-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Jo'burg to...... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Larry Sweetland
- Start date
chowchilla
Well-known member
Great trip report so far Larry! Really jealous with some of the stuff you're seeing in Kruger. I never got out of the Cape, but promised I would return some day.
Those Fiery-necked Nightjar chicks are extraordinary. Shouldn't they be in a nest or something?!
EDIT: Ironically I'm hoping to see some Asian Openbills in Thailand in a few days time.
stuartelsom
Well-known member
Fantastic Larry - like Chowchilla I never left the Cape when we went in '04 but your report is making me want to go back and try the Kruger. Keep the gripping accounts coming...
Farnboro John
Well-known member
Hi Stuart,
You've gotta go to Kruger. Its something else. We did the Naturetrek mammals trip and had 23 Lions, 4 Leopards, 2 Cheetahs, 5 Wild Dogs, both Genets, 3 Civets, various mongooses and loads of ungulates in only a few days. The birds were zonking as well with Finfoot perhaps the bird of the trip.
I'd love to go back but my next SA will be the west side...
John
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
North Kruger
Well spotted Chowie! I've been more senile than ever recently in that respect. I've only just stopped using the word Asian in front of the Paradise Flys and Palm-Swifts too. Another deliberate mistake I made in the last section was that we went east to N'wanetsi on the sealed road and returned via the unsealed road. Sorry for any confusion.
We had booked to stay 2 nights at Letaba, but when we arrived we asked to change our plan to stay for just one night, and book the next night at Shingwedzi. This was sorted out efficiently with no extra cost.
On the morning of Nov 11 we headed for Shingwedzi via a stop at the bridge over the Letaba river in order to confuse myself further with the head-scratching Grey-rumped House Martin sketch. The Letaba itself was pretty dry, but a fair few Yellow-billed and Marabou Storks were present on the watercourse. Continuing north on the H1-6 was generally very dry and pretty quiet, but we had an exciting encounter with a pair of Temminck's Coursers by the side of the road. We stopped at Mooiplaas picnic spot and found our first Jameson's Firefinches, along with some southern Black Flycatchers, a Shikra and a Black-headed Oriole. We continued toMopani, where the dam held a lot of water and a lot of White-faced Tree-Ducks. We then decided to take the long 70km+ dirt road that follows the course of the Nshawu to Shingwedzi. The water holes were all dry, and the birding was slow, but we did get to scope a Tawny Eagle in a tree and had a Red-crested Korhaan walk across the road in front of us. A stop at the bird hide at Nyawutsi was a relief from the heat, and there was a small pool in front of the hide. Here we heard parrots but could not see them, and picked up Grey-headed Bush-Shrike, Cardinal Woodpecker, and a small flock of Blue Waxbills and Jameson's and Red-billed Firefinches had a couple of brood parasites with them, a Pin-tailed Whydah and my first Purple Indigobird. As the track turned west on the approach to Shingwedzi we had great views of a Brown Snake-Eagle and the first African Broad-billed Roller of the trip.
Upon arriving at the campsite we were fortunate to bump into Aus based birders Anne and Jeff, who had found a Verraux's Eagle Owl earlier that day within a couple of km of the camp. They took pains to describe exactly where the tree was and exactly where in the tree the bird was sitting. It took us a while, and we got a bit confused, but Nicky eventually spotted the bird, and we ended up getting good views of it. When we next met up with Jeff it turned out that he'd driven back to refind the spot so that he could get an exact distance reading in case we hadn't been able to locate it..what a legend! Back at camp we had a Pearl-spotted Owlet hunting insects round our tent at dusk. The camp site also had Brown-headed Parrots.
Next day we headed for Punda Maria, picking up a few things on the way: the trip's first Night Heron, Southern Ground Hornbill, a small party of Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Larks, a couple of Black-crowned Tchagras, a Purple Indigobird and lots of Magpie Shrikes. The journey was very hot and very dry. A wander round the flycatcher trail produced Terrestrial Brownbul, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Collared Sunbird, White-throated Robin-Chat, Antarctic Paradise-Flycatcher and an annoyingly ungetontoable small accipiter sp.
We'd been told by the Belgian birders at the Taita Falcon site, that Pennant-winged Nightjars were currently viewable on the sunset drives from Punda Maria, but you have to specifically request going to look for them or the drive will go elsewhere. We were told to turn up for the sunset drive and see if there were people who wanted to look for birds or people who wanted to look for mammmals going. Luckily for us there were another couple there who wanted to see the nightjars, so that was on the itinerary. The sunset drive here cost 260 rand per person (I think?), and starts at 4 and you get back not long after dark. Just before setting off a Yellow-bellied Greenbul appeared by reception. We drove slowly round the Mahonie Loop, and encountered very little in the way of birds or mammals, though the driver, Thomas, really new his stuff and was full of interesting facts. A flyover Wooly-necked Stork was about the best of it by the time we took a no entry track off the loop and settled in at Thomas's nightjar stake out spot. He was confident we'd score, and it wasn't long before we were hearing a most un-nightjar-like call which Thomas pointed out as being the target bird. Tension mounted as the calling bird was clearly getting slowly nearer, but it was also getting darker too. Then suddenly there it was. It was still fairly light when we were being treated to a breathtaking display by 2 male Pennant-winged Nightjars and a female. I must say, it felt at the time that this was surely the the most amazing bird I'd ever seen, and I was totally blown away by it. It was like watching a cross between a child's kite, a swimming ray and a space ship from star wars, all in one. Way more impressive than I ever imagined it would be.
Next day we left the camp close to when the gate opens at 4.30 and travelled the 50+km up to Pafuri as quickly as we could given the 50kmph restrictions. 3 spectacular and comical Crested Guineafowl crossed the road a little way before the bridge which was a great start. A stop at the bridge failed to produce any spinetails among the Little Swifts, and none of the other northern specials were in evidence, but a very approachable Giant Kingfisher was an impossing site on the bridge rail. We headed for the picnic site, stopping to look at some Meve's Glossy Starlings on the way, and had a nice bit of jam when a Bohm's Spinetail appeared and could be watched whizzing weirdly around over the track. Frank, the famous Pel's Owl man, was away on leave unfortunately, so we were left to fend for ourselves. The picnic area had Tropical Boubou and what I've been told since by SA birders are African Yellow White-eyes, but they posed a bit of a zosteropidological conundrum for me in not appearing quite as yellow above as I was expecting, or have seen in some photos. We also had Red-faced Cisticola, White-crowned Lapwing, White-fronted Bee-eater, Chin-spot Batis, Eastern Bearded Scrub-Robin etc here. Continuing on to Crook's Corner, we jammed a small group of Lemon-breasted Canaries, who seemed to like the 2 isolated tall palms in the last open area before the woods leading up to the carpark. We then bumped into Jeff and Anne who were watching a couple of Trumpeter Hornbills. These birds were feeding in trees above where a party of 4 Southern Ground Hornbills were feeding with Impala and Natal Francolins on the ground in the shade. The Limpopo at Crooks Corner was a shocking dust bowl. Heading back to Punda Maria camp around lunch time, we picked up a European Roller at Kloppfontein dam, where a host of zebra, buffalo, warthogs and impala were all looking pretty desperate in what there was of the mud there. Some of them had Yellow-billed Oxpeckers in attendance. Back at camp I finally noticed Red-eyed Doves which I'd probably been overlooking for days among the hordes of streps.
Next day I did the Mahonie loop at gate-open time, and it was desperately quiet, producing none of the possible specials, or anything else new for the trip, and few birds in general. I spent most of the day around the camp, and it was birds of prey that saved the day. Raptors over the camp that day included an unidentified large aquila, a Brown Serpent-Eagle, a regularly appearing (or a few) pale phase Booted Eagle, Wahlberg's Eagle, a pair of very smart African Hawk-Eagles, and probably the rarest sighting of the trip so far, a thankfully low-flying Ayres's Hawk-Eagle, presumably an adult if white background colour to the underparts can be gone on for that. I feel rather fortunate to have seen this bird as a SA birder who I met the next day said he'd been to Kruger about 100 times and only seen Ayres's Hawk-Eagle twice. He also said (much to my relief) that my description sounded fine. Some other birders I met the next day informed me that it (they presumed it was the same bird) had also been seen about 6km away that day too. By their mate. And they weren't best pleased!
I spent the evening in the hide overlooking the pool at the edge of Punda Maria Camp, which has low lighting over the pool after dark. This was very effective, and made it possible to see well with bins the 40+ Double-banded Sandgrouse that came down to drink, the Hyenas pottering about, and an unidentified swooping nightjar. We also had a herd of about 20 elephants with a couple of very young cute ones pop in to drink.
