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South Africa Eastern II 18Th January to 1St February 2018 (15 Days) Trip Report

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South Africa Eastern II 18Th January to 1St February 2018 (15 Days) Trip Report South Africa Eastern II 18th January to 1st February 2018 (15 days) Trip Report Drakensberg Rockjumper by Daniel Keith Danckwerts Tour Leaders: Daniel Keith Danckwerts and Rynart Bezuidenhout Trip report compiled by Daniel Keith Danckwerts Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Eastern II 2019 2 Tour Summary Our two-week journey around eastern South Africa began in the bustling city of Johannesburg where, following a quick meet and greet, we enjoyed some birding in the gardens of our comfortable guesthouse. The highlight here was seeing small numbers of the endearing Red-headed Finch – a striking species that all desired to see. Other species on this, our first afternoon, included the Red-eyed and Laughing Doves, Speckled Pigeon, Red-faced and Speckled Mousebirds, the near-endemic Karoo Thrush, and dazzling Southern Red Bishops with males in full breeding plumage. After a scrumptious dinner, we returned to our rooms for an early evening, seeing the nocturnal Spotted Thick-knee en route. Early the following morning, we left Johannesburg and travelled north towards the remote Zaagkuildrift Road. This gravel road traverses a large area of thornveld and savannah, and is widely recognised as one of Red-collared Widowbird by Daniel Keith Danckwerts South Africa’s top birding destinations. We weren’t disappointed! Our list grew exponentially within minutes of arriving, as we notched up migratory Lesser Grey and Red-backed Shrikes, the striking long- tailed Magpie-Shrike, Black-winged Kite, and numerous displaying yet nondescript Zitting Cisticolas. Our breakfast stop delivered several other new species for the tour, including Western Cattle Egret, Red- billed Teal, Spur-winged Goose, Blacksmith Lapwing, Southern Boubou, White-throated Robin-Chat, Jameson’s Firefinch, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, and Burchell’s Starling. A handful of noisy Red-chested Cuckoos were called from the thickets, offering several quick fly-by views, while a much more cooperative dark morph Jacobin Cuckoo perched up high for scope looks. We continued, enjoying wonderful sightings of White-winged and Red-collared Widowbirds, Village Indigobird, and Long-tailed Paradise and Pin- tailed Whydahs; all in full breeding plumage. A noisy flock of Southern Pied Babblers were enticed to the top of a tree, as small numbers of the indescribable Violet-eared Waxbill flushed from the roadside. Eventually, we reached the Kgomo-Kgomo floodplain. Here, we added Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Cape Sparrow, White- Taita Falcon by Daniel Keith Danckwerts backed Mousebird, African Marsh Harrier, Crowned Lapwing, Yellow-billed Duck, and Black-winged Pratincole. The river itself delivered Common Moorhen, Red-knobbed Coot, a plethora of herons and egrets, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper and a lucky African Snipe! Thereafter, we gradually made our way back towards Johannesburg. Stopping on Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Eastern II 2019 3 route for a quick lunch break, we enjoyed incredible scope views of Woodland Kingfisher; while a Great Reed Warbler was drawn from a thicket. Back in Johannesburg, we enjoyed yet another delicious traditional South African meal before settling in for the night. The next morning, we began our eastward journey towards the fabled Kruger National Park. The drive took us over the highveld grasslands, where we saw our first Long-tailed Widowbirds – a firm favourite for all – together with their Fan-tailed cousins. We arrived in the highland town of Dullstroom, our scheduled breakfast break, to find that the entire town was cloaked in thick fog. Taking sanctuary in a nearby restaurant, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast. We drove for a further two hours before we eventually arrived at the Abel Hooded Vulture by Daniel Keith Danckwerts Erasmus Pass. This scenic area is home to the Taita Falcon – one of Africa’s rarest birds, with as few as 50 known pairs. It took some time, but a singleton was eventually spotted high up against the rock face. We enjoyed walkaway views of the ‘mega’ bird, whilst also enjoying sightings of Mountain Wagtail, Red-winged Starling, Rock Martin, Violet-backed Starling, Cape Vulture, and White-necked Raven. Our next break from the confines of the vehicle was in the small town of Hoedspruit, where we enjoyed yet another delicious meal together. We took a short opportunity to explore the area, and we quickly located Red-billed Buffalo, Village and Lesser Masked Weavers, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, and the drab but familiar Spotted Flycatcher. From there, we continued to the Kruger National Park; our home for the next three nights. Kruger National Park is always a highlight, and our experiences on this trip were no different. With the help of our expert local guide, Dirk, we quickly racked up an impressive list of mammals. Notable sightings included