Participants:
Trevor and Jenny Franks Guide: Malcolm Fair
25/02/06 - Sun
City to Tzaneen
Jenny and Trevor were met by Etienne Marais at the Cascades, Sun City
at 07:30. We then travelled westwards and took a back road towards Koedoeskop,
where the birding started in earnest. Some good birds here included Southern
White-crowned Shrike, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Barred Wren-warbler, Chinspot
Batis, and both Southern Yellow-billed and Red-billed Hornbill. Several
warblers were in evidence and we had good views of Olive-tree and Icterine
Warbler, before being entertained by the resplendent Shaft-tailed Whydah.
A Purple Indigobird was also very obliging before we reached a small farmyard,
where we saw Great Reed-Warbler and several Amur Falcon, as well as a
Cut-throat Finch as it entered the nest of Southern Masked Weaver.
We then travelled eastwards to Bella-bella (Warmbaths)
and then north to Nylsvley Nature Reserve. The floodplain had a fair amount
of water, and some birding within the reserve produced species such as
Greater Honeyguide (doing it’s guide call), White-browed Sparrow-weaver,
Burnt-necked Eremomela and Pearl-spotted Owlet. The floodplain areas in
the reserve and at Vogelfontein were being patrolled by numbers of Amur
Falcon, and here we saw Southern Pochard, White-backed Duck, Little Egret,African
Jacana, Common Squacco and Red-breasted Swallow. On the floodplain itself,
we were treated to excellent views of Allen’s Gallinule, and fly-past
and close up perched views of no less than three Dwarf Bittern.
A brief stop on the bypass at Polokwane produced excellent
scope views of a singing Short-clawed Lark.
We arrived at Kurisa Moya and took a late afternoon
walk, during which several Yellow-streaked Greenbul were seen. Dense cloud
cover blotted out the dusk sunlight and brought a premature end to the
walk.
Jackie delivered a superb dinner of Ostrich fillets
to the Forest Cabin.
26/02/06 - Tzaneen
We made an early start towards the Woodbush Forest Drive, which remained
misty with light rain through the morning. Here we saw Narina Trogon,
and were rewarded by excellent views of Barratt’s Warbler in the
open. Other forest species included Cape Batis, Southern Double-collared
Sunbird, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Cape Parrot (fly-over), Orange
Ground-thrush and Forest Canary.
We found somewhat better conditions at Rooikoppies,
and here saw the two Bat Hawks roosting a short distance from their nest.
Dusky Indigobird, Red-faced Cisticola and Yellow Bishop were among the
other birds seen here. We then had a glut of Raptors, which included African
Cuckoo-Hawk, a nice dark phase Western Honey-Buzzard and Long-crested
Eagle.
In the afternoon we undertook a long walk in the forest
at Kurisa Moya, which took us up to the Big Yellowood Tree. The walk produced
a Brown Scrub-Robin, which however only offered fleeting glimpses, as
it sang beautifully from a deep tangle. Other species seen included Yellow-streaked
and Terrestrial Bulbul, Chorister Robin-chat and Blue-mantled Crested
Flycatcher.
Jackie delivered a wonderful Bobotie for dinner.
27/02/06 - Tzaneen
to Punda Maria
With persistent rain and dense fog, we opted to try an area of grassland
near Haenertsburg. Here we recorded Red-collared Widow, Golden Weaver,
Dark-capped Yellow Warbler and Drakensburg Prinia, amongst others. African
Firefinch also offered very good views. We visited an interesting area
of broadleaved woodland near Tzaneen, where we saw a variety of woodland
birds including Golden-breasted Bunting, Orange-breasted Bush-shrike,
Black Cuckoo-shrike, Blue Waxbill, Stierling’s Wren-Warbler, Croaking
Cisticola and Grey-rumped Swallow.
In the late morning we met up with Malcolm, who took
over for the Kruger Leg of the trip.
We met at the Wheel Barrow at 10:30 am on an overcast
drizzling morning. Jenny and Trevor had already been out with Etienne,
and had seen great birds, but were ready to leave the rainy escarpment
and head for the “drier” Kruger National Park. We had a quick
change over of vehicles and were soon on our way east to the Park, stopping
only for a circling Eurasian Hobby on the way.
At the Kruger National Park Punda Gate, we got out for
a photo and ticked our first Goldentailed Woodpecker and Cinnamon-breasted
Bunting. From there we went straight through to Punda Maria Camp, stopping
for our first magnificent Southern Carmine Bee-eater and three roller
species – Lilac-breasted, European and Purple Rollers. At the camp
we got settled in, birded the aerial insectivores and scoped a Marabou
Stork from the Franks’ balcony.
