Fairest Cape to Kruger 11 th 27 th September, 2015 Barrier of Spears extension 27 th September 3 rd October, 2015 Set Departure tour Tour leader: Charley Hesse Report by Charley Hesse. Photos by Charley Hesse & Andrew Spencer With stiff competition, Buff-spotted Flufftail was voted bird of the trip (Andrew Spencer) There many different ways to birdwatch in South Africa, and with a small group of serious birdwatchers, we had a fast pace tour and accumulated a very large number of species. With a trip list of 494 species of birds, 67 species of mammals, plus many reptiles, amphibians and butterflies, it was one of our most successful tours to date. It was especially impressive considering that this didn t even include a pelagic (which was sadly cancelled due to weather conditions). In addition to the huge species haul, our list included most of the available endemics (including both rockjumpers and sugarbirds) plus many other seldom seen birds. As well as the obvious star birds like African Penguin and Blue Crane, we did particularly well with certain groups, with 9 species of bustard, 14 species of larks (including the very rare Rudd s), 32 species of hawks and eagles (including Crowned Hawk-Eagle & Fasciated Snake-Eagle) and 9 species of owls (including African Grass-Owl, Cape Eagle-Owl and the Holy Grail of African birding, Pel s Fishing Owl). Mammals feature heavily on this tour and highlights from our list included Cheetah, White & Black Rhinos, Porcupine, Meercat & Southern Rights Whales. Of course the world class reserves, stunning scenery, high-quality lodging and food plus very friendly people didn t go unnoticed either. All in all, it was an unforgettable trip. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 1
11 th September Arrival in Cape Town After settling in to our comfortable guest house, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the world famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Located at the foot of Table Mountain, we followed the gentle slopes up through the beautifully planted flower beds filled with Cape & Forest Canaries and Southern Doublecollared Sunbirds. Families and couples were dotted on the extensive lawns and they were interspersed with Egyptian Geese and Helmeted Guineafowl. We made our way up to the Dell area in search of the resident Spotted Eagle-Owls. A guy nearby beckoned us over and pointed one out so we had managed to find them in record time, along with our first Dusky-brown Flycatcher. We walked up to the Protea garden in search of Cape Sugarbirds but didn t find any. We did find Cape Francolin, Sombre Greenbul, Cape Bulbul, Cape Robin-Chat, Olive Thrush and Red-winged Starlings. We had a good afternoon for raptors and found an African Harrier-Hawk, pairs of African Goshawks and Steppe Buzzards, the latter being mobbed by the recently split Rock Kestrel. On the way back down we had a nice Black Sawwing and a gorgeous male Malachite Sunbird which we all got pretty excited about. We eventually found the new snaking canopy boardwalk called the Boomslang. From here we saw a flowering Coral Tree filled with Cape White-eyes and we also had a Rameron Pigeon fly over. Our last memorable sighting of the day were some Cape Batises which were displaying for us on the way out. Orange-breasted Sunbird is surely one of the best looking endemics (Andrew Spencer) 12 th September Cape Peninsular We started our day at Boulders Beach penguin colony where we had great views of many Jackass Penguins. It was nice and early so we had the place to ourselves. We also saw our first Great & Cape Cormorants, African Oystercatcher and many Hartlaub's Gulls. On the way the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, we found an extensive patch of flowering Proteas where we saw impressive Cape Sugarbird and emerald green Malachite Sunbird. Once in the reserve, we found the gorgeous endemic Orange-breasted Sunbird and the not so gorgeous Karoo Prinia. We stopped at a great view over the sea and scanned the distant waves, picking up Black-browed Albatross, White-chinned Petrel, Sooty Shearwater and Cape Gannet. A welcome consolation after the pelagic had been cancelled. At the Cape Point parking lot we saw Cape Bunting and Red-winged Starling, and on the walk up to the lighthouse, Cape Bulbul and Cape Robin-Chat. Our main target here was Cape Siskin, and despite the strong winds we managed to locate a small family group. Also spotted from the cliffs were a Rock Kestrel and a Peregrine Falcon. The views from the top we superb and we enjoyed watching Cape Comorants braving the strong winds and landing on the cliffs. With our targets under our belt, we continued on to Kommetjie where we were in search of cormorants. Along with the common Great & Cape Cormorants we managed to find a couple of the rare Bank & Crowned Cormorants too. We saw many water birds including African Oystercatcher, Blacksmith Lapwing and even a Pied Kingfisher. Gulls were common place and we saw Hartlaub's & Kelp Gulls plus Common, Great Crested & Sandwich Terns. After a well-deserved lunch we left this delightful place and on the way out of town we spotted a pair of Spotted Thick-knees. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 2
We spent the afternoon at the wonderful Strandfontein Water Treatment Plant where we saw an incredible number of birds. The extensive ponds were especially good for ducks and geese and we saw Spur-winged Goose, Yellow-billed, Red-billed & Maccoa Ducks, Cape Shoveler, Cape Teal & Southern Pochard. We even had a Yellow-billed Duck - Mallard hybrid. Other water birds seen included Little, Great Crested & Eared Grebes, hundreds of Greater Flamingo, Great & Long-tailed Cormorants, Gray, Black-headed Heron and Glossy, Sacred & Hadada Ibises. On some of the first reed-fringed lagoons, we saw Lesser Swamp-& Little Rush-Warblers, Levaillant's Cisticola, African Swamphen and even an African Jacana, which is actually a twitchable bird in Cape Town. Over the pans we had several hirundine species, including Plain Martin, White-throated & Pearl-breasted Swallows, and in the open habitat surrounding the ponds, Cape Francolin, Black-shouldered Kite, White-necked Raven, African Pipit, Cape Canary, Yellow Bishop and Common Waxbill. On the final pan we found several shorebird species, with Blackwinged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Ruff and Little Stint. Our first full day had been incredibly productive and we returned to our guest house to freshen before dinner. The iconic endemic Cape Rockjumper (Charley Hesse) 13 th September Cape Peninsular Because of the pelagic cancellation, we had an extra day of birding in the Cape area. We started early and headed straight for the Overberg area, searching for the rare endemic Hottentot Buttonquail. It is a very tricky bird that requires a lot of time and searching large areas in the hope of flushing it up. As we walked the habitat, Cloud Cisticola showed well and we even had a Denham s Bustard and several Bontebok, but no sign of the buttonquail. Next we tried the Kleinmond area for Striped Flufftail. What can I say? Flufftails are amongst the most difficult African birds to see. We tried a known sight and had just one short response of a bird in dense vegetation, but nothing more. We did have nice views of Cape Sugarbirds on pin-cushion Proteas and took some photos of of these interesting endemics before heading to Hermanus for lunch. We sat at some outside tables overlooking the sea and we enjoyed the sight of Southern Right Whales bobbing in and out of the water close offshore. From here we went on to Betty s Bay and Stoney Point penguin colony. We enjoyed the antics of the hundreds of Jackass Penguins, including chicks begging for food. We also had many Cape, several Bank and a single Crowned Cormorant. The comical Dassies or Cape Rock Hyraxes, the unlikely cousins of the elephant, lazed around on the rocks in between the penguin nests. We added Cape Girdled Lizard to our reptile lists before moving on to Rooi Els. One of the most important endemics on the tour is Cape Rock Jumper. I warned the clients that they can be difficult to see and of course they popped straight out and started calling on top of some rocks. We also saw more Orange-breasted Sunbirds, Familiar Chat and our first Cape Rock-Thrush as well as a Jackal Buzzard flying against the cliff faces, before heading back to Cape Town Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 3
