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South Africa Mega II 2Nd to 24Th February 2019 (23 Days) Trip Report

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South Africa Mega II 2Nd to 24Th February 2019 (23 Days) Trip Report South Africa Mega II 2nd to 24th February 2019 (23 days) Trip Report Pink-throated Twinspots by Noreen Rudd Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Gareth Robbins Photos by Noreen Rudd, David Hoar and Gareth Robbins Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Mega II 2019 2 Tour Summary Today was the first full day of the tour, and we couldn’t have asked for a better place to start. We left our hotel before first light and made our way to the famous Zaagkuildrift Road, which is where we would spend most of the day. As we approached our first stop, we noticed that there had been a significant amount of rain recently, as there were many large puddles covering the road. We arrived as the sun was rising and, before we knew it, we had birds calling left, right and centre. We started off with sightings of Rufous-naped Lark, Black-chested Prinia, Desert, Rattling and Zitting Cisticolas, Magpie and Lesser Grey Shrikes, Common Buzzard, Swainson’s Spurfowl, two Diederik Cuckoos, a vocal Woodland Kingfisher, plenty of Scaly-feathered Weavers, Grey-go-away Birds and a decent view of a Northern Black Korhaan in flight. We continued along the road and came to a grassy area full of White-winged Widowbirds, as well as the bumble-bee-like Yellow- crowned Bishop and a Red-collared Widowbird. We then stopped to look at a distant wetland, and here we saw Western Cattle Egrets, Pied Kingfisher and three African Jacanas. Closer to the road, we saw Arrow-marked babblers, White-throated Robin-Chat and Tawny-flanked Northern Black Korhaan by Gareth Robbins Prinias. We continued along the road, making several stops before arriving at the village of Kgomo-Kgomo, where we saw the stunning Crimson-breasted Shrike, Barred Wren-Warbler, Village Indigobird, Long- tailed Paradise Whydah, Green-winged Pytilias, White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, Red-billed and Jameson’s Firefinches, Blue Waxbills, Grey-backed Camaroptera, a female Amur Falcon, African Grey, Southern Yellow-billed and Southern Red-billed Hornbills, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Black-winged Kite, Burchell’s Coucals, Helmeted Guineafowl, Burchell’s and Cape Glossy Starlings, a Black Stork circling overhead, plenty of Red-backed Shrikes, Marico and Spotted Flycatchers, Blacksmith and Crowned Lapwings, Little and African Palm Swifts and Fork-tailed Drongos. At Kgomo-Kgomo, the wetland had a decent amount of water around, so we saw plenty of good birds, such as Red-breasted Swallows, Hamerkop, Yellow-billed, Abdim’s and White Storks, plenty of Glossy Ibises, Intermediate and Great Egrets, Pin-tailed Whydah, White-throated and Barn Swallows, Cape and Grey-headed Sparrows, White-faced Whistling Ducks, Red-billed Black-chested Snake Eagle by Gareth Robbins Teals, Southern Pochard and an African Pipit. Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Mega II 2019 3 After a short lunch break, we made our way back down the Zaagkuildrift Road and managed to see a few new species, such as a dark morph Jacobin Cuckoo, Green Wood Hoopoes, Southern White-crowned Shrike, a stunning view of a Black-chested Snake Eagle sitting on a telephone pole and a large flock of the nomadic Black-winged Pratincole flying overhead. We finally arrived back to the tarred road and headed north up to Polokwane. We arrived at our comfortable lodge in the afternoon and had a first-class meal, accompanied by lots of laughs! After a good night’s rest, we packed the tour vehicle and made a short journey to the nearby Polokwane Game Reserve. We arrived before the gates opened, which gave us ample time to do some birding in the parking lot and around the entrance area, yielding a good number of species like the elegant African Paradise Flycatcher, Lesser Masked and Spectacled Weavers, Karoo and Groundscraper Thrushes, Fiscal Flycatcher, Brown- hooded Kingfisher, Black-throated and Yellow-fronted Canaries, Crested and Black-collared Barbets, Golden- tailed Woodpecker, Black-headed Oriole, Cape Robin- Chat and a beautiful African Hoopoe. Finally, the gates opened and, after paying the entrance fee, we made our way through the reserve. We saw Black Stork by Gareth Robbins animals of all shapes and sizes, ranging from Banded Mongoose up to a couple of young Nyalas, Impala rams, Common Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Sable Antelope and Giraffe. On the bird side of things, we saw a few new species, such as Wood Sandpiper, Black Cuckoo, Ashy Tit, Acacia Pied Barbet, Marabou Storks, a female Cardinal