291 TEMMINCK'S COURSER
292 JAMESON'S FIREFINCH
293 Shikra
294 TAWNY EAGLE
295 PURPLE INDIGOBIRD
296 BROWN SNAKE-EAGLE
297 Broad-billed Roller
298 VERREAUX'S EAGLE-OWL
299 Night Heron
300 Black-crowned Tchagra
301 CHESTNUT-BACKED SPARROW-LARK
302 Grey-backed Camaroptera
303 YELLOW-BELLIED GREENBUL
304 Wooly-necked Stork
305 PENNANT-WINGED NIGHTJAR
306 CRESTED GUINEAFOWL
307 MEVE'S GLOSSY STARLING
308 BOHM'S SPINETAIL
309 Yellow-billed Oxpecker
310 TROPICAL BOUBOU
311 LEMON-BREASTED CANARY
312 TRUMPETER HORNBILL
313 AFRICAN YELLOW WHITE-EYE
314 Roller
315 Booted Eagle
316 AFRICAN HAWK-EAGLE
317 AYRES'S HAWK-EAGLE
Well spotted Chowie! I've been more senile than ever recently in that respect. I've only just stopped using the word Asian in front of the Paradise Flys and Palm-Swifts too. Another deliberate mistake I made in the last section was that we went east to N'wanetsi on the sealed road and returned via the unsealed road. Sorry for any confusion.
We had booked to stay 2 nights at Letaba, but when we arrived we asked to change our plan to stay for just one night, and book the next night at Shingwedzi. This was sorted out efficiently with no extra cost.
On the morning of Nov 11 we headed for Shingwedzi via a stop at the bridge over the Letaba river in order to confuse myself further with the head-scratching Grey-rumped House Martin sketch. The Letaba itself was pretty dry, but a fair few Yellow-billed and Marabou Storks were present on the watercourse. Continuing north on the H1-6 was generally very dry and pretty quiet, but we had an exciting encounter with a pair of Temminck's Coursers by the side of the road. We stopped at Mooiplaas picnic spot and found our first Jameson's Firefinches, along with some southern Black Flycatchers, a Shikra and a Black-headed Oriole. We continued toMopani, where the dam held a lot of water and a lot of White-faced Tree-Ducks. We then decided to take the long 70km+ dirt road that follows the course of the Nshawu to Shingwedzi. The water holes were all dry, and the birding was slow, but we did get to scope a Tawny Eagle in a tree and had a Red-crested Korhaan walk across the road in front of us. A stop at the bird hide at Nyawutsi was a relief from the heat, and there was a small pool in front of the hide. Here we heard parrots but could not see them, and picked up Grey-headed Bush-Shrike, Cardinal Woodpecker, and a small flock of Blue Waxbills and Jameson's and Red-billed Firefinches had a couple of brood parasites with them, a Pin-tailed Whydah and my first Purple Indigobird. As the track turned west on the approach to Shingwedzi we had great views of a Brown Snake-Eagle and the first African Broad-billed Roller of the trip.
Upon arriving at the campsite we were fortunate to bump into Aus based birders Anne and Jeff, who had found a Verraux's Eagle Owl earlier that day within a couple of km of the camp. They took pains to describe exactly where the tree was and exactly where in the tree the bird was sitting. It took us a while, and we got a bit confused, but Nicky eventually spotted the bird, and we ended up getting good views of it. When we next met up with Jeff it turned out that he'd driven back to refind the spot so that he could get an exact distance reading in case we hadn't been able to locate it..what a legend! Back at camp we had a Pearl-spotted Owlet hunting insects round our tent at dusk. The camp site also had Brown-headed Parrots.
Next day we headed for Punda Maria, picking up a few things on the way: the trip's first Night Heron, Southern Ground Hornbill, a small party of Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Larks, a couple of Black-crowned Tchagras, a Purple Indigobird and lots of Magpie Shrikes. The journey was very hot and very dry. A wander round the flycatcher trail produced Terrestrial Brownbul, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Collared Sunbird, White-throated Robin-Chat, Antarctic Paradise-Flycatcher and an annoyingly ungetontoable small accipiter sp.
We'd been told by the Belgian birders at the Taita Falcon site, that Pennant-winged Nightjars were currently viewable on the sunset drives from Punda Maria, but you have to specifically request going to look for them or the drive will go elsewhere. We were told to turn up for the sunset drive and see if there were people who wanted to look for birds or people who wanted to look for mammmals going. Luckily for us there were another couple there who wanted to see the nightjars, so that was on the itinerary. The sunset drive here cost 260 rand per person (I think?), and starts at 4 and you get back not long after dark. Just before setting off a Yellow-bellied Greenbul appeared by reception. We drove slowly round the Mahonie Loop, and encountered very little in the way of birds or mammals, though the driver, Thomas, really new his stuff and was full of interesting facts. A flyover Wooly-necked Stork was about the best of it by the time we took a no entry track off the loop and settled in at Thomas's nightjar stake out spot. He was confident we'd score, and it wasn't long before we were hearing a most un-nightjar-like call which Thomas pointed out as being the target bird. Tension mounted as the calling bird was clearly getting slowly nearer, but it was also getting darker too. Then suddenly there it was. It was still fairly light when we were being treated to a breathtaking display by 2 male Pennant-winged Nightjars and a female. I must say, it felt at the time that this was surely the the most amazing bird I'd ever seen, and I was totally blown away by it. It was like watching a cross between a child's kite, a swimming ray and a space ship from star wars, all in one. Way more impressive than I ever imagined it would be.
Next day we left the camp close to when the gate opens at 4.30 and travelled the 50+km up to Pafuri as quickly as we could given the 50kmph restrictions. 3 spectacular and comical Crested Guineafowl crossed the road a little way before the bridge which was a great start. A stop at the bridge failed to produce any spinetails among the Little Swifts, and none of the other northern specials were in evidence, but a very approachable Giant Kingfisher was an impossing site on the bridge rail. We headed for the picnic site, stopping to look at some Meve's Glossy Starlings on the way, and had a nice bit of jam when a Bohm's Spinetail appeared and could be watched whizzing weirdly around over the track. Frank, the famous Pel's Owl man, was away on leave unfortunately, so we were left to fend for ourselves. The picnic area had Tropical Boubou and what I've been told since by SA birders are African Yellow White-eyes, but they posed a bit of a zosteropidological conundrum for me in not appearing quite as yellow above as I was expecting, or have seen in some photos. We also had Red-faced Cisticola, White-crowned Lapwing, White-fronted Bee-eater, Chin-spot Batis, Eastern Bearded Scrub-Robin etc here. Continuing on to Crook's Corner, we jammed a small group of Lemon-breasted Canaries, who seemed to like the 2 isolated tall palms in the last open area before the woods leading up to the carpark. We then bumped into Jeff and Anne who were watching a couple of Trumpeter Hornbills. These birds were feeding in trees above where a party of 4 Southern Ground Hornbills were feeding with Impala and Natal Francolins on the ground in the shade. The Limpopo at Crooks Corner was a shocking dust bowl. Heading back to Punda Maria camp around lunch time, we picked up a European Roller at Kloppfontein dam, where a host of zebra, buffalo, warthogs and impala were all looking pretty desperate in what there was of the mud there. Some of them had Yellow-billed Oxpeckers in attendance. Back at camp I finally noticed Red-eyed Doves which I'd probably been overlooking for days among the hordes of streps.
Next day I did the Mahonie loop at gate-open time, and it was desperately quiet, producing none of the possible specials, or anything else new for the trip, and few birds in general. I spent most of the day around the camp, and it was birds of prey that saved the day. Raptors over the camp that day included an unidentified large aquila, a Brown Serpent-Eagle, a regularly appearing (or a few) pale phase Booted Eagle, Wahlberg's Eagle, a pair of very smart African Hawk-Eagles, and probably the rarest sighting of the trip so far, a thankfully low-flying Ayres's Hawk-Eagle, presumably an adult if white background colour to the underparts can be gone on for that. I feel rather fortunate to have seen this bird as a SA birder who I met the next day said he'd been to Kruger about 100 times and only seen Ayres's Hawk-Eagle twice. He also said (much to my relief) that my description sounded fine. Some other birders I met the next day informed me that it (they presumed it was the same bird) had also been seen about 6km away that day too. By their mate. And they weren't best pleased!
I spent the evening in the hide overlooking the pool at the edge of Punda Maria Camp, which has low lighting over the pool after dark. This was very effective, and made it possible to see well with bins the 40+ Double-banded Sandgrouse that came down to drink, the Hyenas pottering about, and an unidentified swooping nightjar. We also had a herd of about 20 elephants with a couple of very young cute ones pop in to drink.