14 th September West Coast Today was our long day of birding up the west coast. Again we left early to beat traffic and just north of Cape Town, stopped to see our first African Fish-Eagle on a small roadside lake. Further north when we were finally past human habitation and into some nice fynbos habitat, we tried for Cape Clapper Lark. There was no sign of their vocalizations or distinctive clapping flight displays, but we did see our first Bokmakirie, Red-headed Cisticola, Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler and Karoo Scrub-Robin. We moved on and entered the Darling Wildflower route where we searched for Southern Black Korhaan. We heard several individuals but none showed themselves so we continued birding up the hill. We had a surprise Cape Clapper Lark doing its flight displays then we had a false alarm of a Spur-winged Goose flying by. We back-tracked and eventually saw a male Southern Black Korhaan along a track. Further along the route we had our first Blue Cranes and picked up many other nice birds including breeding-plumaged Southern Red Bishops, 3 species of mousebirds, Banded Martin, some European Bee-eaters that probably just arrived, Bar-throated Apalis, Fiscal Flycatcher, African Pied Staling and Steaky-headed Seedeater. We arrived back at the main road and from there drove the short distance to West Coast National Park. The threatened endemic Black Harrier s stronghold is the west coast (Andrew Spencer) After entering the gate we saw a Booted Eagle, and then headed straight to the Geelbek blind. Here we picked up lots of shorebirds and other water birds, including Glossy Ibis, Kitlitz s Plover, Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Greater & Lesser Flamingos, Curlew Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Whimbrel, Common Ringed Plover, Distant Great White Pelican & Bar-tailed Godwits and Caspian Tern. We had some time left before lunch so we drove down to check out Abraamskraal blind. Here we saw several Yellow Canaries outside, and from the blind, Little Grebe, many Little Rush Warblers, Yellow Bishops and also a Karoo Lark doing its flight display. One last bird before lunch was the tricky Southern Grey Tit. During lunch we were joined by Cape Weavers and in the parking lot afterwards we saw Cardinal Woodpecker and African Hoopoe. We drove north picking up another tricky endemic, the Cape Penduline Tit and also several several Black Harriers. After checking out the spectacular viewpoint at Zeeberg, we exited the park and made our way to the agricultural lands to the north, looking for Cape Long-billed Lark. It was cold and very windy, and despite extensive efforts we only managed to hear it. We did see plenty of other good birds like Sickle-winged Chat, Southern Anteating Chat, Large-billed Lark and lots of Capped Wheatears. We ended the day at Veldriff looking for Chestnut-banded Plover which seems to have become a lot more difficult in recet times. We saw Three-banded & White-fronted Plovers, Lesser Flamingo and Common & Great-crested Terns before starting our long drive back to Cape Town. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 4
15 th September Cape Town to De Hoop We were left Cape Town early and headed East, up and over Sir Lowry s Pass. Having already seen Cape Rockjumper we saved time and went lower down in search of Victorin s Warbler. We parked and walked through its favoured habitat until we found a vocal individual and after some effort managed to get good views. We continued along the main N2 highway and spotted many Blue Cranes in the fields. We were on our way to the De Hoop Nature Reserve but first wanted to explore the Agulhas Plain. We turned off the highway and on some roadside ponds saw Cape Teal and Red-billed Duck. A little further on we were lucky enough to see Cape Griffons right next to the road in a field. We continued through the surprisingly productive agricultural area, seeing Alpine & Little Swifts, Cape Crow & White-necked Raven, Redcapped Lark, Capped Wheatear and Yellow Bishop. Our main target in this area was the endemic Agulhas Lark. We heard one in a big field and this time they came in and gave good views. We drove down the entry road to the De Hoop Nature Reserve, spotting a pair of Yellow Canaries and a rather impressive Puff Adder. The endemic Victorin s Warbler is a master skulker (Charley Hesse) Driving into the reserve we saw Eland, Bontebok, Common Ostrich, Booted Eagle and Cape Francolin, before stopping for a nice lunch. Afterwards we birded a remnant forest patch along vlei, where we saw Southern Boubou, Bokmakierie, Cape Bunting, White-rumped Swift and our main target, Southern Tchagra which showed in record time. We started driving to coast spotting our first Brimstone Canary and Gray-hooded Gull on the way. We parked at the Koppie Alleen parking lot and walked the boardwalk down to the sea where we found African Oystercatcher and a young Southern Right Whale breaching repeatedly. On the way out we found a responsive pair of endemic Gray-winged Francolins. We left the main section of the nature reserve and drove to the eastern Potsberg section, where we saw Jackal Buzzard, several Denham's Bustards and a rather lost looking Cape Sugarbird. On the way out we enjoyed some dancing Blue Cranes, Crowned Lapwing and more Cloud Cisticolas. We also saw Largebilled Lark singing, Karoo Bustard and we heard some Common Quail calling before we called it a day and relaxed in our historical guest house near Swellendam. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 5
16 th September Bontebok to Wilderness After an early breakfast we left the hotel and our first birds were a confiding family of African Stonechats perched on a fence. We drove the short distance to South Africa s smallest national park, Bontebok. It was set up to protect this endangered endemic mammal from extinction. It worked, and this species can be easily seen in many of the Cape s reserves. We drove through nice fynbos habitat and saw Common Ostrich, Karoo Scrub-Robin, Red-headed Cisticola, Yellow Canary and our main target, the recently lumped Agulhas form of the Cape Clapper Lark. It gave some nice vocalizations, wing claps and flight displays and I could definitely feel the clients warming towards larks. We came to a river viewpoint where we saw Yellow-billed & Red-billed Ducks, Rameron Pigeon, a Denham's Bustard flying over, Blackheaded Heron and Yellow Bishop. Lastly we birded a forest section where we had many birds, including: Speckled Mousebird, African Goshawk, African Reed-Warbler, Bar-throated Apalis, Piping Cisticola, Pied Barbet, Lesser Honeyguide, Greater Double-collared & Malachite Sunbirds, Southern Boubou and Fiscal Flycatcher. Outside we stopped for gas and saw Little & White-rumped Swifts. A cute little pair of Swee Waxbills at the feeders (Andrew Spencer) Next stop was the town of Wilderness where we would had a 2 night stay. Just short of it, we stopped at Victoria Bay in search of the endemic Knysna Warbler. When we arrived, we had great views of a pair of Forest Buzzards soaring overhead and vocalizing in what looked like a courtship display. Our birding