Southern African Forum (1 Viewer)

[Sal]

Well I was hoping someone would be able to answer this with authority. Maybe everyone is away! I don't suppose they have done a sort of inland migration to cooler areas or areas with more water, to breed in? Or maybe they are all sitting on nests or frantically searching for food in the thickets of the bush?

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Birding at 120 kph

Well, Happy New Year, everybody.

It's great to back in Birdforum after spending most of the festive season in NW Botswana, and I am looking forward to sharing some of our birding experiences with you.

Just for laughs, here's a game we played on the way up to Maun - 120 kph birding! There were four of us in the car, and, PLEASE TAKE NOTE, the driver kept his eye on the road (most of the time), so the birding was done by the three passengers. Here's the route we followed:

Krugersdorp, Brits, Thabazimbi, and Lephalale (ex Ellisras) to the South African border at Groblersbrug. Cross the Limpopo into Botswana (Martin's Drift), then Palapye, Serowe, Letlhakane, Mopipi, Rakops, Motopi, Maun, give or take 1200 km, leaving just after 5 in the morning. We started the bird list just outside of Krugersdorp, and agreed that all birding would be done from the moving vehicle. This explains why we are a bit short on blue waxbills and camaropteras - not easy to spot them at 120 kph, and heavy on large birds such as storks, raptors etc.

We ended up with 56 birds, which we felt was a good total under the conditions. Only two birds were was spotted while the car was at rest - the Capped Wheatear, while we were looking at a shallow flooded pan near Mopipi, and the Lesser Masked Weaver, in a Botswana filling station.

Much to our surprise, we achieved some creditable spots, including a Wattled Crane in agricultural land not far from Amandelbult, on the road to Thabazimbi.

I have appended the list for your information - it certainly alleviated the boredom of a long car journey.

Abdim's Stork
African Jacana
Ant-eating Chat
Barn Swallow
Black Crow
Black-shouldered Kite
Blacksmith Plover
Brown Snake-eagle
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Burchell's Starling
Cape Vulture
Capped Wheatear
Carmine Bee-eater
Cattle Egret
Crowned Plover
Egyptian Goose
Fish Eagle
Forktailed Drongo
Green Woodhoopoe
Grey Heron
Grey Hornbill
Grey Loerie
Grey-headed Gull
Guineafowl
Kittlitz's Plover
Laughing Dove
Lesser Masked Weaver
Lilac-breasted Roller
Little Egret
Longtailed Paradise Wydah
Longtailed Shrike
Marabou Stork
Namaqua Dove
Northern Black Korhaan
Pale Chanting Goshawk
Pallid Harrier
Pied Babbler
Pied Kingfisher
Pintailed Whydah
Purple Roller
Red Bishop
Redbacked Shrike
Redbilled Buffalo Weaver
Redbilled Quelea
Red-chested Cuckoo
Sacred Ibis
Secretary Bird
Steppe Buzzard
Wattled Crane
White Stork
Whitebrowed Sparrowweaver
White-crowned Shrike
White-winged Widow
Yellowbilled Duck
Yellowbilled Hornbill
Yellowbilled Kite

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

 

[Sal]

Nice list Dave - at 120kph that is pretty good spotting! Look forward to hearing about your birding in Botswana. Best wishes for an enriching and happy 2009.

 

[Sal]

I don't normally keep year lists as such, I keep place lists, but this year on the SANParks forum, we are compiling a 2009 list contributed to by everyone who belongs to the Stiffnecks bird club. If your bird has not already been seen, you 'own' it in the 2009 yearlist. So as I was not going anywhere I started my birdlist in the garden. Most of the birds are very common and perhaps rather boring but believe me it was good work at twenty to seven in the morning on New Year's day!
Feral Pigeon
Paradise Flycatcher
Crested Barbet
Red-Eyed Dove
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Black-collared Barbet
Dark-capped Bulbul
Laughing dove
Cape Whiteye
House Sparrow
Yellow-fronted Canary
Indian Myna
Speckled Mousebird
African Harrier Hawk
Cape Turtle Dove
Hadeda
Olive Thrush
Village Weaver
Cape Robin-Chat
Red-Winged Starling
Pied Crow
Fork-tailed Drongo
Spectacled Weaver
Black-collared barbet

The Harrier Hawk was being mobbed and flew into a palm tree only 50m away so I rushed to get my camera. Battery flat. Then it came into the palm right opposite the verandah and stood there sheltering beneath a big frond and I could have taken an amazing pic! New Year resolution, keep battery charged at all times!

Happy New Year everyone.