291 TEMMINCK'S COURSER
292 JAMESON'S FIREFINCH
293 Shikra
294 TAWNY EAGLE
295 PURPLE INDIGOBIRD
296 BROWN SNAKE-EAGLE
297 Broad-billed Roller
298 VERREAUX'S EAGLE-OWL
299 Night Heron
300 Black-crowned Tchagra
301 CHESTNUT-BACKED SPARROW-LARK
302 Grey-backed Camaroptera
303 YELLOW-BELLIED GREENBUL
304 Wooly-necked Stork
305 PENNANT-WINGED NIGHTJAR
306 CRESTED GUINEAFOWL
307 MEVE'S GLOSSY STARLING
308 BOHM'S SPINETAIL
309 Yellow-billed Oxpecker
310 TROPICAL BOUBOU
311 LEMON-BREASTED CANARY
312 TRUMPETER HORNBILL
313 AFRICAN YELLOW WHITE-EYE
314 Roller
315 Booted Eagle
316 AFRICAN HAWK-EAGLE
317 AYRES'S HAWK-EAGLE
Last edited:
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Leaving Kruger
Nov 15 was our last morning in the park. We decided to have another early start and dash up to Pafuri. Unlike in the south of the park, we'd discovered that bird activity rapidly dies off by 9 in the morning up in the north at the moment, and it was already hot by about 7.30am. This time we bumped into a couple of parties of the delightful Retz's Helmet-Shrikes, a Burchell's Coucal and a low-over adult Gymnogene, but failed to find any of the hoped for specialities we missed on our previous visit, eg Eastern Nicator, Finfoot, Black-throated Wattle-Eye, Green-capped Eremomela, Dusky Lark, Grey-headed or Meyr's Parrots. We encountered a large flock of Red-billed Firefinch on the track out to Crook's Corner, but couldn't find any Village Indigobirds in association with them. We also had no luck with some of the specials we saw on our visit: no Crested Guineafowl, Trumpeter Hornbill, Lemon-breasted Canary or Bohm's Spinetaiil this time. There were a few palaearctic migrants about, a couple of Willow Warblers, Red-backed Shrikes and Spotted Flys. We met a birder who had visited very many times (we mentioned him earlier) and he said he'd never known Pafuri to be so quiet.
On our way back to Punda Maria we popped into Kloppfontein Dam where a Secretary bird had been seen the previous day. No luck with that, but we did come across a party of 3 male and 2 female-type Long-tailed Paradise Whydah, These unusual-looking beauties really made the morning.
We then packed up our tent, had lunch, and exited the park via the Punda Maria gate, seeing a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos chasing each other on our way out. We had only a vague plan of what to do next, but planned to head for the hills around Louis Trichardt.
In general Kruger was pretty mindblowing, even considering that folks we met were saying it was comparatively quiet. The camping is great value at less than £8 per person/ night, and the campsites have on-tap boiling water and electric cooking rings that all worked with the exception of Satara. One thing we won't do next time is bring anything that goes off in the heat, like butter or UHT milk, which lasts only a matter of hours even in a cool bag! Every camp we stopped at had fuel stations with the prices the same as outside the park. In general we found that as you progress northwards through the park, the camp shops become less well stocked, the staff gradually become less welcoming and less proactive in imparting helpful information, wi-fi goes from expensive to non-existant, and there are less and less other touring visitors. It is all easily manageable, at least when dry, in a small 2WD vehicle, and we even managed not to scratch the paintwork. I hope one day to visit at a different time of year when it is wetter, but then some of the tracks can become less navigable.
318 LONG-TAILED PARADISE WHYDAH
319 Great Spotted Cuckoo
Nov 15 was our last morning in the park. We decided to have another early start and dash up to Pafuri. Unlike in the south of the park, we'd discovered that bird activity rapidly dies off by 9 in the morning up in the north at the moment, and it was already hot by about 7.30am. This time we bumped into a couple of parties of the delightful Retz's Helmet-Shrikes, a Burchell's Coucal and a low-over adult Gymnogene, but failed to find any of the hoped for specialities we missed on our previous visit, eg Eastern Nicator, Finfoot, Black-throated Wattle-Eye, Green-capped Eremomela, Dusky Lark, Grey-headed or Meyr's Parrots. We encountered a large flock of Red-billed Firefinch on the track out to Crook's Corner, but couldn't find any Village Indigobirds in association with them. We also had no luck with some of the specials we saw on our visit: no Crested Guineafowl, Trumpeter Hornbill, Lemon-breasted Canary or Bohm's Spinetaiil this time. There were a few palaearctic migrants about, a couple of Willow Warblers, Red-backed Shrikes and Spotted Flys. We met a birder who had visited very many times (we mentioned him earlier) and he said he'd never known Pafuri to be so quiet.
On our way back to Punda Maria we popped into Kloppfontein Dam where a Secretary bird had been seen the previous day. No luck with that, but we did come across a party of 3 male and 2 female-type Long-tailed Paradise Whydah, These unusual-looking beauties really made the morning.
We then packed up our tent, had lunch, and exited the park via the Punda Maria gate, seeing a couple of Great Spotted Cuckoos chasing each other on our way out. We had only a vague plan of what to do next, but planned to head for the hills around Louis Trichardt.
In general Kruger was pretty mindblowing, even considering that folks we met were saying it was comparatively quiet. The camping is great value at less than £8 per person/ night, and the campsites have on-tap boiling water and electric cooking rings that all worked with the exception of Satara. One thing we won't do next time is bring anything that goes off in the heat, like butter or UHT milk, which lasts only a matter of hours even in a cool bag! Every camp we stopped at had fuel stations with the prices the same as outside the park. In general we found that as you progress northwards through the park, the camp shops become less well stocked, the staff gradually become less welcoming and less proactive in imparting helpful information, wi-fi goes from expensive to non-existant, and there are less and less other touring visitors. It is all easily manageable, at least when dry, in a small 2WD vehicle, and we even managed not to scratch the paintwork. I hope one day to visit at a different time of year when it is wetter, but then some of the tracks can become less navigable.
318 LONG-TAILED PARADISE WHYDAH
319 Great Spotted Cuckoo
Hi Larry,
Reminds me of seeing a displaying bird on my first ever trip to Africa, on the first few days, on the edge of where we were camping - what an intro to African birdlife. I knew I was in the area where they occurred, and ofcourse I hoped I may glimpse one (having drooled over the plates in the field guide on enough occasions); but to stroll out round the edge of camp at dusk and witness this thing flying around like some sort of weird apparition was truly enchanting; especially when you add in the accompanying African savannah, with elephants around and about, and the sound of Hyenas etc!
Cheers,
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Get to it H :t:.
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Hanglip
To help us find places to camp, we've ended up with two secret weapons. One is a small booklet available for free in hostels in SA, called Coast to Coast, which is full of backpacker and camping places around he country. The other is a larger volume, a Camping and Caravanning guide to southern Africa. The latter was a thoughtful parting gift from a couple we met in our first hostel In Pretoria, who had driven all the way there from England in a Toyota Landcruiser. I figured that the sites in the Soutpansberg range near Louis Trichardt would be a great first stop after Kruger, as a decent array of afromontane species looked possible. Our little free booklet came up trumps with directions to a place called Camp Africa, which happened to be about 4km from one of the sites mentioned in Southern Africa Birdfinder, the picnic site at Hanglip.
It was a steep drive up a winding dirt road through pine and eucalypt plantations from Louis Trichardt to Camp Africa, but the relief from the heat was wonderful as we left the scorching plains below us. We were the only guests at the place, and we decided to treat ourselves to a bed, as we'd been tenting it for 2 weeks solid. The room was 350 rand a night (30 quid), and we had access to a great kitchen, free wifi and a bar tab. The owners Dave and Jacqui made us feel at home for the 2 nights we stayed there. The plantations on the way up help Jackal and presumed Forest Buzzards, and a wood-dove seen and another heard were thought to have been Blue-spotted, a speciality of the area. Pockets of native forest start appearing alongside the track immediately after Camp Africa, and we managed a couple of hours birding up as far as the picnic area on our arrival day, where there's a decent sized patch of lovely montane forest near the summit. Olive Thrush was abundant here, and we encountered 2 Grey Cuckoo-Shrikes a short distance up the road from Camp Africa. There were both Purple-crested and Knysna Turacos, Greater Double-collared Sunbirds, Cape and Chorister Robin-Chats, Olive Pigeons, a couple of Olive Bush-Shrikes, and bird of the evening: great views of a couple of White-starred Robins along the track that runs up from the picnic area.
Next morning we went up to the picnic site early, and fopund Olive Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, 3 Lemon Doves, Cape Batis and Bar-throated Apalis in the forest, while the forest edge and plantation had Neddicky, African Goshawk, African Dusky Flycatcher and African Stonechat. Horus, Black and African Palm Swifts swirled round the summit.
Around midday we headed for Albasini Dam, some 25km or so east of Louis Trichardt, and accessed the area via the lodge mentioned in the SA Birdfinder. The water level was low, with exposed mud all around, so it wasn't looking good for Finfoot, for which this is reportedly one of the best sites in SA. The scrubby surround looked great, but in the heat of the day we didn't see much, a few Yellow Bishops and an Eastern Bearded Scrub-Robin being about the best of it. We pressed on to Entabeni, which I was appeared to be the main afromontane site in the whole area according to the guide book. It was rather different to what I was expecting, and I wonder if maybe much of the forest has been logged since the guide book was written (?). We did find that native forest started about 8km from the barrier, but it only lined the track for about 1km before you were back into plantation. Plantation continued right up to the suggested best track for Orange Ground Thrush and looked like that track was all plantation too, though we didn't go far down it. We stayed at Entebeni till shortly before dusk, and the main highlight was a nice Scaly-throated Honeyguide, which remauned still for quite some time. We also heard Narina Trogon and saw Jackal and 2 Forest Buzzards.