stop also produced Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Speckled Mousebird, Scaly-throated Honeyguide and White-necked Raven. The Knysna Warblers were pretty responsive and it wasn t long before one popped out to give great views. Just as we were about to leave we heard the high pitch squeaky call of the endemic Knysna Woodpecker. We walked towards it and when it called again, Andrew was able to record it and play it back. One flew over our heads and with a little further searching we had good views of this tricky endemic. We had lunch in Wilderness and then checked in to our very cosy B&B. We watched the feeders for a bit and saw Forest Canary, Streaky-headed Seedeater, Swee & Common Waxbills, Mousecolored & Greater Double-collared Sunbirds plus Olive Thrush. After a short rest we set off to check out a couple of blinds in the national park. At the first one we saw quite a few waterbirds, including, Southern Pochard, African Darter and Black Crake. In the reeds we also saw Levaillant's Cisticola. One of the most difficult group of birds to see in Africa are the flufftails and we were very lucky to see a Red-chested Flufftail here as it crossed under the boardwalk. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 6
Next we went on to Rondevlei which also had a good selection of waterbirds, with Great Crested & Eared Grebes, Great & Long-tailed Cormorants, African Marsh-Harrier, the recently split African Swamphen, Malachite & Pied Kingfishers and Little Rush-Warbler. On the way back we found Spotted Thick-knee & Red-necked Francolins by the side of the road. We had just enough time to bird one ore spot so we tried the Half-collared Kingfisher trail. This went through nice forest with some great birds like Lemon Dove, Knysna Turaco, Olive Woodpecker, Cape Batis, Southern Boubou, African Crested- Flycatcher, Terrestrial Brownbul and Bar-throated Apalis. We even had a Peregrine Falcon flying high overhead. We reached a pontoon bridge where we tried for the rare Half-collared Kingfisher after which the trail was named but didn t see it. Frank, one of the clients, did spot a White-starred Robin on the other side of the river and we crossed over to get better views. The bird of the day, and as it turned out, the bird of the trip though was the Buff-spotted Flufftail. Surely one of the trickiest birds in the region. I heard one giving a very soft call nearby and we gathered everyone on one side and managed to call it across the trail. Two flufftails seen well and photographed in 1 day was quite an achievement. We tried to do some owling at night but the gate to the forest was locked. We did manage to get good views of a Fiery-necked Nightjar which was our final bird of the day. Knysna Turaco is the star attraction at our B&B in Wilderness (Charley Hesse) 17 th September Wilderness area We took a pre-breakfast walk along the river trail again. Our first bird of the day was quite a tricky species in South Africa, the African Black Duck. We saw many of the same birds as yesterday, including Rameron Pigeon, Lemon & Tambourine Doves, Olive Woodpecker, Cape Batis, White-starred Robin, Greenbacked Camaroptera, Black Sawwing, Bar-throated Apalis and African Crested-Flycatcher. We also added the spectacular Narina Trogon and Green Woodhoopoe which were both well received. We got to the river crossing again and spent some time trying for Half-collared Kingfisher. Again there was no sign of it although we did see our first Giant Kingfisher. We were just about to give up when a flash of blue shot by. It stopped upstream and when we got the scope on it, we could see that it was in fact our target Halfcollared Kingfisher, which is quite a tricky bird in South Africa. We went back to our lodge and enjoyed watching the feeders at breakfast. Again we saw Forest Canary, Streaky-headed Seedeater, Swee & Common Waxbills and Greater Double-collared Sunbird, but today we also saw Southern Grayheaded Sparrow, Cape Weaver, Red-necked Francolin, Chorister Robin-Chat and Terrestrial Brownbul. Undeniably the star bird though was Knysna Turaco. Turacos are normally secretive birds, hiding in the canopy, but the ones here were hopping around a tree at eye level, just a few few feet from our breakfast table. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 7
After breakfast, we went to Big Tree; a small forest reserve with some high stature forest and an enormous Outeniqua Yellowwood tree by the entrance. Here we saw many of the same forest species again, but added Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler and Collared Sunbird. Leaving the forest we saw a flock of Cape Canaries in a field. We went back to town for lunch and driving back along the estuary saw an African Oystercatcher. In the afternoon we birded the Brown-hooded Kingfisher Trail where we had our best views of Knysna Woodpecker although we had to turn back at a stream crossing as the overnight rain had caused the water level to rise. We tried for Black-headed Oriole at the camp site but instead found lots of Helmeted Guineafowl, White-necked Raven and a Peregrine Falcon flying over. Afterwards we walked along a disused train line passing through nice habitat where we saw African Fish-Eagle, Forest Buzzard, Black-backed Puffback (puffing their backs), Mouse-colored Sunbird and Olive Bushshrike. Our last birding site of the day were some reed beds by the vlei where we saw a Pied Kingfisher and African Reed-Warbler. Protea Canary is one of the toughest endemics to find (Charley Hesse) 18 th Spetember Wilderness to Karoo NP via Swartberg Pass Today we were leaving the garden route and crossing over the Swartberg Pass into the Karoo, a totally different habitat. We left early and drove straight to the bottom of the pass. Here our main target was the very tough endemic Protea Canary. Although not the most stunning of South Africa s birds, with a unique and restricted habitat requirement, and a pretty little song, it is certainly not without merits. After a quick packed breakfast, we managed to locate some very quickly and also found Cape White-eye, Victorin's Warbler, Orange-breasted & Southern Double-collared Sunbirds. With the pressure off, we could enjoy the rest of our birding up the pass, and a little further found Red-headed & Piping Cisticolas, Cape Sugarbird, Malachite Sunbird, Cape Bunting and Cape Siskin. It was cold and windy at the top, so we didn t linger and a short distance down the other side, we saw Ground Woodpecker & Rock Kestrel. After a nice lunch in the Prince Albert, we started heading towards Karoo National Park where we would be spending the next 2 nights. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 8
