on the one night available!)
2 nights Berg-en-Dal

Hopefully that should work out OK.

Cheers

Martyn

December in Botswana - Delta and Selinda/Linyanti Part 2

Still in the Delta, the path to our tent led through a copse of Large Feverberry Croton megalobotrys, which harboured a pair of Pearl-spotted Owlets. By day or by night, these relaxed little owls sat in full view, quite unfazed by passing visitors. I was able to walk up to these little guys and take their pictures. Quite astonishing.
The third picture shows the fabulous Pel's, sitting happy as you like in a Strangler Fig Ficus thonningii. We had driven to a broad lagoon to try fishing, and parked the vehicle under this tree. We climbed down, broke out our fishing gear, rigged up our tackle, and lifted the heavy picnic basket down from the back of the vehicle. My daughter happened to glance up and there he was, gazing down with interest at what we were doing. He was still there when, at dusk, we drove back to camp, so clearly we did not disturb him in the least.
Photo 4 shows a mob scene of Yellow-billed Storks. They had come upon a drying-up pool, and were gathering to take advantage of the fish, frogs and other acquatic life which was being exposed by the vanishing water. This is a common event in the Delta which experiences annual flooding/drying cycles to which predators are closely attuned.
Finally there is this large and spectacular beetle which the book tells me is a Turquoise Longhorn.
Dave Kennedy

sidwemn said:

Many thanks for your swift reply Sal.

You have confirmed my thoughts that Olifants to Berg-en-Dal would be too much in one day.

Availability at Satara is almost non existant during the period with no 3 or 4 bed rooms available and only 2 off 2 bed rooms for one of the nights and nothing for the others.

Because of this we've gone for the following:-

1 night Skukuza
2 nights at Oliphants
1 night at Satara (taking the last two rooms on the one night available!)
2 nights Berg-en-Dal

Hopefully that should work out OK.

Cheers

Martyn

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That sound great Martyn, I hope you all have a wonderful time and that you will post back on this thread when you get home to tell us about the birds (and maybe a few other special moments!)and how the trip went.