A little later we set off on the Flycatcher Trail to
do some birding, and were rewarded with the fascinating scene of a sub-adult
Redchested Cuckoo being fed by a Bearded Scrub-Robin! Given that the latter
was a target bird for the camp, this was a fine way to find it and we
had great views of them frantically trying to feed their “chick”
that was twice their size.
Our plan for the evening was to go out on a night drive,
so at 5 pm we picked up our toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches (the
soon-to-be staple diet of the trip along with kudu biltong) and headed
out with our rather reluctant KNP ranger Matfield. The bush around Punda
Maria was alive with birds. A wet summer thus far had resulted in flooded
grasslands with calling Harlequin Quails and later, Kurrichane Buttonquails.
We had soon spotted our first cuckoos – two or three Levaillant’s
Cuckoos and an African Cuckoo and by the time the sun set (and we had
had our toasties and Trevor his Stoney), we had added Wahlberg’s
Eagle and Comb Duck.
After drinks, we began spotlighting - the first exciting
nocturnal bird, being Fiery-necked Nightjar, which was soon followed by
a Square-tailed on the road and later a European Nightjar perched up on
a branch. At one point, whilst nightjar spotting, we were aroused by the
hair-erecting roar of a male lion from the bottom of one of the valleys
we were traversing. We spent some time trying to find the lion with the
spotlights, during which time Trevor managed to inadvertently direct a
small insect into his ear. This was a bug which had decided that the warm
atmosphere of the outer ear canal was a bonanza, and proceeded to celebrate
by tapdancing on Trevor’s eardrum – rather irritating as you
can imagine. A 15 minute procedure ensued in which we finally displaced
it by pouring in water (Jenny had suggested blowing in the other ear…)
and during which the lion roared again, twice.
We couldn’t find the lion, but did spotlight a
few other large mammals and some small ones including a Spring Hare, a
Scrub Hare, a Small Spotted Genet and a family of Thick-tailed Bush Babies
which greeted us at the entrance back at the camp.
28/02/06 - Punda
Maria to Pafuri and back
We were all woken at 3am by a clap of thunder that had instant bolt-upright-in-bed
effects and an ensuing storm that threatened to wash away the camp. It
didn’t last too long though and by the time we surfaced, things
were drying out and soon we were on our way up to Pafuri and the Luvuvhu
River.
We stopped on a few occasions in the cathedral mopane
woodland which lines the S60 dirt road and picked up a few species including
Southern Black Tit and Yellow-throated Petronia. A little further on where
a rocky ridge runs parallel to the northern side of the road, we scoped
a Mocking Cliff-chat and an African Green-Pigeon.
From there the woodland thinned out and we started picking
up on grassland birds. Apart from the numerous Natal and Swainson’s
Francolins that lined the roadsides, we were pleasantly surprised to find
an adult African Crake wandering around. Later this surprise turned to
disbelief when around the corner we came and there were no less than 6
African Crakes in the road – two adults and four sub-adults!
Seedeaters were plentiful in the chest high grass, and
there were lots of birds on the road enjoying rich pickings – common
amongst these were Fawn-coloured Larks which flushed with reddish wing
patches and perched up in nearby bushes. We ere also lucky enough to flush
a Harlequin Quail female, and at one point we heard the call of a Black
Coucal. Our raptor count also grew, with a great look at a perched Long-crested
Eagle.
At the small dam (Klopperfontein Dam?) closer to the
tar road we spotted a Grey-headed Kingfisher and were rewarded with some
scope views of him perched up and calling. Once on the tar road heading
north, we discovered flocks of Wattled Starlings squabbling for food and
overhead, we stopped for circling Steppe and Tawny Eagles.
At the Luvuvhu River Bridge, we were greeted by a swollen
red-brown muddy river. We nevertheless managed to bag our first Red-faced
Cisticola, White-fronted Bee-eater and Wood Sandpiper. Amongst the aerial
insectivores, new, were Mosque and Wire-tailed Swallows.
We did the Nyala Road loop west along the southern bank
of the river and there found Longtailed Glossy Starling. On our way back
towards the Pafuri Picnic Site, we stopped at a busy spot and finished
up the roller list with Broad-billed Roller and added Bennett’s
Woodpecker, a species that can be tricky anywhere in the park.