On the way we spotted a tortoise in the road. I assumed it would be the relatively common Leopard Tortoise, but as it turned out, it was the much less common Tent Tortoise. Some birding stops on the way produced Cape Bulbul, Lark-like Bunting, Fairy Flycatcher and Rufous-vented Warbler but not our hoped for Namaqua Warbler. We entered the Karoo National Park and on the way in saw Common Ostrich and at a small waterhole, South African Shelduck. After checking in, we went to look around the Camp site, which had White-backed Mousebird, Pririt Batis, Bokmakierie, Black-fronted Bulbul, Fiscal Flycatcher Karoo Scrub-Robin, Karoo Thrush, Southern Double-collared & Dusky Sunbirds, Blackthroated Canary and Southern Red Bishop. We had just enough time to drive up to the Klipspringer Pass, where saw Karoo Bustard, Rock Kestrel, Rock Martin, Rufous-eared Warbler, Layard's Warbler, Sicklewing Chat, Mountain Wheatear, Pale-winged & Red-winged Starlings, Long-billed Pipit and Black-headed & White-throated Canaries. After dinner, we finished off the day with a night drive on which we saw Spotted Thick-knee, Black-backed Jackal, Cape Hare and last but not least, the elusive Aardwolf! Black-headed Canaries in their dry Karoo environment (Charley Hesse) 19 th September Karoo National Park We took a drive up the Klipspringer Pass before breakfast. In the bottom of the rocky valley I spotted a Yellow-tufted Pipit by the side of the road but it flew down into the valley and started calling. The top was a bit more active than yesterday and we saw Mountain Wheatear, Pale-winged Starling, Long-billed Pipit, White-throated Canary and even a Booted Eagle. Our main target up here was Karoo Long-billed Lark and it wasn t long before we found a bird giving its distinctive vocalization and flight display. We also found a Karoo Bustard which also gave us a nice performance of its strange frog-like calls. On the way back down, we even found a pair of Verreaux's Eagle. After breakfast, we went out of park for the morning. First we checked a spot for Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. Despite our efforts, we didn t find any birds singing which wasn t too surprising as they are winter breeders. We did hear Ground Woodpecker and had good views of Layard's Warbler, Cape White-eye, Cape Robin-Chat, Short-toed Rock-Thrush and Malachite Sunbird. We moved on to a site on the other side of Beaufort West which is often good for Bustards. Here we saw Pale Chanting-Goshawk, Karoo, Spike-heeled and Karoo Long-billed Larks, Lark-like Bunting, Yellow Canary, Southern Anteater-Chat and Rock Kestrel. Ludwig's Bustard was our main target and was spotted by Frank, a particularly sharp-eyed participant. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 9
After lunch in town, we re-eneterd the park and drove the lower loop road to find Common Ostrich, Rufous-eared Warbler, Bokmakierie, Familiar Chat and also a fly by of Namaqua Sandgrouse. Next we drove the large loop road and saw Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Cape Crombec, Sicklewing, Karoo & Tractrac Chats and a surprise Black Stork. Coming back over Klipspringer Pass we had nice views of Black-headed Canary and a pair of Verreaux's Eagles perched on some rocks. We had a good afternoon for mammals too and saw Gemsbok, Kudu, Red Hartebeest and of course Springbok. After dinner we joined the organized night drive again and saw South African Shelduck, Spotted Thick-knee, Cape & Scrub Hares plus another Aardwolf. The tricky endemic Karoo Eremomela (Andrew Spencer) 20 th September Karoo to Johannesburg Today we had a long drive back to Cape Town from where we took our flight to Johannesburg. Having done so well in the Karoo, we decided to spend our final birding time rather in the Tankwa Karoo where certain targets were easier. After a 3 hour drive, our first birding stop was at a stake out for the endemic Namaqua Prinia. We heard them straight away but it took a while for them to come in. Here, we also saw African Reed-Warbler, Bar-throated Apalis, Karoo Prinia, White-backed Mousebird, Greater Striped- Swallow, Karoo Scrub-Robin, Malachite Sunbird and even South African Shelduck which flew by. A little further on we stopped at the rocky area at the base of the hills. Here we saw Rock Kestrel, Pied Barbet, Cardinal Woodpecker, Fairy Flycatcher, Layard's Warbler, Mountain Wheatear and Cape Bunting but no sign of the endemic Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. We lost no time in continuing on into the Tankwa Karoo along what is known as the lonliest road in South Africa, by which they mean the longest stretch of road with no towns. Along the road, we saw Pale Chanting-Goshawk, Greater Kestrel and Karoo Chat. It was a desolate place, if somewhat beautiful, and we headed for a small hill. Our last target was Yellow-rumped or Karoo Eremomela. We heard a distant bird and we walked through the low, dry habitat until we located a single individual. This is considered one of the most difficult endemics to see. We also had White-rumped Swift, Karoo Lark, Rock Martin, Rufous-eared Warbler and Red-headed Cisticola. Driving back we had a nice fly over of a Verreaux's Eagle. Our birding time was up and all that remain for us to do was to get back to Cape Town for our flight, and spend the evening at a hotel in Johannesburg. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 10
21 st September Johannesburg to Wakkerstroom On our way to Wakkerstroom, we had a brief but very productive birding stop at Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve on the south eastern side of Johannesburg. A much wanted bird by 1 client in particular was Long-tailed Widowbird. Seeing these was not a problem, but as they were just starting the breeding season, finding one in breeding plumage with a long tail took a while. Birds were everywhere and we first concentrated on the recently burnt areas where we saw Eastern Clapper & Spike-heeled Larks, Capped Wheatear, Black-throated & Yellow Canaries, Southern Red Bishop, Yellow-crowned Bishop plus Common & Zebra Waxbills. The latter a very pretty bird, seldom seen in South Africa. In the longer grass we saw Wailing & Cloud Cisticolas, Black-chested Prinia, African Stonechat and Southern Anteater- Chat. Other birds seen along the road were Swainson's Francolin, African Hoopoe, Rock Kestrel and South African Swallow. The main target along this road was the White-quilled Bustard or Northern Black Korhaan. A very similar looking bird to the Southern Black Korhaan we saw in the Cape. After a while we heard a response and walked directly towards it through the grassland. We eventually got closer and it flushed to give is good flight views. Our birding time here was at an end and we started driving to Wakkerstroom spotting a Secretary bird along the way. Secretarybirds have been much reduced in recent years and are now considered Vulnerable (Charley Hesse) After lunch we began our birding in South Africa s birding Mecca, Wakkerstrrom. We started on the Paulpietersburg road where we picked up our target Eastern Long-billed Lark and Buff-streaked Bushchat easily along with Southern Anteater-Chat and Mountain Wheatear. Next we went to the wetland reserve, or vlei, and saw South African Shelduck, Yellow-billed Duck, Cape Shoveler, Hottentot Teal, Southern Pochard, Squacco Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Glossy Ibis, African Rail, African Swamphen, White-throated Swallow, African Marsh-Harrier and Lesser Swamp- Warbler. Next we drove north and in the roadside fields saw Red-winged Francolin, Blue Crane and Wattled Lapwing. One of our main birding sites for the afternoon was a small grassland reserve which is one of the best places for Rudd's Lark. We spend quite a while here walking around looking for them, in the process seeing Spur-winged Goose, Blue Bustard, Wing-snapping Cisticola and Spike-heeled Lark. We eventually found one which showed well. Our final site was further north still where we searched for the endangered Botha s Lark. It was a vast area of very short grass and we devoted the rest of the daylight to the search. We saw more Red-winged Francolins, Black-shouldered Kite, Spike-heeled & Red-capped Larks, African Pipit and Orange-throated Longclaw but no sign of Botha s. On the way back we saw more Blue Bustards and just as it started to get dark, a Cape Eagle-Owl on a roadside post. After dark we did some spotlighting along the road and saw Springhare and Cape Hare. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 11
