sign in sign up
<<
Home , Acacia pied barbet, African marsh harrier, African oystercatcher, African snipe, African stonechat, African swamphen

Fairest Cape to Kruger 11th – 27th September, 2015

Barrier of Spears extension 27th September – 3rd October, 2015

Set Departure tour

Tour leader: Charley Hesse Report by Charley Hesse. Photos by Charley Hesse & Andrew Spencer

With stiff competition, Buff-spotted was voted of the trip (Andrew Spencer)

There many different ways to birdwatch in South , and with a small group of serious birdwatchers, we had a fast pace tour and accumulated a very large number of . With a trip list of 494 species of , 67 species of , plus many , and , 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 and sugarbirds) plus many other seldom seen birds. As well as the obvious star birds like African and Blue , we did particularly well with certain groups, with 9 species of , 14 species of (including the very rare Rudd’s), 32 species of hawks and (including Crowned Hawk- & Fasciated -Eagle) and 9 species of (including African Grass-, 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 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 11th September – Arrival in 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 & Canaries and Southern Double- collared . Families and couples were dotted on the extensive lawns and they were interspersed with Egyptian Geese and Helmeted . 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 garden in search of Cape Sugarbirds but didn’t find any. We did find Cape , Sombre , Cape , Cape Robin-, Olive and Red-winged Starlings. We had a good afternoon for raptors and found an African -Hawk, pairs of African Goshawks and Steppe , 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 which we all got pretty excited about. We eventually found the new snaking canopy boardwalk called the . From here we saw a flowering Coral Tree filled with Cape White-eyes and we also had a Rameron Pigeon 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)

12th September – Cape Peninsular We started our day at Boulders Beach penguin colony where we had great views of many Jackass . It was nice and early so we had the place to ourselves. We also saw our first Great & Cape Cormorants, African and many Hartlaub's Gulls. On the way the Nature Reserve, we found an extensive patch of flowering 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 . We stopped at a great view over the sea and scanned the distant waves, picking up Black-browed , 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 , 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 . 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 . 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 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 - Mallard . Other water birds seen included Little, Great Crested & Eared , hundreds of Greater , Great & Long-tailed Cormorants, Gray, Black-headed Heron and Glossy, Sacred & Hadada . On some of the first reed-fringed lagoons, we saw Lesser Swamp-& Little Rush-Warblers, Levaillant's , African 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 , and in the open surrounding the ponds, Cape Francolin, Black-shouldered Kite, White-necked Raven, African , Cape Canary, Yellow Bishop and Common Waxbill. On the final pan we found several shorebird species, with Black- winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Common , 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 (Charley Hesse)

13th 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 . What can I say? 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 to our 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 flying against the cliff faces, before heading back to Cape Town

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 3 14th September – West 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 -Eagle on a small roadside lake. Further north when we were finally past human habitation and into some nice habitat, we tried for Cape Clapper . There was no sign of their vocalizations or distinctive ‘clapping’ flight displays, but we did see our first Bokmakirie, Red-headed Cisticola, Chestnut-vented -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 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 , , 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 , Kitlitz’s , Pied Avocet, Black-winged Stilt, Greater & Lesser , Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Whimbrel, Common Ringed Plover, Distant Great White Pelican & Bar-tailed and Caspian . 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 , 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 and African Hoopoe. We drove north picking up another tricky endemic, the Cape 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 . 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 , Lesser Flamingo and Common & Great-crested Terns before starting our long drive back to Cape Town.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 4 15th 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, Red- capped Lark, Capped 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 .