 

[Martin Hobbs]

I don't normally keep year lists as such, I keep place lists, but this year on the SANParks forum, we are compiling a 2009 list contributed to by everyone who belongs to the Stiffnecks bird club. If your bird has not already been seen, you 'own' it in the 2009 yearlist.

Hi Sal,
Happy New Year to you.
I was on the SANParks Bird Forum web site (first time for me) over the holidays and noticed that they are requesting information on several bird spots, including the African Fish Eagle. They would like to know details of time and exact location (GPS co-ordinates). I can understand some of the birds including the Ground Hornbill, however, do you know the reason on asking information on the Fish Eagles as they are quite common in Kruger and the surrounding areas?

Martin

 

[Martin Hobbs]

My wife and I have returned from a few days in Marloth Park.
The weather was bad (or good, whichever way you look at it) as it rained almost continually for the whole 4 days and nights. When it wasn’t actually raining the grey cloud was so low it was misty and cool.
The Park is looking green and healthy though which is good news considering what it was like a few months ago, and the Crocodile River was running wide and fast (Crocodile Bridge entrance into Kruger park was closed as the river was running over the causeway).
The bird watching wasn’t very good due to the weather, however we did manage an afternoon in Lionspruit which is a private game reserve attached to Marloth Park.
In between the rain my wife had 4 new spots:
Knob Billed Duck
Black Winged Stilt
Little Grebe
African Black Duck
All these were at what is known locally as the gravel pit which was full of water, as were all the dams in the reserve.
We had two highlights both along the Crocodile River road within Marloth Park. The first was a Brown Snake Eagle that had caught a snake just before we got there, we were within 3 metres of him and before I could wind down the wet window to take a picture he flew off with the snake into the nearest tree, and was promptly harassed by two Blacksmiths Plovers. I didn’t bother to take a picture of him in the tree as the light was so bad, and I was getting rather wet; however, it was exciting to see him so close with the snake hanging from his beak for those few seconds.
The second was spotting two Ground Hornbills on the opposite bank (within Kruger Park) as they had also caught something and both were trying to kill it. We watched them for around 15 minutes. We couldn’t make out what it was (perhaps a snake or a Monitor Lizard), but it wasn’t going quietly!!
The Park was unusually quiet of bird song due to the persistent rain which only stopped as we were leaving to come home!

Martin

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Maun

The riparian woodland along the banks of the Thamalakane River in Maun echoes to the harsh rattle and mellifluous whistle of duetting Swamp Boubous. Each morning the clear crescendo of White-browed Robin-chats wakes you from sleep, and the monotonous "I'm so sad!" of the Black Cuckoo drives you crazy during the day. It took me several days to find out that a loud, fast, ringing call was in fact the female cuckoo. In the evening, sitting outside with a St Louis in your hand, you might hear anything up to a four-owl chorus, with Pearl-spotted and Barred Owlets, African Scops-owl, and Barn Owl all present in the area. A pair of African Paradise-flycatchers were nest-building in the garden, siting their nest, as they so often do, close to the house. Gangs of Arrow-marked and Hartlaub's Babblers cackled their noisy way around the garden, as tiny waxbills and firefinches sought seed on the bird table.

Here's some of the Maun birds....I'll post another four shortly.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

 

[Dave Kennedy]

More Maun Birds

The first picture shows an empty Apple Snail, either Pila wernei or P. occidentalis, I am not sure which, on the bank of the Thamalakane River. This snail is a favourite food of the African Openbill, and is common in the Delta and surrounding areas.
The Lesser Jacana, again in the Thamalakane, was the only one seen in both the November and December visits.
I was interested to see the Meyer's Parrot feeding on green unripe Syringa berries - this particular tree always had a few parrots in it.
The Red-billed Firefinch (showing diagnostic yellow eye-ring) and the White-browed Robin-chat were common garden visitors.

Dave Kennedy

 

[Dave Kennedy]

The first picture shows an empty Apple Snail, either Pila wernei or P. occidentalis

Further investigation on the Internet suggests that the Botswanan snail is P. occidentalis.

Dave

 

[Sal]

I was on the SANParks Bird Forum web site (first time for me) over the holidays and noticed that they are requesting information on several bird spots, including the African Fish Eagle. They would like to know details of time and exact location (GPS co-ordinates). I can understand some of the birds including the Ground Hornbill, however, do you know the reason on asking information on the Fish Eagles as they are quite common in Kruger and the surrounding areas?[/COLOR]

Martin

Hi Martin, sorry I've been away.

I can't help you much though.There has been an ongoing request in Kruger over the past year for info regarding a group of about ten large birds, of whom the African Fish Eagle is one. (Others include Martial Eagle and Southern Ground Hornbill ) I presume that SANParks are doing some sort of Atlassing project, maybe having a look at changing distribution and numbers of these important birds in the Park.