At the Pafuri picnic site, we were soon approached by
Frank Mabasa who offered to show us a Yellow-billed Oxpecker nest and
we spent the next couple of hours birding the surrounding bush with him.
Amongst the birds to be found there were Black-throated Wattle-eye, Thrush
Nightingale, Tropical Boubou, White-throated Robin-chat and Ashy Flycatcher.
We used the Picnic site as a base for exploration for
the rest of the day during which we drove right to the Luvuvhu-Limpopo
confluence and back. Additional birds included White-crowned Lapwings
(at the confluence), Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Trumpeter Hornbill and Little
Bee-eater.
As the afternoon drew on, we finally tore ourselves
away from the shade of the tree lined river banks, and headed back towards
Punda Maria. Close to the junction with the main tar road south, we stopped
to scan a section of seasonal pans with surrounding Hyphaene palms, and
were immediately rewarded with scope views of a singing male Lemon-breasted
Canary. The main tar road south was punctuated with stops for birds including
a vociferous Eastern Nicator, a pair of Violet-backed Starlings, a flock
of White-crested Helmet-shrikes being bombed by a pair of Fork-tailed
Drongos, a family of 3 Common Ostriches and a pair of Double-banded Sandgrouse
right on the side of the road.
Once back on the dirt road, we made a bee-line for the
cathedral mopane woodland, stopping only for a displaying male Long-tailed
Paradise-Whydah on the way. In the woodland we spent some time trying
to find some of the specials and were soon rewarded with great views of
a pair of Arnot’s Chats. We tried for both cuckooshrikes, but could
only find Black Cuckooshrike – great views of both a male and a
female.
Close to the camp, we stopped to view flocking Red-billed
Quelea that were settling down for the night – numbers were in the
thousands – and more and more kept on flying in from the surrounding
areas. Just as we were leaving, a passing car informed us that there was
a male lion walking along the road a few hundred metres back, so we about-turned
and sure enough, there was a large male lion padding up the road towards
us. We had great views of him as he passed in front of us and settled
behind some bushes to await the onset of darkness.
01/03/06 - Punda
Maria to Letaba via Shingwedzi
The wind blew and it rained for a large part of the night. We awoke to
a drizzle, packed and drove east on the tar road. Conditions were bad
until about an hour or so into the morning, by which time we had reached
the wetland just south of the T-junction with the main tar road south.
There we hung around in the hope of picking up on some of the wetland
species and were duly rewarded with a bedraggled looking Corncrake which
crossed the road tentatively in front of us. South of this we birded a
flock of 10 or so Amur Falcons whilst waiting for the drizzle to pass.
But the weather was not improving, and as if to rub our noses in it, we
got a flat tyre and spent about a half an hour changing it. The birding
wasn’t bad during the tyre-changing affair, especially since we
had a good excuse to be out of the car. The most notable of our spectators
was a sub-adult Gabar Goshawk which perched up and dried its wings on
a nearby dead tree.
Eventually we headed south through mist, more drizzle,
flooded steams and grasslands. The picnic site at Babalala was sodden,
though we did manage a Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling and a Red-faced
Cisticola. South of there we stopped in the grassland patches to look
for Desert Cisticola and were eventually rewarded with views of a displaying
male. Also quite common in the grasslands were Rufous-naped Larks and
just as we were leaving the grasslands for the mopane woodlands, we flushed
a sub-adult male Montagu’s Harrier.
Further south, at a point along the Mphongolo River,
we found a Lesser Spotted Eagle perched up relatively close to the road.
Down below in the sand river bed we spotted a small group of Marabou Storks,
and at one point in the bush on the roadside was an adult male Lesser
Masked Weaver. Close to Shingwedzi, the clouds had lifted, but it was
still drizzling intermittently. This didn’t stop us finding a pair
of Black Storks in a drying stream and getting great views of our first
Green-winged Pytilia. Another highlight of the Shingwedzi area, was the
displaying Black-bellied Bustard which having done its extra terrestrial
call, flew off in a hurry and then parachuted slowly down with broad V-shaped
wings. Hopefully for him, Jenny was not the only lady impressed by this
spectacular effort!
After yet another round of toasted cheese and tomato
sandwiches, we ventured south from Shingwedzi on the Nhlawu Vlei - Dipene
Road. The road follows the Shingwedzi river south east initially and here
we were rewarded with some great hippo watching, and at the same viewspot,
our first Jacobin Cuckoo. Also interesting was a stump with one Yellow-billed
Oxpecker and at least 3 or 4 Red-billed Oxpeckers on it.