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 , , Cape Bunting, White-rumped and our main target, Southern 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 . We left the main section of the nature reserve and drove to the eastern Potsberg section, where we saw , several Denham's and a rather lost looking Cape Sugarbird. On the way out we enjoyed some dancing Blue Cranes, Crowned Lapwing and more Cloud . We also saw Large- billed Lark singing, Karoo Bustard and we heard some Common calling before we called it a day and relaxed in our historical guest house near Swellendam.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 5 16th 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 ’s smallest national park, Bontebok. It was set up to protect this endangered endemic from . 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, Black- headed Heron and Yellow Bishop. Lastly we birded a forest section where we had many birds, including: Speckled , , 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, Mouse- colored & Greater Double-collared Sunbirds plus . 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 , Olive Woodpecker, Cape , 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)

17th 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, Green- backed Camaroptera, Black Sawwing, Bar-throated Apalis and African Crested-Flycatcher. We also added the spectacular Narina 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 Half- collared 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 Gray- headed Sparrow, Cape Weaver, Red-necked Francolin, Chorister Robin-Chat and Terrestrial Brownbul. Undeniably the star bird though was Knysna Turaco. 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 -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 , 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, , Black-backed Puffback (puffing their backs), Mouse-colored Sunbird and Olive . 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)

18th 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 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, Black- throated Canary and Southern Red Bishop. We had just enough time to drive up to the Pass, where saw Karoo Bustard, Rock Kestrel, , Rufous-eared Warbler, Layard's Warbler, Sicklewing Chat, , 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, and last but not least, the elusive Aardwolf!

Black-headed Canaries in their dry Karoo environment (Charley Hesse)

19th 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 -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 . Next we drove the large loop road and saw Yellow-bellied , Cape Crombec, Sicklewing, Karoo & Tractrac Chats and a surprise Black . 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 , Kudu, Red Hartebeest and of course . 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)

20th 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, , White-backed Mousebird, Greater Striped- , 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 . 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 21st 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 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 . 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 reserve, or vlei, and saw South African Shelduck, Yellow-billed Duck, Cape Shoveler, Hottentot Teal, Southern Pochard, Squacco Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, , African , 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, 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 22nd 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 , 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 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 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 and Lesser Swamp- Warbler to finish out the day.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 12 23rd 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 . 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 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 24th 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 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 .

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 , 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 & White- backed 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 and Scrub Hare.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 14 25th September – Kruger NP Skukuza is the largest rest camp in 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, , 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 . 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 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 . 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 26th 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 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, , 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 27th 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 , 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 , Ruff, Little Stint and Collared . 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, 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 28th 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 , 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 & Yellow- billed , 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 Red- chested Cuckoo, the stunning Narina Trogon, noisy Trumpeter Hornbills, White-eared Barbet, Red- fronted Tinkerbird, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, African Black-headed Oriole, Forest Weaver, Red- capped 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 , 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 , Kittlitz's, Common Ringed & Three- banded 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 29th 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 , Sanderling and the ‘Rufous- winged’ 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 Bee- eater, 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 30th 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 . 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 being attacked by a Black Goshawk. A dramatic end to an excellent day’s birding.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 20 1st 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 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 before we called it a day.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 21 2nd 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 . 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 Double- collared 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 (Charley Hesse)

Up here our main targets, Drakensberg Rockjumper & 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 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, Orange- throated 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 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 3rd 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 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 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 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 . 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 Bird list follows Clements 6.9 online checklist. Updated Aug 2015

STRUTHIONIFORMES: Ostrich Struthio camelus Seen at Cape of Good Hope, West Coast NP, De Hoop, Bontebok, Karoo, Kruger & Polokwane.

ANSERIFORMES: White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. White-backed Duck Thalassornis leuconotus Seen at Wilderness. Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca Seen at most sites. South African Shelduck Tadorna cana Southern African endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo, Karoo, Wakkerstroom & Underberg. Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis Seen at many sites throughout. African Black Duck Anas sparsa Seen at Wilderness. Yellow-billed Duck Anas smithii Seen at many sites throughout. Cape Shoveler Anas undulata Southern African near endemic Seen at Strandfontein, Darling wildflower route, Wakkerstroom & Mkuze. Red-billed Duck Anas erythrorhyncha Seen at Strandfontein, Darling wildflower route, Agulhas, Bontebok & Mkuze. Hottentot Teal Anas hottentota Seen at Wakkerstroom & Mkuze. Cape Teal Anas capensis Seen at Strandfontein. Agulhas & Suikerbosrand Southern Pochard Netta erythrophthalma Seen at Strandfontein, Wilderness & Wakkerstroom. Maccoa Duck Oxyura maccoa Near-threatened. Seen at Strandfontein.