Alternatively there is a South African Bird Atlassing Project (#2) going on at the moment. Finishes at the end of Jan.

 

[Sal]

Hi Dave

What a great collection of birdlife you seem to have see, and I enjoyed looking at the pics. The best part was listening to all those owls and also the Lesser Jacana - I've never seen one. It sounds like you were staying in a place with a really good birding garden too. Hope there is more to come.

 

[Dave Kennedy]

First Big Birding Day - Lake Ngami

I joined a team from Maun, which had elected to work the Lake Ngami area, about 90 km south-west of Maun. It proved a difficult day, as heavy rain had made access to the shores of the lake problematical, but we finally made it. While there were thousands of birds, there were not thousands of species. Much of the lake was hidden by heavy sedge and reed growth, so our viewing was restricted to those lake margins which we could reach. Judging by the noise from the dense sedge beds, and the occasional pelican or egret momentarily showing itself before diving back down into or behind the vegetation, there was a lot going on, but, try as we might, we could not see it.

Nevertheless, we managed a respectable total from the lake margins, associated wetlands and surrounding veld and woodlands, 148 species in all.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

Species list
Babbler, Arrow-marked
Babbler, Southern Pied
Barbet, Acacia Pied
Barbet, Black-collared
Batis, Chinspot
Bee-eater, Little
Bee-eater, Swallow-tailed
Boubou, Swamp
Brubru
Buffalo-weaver, Red-billed
Bulbul, Dark-capped
Bunting, Cinnamon-breasted
Bunting, Golden-breasted
Bush-shrike, Orange-breasted
Buzzard, Steppe
Camaroptera, Grey-backed
Canary, Black-throated
Cisticola, Rattling
Cisticola, Zitting
Cormorant, Reed
Coucal, Senegal
Crake, Black
Crombec, Long-billed
Crow, Pied
Cuckoo, Black
Cuckoo, Diderick
Cuckoo, Jacobin
Dove, African Mourning
Dove, Laughing
Dove, Namaqua
Dove, Red-eyed
Drongo, Fork-tailed
Duck, White-faced
Duck, Yellow-billed
Eagle, Steppe
Eagle, Tawny
Eagle, Wahlberg's
Egret, Cattle
Egret, Great
Egret, Little
Egret, Slaty
Egret, Yellow-billed
Eremomela, Burnt-necked
Firefinch, Jameson's
Firefinch, Red-billed
Fish-eagle, African
Flycatcher, Marico
Flycatcher, Spotted
Go-away Bird, Grey
Goose, Spurwinged
Green-pigeon, African
Greenshank, Common
Guineafowl, Helmeted
Hamerkop
Heron, Black-headed
Heron, Green-backed
Heron, Grey
Heron, Purple
Heron, Rufous-bellied
Heron, Squacco
Hoopoe, African
Hornbill, African Grey
Hornbill, Red-billed
Hornbill, Southern Yellow-billled
Ibis, African Sacred
Ibis, Glossy
Jacana, African
Kestrel, Greater
Kingfisher, Malachite
Kingfisher, Pied
Kingfisher, Woodland
Kite, Black-shouldered
Kite, Yellow-billed
Korhaan, Red-crested
Lapwing, Blacksmith
Lapwing, Crowned
Lark, Flappet
Lark, Sabota
Masked-weaver, Lesser
Masked-weaver, Southern
Mousebird, Red-faced
Night-heron, Black-crowned
Openbill, African
Owl, Barn
Oxpecker, Red-billed
Painted-snipe, Greater
Palm-swift, African
Paradise-flycatcher, African
Paradise-whydah, Long-tailed
Parrot, Meyer's
Pelican, Pink-backed
Pipit, African
Plover, Three-banded
Pochard, Southern
Pratincole, Collared
Prinia, Black-chested
Prinia, Tawny-flanked
Puffback, Black-backed
Pygmy-goose, African
Pytilia, Green-winged
Quail, Harlequin
Quelea, Red-billed
Robin-chat, White-browed
Roller, Lilac-breasted
Ruff
Sandgrouse, Burchell's
Sandgrouse, Double-banded
Sandpiper, Common
Sandpiper. Marsh
Sandpiper, Wood
Scimitarbill, Common
Scrub-robin, Kalahari
Scrub-robin, White-browed
Shikra
Shrike, Crimson-breasted
Shrike, Lesser Grey
Shrike, Magpie
Shrike, Red-backed
Snake-eagle, Black-chested
Sparrow. Southern Grey-headed
Sparrow-weaver, White-browed
Spoonbill, African
Spur-fowl, Red-billed
Starling, Burchell's
Starling, Greater-blue-eared
Starling, Meve's
Stilt, Black-winged
Stork, Marabou
Sunbird, Marico
Sunbird, White-bellied
Swift, Common
Tchagra, Brown-crowned
Teal, Hottentot
Teal, Red-billed
Tern, Whiskered
Tern, White-winged
Thick-knee, Water
Thrush, Groundscraper
Tit-babbler, Chestnut-vented
Turtle-dove, Cape
Vulture, White-backed
Waxbill, Black-faced
Waxbill, Blue
Weaver, Golden
Whydah, Shaft-tailed
Wood-dove, Emerald-spotted
Wood-hoopoe, Green
Woodpecker, Bearded