22 nd September - Wakkerstroom We went back to the Paulpietersberg road and saw Ground Woodpecker, Mountain Wheatear, Southern Anteater-Chat and Southern Bald Ibis. The main part of the morning we devoted to the Dirkiesdorp road which covered a wide variety of habitats, the first of which were some rocky, vegetated slopes favoured by the Rock-loving Cisticola which we saw easily. Further down, we birded a forest patch where we saw Drakensberg Prinia, Cape Grassbird and Rufous-necked Wryneck. It was windy though and several of the targets didn t show. Nearby we heard White-bellied Bustard but despite our efforts, we couldn t locate it. At the bottom of the loop we saw Rufous-naped Lark, Red-collared & Long-tailed Widowbirds, Village Weaver, Golden-breasted Bunting, Brown-hooded Kingfisher and White-throated Swallow. We searched other grasslands in search of bustards but instead came across a surprise Yellow-breasted Pipit which showed very well, a brief Buffy Pipit and several Wing-snapping Cisticolas. We called it a day and made our way along the main road back to Wakkerstroom for lunch. We had killer views of the rare Yellow-breasted Pipit (Andrew Spencer) In the afternoon, we again birded areas north of town where we saw Red-winged Francolin, Red-billed Quelea, Wailing Cisticola, South African Swallow, Long-billed Pipit, Wattled Lapwing and Blue Crane. We decided it was worth searching for Botha s & Pink-billed Larks one more time and again headed to the same vast, open spaces as yesterday. We walked the same habitat again, seeing Blue Bustard, Black-shouldered Kite, Orange-throated Longclaw, Spike-heeled & Red-capped Larks but neither of our targets. We widened the search and found some freshly burnt areas which turned out to be what we needed. Here we saw Spotted Thick-knee, Eastern Clapper & Pink-billed Larks. Unfortunately no Botha s though. On the way back we stopped at a small pond where we saw Levaillant's Cisticola and Common Greenshank and in some fields a little further on, Black-winged Lapwing mized in with some Crowned Lapwings. We made it back to the vlei before dusk and saw Squacco Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, African Rail, Black Crake, African Swamphen, African Snipe and Lesser Swamp- Warbler to finish out the day. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 12
23 rd September Wakkerstroom to Kruger NP We decided to spend our last couple of hours birding in Wakkerstroom looking again for the White-bellied Bustards that we had heard yesterday. We went to the same spot again and sure enough they responded. It was far less windy today but we still couldn t find them at first. This time we decided to walk out into the field and after a short distance we flushed them up giving good flight views. Next we headed to the forest which was much more active than yesterday, and we added Black-collared Barbet, Wahlberg's Honeyguide, Bokmakierie, African Yellow-Warbler and Bar-throated Apalis. Further down the road we saw Crested Barbet, African Firefinch and Greater Double-collared Sunbird. At the bottom we saw South African Swallow and Plain-backed Pipit and just before leaving for Kruger, we flushed more White-bellied Bustards. It was a long and uneventful drive to Kruger but we made good time and were soon at one of the bridges that forms the border of the park. One of 18 White Rhino we saw on our first day in Kruger NP (Andrew Spencer) We got off to a great start seeing Saddle-billed Stork, Goliath Heron and Intermediate Egret. After performing the necessary paperwork, we were soon on our way to Berg en Daal restcamp. Even though the distance was short, it was difficult to keep a good pace with all the sightings. On the way, we saw Brown Snake-Eagle, Crested Francolin, Gray Go-away-bird, Arrow-marked Babbler, Green Woodhoopoe and White Helmetshrike. We had great mammal sightings to with especially good numbers of White Rhino. We made it to Berg en Daal rest camp for lunch and afterwards spent some time birding the grounds. By the dam we saw Water Thick-knee and on some nearby flowering bushes, Amethyst, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Mariqua, Purple-banded & White-breasted Sunbirds. A mixed flock held Cape Batis, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Green-backed Camaroptera, Cape Crombec and Southern Black-Flycatcher. Natal Francolin with some chicks was a highlight and other good birds were African Black-headed Oriole, African Paradise-Flycatcher and Bearded Scrub-Robin. We still had a bit of a drive to our rest camp, Pretoroiuskop, and we saw some other good birds on the way, with Wahlberg's & Tawny Eagles, Red-billed Oxpecker on Giraffes, African Gray Hornbill, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Magpie Shrike and Lilac-breasted Roller. While I checked in, the rest of the group had good views of Purple-crested Turaco. Clouds had been building and now the heavens opened and a heavy rain storm marked the end of our birding. After dinner it eased off and we joined a night drive where we saw Square-tailed Nightjar and Common Large-spotted Genet. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 13
24 th September Kruger NP Today I wanted to explore areas further north in the park, so we had to leave early. We had just a short time to walk around Pretoriuskop before the gate opened and had further views of Purple-crested Turaco. Soon after leaving the camp we had a pair of Southern Ground Hornbills fly across the road and up into a tall tree where they started vocalizing. What a lucky find! We had several other good birds along this stretch, including Black-bellied Bustard, Dark-chanting Goshawk, Crested Francolin, Southern Black Tit, Yellow-belied Eremomela and the uncommon Miombo Wren-Warbler. We enjoyed an outdoor breakfast at Skukuza after which we saw a White-browed Robinchat, and then we were on our way driving north. On this stretch we had a Wooly-necked Stork in flight, Rufous-chested Swallow and Groundscraper Thrush before arriving at the Tshokwane picnic site where after a bathroom break we saw our first Grey-headed Bush-Shrike, African Mourning Dove and Blue-eared Starling. Just after leaving, we had one of the mammal sightings of the trip; a Cheetah crossing the road in front of us and sitting under a bush to our right. We were perfectly placed and 5 minutes later we would have been stuck behind 20 cars. Our great sightings continued with a pride of lions with cubs, Saddle-billed Stork and lots of shorebirds at one of the dams, Martial & Wahlberg s Eagles and the magnificent African Fish Eagle. Cheetah was a very lucky find in Kruger and we were perfectly placed (Andrew Spencer) After lunch at Satara, we took a walk around the camp and saw Chinspot Batis, Acacia Pied Barbet, Cardinal Woodpecker and Red-billed Bufflo Weaver. We had to start driving back as we had to get all the way back down to Skukuza where we were spending the night. On the way we saw Hooded & Whitebacked Vultures, Little Bee-eater plus Lilac-breasted & Rufous-crowned Rollers. Check in takes a long time as the gates close so I decided to arrive a little early and then head back out. Whilst I was collecting the keys, the rest of the group had their first Bronze Mannikins of the trip. We drove to the Lake Panic bird hide and saw another Brown Snake-Eagle on the way. Once inside the hide we were treated to some great hippo antics, a Grey heron eating a huge fish plus Black Crake, Water Thick-knee and African Jacana. We made the gate closing time with a few minutes to spare and after dinner we took another night drive on which we saw Hyaena, Lions crossing the road, Lesser Galago, Large-spotted Genet, White-tailed Mongoose and Scrub Hare. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 14