nearly 30 Lion (including more than 15 impressive males, a coalition on a recent buffalo kill, and cubs!), a Leopard, African Buffalo, African Elephant, White Rhinoceros, Plains Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, two separate packs of African Wild Dog, Black-backed Jackal, and Common Duiker. Not forgetting the birds – we also African Wild Dog by Daniel Keith Danckwerts located the rare and seldom seen Bronze-winged Courser, European and Square-tailed Nightjars, Southern Yellow-billed and Southern Ground Hornbills, the tricky Stierling’s Wren-Warbler, four species of vulture (Hooded, White-headed, White-backed, and Lappet-faced), Saddle-billed and Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Eastern II 2019 4 Marabou Storks, Tawny and Wahlberg’s Eagles, Bateleur, Brown-headed Parrot, Red-billed Oxpecker, the tricky Red-faced Cisticola, Jameson’s Firefinch, Chinspot Batis, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Southern White-faced Owl, Marico Sunbird, Bearded and White-browed Scrub Robins and White-browed Robin- Chat. A night drive then delivered the incredible Spotted Eagle-Owl, and a bulky Puff Adder. Needless to say, Kruger was enjoyed by all! Our time in South Africa’s largest national park had unfortunately come to an end, and we began the long drive towards the small high- altitude town of Wakkerstroom. The drive took the better part of the day, broken by an extended game drive through to the southern gate of Kruger. We also took the opportunity to scan likely looking habitats along the way, delivering several important new species. A pair of large lakes near the small town of Ermelo yielded large numbers of waterfowl, including Yellow-billed Duck, Red-billed Yellow-brested Pipit by Daniel Keith Danckwerts Teal, Southern Pochard, White-breasted and Reed Cormorants and hundreds of Red-knobbed Coot. The surrounding habitats offered up Whiskered Terns, both Grey and Black-headed Herons, and striking little Yellow-crowned Bishops doing their unique ‘bumble-bee’ display. Further along, a lone Blue Korhaan was (miraculously!) spotted on a nearby hillside. We enjoyed superb looks at this important endemic before continuing onwards. We arrived in Wakkerstroom in the late evening and quickly settled into our glorious accommodations – what a shame that we were only staying two nights! With the help of our ‘Lucky’ charm, we enjoyed one of our best days of birding in the Wakkerstroom area. The day started with a quick visit to some high-altitude grassland, where we quickly found Southern Bald Ibis, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Pale-crowned and Wing-snapping Cisticolas, Pied Starling, and Long-crested Eagle. We then dropped lower to a stakeout for the rarely seen White-bellied Bustard; within minutes of arriving, a pair were spotted on an opposite hillside. Here, we also found South African Cliff Swallow, Rudd’s Lark by Daniel Keith Danckwerts Quailfinch, and Long-tailed Widowbird. We returned to our guesthouse, where a most delicious breakfast was appreciated by all. Thereafter, we ventured out in search of Wakkerstroom's two most iconic birds – Botha’s and Rudd’s Larks. Both species were easily found and seen well. Other distractions included Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Eastern II 2019 5 quick views of a female Red-chested Flufftail, scope views of two different African Rails, African Swamphen, several confiding African Snipes, both Grey-crowned and Blue Cranes, an especially cooperative Yellow-breasted Pipit, Black-winged Lapwing and Pink-billed Lark. Mammalian highlights of the day included some endemic Black Wildebeest, Blesbok, Oribi, a small family group of Meerkat (forever immortalised by the Lion King’s ‘Timone’), and Yellow Mongoose. What a day this was! We bid Wakkerstroom – or should I rather say, the Wetland’s Guesthouse – a sombre farewell as we continued to an area of South Africa known as Zululand, located in the north-eastern area of the KwaZulu-Natal province, near the southern border with Mozambique. En route, we visited the Manyoni Private Game Lodge to search for a vagrant Golden Pipit which had been seen consistently over the preceding three weeks. Unfortunately, we were out of luck, perhaps due to the pair of male Lions that had recently Lemon-breasted Canary by Daniel Keith Danckwerts taken up residence in the lodge itself. We did, however, manage to find European Roller, White-crested Helmetshrike, a surprise Harlequin Quail, Green-winged Pytilia, Pale Flycatcher, and Striped Kingfisher; all new birds on our ever-growing list. We arrived at our tranquil lodge near the town of Hluhluwe – set within an area of untouched sand forest – with time enough for an afternoon walk. Here, we were treated to quick sightings of the beautiful but reclusive Gorgeous Bushshrike, localised Rudd’s Apalis, and Red-capped Robin-Chat. We then took the opportunity for an early night, following the long drive and several early starts. The whole of the following day was then spent in the uMkhuze Game Reserve; yet another of South Africa’s top birding destinations, boasting a list of well over 500 recorded species.
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