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Hi Dave

What a great collection of birdlife you seem to have see, and I enjoyed looking at the pics. The best part was listening to all those owls and also the Lesser Jacana - I've never seen one. It sounds like you were staying in a place with a really good birding garden too. Hope there is more to come.

Hi, Sal,

The garden in question (my son's house) is superb, right by the river. It is full of enormous trees whose branches meet overhead, so you are effectively sitting in a forest. Not only are there the owls, but a large-spotted genet has been visiting the garden for months. She now has a kit, or whatever you call baby genets, and mother and little one step off the house roof onto the tree branches and go right round the garden without ever touching the ground.

As you can see, I've posted info on the first (Lake Ngami) birding day. I'll follow this with the second BBD from Nxabega in the Delta. These two events took place in late November, and then in mid December I went back to the Delta, with the family this time, and carried on to the Selinda/Linyanti areas. That information will also be posted.

Best wishes,
Dave

 

[Martin Hobbs]

Hi Martin, sorry I've been away.

I can't help you much though.There has been an ongoing request in Kruger over the past year for info regarding a group of about ten large birds, of whom the African Fish Eagle is one. (Others include Martial Eagle and Southern Ground Hornbill ) I presume that SANParks are doing some sort of Atlassing project, maybe having a look at changing distribution and numbers of these important birds in the Park.

Alternatively there is a South African Bird Atlassing Project (#2) going on at the moment. Finishes at the end of Jan.

Sal,
Thanks for the reply.
I was intrigued as to why they are requesting information on such a commonly seen bird.

Martin

 

[Sal]

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.

 

[Martin Hobbs]

Hi, Sal,

The garden in question (my son's house) is superb, right by the river. It is full of enormous trees whose branches meet overhead, so you are effectively sitting in a forest. Not only are there the owls, but a large-spotted genet has been visiting the garden for months. She now has a kit, or whatever you call baby genets, and mother and little one step off the house roof onto the tree branches and go right round the garden without ever touching the ground.

As you can see, I've posted info on the first (Lake Ngami) birding day. I'll follow this with the second BBD from Nxabega in the Delta. These two events took place in late November, and then in mid December I went back to the Delta, with the family this time, and carried on to the Selinda/Linyanti areas. That information will also be posted.

Best wishes,
Dave

Dave,
Your son's garden sounds lovely, with all the trees and especially the Genet running around. It must be a constant pleasure to sit under those trees and watch and listen to nature all around.
Your first days birding sounds difficult, however, under the circumstances you did very well. I like the picture of the Double Banded Sandgrouse, it is such a pretty bird.
I look forward to the Delta reports.

Martin

 

[Sal]

Here are some more pics:

 

[Sal]

Sal,
Thanks for the reply.
I was intrigued as to why they are requesting information on such a commonly seen bird.

Martin

Well, OK, it is listed in the Red Data book as of least concern, but I think that it may be ecologically important and Kruger Park scientists are constantly updating their data info, so maybe this was the Time of the Fish Eagle. Alternatively, it may have been a pull - ie everyone can see a Fish Eagle so start looking now, you can all hand in SOME data!

Note: The above is all speculation . . .!

 

[Dave Kennedy]

Dave,
Your son's garden sounds lovely, with all the trees and especially the Genet running around. It must be a constant pleasure to sit under those trees and watch and listen to nature all around.
Your first days birding sounds difficult, however, under the circumstances you did very well. I like the picture of the Double Banded Sandgrouse, it is such a pretty bird.
I look forward to the Delta reports.

Martin

Thanks, Martin,

It was not so much difficult, but we lost some time due to the bad conditions. Quite odd, really, the first 100 birds come fairly easily, then you battle because most of what you are seeing are now repeats.

Dave

 

[Dave Kennedy]

I have just been to Durban, and whilst there, spent a couple of mornings in the botanical Gardens there.......

Looks like a nice place Sal. Congrats on the quality of your photographs - quite superb. I particularly liked the bathing hadedas.

Dave