25 th September Kruger NP Skukuza is the largest rest camp in Kruger National Park and it also has the greatest diversity of habitats and hence the highest number of bird species. We had a nice birding session before breakfast and we saw Little Sparrowhawk, Purple-crested Turaco, Red-billed Firefinch, Bearded Scrub Robin, Grosbeak Weaver, Burnt-necked Eremomela and Sulphur-breasted Bush-Shrike. The last part of the walk was along the edge of the Skukuza river and here we also had Red-faced Cisticola, Striated Heron and Giant Kingfisher. We also added Banded Mongoose plus 2 species of Epauleted Fruit Bats. After breakfast, we headed towards Lower Sabie Camp seeing many good mammals including more lions. Before the rest camp, we checked out Sunset Dam where we found the uncommon White-crowned Lapwing. During lunch in Lower Sabie s very busy restaurant, we used the scope to scan along the river. Here we saw many shorebirds, African Jacana plus our first Burchell s Coucal of the trip. We headed north from here, exploring the open grasslands looking for Kori Bustards, but all we managed were a few Magpie Shrikes. We stopped at a nice viewpoint on top of a rocky hill where we saw our first Mocking Cliff-chat. On the dam itself we saw large numbers of White-faced Whistling-Ducks and a few distant Ostriches on the plains below. Bearded Scrub-Robin enjoying a tasty treat (Andrew Spencer) Our next stop was another viewpoint where we had an unusually tame Bataleur on the ground. We thought it might have been injured but when it finally took off it seemed to be fine. We also found the uncommon Grey Penduline-Tit and a surprise mother and calf Black Rhino, a rarely seen mammal in Kruger. On the drive back south we had Crested, Swainson s & Natal Francolins in the road, Saddle-billed Stork at a waterhole, Hooded & White-backed Vultures. We took another bathroom break at the Tshokwane picnic site. It was late afternoon by now and much quieter than our last time here, but we had some nice birding and saw Brown-crowned Tchagra, Kurrichane Thrush and Klaas s Cuckoo before we had to move on. At a bridge we saw Water Thick-knee, Black Crake, Wire-tailed Swallow and on the drive out we had one final Martial Eagle. This was the end of our Kruger birding and we made our way to our lodge just outside the park. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 15
26 th August Kruger to Johannesburg It was our final day of the main tour and we had several options of birding on the way back to Joburg. We settled on going in search of the rare Blue Swallow having received some info on their breeding sites. We visited a couple of sites in the scenic Sabie area and searched carefully but it seemed that the birds were not back yet. We did however find a Holub s Golden Weaver and several Broad-tailed Warblers giving their distinctive flight displays. From there we drove for the rest of the day and arrived in time for lunch in Polokwane. The afternoon we spent a couple of hours birding the Polokwane Game reserve. Despite it being rather hot, some Pearl-spotted Owlet imitations and psshing brought in many new birds. On our first stop, we saw Shaft-tailed Whydah, Crimson-breasted Gonolek, Gray Go-away-bird, Mariqua Flycatcher & Sunbird, plus a Red-backed Scrub-Robin. As we worked our way round the loop drive, we had several more stops and added Sabota Lark, Cardinal Woodpecker, Golden-breasted Bunting, Brubru, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver and Yellow-bellied & Burnt-neck Eremomelas. The Broad-tailed Warbler has a fascinating flight display (Andrew Spancer) We took a stop next to a pretty little lake where we had great views of Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Little Bee-eater and Common Scimitar-bill. Then took a walk through some nice savannah habitat with Barred Wren-Warbler and some beautiful Violet-eared Waxbills. Time was ticking so the rest of our birding was from the car, but we still added Natal & Swainson's Francolins, Lilac-breasted Roller, Rufous-chested Swallow and Arrow-marked Babblers. It was time to leaving this nice little reserve but we managed a Rufous-naped Lark along the road. The reason for our rush was that we wanted to get back to Joburg to look for owls at dusk. We made it just in time, and despite some doubting Thomases we found our target African Grass-Owl and several Marsh Owls without too much trouble and also had a bonus Serval thrown in. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 16
27 th September Johannesburg to Mkuze We left Joburg early and spent the morning just driving and got to Pongola in time for an early lunch. After we arrived at Mkuze Game Reserve, we checked in and went out straight away to start our birding. On our drive, we saw Wahlberg's Honeyguide, Square-tailed Drongo, Black-bellied Bustard, Green Woodhoopoe, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Southern Black-Tit, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Terrestrial Brownbul and Yellow-breasted Apalis. We wanted to get to the wonderful Kumasinga hide while it was still hot and things were still coming in to drink. On the walk out to the hide we saw Neergaard's Sunbird which is usually one of the toughest birds to see in the reserve. We had great activity in the hide with many birds coming in to drink, including Purple-crested Turaco, Greater Honeyguide, Yellow-fronted Canary, Yellow-throated Petronia, Crested Francolin and Red-billed Oxpecker on a White Rhino s back. We also has plenty of Chacma Baboon antics and plenty of game also coming to drink. On the way out we managed to knock off one of the other main targets, the secretive Pink-throated Twinspot. A hair-raising encounter with the prickly Cape Porcupine (Charley Hesse) We moved on to the Ensumo pan hides & picnic site which are particularly good for water birds. Here we saw Cape Shoveler, Red-billed Duck, Hottentot Teal, Greater Flamingo, Yellow-billed Stork, African Darter, Pink-backed Pelican, Goliath Heron, Glossy Ibis, White-winged Tern, Pied Kingfisher and African Pied Wagtail. In the extensive reed beds we saw nesting African Spoonbills, African Openbills plus Black Crake, African Jacana and many African Golden-Weavers. We had a good selection of shorebirds on the exposed mud, which was plentiful due to the low water levels. We saw Common Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank, Common, Marsh & Curlew Sandpipers, Ruff, Little Stint and Collared Pratincole. In trees near the pan we also saw Lesser Masked-Weaver, Mouse-colored Sunbird, Bearded Scrub-Robin, Ashy & Gray Tit-Flycatchers. On the way back, we added Bearded Woodpecker, Golden-breasted Bunting, Wahlberg's Eagle and Crested Barbet. It had been a busy afternoon s birding and we weren t done yet. We joined a rather early night drive on which we saw Spotted Thick-knee, Senegal Lapwing, African Scops-Owl, Fiery-necked Nightjar plus White-tailed Mongoose and South African Porcupine. After a late dinner we finally had some well-deserved rest ahead of another busy day s birding. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 17