Eventually the road leaves the Shingwedzi river and
cuts south along the Lebombo mountains. Though the birding was indifferent
along this section (Namaqua Dove was new), we stopped at a magnificent
viewspot (Shibavantsengele) and surveyed the central Kruger, before heading
south-west into the Nshawu drainage area.
With the clouds having lifted by now and the sun breaking
through on to lush green flooded grassland, the hour or two that we spent
birding and enjoying the scenes at the waterholes along the Nshawu drainage,
must rate as one of the highlights of the trip. We had cracker views of
2 more Montagu’s Harriers (both males) - one of them flew right
across the road in front of us and bounced off across the grassland in
full afternoon sunlight. At one of the waterholes Trevor scoped some Red-billed
Buffalo Weavers and I brushed up on my African Pipit and Black-backed
Cisticola ID while Jenny photographed a herd of Waterbuck that came down
to drink. Further on, we stopped to bird a flooded pan and listen to the
excited frog chorus and were duly treated to the sight of eight to ten
Red-breasted Swallows swooping in for a drink - the russet colour of their
breasts gleaming in the post storm, late afternoon sunlight.
Closer to the Letaba River we picked up on a Dusky Lark
that had found a tasty grasshopper to eat, and had great views of it dismembering
it before swallowing. On the Letaba River bridge, we stopped and got out
to take in the last of the afternoon sunlight. Upstream was the tranquil
scene of three mother and calf pairs of waterbuck making use of the safety
of the sandy river islands. Downstream we scoped our first Greenshank
and Kittlitz’s Plovers.
By the time we got to Letaba, it was nearly dark. While
I was checking in, Trevor and Jenny found a Mourning Dove close to reception.
The perfect ending to a fantastic day’s birding, though, was the
African Barred Owlet which we found hunting for insects close to our accommodation.
02/03/06 - Letaba
to Lower Sabie via the Old Main Road
We were up early to bird the Letaba camp area before heading south. The
large trees in the camp and mix of riverine and bushveld vegetation make
it an ideal spot for birding on foot in the Park (a rare opportunity).
The highlights of the morning were White-browed Robin-chat (an adult and
youngster in a palm thicket), a young Little Sparrowhawk being mobbed
by Green Wood-hoopoes, our first proper look at a male Red-headed Weaver,
a family of Black-collared Barbets, a Spectacled Weaver and a pair of
African Golden Orioles and a flock of Alpine Swifts flying over.
From Letaba, our plan was to head to Olifants for breakfast
and then south across the low water bridge from there. When we saw the
level of the Olifants River, however, it was obvious that the bridge would
be closed, and we opted for breakfast at the N’wamanzi Lookout instead.
The river was flowing strongly - hippos and crocs were taking shelter
in eddies and on the few remaining islands. With the scope we managed
a few new birds including African spoonbill and Yellow-billed Stork. And
for the first time in a couple of days, the sun was really beating down.
The highlight of the Olifants River Bridge was a herd
of elephants that were browsing in the riverside bush on the south side
of the river. From there, our route took us to the Old Main Road via the
Ngotso Weir Road. The first bird of interest there was a Lappet-faced
Vulture – our first for the trip. This was followed by a great look
at a Red-crested Korhaan.
The Old Main Road is known for its grasslands and excellent
chance for harriers and other grassland species, but clearly not as much
rain had fallen in this area as further north, and it was quieter than
expected. We had not so good looks at Chestnut-backed Sparrow-larks near
the Bangu waterhole. Further on, we flushed a Long-billed Pipit. We also
had a run in with a rather large elephant bull. We initially spotted him
on the road far up ahead plodding towards us. The Old Main Road is no
highway, though, and there would definitely not have been space for both
of us. One of us was going to have to make space. Being in a Mercedes
Vito, I thought he’d soon realize his folly and allow us a safe
passing, but once he got up close, we noticed that he was in musth. Musth
bulls have a tendency to be unpredictable, and often look to test their
manhood out on any large enough looking opposition - the odds seemed rather
more even than I had first thought. A couple of seconds later when he
was a few metres away from the front of the vehicle, the said Vito suddenly
looked rather small in comparison to his five ton frame and extra metre
and a half height advantage. At this stage reversing would have been a
bad plan, and we had a few moments of nervous stand-off, before making
space for each other amidst some tyre spinning, head shaking, revving
and trumpeting. His manhood seemed pretty intact…
Like a gatekeeper, that bull held the key to a few more
birds along the Old Main Road, and soon we had added Red-shouldered Widow,
a beautiful Martial Eagle and our first Burchell’s Starling.