GALLIFORMES: Numididae Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris Seen at many sites. Crested Guineafowl pucherani Seen at Mkuze & St Lucia.

GALLIFORMES: Crested Francolin Francolinus sephaena Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Red-winged Francolin Francolinus levaillantii Seen at Wakkerstroom. Gray-winged Francolin Francolinus africanus Southern African endemic Seen at De Hoop. Cape Francolin Francolinus capensis Southern African endemic Seen at many sites in the Cape. Natal Francolin Francolinus natalensis Southern African near endemic Seen at Kruger & Underberg. Red-necked Francolin Francolinus afer Seen at Wilderness. Swainson's Francolin Francolinus swainsonii Seen at Suikerbosrand, Wakkerstroom, Kruger & Polokwane. Common Quail Coturnix coturnix Heard at Agulhas & Underberg.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 24 PODICIPEDIFORMES: Podicipedidae Tachybaptus ruficollis Seen at Strandfontein, West Coast, Wilderness, Wakkerstroom & Underberg. cristatus Seen at Strandfontein & Wilderness. Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Seen at Strandfontein, Veldriff &Wakkerstroom.

PHOENICOPTERIFORMES: Phoenicopteridae Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus Seen at Strandfontein, Veldriff, West Coast NP, near Johannesburg, Mkuze & St Lucia. Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor Near-threatened. Seen at Veldriff & West Coast NP.

SPHENISCIFORMES: Spheniscidae Jackass Penguin Spheniscus demersus Southern African endemic Endangered. Seen at Simonstown & Betty's Bay.

PROCELLARIIFORMES: Diomedeidae Black-browed Albatross Thalassarche melanophrys Seen at Cape of Good Hope.

PROCELLARIIFORMES: White-chinned Petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis Seen at Cape of Good Hope. Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus Seen at Cape of Good Hope.

CICONIIFORMES: Ciconiidae African Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus Seen at Mkuze. Black Stork Ciconia nigra Seen at Karoo. Wooly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia, Ongoye, Mtunzini & Eshowe. White Stork Ciconia ciconia Seen at Underberg. Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis Seen at Kruger. Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia.

SULIFORMES: Sulidae Cape Gannet Morus capensis Southern African breeding endemic Vulnerable. Seen at Cape of Good Hope.

SULIFORMES: Phalacrocoracidae Great (White-breasted) Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus Seen at many sites throughout. Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis Southern African near endemic Endangered. Seen at Cape of Good Hope, SImonstown, Kommetjie, Betty's Bay & Veldriff. Bank Cormorant Phalacrocorax neglectus Southern African endemic Endangered. Seen at Kommetjie & Betty's Bay. Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus Seen at many fresh water sites. Crowned Cormorant Phalacrocorax coronatus Southern African endemic Near-threatened. Seen at Kommetjie & Betty's Bay.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 25 SULIFORMES: Anhingidae African Darter Anhinga rufa Seen at Overberg, Agulhas, Wilderness, Mkuze, St Lucia & Underberg.

PELECANIFORMES: Pelecanidae Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus Seen at West Coast, Veldriff, De Hoop & Mkuze. Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens Seen at Mkuze & Durban.

PELECANIFORMES: Scopidae Scopus umbretta Seen at De Hoop, Wakkerstroom & Kruger. Heard at Mkuze.

PELECANIFORMES: Ardeidae Gray Heron cinerea Commonly seen throughout. Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala Commonly seen throughout. Goliath Heron Ardea goliath Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia & Durban. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Seen at Wakkerstroom. Great Egret Ardea alba Seen at Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia Seen at Kruger & Underberg. Little Egret Egretta garzetta Seen at many sites. Egret Bubulcus ibis Seen at many sites. Squacco Heron Ardeola raloides Seen at Wakkerstroom & Mkuze. Striated Heron Butorides striata Seen in Kruger. Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax Seen at Wakkerstroom & Mkuze.