28 th September Mkuze GR to St Lucia. We had a quick walk around the camp before our guided walk in the Fig Forest and we had some good activity, with Crested Guineafowl, Ashy & Gray Tit-Flycatcher, Bearded Scrub-Robin, White-throated Robin-Chat, Black-bellied Starling, Purple-banded Sunbird, Pin-tailed Whydah and Rudd's Apalis. After meeting up with the rest of the participants, we drove in convoy, first to Ensumo pan. A quick scan again produced an inordinate number of species, including Cape Shoveler, White-faced Whistling-, Yellow-billed & Red-billed Ducks, Greater Flamingo, African Openbill, Woolly-necked & Yellowbilled Storks, African Darter, Great White & Pink-backed Pelicans, Goliath & Squacco Herons, Water Thick-knee, African Jacana, African Fish-Eagle, Pied Kingfisher and African Pied Wagtail. We moved on to the Fig Forest walk and spent a wonderful couple of hours in this amazing place. We saw Little Sparrowhawk, Tambourine Dove, African Green-Pigeon, Purple-crested Turaco, an early Redchested Cuckoo, the stunning Narina Trogon, noisy Trumpeter Hornbills, White-eared Barbet, Redfronted Tinkerbird, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, African Black-headed Oriole, Forest Weaver, Redcapped Robin-Chat and Collared Sunbird. The main attraction though was Pel's Fishing-Owl, the holy grail of African birding. Our excellent local guide had seen it the past 2 days and knew exactly which trees to look in. He spotted it but before anyone else could get on it, it took flight and flew into a more distant tree. We still had great scope views and even crept closer to get some photos. An extra bonus on the way out was the uncommon Black-throated Wattle-eye which was a lot easier than usual. Everyday is a bad hair day if you are a Crested Guineafowl (Andrew Spencer) We thanked the guide and left the group back at the parking lot and continued birding on our own. Driving around, we saw many more great birds, with Crested Francolin, African Harrier-Hawk, White-backed Vulture, Wahlberg's Eagle, Green Woodhoopoe, Lilac-breasted Roller, Cardinal Woodpecker, Square-tailed Drongo, Eastern Nicator, Sabota Lark, Southern Black-Tit, Southern Black-Flycatcher, Red-billed Oxpecker and Yellow-throated Longclaw. We still had a while before lunch so we checked out the nearby Riverine loop where we saw Black Sawwing and Little Bee-eater. After lunch at the Rhino-Dino, we left and drove out the back entrance towards Muzi Pan, another great place for waterbirds. The pan by the road was pretty dry and nothing much there, but we had received special permission to access a normally of limits site. Our first way in was blocked by a tree, so we had to take the long way round although we did get brief views of the secretive Suni, South Africa s smallest antelope. We made it to a spot with lots of birds and saw Glossy Ibis, African Spoonbill, Kittlitz's, Common Ringed & Threebanded Plovers, Ruff, Collared Pratincole plus Whiskered & White-winged Terns. We were soon back on the road and on our way to St Lucia with a brief stop at False bay where we birded some very interesting sand forest. We got to St Lucia just after dusk and had great views of the localised Swamp Nightjar before calling it a day. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 18
29 th September St Lucia to Eshowe We started the day with some pre-breakfast birding nearby at one of my favourite birding sites, the Gwala- Gwala Trail. On a good day you can see pretty much all the coastal forest specials here, and today was a good day. We saw Crested Guineafowl, Livingstone's Turaco, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Woodward's Batis, Black-backed Puffback, the gorgeous Four-colored Bushshrike, Square-tailed Drongo, Eastern Nicator, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Terrestrial Brownbul, Rudd's Apalis, Brown Scrub-Robin, Red-capped Robin-Chat, Eastern Olive Sunbird, Mouse-colored Sunbird and Forest Weaver. Andrew was so taken with the place that he begged us to leave him behind as we went to check out the estuary. There, we saw some new trip birds, like Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling and the Rufouswinged Winding Cisticola plus plenty of other interesting species including Caspian & Great Crested Terns, great scope views of Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, African Golden- & Grosbeak Weavers. We swung by to pick up Andrew and learned that he had found the target Spotted Ground-Thrush. We went to check it out but were unable to relocate it. We went back for breakfast, packed up and then drove up to the Cape Vidal & Eastern Shores section of the isimangaliso Wetland Park. Spotted Ground-Thrush is very susceptible to nest predation by monkeys (Andrew Spencer) We checked out some viewpoints over St Lucia Bay and saw Goliath Heron, Three-banded & Common Ringed Plovers. The grasslands and small patches of forest were very productive and we found Crowned Hornbill, both Black-breasted Snake & Fasciated Snake-Eagle, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Little Beeeater, Barn, Lesser Striped- Grey-rumped & Black Sawwing swallows, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Rattling & Croaking Cisticolas, Yellow-throated Longclaw and Fan-tailed Widowbird. We made it all the way to Cape Vidal where we saw the uncommon Samango form of Syke s Monkey, which unlike in other areas are pretty used to people. Our time was up and after a quick lunch in town, we were on our way to Eshowe, where we would spend the next 2 nights. We got to the Dlinza Forest in time for some birding and went straight into the forest. We searched for Spotted Ground Thrush but were unable to locate it. It was far from wasted effort though as we saw many other good birds like Lemon Dove, Purple-crested Turaco, brief views of the canopy skulking Yellowbill, Narina Trogon, Trumpeter Hornbill, Cape Batis, Olive Thrush, Eastern Olive & Mouse-colored Sunbirds and even heard a African Emerald Cuckoo. Leaving the forest we had a fly over of Pin-tailed Whydah and later that night in the garden of our B&B we heard African Wood-Owl. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 19
30 th September Ongoye, Mtunzini & Eshowe We started our birding today in the unique Ongoye Forest, home to a strangely isolated population of Green Barbet, the only place to see it in Southern Africa. On the way up the recently paved road we had a Woolly-necked Stork and after buying our entrance tickets, we started our birding along the forest edge. Green Barbet was unusually cooperative and flew in to give great scope views. Inside the forest we saw Lemon Dove, Yellow-bellied & our target Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Black-bellied Starling and heard the tinkling calls of Green-backed Twinspot. We came back along the road and dipped in a few times, picking up Brown Scrub-Robin and Chorister Robin-Chat. At one particularly productive spot we found White-eared Barbet, Olive Woodpecker, Cape Batis, Black-backed Puffback and Square-tailed Drongo, and the next trail, Terrestrial Brownbul, Collared & Eastern Olive Sunbirds and heard Narina Trogon. We checked out the grasslands bordering the forest and found Croaking & Piping Cisticolas and Rufous-naped Lark, but no hoped for buttonquails. The rare Green Barbet is one of the star Zululand birds (Andrew Spencer) Next we drove to the quaint little town of Mtunzini where we went to the beach in search of Palm-Nut Vultures, but only saw Spur-winged Goose and White-fronted Plover. We drove to a different area of the reserve, along the Umlalazi river to a picnic site where we saw Woolly-necked Stork, African Fish-Eagle, Common Greenshank, African Pygmy-Kingfisher and Yellow-throated Longclaw. Scanning the tops of the trees we finally found our target Palm-nut Vulture and just as we were leaving, a bonus Crowned Hawk-Eagle. We had some time left so we drove to the Enseleni reserve which used to be a good place to look for African Finfoot, but now the river was so choked with Water Hyacinth s it was difficult to see much at all. We ended the day at Dlinza Forest, where in the blind we saw Eastern Olive Sunbird drinking at the bird bath and had nice views of Ashy Flycatcher outside. On the forest trail, we saw Tambourine Dove, Chorister Robin-Chat and finally our main target, the endangered Spotted Ground-Thrush. As we arrived back at our hotel we heard a lot of squawking and saw a Hadada Ibis being attacked by a Black Goshawk. A dramatic end to an excellent day s birding. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 20