Figuring the forest above where we were staying was as good as any we'd seen in the area, I decided to give it the next morning up there from dawn, while Nicky had a lie in. I had high expectations, but one thing I didn't expect was that as soon as I drove out of Camp Africa 2 good sized pipits were sitting on the road in what appeared to me to be the least likely pipit-looking habitat I'd ever seen pipits in. They had heavy dark streks on the crown and upperparts and eventually one turned so I could see the flanks were heavily streaked too. Striped Pipits. When I eventually crept forwards in the car the few off low into the dense woodland. Strange birds. Up at the picnic site I managed to attract a Narina Trogon into view pretty quickly with my dodgy vocal impression of one, and got to see a second bird an hour or so later. A couple of Yellow-streaked Greenbuls were well received, and a pair of Golden-tailed Woodpeckers were a major surprise as I didn't expect to find them in montane moist forest. Back down at Camp Africa a few bits and bobs were in the garden as we were packing up to leave: Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Streaky-headed Seedeater, Speckled Mousebird, Amethyst Sunbird etc.
An all too brief stay at this lovely place, but we had to press on. On the afternoon of Nov 17th we headed south to explore what the Birdfinder describes as the site with possibly the best afromontane forest birding SA has to offer.......Magoebaskloof.............
320 GREY CUCKOO-SHRIKE
321 OLIVE THRUSH
322 WHITE-STARRED ROBIN
323 OLIVE WOODPECKER
324 YELLOW-THROATED WOODLAND WARBLER
325 NEDDICKY
326 LEMON DOVE
327 FOREST BUZZARD
328 SCALY-THROATED HONEYGUIDE
329 STRIPED PIPIT
330 NARINA TROGON
331 YELLOW-STREAKED GREENBUL
To help us find places to camp, we've ended up with two secret weapons. One is a small booklet available for free in hostels in SA, called Coast to Coast, which is full of backpacker and camping places around he country. The other is a larger volume, a Camping and Caravanning guide to southern Africa. The latter was a thoughtful parting gift from a couple we met in our first hostel In Pretoria, who had driven all the way there from England in a Toyota Landcruiser. I figured that the sites in the Soutpansberg range near Louis Trichardt would be a great first stop after Kruger, as a decent array of afromontane species looked possible. Our little free booklet came up trumps with directions to a place called Camp Africa, which happened to be about 4km from one of the sites mentioned in Southern Africa Birdfinder, the picnic site at Hanglip.
It was a steep drive up a winding dirt road through pine and eucalypt plantations from Louis Trichardt to Camp Africa, but the relief from the heat was wonderful as we left the scorching plains below us. We were the only guests at the place, and we decided to treat ourselves to a bed, as we'd been tenting it for 2 weeks solid. The room was 350 rand a night (30 quid), and we had access to a great kitchen, free wifi and a bar tab. The owners Dave and Jacqui made us feel at home for the 2 nights we stayed there. The plantations on the way up help Jackal and presumed Forest Buzzards, and a wood-dove seen and another heard were thought to have been Blue-spotted, a speciality of the area. Pockets of native forest start appearing alongside the track immediately after Camp Africa, and we managed a couple of hours birding up as far as the picnic area on our arrival day, where there's a decent sized patch of lovely montane forest near the summit. Olive Thrush was abundant here, and we encountered 2 Grey Cuckoo-Shrikes a short distance up the road from Camp Africa. There were both Purple-crested and Knysna Turacos, Greater Double-collared Sunbirds, Cape and Chorister Robin-Chats, Olive Pigeons, a couple of Olive Bush-Shrikes, and bird of the evening: great views of a couple of White-starred Robins along the track that runs up from the picnic area.
Next morning we went up to the picnic site early, and fopund Olive Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, 3 Lemon Doves, Cape Batis and Bar-throated Apalis in the forest, while the forest edge and plantation had Neddicky, African Goshawk, African Dusky Flycatcher and African Stonechat. Horus, Black and African Palm Swifts swirled round the summit.
Around midday we headed for Albasini Dam, some 25km or so east of Louis Trichardt, and accessed the area via the lodge mentioned in the SA Birdfinder. The water level was low, with exposed mud all around, so it wasn't looking good for Finfoot, for which this is reportedly one of the best sites in SA. The scrubby surround looked great, but in the heat of the day we didn't see much, a few Yellow Bishops and an Eastern Bearded Scrub-Robin being about the best of it. We pressed on to Entabeni, which I was appeared to be the main afromontane site in the whole area according to the guide book. It was rather different to what I was expecting, and I wonder if maybe much of the forest has been logged since the guide book was written (?). We did find that native forest started about 8km from the barrier, but it only lined the track for about 1km before you were back into plantation. Plantation continued right up to the suggested best track for Orange Ground Thrush and looked like that track was all plantation too, though we didn't go far down it. We stayed at Entebeni till shortly before dusk, and the main highlight was a nice Scaly-throated Honeyguide, which remauned still for quite some time. We also heard Narina Trogon and saw Jackal and 2 Forest Buzzards.
Figuring the forest above where we were staying was as good as any we'd seen in the area, I decided to give it the next morning up there from dawn, while Nicky had a lie in. I had high expectations, but one thing I didn't expect was that as soon as I drove out of Camp Africa 2 good sized pipits were sitting on the road in what appeared to me to be the least likely pipit-looking habitat I'd ever seen pipits in. They had heavy dark streks on the crown and upperparts and eventually one turned so I could see the flanks were heavily streaked too. Striped Pipits. When I eventually crept forwards in the car the few off low into the dense woodland. Strange birds. Up at the picnic site I managed to attract a Narina Trogon into view pretty quickly with my dodgy vocal impression of one, and got to see a second bird an hour or so later. A couple of Yellow-streaked Greenbuls were well received, and a pair of Golden-tailed Woodpeckers were a major surprise as I didn't expect to find them in montane moist forest. Back down at Camp Africa a few bits and bobs were in the garden as we were packing up to leave: Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Streaky-headed Seedeater, Speckled Mousebird, Amethyst Sunbird etc.
An all too brief stay at this lovely place, but we had to press on. On the afternoon of Nov 17th we headed south to explore what the Birdfinder describes as the site with possibly the best afromontane forest birding SA has to offer.......Magoebaskloof.............
320 GREY CUCKOO-SHRIKE
321 OLIVE THRUSH
322 WHITE-STARRED ROBIN
323 OLIVE WOODPECKER
324 YELLOW-THROATED WOODLAND WARBLER
325 NEDDICKY
326 LEMON DOVE
327 FOREST BUZZARD
328 SCALY-THROATED HONEYGUIDE
329 STRIPED PIPIT
330 NARINA TROGON
331 YELLOW-STREAKED GREENBUL
Last edited:
Chlidonias
Well-known member
makes me wish I had some time and money to go somewhere right now!halftwo said:
and you didn't do your trip this way because......?Larry Wheatland said:
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Because we're soft and creaky. We were actually originally planning to get to Cape Town on a mail boat that went twice a year from Portland Bill, stopping of at the Canaries, Ascension , Santa Helena and Namibia, and return 6 months later on the return boat. This service has been running for years. They just stopped it this year.:-C. We were so into going to southern Africa by that point that we thought fkit, we'll fly.
sidwemn
Well-known member
Hi Larry,
just returned from Kruger Park myself, hopefully trip report to follow but I'm still going through the photos. Seems we may have overlapped a little at the end of the trip. Those Nightjars were amazing!
Did you see the Nightjars on the 14th Nov? If so I guess you got off the truck as we got on as we were going out on a night drive that night. Were you with two Americans? We did the Nightjars the previous evening with two Belgium birders, the same guys you met at the Falcon?
Cheers
Martyn
just returned from Kruger Park myself, hopefully trip report to follow but I'm still going through the photos. Seems we may have overlapped a little at the end of the trip. Those Nightjars were amazing!
Did you see the Nightjars on the 14th Nov? If so I guess you got off the truck as we got on as we were going out on a night drive that night. Were you with two Americans? We did the Nightjars the previous evening with two Belgium birders, the same guys you met at the Falcon?
Cheers
Martyn
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Hi Martyn, we saw the nightjars on the 12th, but were still staying at Punda Maria till the 15th. I'm just travelling with my girlfriend Nicky. The Belgians we met had long left Kruger so must be different folks.We'll certainly never forget those nightjars! Look forward to seeing your report :t:
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Magoebaskloof
We had a look at the Magoebaskloof Ruscamp as a potential place to camp on the R71 not far from the suggested birding spots in Birdfinder, but found the place overpriced with no cooking facilities and a bit fancy for us. We descended a few km to the Magoebaskloof Getaway, from where a very steep dirt road wound down to a streambed and up the other side to a really nice cheaper campsite which looked much more birdy. There were a couple of small lakes and lots of scrubbed ex-plantation hillsides and a fast flowing stream through the middle. It might be very sketchy trying to get down here in a 2WD car in wet weather.