Our next destination was Tshokwane for lunch and we
made a beeline for it, stopping only to scan the roadside waterholes,
picking up Red-billed Teal, Woolly-necked Stork and African Jacana for
the list. At Tshokwane itself we found some tasty toasted cheese and tomato
sandwiches (yup they had ‘em) and added Klaas’s Cuckoo to
the list.
The post lunch drive from Tshokwane to Lower Sabie,
was hot and not very birdy, so we covered the mileage and stopped only
to take in the views from the Nkumbe Viewsite. What a sensational lookout
point that is, and it lived up firmly to its name (Nkumbe is the Shangaan
word for White Rhinoceros) because down below alongside the Nkelenga stream,
were two rhinos (cow and older (probably female) calf) lying in a mudhole.
We sat and surveyed the scene for ages, picking up on a further sleeping
Nkumbe in the distance as well as a few elephant bulls and a small journey
of giraffe. Presently, a rhino bull was spotted making his way to the
mudhole for his mid-afternoon wallow. You can imagine his surprise when
he discovered that two ladies had just been there and were busy leaving
as he was arriving. In fact the sight or rather the smell of these two
ladies rather confused him and he took a while to decide whether he should
pursue them or not for a further whiff. We watched as he made is way over
to the patch of grass they were now eating, and proceeded to move in for
a scenting opportunity. For one of the cows this was a little too forward,
and she let him have it followed soon after by the definite “cold-shoulder”
treatment. He tried the tactic of looking disinterested and eating grass
nearby, and then eventually, returning to his original intention, retired
to the mudhole.
Down at Lower Sabie, we checked in and were soon out
on a night drive with Jan – our keen-to-please young Kruger ranger.
There were 20 of us on the truck, and barefoot Jan drove us straight off
on a tour of the Big 5 of his patch. In no time we had ticked elephant,
and were soon amidst a lowing herd of about 300 buffalo. This was followed
by a brilliant performance of how to scare a large crocodile out from
the grass on the side of the road by throwing a few stones at it from
about 3 metres away…
To his credit, Jan chose his route carefully as we were
now outrunning one of the biggest storms we had yet seen on our rainy
tour of the park. Once dark settled in, our pace slowed and we were lucky
enough to spot a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and a Southern African Python.
Later, we had two different sightings of lion. The first was of 3 lionesses
and three very young cubs (2-3 months old). The second was of a male (almost
certainly from the same pride) who walked past the truck at pouncing distance.
03/03/06 - Lower
Sabie to Pretoriuskop via Skukuza The storm from the previous night's drive grew
bigger and bigger and it rained harder and harder all night. At our agreed
departure time, it was raining so hard that it didn't seem worthwhile
to head out, and we sat and had tea overlooking the Sabie River which
was starting to show signs of increased flow.
By the time we left, most of the hard rain had stopped
but all of the dirt roads in the Park had been shut off and we were left
with the Sabie River tar road as our only option. We made our way to Nkuhlu
Picnic site, stopping to take in the splendour of the flooded tributary
streams along the way. The most impressive of these was the Lubyelubye
River that was a raging torrent of dark brown flood water complete with
dangerous looking standing waves and large debris. By the time we got
to the picninc site, the Sabie River had started to rise even more, and
the rain was still coming down!
By the time we got to the Sabie River high water bridge,
it seemed as though it would be a day of admiring nature at one of her
extremes and we decided to watch the Sabie come down in flood. Over the
following hour or two we drove the banks of the river, birding and taking
in the power of nature. We watched as the river rose by a further metre
in height to a point where it was only about 1.5 metres from the top of
the arches of the high water bridge. The force of the water eventually
reached a level where large 3-4 ton dead trees that had been left stranded
on islands by a previous flood, were being picked up and carried downstream.
The birding was fun too, and we added a few more to
the list. Most notable of these was Purple-crested Turaco which had been
a long time in coming. Also spotted was Malachite Kingfisher and we heard,
though frustratingly couldn't find, a Thick-billed Cuckoo.
By lunch time the river was subsiding and we stopped
for something to eat at the Skukuza restaurant. Over lunch we entertained
ourselves by watching (and watching other people watching) the Tomb bats
hanging from the rafters above, and the commotion that surrounded someone
discovering a black mamba in a hole at the base of a nearby tree.