1 st October Eshowe to Underberg Before leaving Eshowe we wanted to visit Dlinza Forest one last time. Unfortunately the weather had taken a turn for the worse. There had been a storm over night and it was still raining lightly. On the short drive from our B&B we saw a Woolly-necked Stork which took off as we pulled up. We arrived at the gate just as it was opened and first checked the blind but where we saw a pair of Lemon Doves and an Eastern Olive Sunbird coming in to drink. From there, we made our way the aerial boardwalk and canopy tower. Our main target was the rare Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon. We hoped the light rain would clear, but it went the other way and got heavier. We did see White-eared Barbet, Black-bellied Starling plus our first Gray Cuckooshrikes but unfortunately no pigeons. The rain got heavier and in the end we had to retreat. Back at the parking lot we did catch up on a small flock of birds including Cape Batis, Square-tailed Drongo, African Paradise-Flycatcher, Southern Black-Flycatcher & Ashy Flycatcher before driving back for breakfast. Gray Growned Cranes have been in decline in recent years (Andrew Spencer) Our next stop was Karkloof near Howick where our main targets were cranes. On the way we stopped to try for Striped Flufftail but only heard Red-chested Flufftail plus several small passerines including Cape Grassbird, Levaillant's Cisticola, Red-billed Quelea, Southern Red Bishop and some nice breeding plumage Fan-tailed Widowbirds. Driving on towards Karkloof we saw African Marsh-Harrier and Jackal Buzzard before stopping at the conservation centre. They had some interesting displays but there were no cranes at the blinds so we continued our search along the farm roads. We finally found a flock of Gray Crowned-Cranes on a hillside and after some scanning, some Blue Cranes too. Natal Francolin also made an appearance before we drove back to Howick for lunch. We drove on through the rain to Underberg where we would spend the next 2 nights. After checking in to our cosy B&B we went out for a drive in search of more cranes. Driving to a local dam we saw an Intermediate Egret and had a pair of Gray Crowned-Cranes fly over. We finished our days birding along another road with a great view over a grassy plain. Scanning the distant hillsides we found our first White Storks along with Southern Bald Ibis and another pair of Blue Cranes. The fields held many Levaillant's and a single Pale-crowned Cisticola, African Pied Starling, Orange-throated Longclaw, Cape Canary and several displaying Long-tailed Widowbirds in full breeding plumage. Further along Andrew found us our first African Quailfinches which flew over the road giving their distinctive calls. We also saw Pin-tailed Whydah, Cape Crow, Greater Striped-Swallow and heard several Common Quails before we called it a day. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 21
2 nd October Sani Pass Early in the morning, our local guide came to pick us up in his 4x4 vehicle and take us up and over the Sani Pass into the Kingdom of Lesotho. To start off, he took us to see some Spotted Eagle-Owls in a garden in Himeville near the bottom of the Sani Pass road. We started birding our way up the Sani Vally, seeing a lot of interesting birds, including Jackal Buzzard, Wahlberg's Honeyguide, Rufous-necked Wryneck, Cape Batis, Bokmakierie, African Black-headed Oriole, African Paradise-Flycatcher, Black Sawwing, Cape Grassbird, African Yellow-Warbler, Wailing Cisticola, Drakensberg Prinia & Cape White-eye. One of our main targets on this part of the road was the endemic Barratt's Warbler. Not much to look at but we wanted to see it nevertheless. They were calling all over the place and didn t require too much effort before we found them. We stopped for breakfast at a patch of Proteas holding the endemic Gurney's Sugarbird and also offering some terrific views down the valley. After eating, we continued on and saw Cape Rock- Thrush, African Stonechat, Buff-streaked Bushchat, Familiar Chat, Malachite & Greater Doublecollared Sunbirds, Brimstone Canary, Red-billed Quelea and Yellow Bishop. We went through the formalities at the South African Immigration offices and then had quite a distance through no man s land before arriving at the Sani Pass where we entered into Lesotho. A trip up the Sani Pass wouldn t be complete without the endemic Drakensberg Rockjumper (Charley Hesse) Up here our main targets, Drakensberg Rockjumper & Drakensberg Siskin both showed themselves easily and we also had distant soaring Lammergeier and Cape Griffon. Other good birds included Ground Woodpecker, Lanner Falcon, White-necked Raven, Red-capped & Large-billed Larks, Layard's Warbler, Sentinel Rock-Thrush, Sicklewing Chat and Cape Bunting. Despite our efforts, we were unable to locate any Mountain Pipits which in a week or 2 we were assured would be all over the place. We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed our time in this tiny country before heading back down into South Africa. At the bottom, we tried again for Bush Blackcap and this time we were successful and had great views. Back down at the bottom, our guide took us to his friend s property where we had our first Barn Owl. We had a bit of daylight left so visited the same open field site as yesterday and saw Wattled Lapwing, Cape Crow, White-throated & Greater Striped-Swallows, Levaillant's & Zitting Cisticolas, Orangethroated Longclaw and Fan-tailed Widowbirds. Unfortunately no sign of Pale-crowned Cisticola which one client had missed yesterday. We had one last ditch try for Wattled Crane at a couple of other spots but all we managed was a Black-backed Jackal and many Grey Crowned Cranes going to roost. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 22
3 rd October Underberg to Durban Just after dawn we had another quick check for Wattled Cranes but they still eluded us. We left Underberg and made our way to Marutswa Forest where our targets were Cape Parrot and Orange Ground-Thrush. We ate our packed breakfasts at a picnic table overlooking the forest in the hope that we might have a fly over of the rare Cape Parrot. There was no sight or sound of them so after breakfast, we walked towards the forest. A large bird flushed from the edge and into the forest as we approached and its vocalization told us that that there was a pair of Black Goshawks. Maybe one reason why the parrots were avoiding the area. On the forest edge we saw African Black-headed Oriole, Southern Black-Tit, Amethyst Sunbird, Forest Canary, Dusky-brown Flycatcher, Cape Robin-Chat and Eurasian Hoopoe before moving inside the forest. Inside we saw Olive Woodpecker, Cape Batis, Bar-throated Apalis, Chorister Robin-Chat and Olive Thrush. We also heard the distinctive song of the Orange Ground-Thrush and it came in very nicely for us. Finally we had a brief fly by from a pair of Cape Parrots. We moved back outside in case they flew again and after a while they flew on top of some tall, dead Eucalyptus branches offering fantastic scope views Orange Ground Thrush (Andrew Spencer) With both our main targets under our belt, we decided to try Karkloof one more time for Wattled Cranes. We saw Spur-winged Goose, Jackal Buzzard, Fan-tailed Widowbird and both Gray Crowned- & Blue Cranes, but we had to give up on Wattled. After a brief lunch we had just a little time birding the Durban area before our flights. We visited the Umgeni river mouth which was good for shorebirds and other water birds. Here we saw Goliath Heron, Black-bellied, Blacksmith & Common Ringed Plovers, Common Greenshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Gray-hooded Gull, Common, Great Crested & Sandwich Terns and many Little Swifts under a bridge. No last minute additions unfortunately and our last bit of birding was at Umhlanga Lagoon nature reserve close to the airport, where we saw lots of African Golden Weavers and had a quick scan for the coast for our last views of the Indian Ocean. Our tour was at an end and what a tour it had been. With 494 species of birds, 65 species of mammals, it was one of our most successful to date. Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 23