A potter round the campsite revealed there were a lot of birds around. Common and Swee Waxbills, Bronze Mannikin, African Firefinch, Yellow Bishop, Bar-throated and Yellow-breasted Apalises, Cape Robin-Chat, African Pied Wagtail, Sombre Greenbul, Purple-crested Turaco etc. We figured we'd spend the late afternoon checking out the lie of the land re the sites in the Birdfinder guide. First we went up the hill and took the dirt road to the Woodbush Forest Drive. The first 2.5km section from the main road was very badly pot-holed and progress was extremely slow in our car, but after that the road improved. At the start of the Forest Drive proper there was a sign saying 4WD only, so we headed down the road on foot for a km or so, which would have easily have been driveable in our car. The forest here looked really good, and very extensive as could be seen from a great view out over a huge valley. Resolving to return early next day, we headed back, picking up a Forest Canary on the way back to the car, and Barratt's Warblers sang invisibly. Cape and Yellow-fronted Canaries were encountered out in the plantations.
We then drove back down the R71 and tried the waterfall site for Mountain Wagtail for a bit. Lush waterfall in it's own right, but quite busy with people and no wagtail. We then followed directions to the Bat Hawk site. At first it looked like we were going wrong but sure enough we did reach the right spot in the end. Note that there is now no 'commonwealth plantation' sign, and the tea starts a little before the turn off the main road if coming from the Polokwane direction. We couldn't find Bat Hawk, but a plantation worker said it's normally in the big tree opposite the junction. We hung around til it was nearly dark then decided to leave. This is when we discovered we had a flat tyre. We got a bit stressed trying to change the tyre as darkness was quickly descending and we were 2.5km down a dirt track in a eucalypt plantation with no-one around and an unfamiliar jack etc, but it worked out ok and we made it back to camp.
This dramatically changed our plans for the next day, because there was no early forest birding start, first we had to drive to Tzaneen to fix the flat. I was cursing Bat Hawk (not for the first time), but as it turned out we ended up having an incredible run of luck which wouldn't have happened if we hadn't had a flat tyre!
I got up early to bird around the camp and very quickly ran into 2 delicious Mountain Wagtails feeding on the track at the stream crossing. They were very approachable and entertaining, especially when a third bird appeared and some chasing around occurred. A couple of African Black Ducks landed on one of the small lakes, a few Black Saw-wings joined the other aerial insectivores and a Spectacled Weaver foraged near our tent. There were also some weavers here that I got very excited about because I figured that they were Golden Weavers, but now I'm wondering if they might not just have been Cape Weavers in a transient plumage. I'll have to look scrutinise some Cape Weavers when I next encounter them.
We went to town and because it was Sunday it was a bit of a palaver getting the tyre fixed. We decided to return for lunch, but first pop into Magoebaskloof Dam, to check out potential vantage points, as I had a hunch it might be a good bet for an evening Bat Hawk vigil. The Dam isn't mentioned in Birdfinder, but is only about 3km from the Bat Hawk site. We parked the car and wandered towards the water, seeing Cape Wagtails to complete the wagtail set for the day. As we got to the edge we disturbed 2 Reed Cormorants, which flew out over the water. We continued our walk and another Reed Cormorant took off. Luckily I kept looking at it as I walked because as it turned my eyes nearly popped out 'What the.... it's got a BRIGHT RED BILL!!.... (I raised my bins) and FEET! I couldn't believe it. The FINFOOT only flew a short distance, landed on the water and began a leisurely swim across the lake to the far bank, allowing us to watch it all the way, and for Nicky to take some photos... I couldn't believe our luck finding one somewhere that isn't even on 'the map'. All thanks to the stupid Bat Hawk giving us a flat tyre.
We went for a late afternoon visit to the Woodbush Forest Drive and had another brilliant stroke of luck almost immediately after turning off the R71 onto the pot-hole road. 2 Cape Parrots flew low over the car and landed in the nearest tree. Nicky managed some pics here too, as we watched one of them eating little green berries in the top of the tree. The range map is way out for Cape Parrot in my field guide.
We continued to the start of the Forest Drive, parked our car and birded for about 1km with little action until a whole load of things happened at once. First a Bar-throated Apalis, then a movement that made me raise my bins expecting a similar sized bird: Total confusion in the form of just the middle of the side of a bird orange..brown..2 whacking white wingbars...all in a split second then gone. Lower bins. Dorsal view of brown thrush-type bird bombing across the track into the forest..gone..Dratt! Must have been?? I wasn't left to stare open mouthed and hopeful at the spot of disappearance for long, because something that sounded so much like a paradise flycatcher that it had to be a Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher was calling behind me. We tracked it down a got some ok views then there were birds all around. The obligatory Cape White-eyes, a Cape Batis, Grey Cuckoo-Shrike, some Yellow-streaked Greenbuls, Olive Woodpecker, Knysna Turaco, then something I was hoping for: one then two Square-tailed Drongos. We watched the mixed flock pass by, and just when you think it's all over...one last bird appeared for us. And what a bird. A stunning male Black-fronted Bush-Shrike, one of the true star birds of this patch of forest, and certainly one I hadn't thought we'd see.
Figuring we were on a roll we decided to leave the forest and head for the Dam to chance our arm with Bat Hawk. A couple of Striated Herons kept us entertained till dusk and I scanned feverishly, especially where swifts and hirundines were gathering. As dusk came there was a momentary 'there it is!' moment, which dissolved rapidly into a 'nice Hobby' moment. We watched the Hobby catching dragonflies till it was time to return to camp after what felt like a truly momentous day.
Next day we hit the forest again in the morning. We packed up first and didn't get there till after 6, but it was still misty, and I was hopeful we might connect with some of the remaining goodies. A couple of pairs of Cape Parrots screeched and appeared like ghosts through the mist above us, but it was stuff likely to be low on the ground that I was mostly looking for. There were a fair few thrushy-type songs going on, but as a newbie I was having trouble unravelling them, especially with one of them being a pretty good mimic, Chorister Robin-Chat. We couldn't actually connect with much on our descent, and after we'd gone about 3km and hit plantation all I'd managed was a few frustrating glimpses of thrushy things, Chorister Robin-Chats and a nice White-starred Robin in the road. Oh well.
Our luck was to change however after we gave up and began returning to the car. First Nicky got onto a totally dazzling male Afican Emerald Cuckoo, which we were able to watch hunting big hairy caterpillars and popping up to sing on higher perches. Nicky picked up a female too further up the track. I then thought I'd give a spot 5 minutes that I'd stopped at for 15mins on the way down because I'd glimpsed a thrushy thing in the undergrowth. This time bingo! It popped up onto a u-tack shaped root and sat there singing for us...a Brown Scrub-Robin. We'd nearly got to the end of the track when I decided to take a tiny track off that headed to the hiker's huts. I didn't have time to explore here, but I'd say this looked like the best bet so far for seeking out forest floor stuff. So back onto the main track and that was it then. Or was it? A thrushy-thing was singing right ahead of me and as I approached and had it nailed to one tree it suddenly stopped. I stood still. What was going to happen. I took a couple of steps forward and it darted out and up. And stopped on a branch in full view! Orange Ground Thrush. Wow!
Long live Magoebaskloof's afromontane forest. I hope.
332 AFRICAN FIREFINCH
333 FOREST CANARY
334 MOUNTAIN WAGTAIL
335 BLACK SAW-WING
336 AFRICAN FINFOOT
337 CAPE PARROT
338 BLUE-MANTLED CRESTED FLYCATCHER
339 SQUARE-TAILED DRONGO
340 BLACK-FRONTED BUSH-SHRIKE
341 Hobby
342 AFRICAN EMERALD CUCKOO
343 BROWN BUSH-ROBIN
344 ORANGE GROUND THRUSH
EDIT: just done some research on Golden Weaver and my birds look right for them and they're suposed to be there so
345 GOLDEN WEAVER
pics 1. African Finfoot, 2. Cape Parrot
We had a look at the Magoebaskloof Ruscamp as a potential place to camp on the R71 not far from the suggested birding spots in Birdfinder, but found the place overpriced with no cooking facilities and a bit fancy for us. We descended a few km to the Magoebaskloof Getaway, from where a very steep dirt road wound down to a streambed and up the other side to a really nice cheaper campsite which looked much more birdy. There were a couple of small lakes and lots of scrubbed ex-plantation hillsides and a fast flowing stream through the middle. It might be very sketchy trying to get down here in a 2WD car in wet weather.
A potter round the campsite revealed there were a lot of birds around. Common and Swee Waxbills, Bronze Mannikin, African Firefinch, Yellow Bishop, Bar-throated and Yellow-breasted Apalises, Cape Robin-Chat, African Pied Wagtail, Sombre Greenbul, Purple-crested Turaco etc. We figured we'd spend the late afternoon checking out the lie of the land re the sites in the Birdfinder guide. First we went up the hill and took the dirt road to the Woodbush Forest Drive. The first 2.5km section from the main road was very badly pot-holed and progress was extremely slow in our car, but after that the road improved. At the start of the Forest Drive proper there was a sign saying 4WD only, so we headed down the road on foot for a km or so, which would have easily have been driveable in our car. The forest here looked really good, and very extensive as could be seen from a great view out over a huge valley. Resolving to return early next day, we headed back, picking up a Forest Canary on the way back to the car, and Barratt's Warblers sang invisibly. Cape and Yellow-fronted Canaries were encountered out in the plantations.