PELECANIFORMES: Glossy Ibis falcinellus Seen at Strandfontein, Overberg, West Coast, Wakkerstroom, Mkuze & St Lucia. Sacred Ibis aethiopicus Seen at many sites throughout. Bald Ibis calvus Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen at Wakkerstroom & Underberg. Hadada Ibis hagedash Seen at most sites. Platalea alba Seen at Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia & Underberg.

ACCIPITRIFORMES: Sagittariidae Secretary-bird Sagittarius serpentarius Vulnerable. Seen at Wakkerstroom & on the way to Mkuze.

ACCIPITRIFORMES: Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus Seen at many open country sites. African Harrier-Hawk Polyboroides typus Seen at Kirstenbosh, Mkuze & St Lucia.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 26 Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis Seen at Unlalazi. Lammegaier Gypaetus barbatus Seen at Sani Pass. Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotus Vulnerable. Seen at Kruger. Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus Endangered. Seen at Kruger. White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus Endangered. Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Cape Griffon Gyps coprotheres Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen on the Agulhas plain. Terathopius ecaudatus Near-threatened. Seen at Kruger. Black-breasted Snake-Eagle Circaetus pectoralis Seen at St Lucia Brown Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinereus Seen at Kruger. Fasciated Snake-Eagle Circaetus fasciolatus Near-threatened. Seen at St Lucia. Crowned Hawk-Eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus Seen at Umlalazi. Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus Vulnerable. Seen at Kruger. Long-crested Eagle Lophaetus occipitalis Seen at Wakkerstroom, False Bay & Eshowe. Wahlberg's Eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus Seen at West Coast & Karoo. Aquila rapax Seen at Kruger. Verreaux's Eagle Aquila verreauxii Seen in the Karoo & Tankwa Karoo. Kaupifalco monogrammicus Heard at Mkuze. metabates Seen in Kruger. Pale Chanting-Goshawk Melierax canorus Southern African near endemic Seen in the Karoo & Tankwa Karoo. African Marsh-Harrier Circus ranivorus Seen at Darling, West Coast, Wakkerstroom, Karkloof & Underberg. Black Harrier Circus maurus Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen at Overberg, West Coast, Agulhas, Bontebok & Wakkerstroom. African Goshawk tachiro Seen at Kirstenbosch, Bontebok, Wilderness & Mkuze. Little Sparrowhawk Accipiter minullus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Black Goshawk Accipiter melanoleucus Seen on the way to Mkuze & at Eshowe. Black (Yellow-billed) Kite Milvus migrans parasitus Commonly seen throughout. African Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer Seen at Tableview, Overberg, Wilderness, Kruger & Mkuze. Common (Steppe) Buzzard buteo vulpinus Seen at Kirstenbosch & at St Lucia. Forest Buzzard Buteo trizonatus Southern African endemic Seen at Wilderness. Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus Seen at many Cape and upland sites.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 27 OTIDIFORMES: Otididae Ludwig's Bustard Neotis ludwigii Endangered. Seen in the Karoo. Stanley Bustard Neotis denhami Near-threatened. Seen on the Agulhas Plain. White-bellied (Barrow’s) Bustard Eupodotis senegalensis barrow Southern African end. if split Seen at Wakkerstroom. Blue Bustard Eupodotis caerulescens Southern African endemic Near-threatened. Seen at Wakkerstroom. Karoo Bustard Eupodotis vigorsii Southern African endemic Seen at Agulhas & Karoo. Red-crested Bustard Eupodotis ruficrista Heard at Kruger. Black Bustard Eupodotis afra Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen on the Darling wildflower route & heard at Tankwa Karoo. White-quilled Bustard Eupodotis afraoides Southern African endemic Seen at Suikerbosrand. Black-bellied Korhaan Lissotis melanogaster Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

GRUIFORMES: Rallidae African Rail caerulescens Seen at Wakkerstroom. Black Crake Amaurornis flavirostra Seen at Wilderness, Wakkertroom & Kruger.Heard at St Lucia. African Swamphen Porphyrio porphyria Seen at Strandfontein & Wakkerstroom. Eurasian Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Seen at many fresh water sites. Red-knobbed Coot Fulica cristata Seen at many fresh water sites.