Woodpecker, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Burnt-necked Eremomelas, a dark morph Gabar Goshawk and Sabota and Short- clawed Larks! We then drove to the camping area, where we saw Kurrichane Thrush before making our way back into the town to buy lunch. We then proceeded to make our way to the tranquil Kurisa Moya Lodge nestled in forest of Magoebaskloof, where we would be spending one night. We met our expert local guide, David, who would be guiding us for the afternoon, and we loaded back into the tour vehicle and drove to some of David’s well-known hotspots. Along the way, we had a good look at two Jackal Buzzards sitting on some telephone poles. We finally made it to the Woodbush Forest area to start looking for a couple of Forest specials. We were very lucky, as we had a few mixed flocks throughout the afternoon, giving us the Scaly-feathered Weaver by Gareth Robbins Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Mega II 2019 4 opportunity to see some top birds such as Black-fronted and Olive Bushshrikes, Knysna Turaco, Yellow- streaked Greenbul, Olive Woodpeckers, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Grey Cuckooshrikes, Brown-backed Honeybird, Swee Waxbills, Red-backed Mannikins, Cape Batis, Bar-throated Apalis, Square-tailed Drongo, Drakensberg Prinias, Sombre Greenbul, Southern and Greater Double-collared Sunbirds, African Dusky Flycatcher, Cape White-eyes, Forest Canaries and great looks at the pretty African Olive Pigeons. We finally had to call it a day and made our way back to the lodge, getting a brief look at a Eurasian Hobby flying over the road and into the distance. We finally arrived back at the lodge, where we had a fantastic dinner and a great evening. Today was going to be one of the longest travel days of the tour, and we had many places to visit along the way. Most of us were already awake, as some early morning showers battered down on the farmhouse roof, making the start of the day a rather anxious one as we anticipated some wet and slippery roads. Thankfully, we made it back onto Amur Falcon by Gareth Robbins the main tarred road in one piece and proceed to drive to the town of Tzaneen. We made a short stop to view a resident White-browed Robin-Chat before arriving in the town, where we refuelled and got a cup of coffee. By this time, there was still some rain, and the clouds had moved in too. Our next visit was a Pine plantation, which was well hidden in the thick mist, causing us to miss the road completely the first time. Luckily, we found the correct road and drove to a row of large Eucalyptus Trees where, after some searching and excellent spotting, we finally found one Bat Hawk. The Bat Hawk looked as wet and miserable as we did; however, it did fly around for us, showing off how well it could manoeuvre through the trees, which was rather impressive. Our next stop was around an hour away, so we eagerly made our way through some of the Lowveld, managing to get close views of Abdim’s Storks and a good view of a Scarlet- chested Sunbird. We then drove up the Abel Erasmus Pass, where we met Michael, a guide focusing on showing people the very rare Taita Falcon. We walked to the spot that Michael had scouted out for us, and as soon as we arrived more mist arrived too, covering the Black-fronted Bushshrike by Gareth Robbins entire rock face. We waited patiently and, Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Mega II 2019 5 finally, the mist cleared and we saw one Taita Falcon! We spent a good amount of time watching this pretty bird. Eventually, it stood up for us and we were able to see the entire bird, which was fantastic. From the same spot, we also saw Red-winged Starlings, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting and Black-backed Puffbacks. After buying some of Michael’s curios, we made our way over the pass, getting a sighting of a Lanner Falcon sitting in a dead tree. We drove up into the Highveld, passing the towns of Lydenburg and Dullstroom, getting looks at a Long-crested Eagle and a female Eastern Red-footed Falcon, which is not a very common bird to see. Our next stop was at a wetland outside a small town called Breyten, and here we saw Southern Pochards, White-backed Ducks, Red-knobbed Coots, Common Moorhen, White-winged and Whiskered Terns, Yellow-crowned Bishops, a well- camouflaged Purple Heron, Little Grebes, Red-billed Teals and Yellow-billed Ducks. We made our way through the town of Ermelo towards Wakkerstroom, Abdim’s Storks by Gareth Robbins which was to be our destination for the day. We saw many impressive male Long-tailed Widowbirds, hundreds of Amur Falcons, plenty of South African Cliff Swallows, some nice and close views of Southern Bald Ibises and plenty of Pied Starlings on the way.
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