We then drove back down the R71 and tried the waterfall site for Mountain Wagtail for a bit. Lush waterfall in it's own right, but quite busy with people and no wagtail. We then followed directions to the Bat Hawk site. At first it looked like we were going wrong but sure enough we did reach the right spot in the end. Note that there is now no 'commonwealth plantation' sign, and the tea starts a little before the turn off the main road if coming from the Polokwane direction. We couldn't find Bat Hawk, but a plantation worker said it's normally in the big tree opposite the junction. We hung around til it was nearly dark then decided to leave. This is when we discovered we had a flat tyre. We got a bit stressed trying to change the tyre as darkness was quickly descending and we were 2.5km down a dirt track in a eucalypt plantation with no-one around and an unfamiliar jack etc, but it worked out ok and we made it back to camp.
This dramatically changed our plans for the next day, because there was no early forest birding start, first we had to drive to Tzaneen to fix the flat. I was cursing Bat Hawk (not for the first time), but as it turned out we ended up having an incredible run of luck which wouldn't have happened if we hadn't had a flat tyre!
I got up early to bird around the camp and very quickly ran into 2 delicious Mountain Wagtails feeding on the track at the stream crossing. They were very approachable and entertaining, especially when a third bird appeared and some chasing around occurred. A couple of African Black Ducks landed on one of the small lakes, a few Black Saw-wings joined the other aerial insectivores and a Spectacled Weaver foraged near our tent. There were also some weavers here that I got very excited about because I figured that they were Golden Weavers, but now I'm wondering if they might not just have been Cape Weavers in a transient plumage. I'll have to look scrutinise some Cape Weavers when I next encounter them.
We went to town and because it was Sunday it was a bit of a palaver getting the tyre fixed. We decided to return for lunch, but first pop into Magoebaskloof Dam, to check out potential vantage points, as I had a hunch it might be a good bet for an evening Bat Hawk vigil. The Dam isn't mentioned in Birdfinder, but is only about 3km from the Bat Hawk site. We parked the car and wandered towards the water, seeing Cape Wagtails to complete the wagtail set for the day. As we got to the edge we disturbed 2 Reed Cormorants, which flew out over the water. We continued our walk and another Reed Cormorant took off. Luckily I kept looking at it as I walked because as it turned my eyes nearly popped out 'What the.... it's got a BRIGHT RED BILL!!.... (I raised my bins) and FEET! I couldn't believe it. The FINFOOT only flew a short distance, landed on the water and began a leisurely swim across the lake to the far bank, allowing us to watch it all the way, and for Nicky to take some photos... I couldn't believe our luck finding one somewhere that isn't even on 'the map'. All thanks to the stupid Bat Hawk giving us a flat tyre.
We went for a late afternoon visit to the Woodbush Forest Drive and had another brilliant stroke of luck almost immediately after turning off the R71 onto the pot-hole road. 2 Cape Parrots flew low over the car and landed in the nearest tree. Nicky managed some pics here too, as we watched one of them eating little green berries in the top of the tree. The range map is way out for Cape Parrot in my field guide.
We continued to the start of the Forest Drive, parked our car and birded for about 1km with little action until a whole load of things happened at once. First a Bar-throated Apalis, then a movement that made me raise my bins expecting a similar sized bird: Total confusion in the form of just the middle of the side of a bird orange..brown..2 whacking white wingbars...all in a split second then gone. Lower bins. Dorsal view of brown thrush-type bird bombing across the track into the forest..gone..Dratt! Must have been?? I wasn't left to stare open mouthed and hopeful at the spot of disappearance for long, because something that sounded so much like a paradise flycatcher that it had to be a Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher was calling behind me. We tracked it down a got some ok views then there were birds all around. The obligatory Cape White-eyes, a Cape Batis, Grey Cuckoo-Shrike, some Yellow-streaked Greenbuls, Olive Woodpecker, Knysna Turaco, then something I was hoping for: one then two Square-tailed Drongos. We watched the mixed flock pass by, and just when you think it's all over...one last bird appeared for us. And what a bird. A stunning male Black-fronted Bush-Shrike, one of the true star birds of this patch of forest, and certainly one I hadn't thought we'd see.
Figuring we were on a roll we decided to leave the forest and head for the Dam to chance our arm with Bat Hawk. A couple of Striated Herons kept us entertained till dusk and I scanned feverishly, especially where swifts and hirundines were gathering. As dusk came there was a momentary 'there it is!' moment, which dissolved rapidly into a 'nice Hobby' moment. We watched the Hobby catching dragonflies till it was time to return to camp after what felt like a truly momentous day.
Next day we hit the forest again in the morning. We packed up first and didn't get there till after 6, but it was still misty, and I was hopeful we might connect with some of the remaining goodies. A couple of pairs of Cape Parrots screeched and appeared like ghosts through the mist above us, but it was stuff likely to be low on the ground that I was mostly looking for. There were a fair few thrushy-type songs going on, but as a newbie I was having trouble unravelling them, especially with one of them being a pretty good mimic, Chorister Robin-Chat. We couldn't actually connect with much on our descent, and after we'd gone about 3km and hit plantation all I'd managed was a few frustrating glimpses of thrushy things, Chorister Robin-Chats and a nice White-starred Robin in the road. Oh well.
Our luck was to change however after we gave up and began returning to the car. First Nicky got onto a totally dazzling male Afican Emerald Cuckoo, which we were able to watch hunting big hairy caterpillars and popping up to sing on higher perches. Nicky picked up a female too further up the track. I then thought I'd give a spot 5 minutes that I'd stopped at for 15mins on the way down because I'd glimpsed a thrushy thing in the undergrowth. This time bingo! It popped up onto a u-tack shaped root and sat there singing for us...a Brown Scrub-Robin. We'd nearly got to the end of the track when I decided to take a tiny track off that headed to the hiker's huts. I didn't have time to explore here, but I'd say this looked like the best bet so far for seeking out forest floor stuff. So back onto the main track and that was it then. Or was it? A thrushy-thing was singing right ahead of me and as I approached and had it nailed to one tree it suddenly stopped. I stood still. What was going to happen. I took a couple of steps forward and it darted out and up. And stopped on a branch in full view! Orange Ground Thrush. Wow!
Long live Magoebaskloof's afromontane forest. I hope.
332 AFRICAN FIREFINCH
333 FOREST CANARY
334 MOUNTAIN WAGTAIL
335 BLACK SAW-WING
336 AFRICAN FINFOOT
337 CAPE PARROT
338 BLUE-MANTLED CRESTED FLYCATCHER
339 SQUARE-TAILED DRONGO
340 BLACK-FRONTED BUSH-SHRIKE
341 Hobby
342 AFRICAN EMERALD CUCKOO
343 BROWN BUSH-ROBIN
344 ORANGE GROUND THRUSH
EDIT: just done some research on Golden Weaver and my birds look right for them and they're suposed to be there so
345 GOLDEN WEAVER
pics 1. African Finfoot, 2. Cape Parrot
Attachments
Last edited:
Dave Kennedy
Well-known member
Sounds like lots of fun, Larry, you've done well, especially with the Pennant-winged Nightjar. In two visits I saw three Pel's Fishing-owls on the Luvuvhu, which was really a bit of good luck.
Re Kori Bustards, I think they have a claim to being the heaviest flying birds in the world, but don't take that as gospel.
Best wishes,
Dave
Re Kori Bustards, I think they have a claim to being the heaviest flying birds in the world, but don't take that as gospel.
Best wishes,
Dave
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Polokwane to Cape Town
Cheers Dave, great to hear from someone in SA :t:
POLOKWANE GAME RESERVE and the TRAIN to CAPETOWN
So with all our stuff packed away in little Dusty, we were free to continue on our way back towards Pretoria after our morning birding in the forest. We'd planned to spend a couple of nights chilling at a spa campsite at Bela-Bela, and Nicky had noticed that getting there involved going pretty much straight past Polokwane Game Reserve. I quickly checked the site in Birdfinder, and was instantly dead keen on spending a couple of hours there to break up the journey, even if it would be just in the heat of the day.
We tried using our wild card upon arrival at the reserve, but there was some confusion and it was declined. I think there's a chance we were blagged into paying about £6 when we didn't have to, but I'm not sure. The reserve is meant to have a one way system, and you're not allowed out of your vehicle except at certain points because there are rhinos about. Once through the barrier we headed outbound on the rhino trail, and were hoping to find somewhere shady to stop for lunch. We quickly came upon a small waterhole, and I started looking at the White-faced Tree-Ducks and Blue Waxbills. We looked into seeing if we could find a bit of shade under the acacias lining the track and that's when we noticed that there were 2 rhinos right by the side of the track, maybe only 30 metres ahead of us. They seemed quite happy in the shade there, and we figured we could be in for a long wait before they moved. We had no option but to turn round and head back to the entrance and try a different route. We then got quite lost, but luckily this is a small reserve, where you can't be more than 12km from the entrance. We ended up at an education centre that wasn't on the map, before we finally found a shady spot for lunch.