We covered the distance to Pretoriuskop fairly quickly,
adding only Hooded Vulture as a new one for the trip, though Red-collared
Widow was new for our KNP list. Our evening drive around a granite dome
near to the camp was uneventful, and we were in bed relatively early.
04/03/06 - Pretoriuskop
(incl. Voortrekker Road, Napi Road and night drive) We woke early and headed out on the Voortrekker
Road towards Afsaal picnic site. A southerly wind had got up in the night
and blew most of the morning - eventually stopping only after lunch time
(as predicted by Malcolm). The road was still pretty wet and in places
quite badly washed from the rains. It was beautiful though, and we were
once again in territory where there were no other cars, which made it
even more enjoyable.
At the crossing of the Hukweni stream below Sifungwane
Mountain, we were trying to find a Jacobin Cuckoo, when Jenny suddenly
spotted an animal standing on a rock outcrop on the top of the mountain.
The "animal" turned out to be two lionesses, our first big game
spotting for the morning. Around the corner we picked up on a crash of
3 white rhinos on a nearby hillside, and the first new bird for the day,
Pale Flycatcher.
At the crossing of the Josekhulu stream, Trevor spotted
a male Scarlet-chested Sunbird and at the site of the Voortrekker Waterhole
and Outspan plaque, we had a glimpse of a Grey-headed Bush-shrike before
it dived into a dense bush.
The Afsaal picnic site was quite busy, but we found
a quiet corner to eat breakfast and enjoy some of the bushveld birds close
up. From there we headed north towards Skukuza, birding and mammal watching
along the way. The highlight of this was the coalition of three male cheetah
that crossed the road in front of us at one point. But also enjoyable
was a small herd of impala that were being attended to by a pair of Red-billed
Oxpeckers, a Fork-tailed Drongo and a pair of Lilac-breasted Rollers.
Once back on the Napi Road heading for Pretoriuskop,
we had a great sighting of a small breeding herd of elephants crossing
the road in front of us. At one point a White-headed Vulture flew overhead,
and we had our first Ground-scraper Thrush.
Back at camp we had an afternoon rest, and then birded
a little of the camp (Grey Tit-Flycatcher was new) before going out on
another night drive. The drive was great fun - our guide was good, our
fellow travelers were friendly and the crepuscular and nocturnal life
was great. Of the birds, we managed a Dark Chanting Goshawk and after
dark, a female Pennant-winged Nightjar (there were also a few Square-tailed
and Fiery-necked). Of the mammals, we had great views of a bull White
Rhinoceros, as well as a Small Spotted Genet and a troop of baboons clinging
onto a cliff face for safety. Good thing we finally got the spotlights
to work.
05/03/06 - Pretoriuskop
to Johannesburg via Kaapsehoop Up at first light, we enjoyed a cup of tea and
then took a walk around the camp for an hour to bird the morning activity.
The highlight of the camp birds only came only once we were packing the
car back at our accommodation. We heard a flock of helmet-shrikes calling
and they proved to be Retz's Helmet-shrike - one of the prettier birds
we had missed in the north.
Our route from Pretoriuskop took us out of the Numbi
Gate and through White River, Nelspruit and on up to Kaapsehoop. There
we were looking for Blue Swallows, and were disappointed to discover that
not only had only one pair returned this year to breed, but that you now
needed a guide and permit to go and see them (good for the swallows, but
not so good for us who were keen to see them and had not made a booking).
We tried some birding of our own though and soon found
Lazy Cisticola, Buff-streaked Chat and Long-billed Pipit. We then spotted
the local guide (Richard??) and his client trying to push their car on
the forestry road that led into the grasslands and we went across to help.
Forestry trucks had made a mess of the very wet clay roads, and sections
were practically impassable. or so we thought. Behind the wheel of the
"stuck" brand new looking VW Polo, was a very determined lady
who was very very keen to see the swallows. What followed was an hilarious
display of sheer guts as she guided her VW through mud and water at rally
car speeds in between gnawing on biltong and photographing birds! The
swallows were not home, but for our efforts we did find Grey-backed and
Wing-snapping Cisticolas as well as Secretarybird, Jackal Buzzard and
Cape Longclaw.
Closer to Johannesburg International, we stopped for
some Cape Vultures that were getting up from a carcass close to the highway.
Our final target was Long-tailed Widow, which we searched and searched
for until eventually finding it at a small dam west of Witbank. Also at
the dam were Yellow-billed Egret and Glossy Ibis.