While munching away we spied our first White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, and a little party of Burnt-necked Eremomelas passed by, as did some Arrow-marked Babblers, a Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher. Some Lesser Striped Swallows were enjoying a small nearby puddle. After lunch we randomly drove around the tracks in the reserve, and considering the time and the heat, ended up with quite a haul, including a displaying Short-clawed Lark, which is the reserves star bird by virtue of it's restricted range. We had an incredible purple patch where the lark appeared, when every time we started the engine to attempt to move the car, more birds would pop up making us turn the engine off again. We had Marico Flycatcher sitting next to a Kalahari Scrub-Robin, a gang of Scaly-feathered Finches, a cracking female Violet-eared Waxbill, Black-chested Prinia and Ashy Tit all pretty much in the same place. Elsewhere, other birds included 2 more Marico Flycatchets, a Black-faced Waxbill, Swainson's Spurfowl, Rufous-naped Lark, Streaky-headed Seed-eater, Cape Sparrow, Groundscraper Thrush, Red-chested Cuckoo and Cape Glossy Starling. Shortly before leaving the park we stopped to admire a warthog for quite a while before noticing that there was a stationary Spotted Dikkop standing right behind it. Several other goodies are possible at this reserve, and an early morning would doubtless turn up far more than we managed during our brief visit.
The time spent camping at Forever Warmbaths wasn't too fruitful birdwise, but we enjoyed our stay there, and needed the rest. We did have a couple of White-crested Helmet-Shrikes in the trees around our tent, as well as White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, an African Paradise Flycatcher nesting above us, and the edge of the compound had White-winged Widowbird and Levaillant's Cisticola. One of the lakes even had Black Crakes and African Jacanas, as well as a Black-headed Heronry and big numbers of nesting Cattle Egrets. We sent Dusty to the car wash at Bela-Bela, and returned him home at Pretoria. Bless him.
On Nov 22nd we set of for Capetown. Loaded down with tons of baggage, we walked from the 1322 Backpackers to Hatfield train station, and got the Gautrain to Johannesburg Park station. We then went across to the main station and headed for the Shosholoza Meyl train, which we'd prebooked for less than £50 each. The train sets off at 10.30am and arrives about 1pm in Cape Town the following day. We had our own compartment, and the journey was most comfortable. I also found the birding comparatively easier than some other long-distance trains, because you can look directly through an open window and the train would often go slowly, or stop in half way decent spots for birds. This meant some of the birds seen were very identifiable.
After leaving the sprawl of Jo'burg, we passed through mostly flat grassland/farmland. This produced lots of Long-tailed Widowbirds and Helmeted Guineafowl, a fair few feral Ostrich, a few large groups of South African Cliff Swallow, and as we got further out, more than a hundred Lesser Kestrels, concentrated in loose groups. An Amur falcon was a special treat though, at a point when the train stopped for a while, and even more of a treat for me was a count of 15 Northern Black Korhaan. As the evening approached some of the korhaans seemed to like standing on top of anthills. 2 Southern Ant-eating Chats were identified, and dams close to the track yielded a Yellow-billed Stork and my first Red-billed Teal among a big flock of White-faced Tree-Duck.
When we woke at dawn the scenery had changed, and we were passing through rocky hilly country studded with short shrubby plants and patchy grassy areas. Pretty much the first birds seen were 2 flying Karoo Korhaans, presumably flushed by the train. There were Namaqua Doves, Rock Kestrels, a Verreaux's Eagle, African Pied, and even introduced European Starlings. A couple of Malachite Sunbirds appeared at a station, and Rock Martins started appearing. As we got nearer to Capetown there was more wheat and wine country as well as a few plantations and what I assume is Karoo Scrub. Steppe Buzzards were common, and there were Jackal Buzzards, and if the underwing coverts can be relied upon, a Forest Buzzard too. Bird of prey highlight for me though was 2 Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks. We passed many small dams, and one had a big concentration of maybe 60 Blue Cranes. A few scattered pairs of Blue Cranes were also seen in the wheat fields. Other dams had Greater Flamingos, and the trip's first Great Crested Grebe. Other birds seen from the train that morning included Cape and Pied Crows, White-necked Raven, Yellow-billed Kite, Southern Red Bishop, Pin-tailed Whydah, Cape and House Sparrrows, Purple and black-headed Herons, an African Fish Eagle and a (Cape) Kelp Gull on a lamp post as we pulled into Cape Town. As with any train jouney there were of course a fair few birds in the 'hmmm, better leave that one' department too.
346 BURNT-NECKED EREMOMELA
347 WHITE-BROWED SPARROW-WEAVER
348 MARICO FLYCATCHER
349 ASHY TIT
350 KALAHARI SCRUB-ROBIN
351 SCALY-FEATHERED FINCH
352 VIOLET-EARED WAXBILL
353 BLACK-CHESTED PRINIA
354 SHORT-CLAWED LARK
355 BLACK-FACED WAXBILL
356 SPOTTED DIKKOP
357 NORTHERN BLACK KORHAAN
358 AMUR FALCON
359 Lesser Kestrel
360 SOUTHERN ANTEATING CHAT
361 RED-BILLED TEAL
362 KAROO KORHAAN
363 (Starling)
364 SOUTHERN PALE CHANTING GOSHAWK
365 Great Crested Grebe
366 Greater Flamingo
367 Kelp Gull
Cheers Dave, great to hear from someone in SA :t:
POLOKWANE GAME RESERVE and the TRAIN to CAPETOWN
So with all our stuff packed away in little Dusty, we were free to continue on our way back towards Pretoria after our morning birding in the forest. We'd planned to spend a couple of nights chilling at a spa campsite at Bela-Bela, and Nicky had noticed that getting there involved going pretty much straight past Polokwane Game Reserve. I quickly checked the site in Birdfinder, and was instantly dead keen on spending a couple of hours there to break up the journey, even if it would be just in the heat of the day.
We tried using our wild card upon arrival at the reserve, but there was some confusion and it was declined. I think there's a chance we were blagged into paying about £6 when we didn't have to, but I'm not sure. The reserve is meant to have a one way system, and you're not allowed out of your vehicle except at certain points because there are rhinos about. Once through the barrier we headed outbound on the rhino trail, and were hoping to find somewhere shady to stop for lunch. We quickly came upon a small waterhole, and I started looking at the White-faced Tree-Ducks and Blue Waxbills. We looked into seeing if we could find a bit of shade under the acacias lining the track and that's when we noticed that there were 2 rhinos right by the side of the track, maybe only 30 metres ahead of us. They seemed quite happy in the shade there, and we figured we could be in for a long wait before they moved. We had no option but to turn round and head back to the entrance and try a different route. We then got quite lost, but luckily this is a small reserve, where you can't be more than 12km from the entrance. We ended up at an education centre that wasn't on the map, before we finally found a shady spot for lunch.
While munching away we spied our first White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, and a little party of Burnt-necked Eremomelas passed by, as did some Arrow-marked Babblers, a Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher. Some Lesser Striped Swallows were enjoying a small nearby puddle. After lunch we randomly drove around the tracks in the reserve, and considering the time and the heat, ended up with quite a haul, including a displaying Short-clawed Lark, which is the reserves star bird by virtue of it's restricted range. We had an incredible purple patch where the lark appeared, when every time we started the engine to attempt to move the car, more birds would pop up making us turn the engine off again. We had Marico Flycatcher sitting next to a Kalahari Scrub-Robin, a gang of Scaly-feathered Finches, a cracking female Violet-eared Waxbill, Black-chested Prinia and Ashy Tit all pretty much in the same place. Elsewhere, other birds included 2 more Marico Flycatchets, a Black-faced Waxbill, Swainson's Spurfowl, Rufous-naped Lark, Streaky-headed Seed-eater, Cape Sparrow, Groundscraper Thrush, Red-chested Cuckoo and Cape Glossy Starling. Shortly before leaving the park we stopped to admire a warthog for quite a while before noticing that there was a stationary Spotted Dikkop standing right behind it. Several other goodies are possible at this reserve, and an early morning would doubtless turn up far more than we managed during our brief visit.
The time spent camping at Forever Warmbaths wasn't too fruitful birdwise, but we enjoyed our stay there, and needed the rest. We did have a couple of White-crested Helmet-Shrikes in the trees around our tent, as well as White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, an African Paradise Flycatcher nesting above us, and the edge of the compound had White-winged Widowbird and Levaillant's Cisticola. One of the lakes even had Black Crakes and African Jacanas, as well as a Black-headed Heronry and big numbers of nesting Cattle Egrets. We sent Dusty to the car wash at Bela-Bela, and returned him home at Pretoria. Bless him.
On Nov 22nd we set of for Capetown. Loaded down with tons of baggage, we walked from the 1322 Backpackers to Hatfield train station, and got the Gautrain to Johannesburg Park station. We then went across to the main station and headed for the Shosholoza Meyl train, which we'd prebooked for less than £50 each. The train sets off at 10.30am and arrives about 1pm in Cape Town the following day. We had our own compartment, and the journey was most comfortable. I also found the birding comparatively easier than some other long-distance trains, because you can look directly through an open window and the train would often go slowly, or stop in half way decent spots for birds. This meant some of the birds seen were very identifiable.
After leaving the sprawl of Jo'burg, we passed through mostly flat grassland/farmland. This produced lots of Long-tailed Widowbirds and Helmeted Guineafowl, a fair few feral Ostrich, a few large groups of South African Cliff Swallow, and as we got further out, more than a hundred Lesser Kestrels, concentrated in loose groups. An Amur falcon was a special treat though, at a point when the train stopped for a while, and even more of a treat for me was a count of 15 Northern Black Korhaan. As the evening approached some of the korhaans seemed to like standing on top of anthills. 2 Southern Ant-eating Chats were identified, and dams close to the track yielded a Yellow-billed Stork and my first Red-billed Teal among a big flock of White-faced Tree-Duck.
When we woke at dawn the scenery had changed, and we were passing through rocky hilly country studded with short shrubby plants and patchy grassy areas. Pretty much the first birds seen were 2 flying Karoo Korhaans, presumably flushed by the train. There were Namaqua Doves, Rock Kestrels, a Verreaux's Eagle, African Pied, and even introduced European Starlings. A couple of Malachite Sunbirds appeared at a station, and Rock Martins started appearing. As we got nearer to Capetown there was more wheat and wine country as well as a few plantations and what I assume is Karoo Scrub. Steppe Buzzards were common, and there were Jackal Buzzards, and if the underwing coverts can be relied upon, a Forest Buzzard too. Bird of prey highlight for me though was 2 Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks. We passed many small dams, and one had a big concentration of maybe 60 Blue Cranes. A few scattered pairs of Blue Cranes were also seen in the wheat fields. Other dams had Greater Flamingos, and the trip's first Great Crested Grebe. Other birds seen from the train that morning included Cape and Pied Crows, White-necked Raven, Yellow-billed Kite, Southern Red Bishop, Pin-tailed Whydah, Cape and House Sparrrows, Purple and black-headed Herons, an African Fish Eagle and a (Cape) Kelp Gull on a lamp post as we pulled into Cape Town. As with any train jouney there were of course a fair few birds in the 'hmmm, better leave that one' department too.
346 BURNT-NECKED EREMOMELA
347 WHITE-BROWED SPARROW-WEAVER
348 MARICO FLYCATCHER
349 ASHY TIT
350 KALAHARI SCRUB-ROBIN
351 SCALY-FEATHERED FINCH
352 VIOLET-EARED WAXBILL
353 BLACK-CHESTED PRINIA
354 SHORT-CLAWED LARK
355 BLACK-FACED WAXBILL
356 SPOTTED DIKKOP
357 NORTHERN BLACK KORHAAN
358 AMUR FALCON
359 Lesser Kestrel
360 SOUTHERN ANTEATING CHAT
361 RED-BILLED TEAL
362 KAROO KORHAAN
363 (Starling)
364 SOUTHERN PALE CHANTING GOSHAWK
365 Great Crested Grebe
366 Greater Flamingo
367 Kelp Gull
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Cape Town
I've nearly caught up now.....
In Cape Town we've been staying in Observatory Backpackers in Observatory, which is 3 metro stops from the centre of town. On our first day in town we wandered round Sentinel Hill and down to the Atlantic coast. Capetown is far less birdy than Pretoria, but we picked up our first Karoo Prinias on Sentinal Hill, and it was great to see some coastal birds, and indeed the sea for the first time. Hartlaub's Gulls were very common, including one adult bird with a white iris, that otherwise looked exactly like the accompanying Hartlaub's Gulls. Kelp Gulls were in lesser numbers, and watched foraging with African Black Oystercatchers, Cape Wagtails and Starlings on the exposed rocks. There was a strong wind coming in from the west, and it wasn't long before we were seeing the odd Cape Gannet at sea, as well as some distant dark petrels that I think have to be White-chinned Petrels, and a couple of Sandwich Terns. Some close Crowned Cormorants provided great views, and a few parties of Cape Cormorants passed by. Other birds seen around town that first day were Red-winged Starling, Pied Crow, Cape Sparrow, Cape White-eye, Hadeda Ibis, Crested Coot, Egyptian Goose and Cape Canary.
Day before yesterday we took the train to Simon's Town from where we walked a couple of Km to Boulder's Beach, where there is a famous Jackass Penguin colony. Return on the train 3rd class was about £1.50 each for a pretty lengthy ride. Here you can get very close to Jackass Penguins. Superb. Entry is free with a wildcard, or 40 rand otherwise. Other birds here included a couple of Southern Double-collared Sunbirds, a large Cape Cormorant colony, a few Crowned Cormorants, about 100 Greater Crested Terns, a few Sandwich Terns, Speckled Mousebird, Karoo Prinia, Cape Robin-Chat and Cape Canary. We had fish 'n' chips on the seafront and took the train back home. Felt a bit like a day trip to Weston-Super-Mare from Bristol. Well, ish.
Yesterday we took the train to town and walked from the centre up to the cable car at the bottom of Table Mountain. It was hot and steep, but we managed a few Orange-breasted Sunbirds, our first couple of amazing Cape Sugarbirds, and a singing Cape Bunting in the protea-studded scrub. The cable car to the top was 160 rand with a wildcard, and well worth it because the view really is totally amazing. There was even a feel-good live band playing outside at the top getting everyone dancing. A wander around the top produced a very approachable Familiar Chat, 3 Cape Siskins, a Rock Kestrel, and a pair of Sentinel Rock Thrush, which I think is the less likely of the 2 rock thrush options up here. We walked back to town from the bottom of the cable car station, and had a great selection of asian food at the eastern food bazaar.
368 HARTLAUB'S GULL
369 KAROO PRINIA
370 CAPE GANNET
371 CROWNED CORMORANT
372 AFRICAN BLACK OYSTERCATCHER
373 CAPE CORMORANT
374 White-chinned Petrel
375 Sandwich Tern
376 JACKASS PENGUIN
377 SOUTHERN DOUBLE-COLLARED SUNBIRD
378 Greater Crested Tern
379 ORANGE-BREASTED SUNBIRD
380 CAPE SUGARBIRD
381 CAPE BUNTING
382 FAMILIAR CHAT
383 CAPE SISKIN
I've nearly caught up now.....
In Cape Town we've been staying in Observatory Backpackers in Observatory, which is 3 metro stops from the centre of town. On our first day in town we wandered round Sentinel Hill and down to the Atlantic coast. Capetown is far less birdy than Pretoria, but we picked up our first Karoo Prinias on Sentinal Hill, and it was great to see some coastal birds, and indeed the sea for the first time. Hartlaub's Gulls were very common, including one adult bird with a white iris, that otherwise looked exactly like the accompanying Hartlaub's Gulls. Kelp Gulls were in lesser numbers, and watched foraging with African Black Oystercatchers, Cape Wagtails and Starlings on the exposed rocks. There was a strong wind coming in from the west, and it wasn't long before we were seeing the odd Cape Gannet at sea, as well as some distant dark petrels that I think have to be White-chinned Petrels, and a couple of Sandwich Terns. Some close Crowned Cormorants provided great views, and a few parties of Cape Cormorants passed by. Other birds seen around town that first day were Red-winged Starling, Pied Crow, Cape Sparrow, Cape White-eye, Hadeda Ibis, Crested Coot, Egyptian Goose and Cape Canary.
Day before yesterday we took the train to Simon's Town from where we walked a couple of Km to Boulder's Beach, where there is a famous Jackass Penguin colony. Return on the train 3rd class was about £1.50 each for a pretty lengthy ride. Here you can get very close to Jackass Penguins. Superb. Entry is free with a wildcard, or 40 rand otherwise. Other birds here included a couple of Southern Double-collared Sunbirds, a large Cape Cormorant colony, a few Crowned Cormorants, about 100 Greater Crested Terns, a few Sandwich Terns, Speckled Mousebird, Karoo Prinia, Cape Robin-Chat and Cape Canary. We had fish 'n' chips on the seafront and took the train back home. Felt a bit like a day trip to Weston-Super-Mare from Bristol. Well, ish.
Yesterday we took the train to town and walked from the centre up to the cable car at the bottom of Table Mountain. It was hot and steep, but we managed a few Orange-breasted Sunbirds, our first couple of amazing Cape Sugarbirds, and a singing Cape Bunting in the protea-studded scrub. The cable car to the top was 160 rand with a wildcard, and well worth it because the view really is totally amazing. There was even a feel-good live band playing outside at the top getting everyone dancing. A wander around the top produced a very approachable Familiar Chat, 3 Cape Siskins, a Rock Kestrel, and a pair of Sentinel Rock Thrush, which I think is the less likely of the 2 rock thrush options up here. We walked back to town from the bottom of the cable car station, and had a great selection of asian food at the eastern food bazaar.
368 HARTLAUB'S GULL
369 KAROO PRINIA
370 CAPE GANNET
371 CROWNED CORMORANT
372 AFRICAN BLACK OYSTERCATCHER
373 CAPE CORMORANT
374 White-chinned Petrel
375 Sandwich Tern
376 JACKASS PENGUIN
377 SOUTHERN DOUBLE-COLLARED SUNBIRD
378 Greater Crested Tern
379 ORANGE-BREASTED SUNBIRD
380 CAPE SUGARBIRD
381 CAPE BUNTING
382 FAMILIAR CHAT
383 CAPE SISKIN