GRUIFORMES: Buff-spotted Flufftail Sarothrura elegans Seen at Wilderness. Red-chested Flufftail Sarothrura rufa Seen at Wilderness & heard at Wakkerstroom. Striped Flufftail Sarothrura affinis Heard at Overberg.

GRUIFORMES: Gruidae Gray Crowned-Crane regulorum Endangered. Seen at Karkoof & Underberg. Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen on the Darling wildflower route, Veldriff, Agulhas Plain, Bontebok, Wakkerstroom, Karkloof & Underberg..

CHARADRIIFORMES: Burhinidae Water Thick-knee Burhinus vermiculatus Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Spotted Thick-knee Burhinus capensis Seen at Kommetjie, Wilderness, Karoo, Wakkerstroom, Kruger & Mkuze.

CHARADRIIFORMES: Recurvirostridae Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Seen at Strandfontein, West Coast, Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta Seen at Strandfontein & West Coast.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 28 CHARADRIIFORMES: Haematopodidae African Oystercatcher Haematopus moquini Southern African near endemic Near-threatened. Seen at Boulders Beach, Kommetjie, Betty's Bay, De Hoop & Wilderness.

CHARADRIIFORMES: Charadriidae Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola Seen at West Coast & Durban. Blacksmith Plover Vanellus armatus Seen at many sites. White-headed Lapwing Vanellus albiceps Seen at Kruger. Senegal Lapwing Vanellus melanopterus Seen at Mkuze. Black-winged Lapwing Vanellus melanopterus Seen at Wakkerstroom. Crowned Lapwing Vanellus coronatus Seen at Agulhas, Wakkerstroom & Mkuze. Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus Seen in Wakkerstroom, Kruger & Underberg. Kittlitz's Plover Charadrius pecuarius Seen at Overberg, West Coast, Veldriff & Mkuze. Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Seen at West Coast, Mkuze, St Lucia & Durban. Three-banded Plover Charadrius tricollaris Seen at Veldriff, Karoo, Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. White-fronted Plover Charadrius marginatus Seen at Veldriff. St Lucia & Umlalazi.

CHARADRIIFORMES: Jacanidae African Jacana Actophilornis africanus Seen at Strandfontein, Kruger, Mkuze & eNseleni.

CHARADRIIFORMES: Scolopacidae Common Sandpiper hypoleucos Seen at Strandfontein, Kruger & Mkuze. Common Greenshank nebularia Seen at many sites. Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis Seen at Mkuze. Wood Sandpiper Tringa Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia & Durban. Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus Seen at West Coast. Bar-tailed Limosa lapponica Seen at West Coast. Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres Seen at St Lucia. Ruff pugnax Seen at Strandfontein, Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea Seen at West Coast, Veldriff, Mkuze, St Lucia & Durban. Sanderling Calidris alba Seen at St Lucia. Little Stint Calidris minuta Seen at Strandfontein, Veldriff, West Coast, Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. African Snipe nigripennis Seen at Wakkerstroom.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 29 CHARADRIIFORMES: Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola Seen at Mkuze & Muzi.

CHARADRIIFORMES: Laridae Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini Seen by the guide at Betty’s Bay. Gray-hooded Gull Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus Seen at Strandfontein, De Hoop, Suikerbosrand and Durban. Hartlaub's Gull Chroicocephalus hartlaubii Seen at many sites near Cape Town and West Coast, east to Betty's Bay. Larus dominicanus Seen at many sites in the Cape. Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia Seen at West Coast & St Lucia. White-winged Tern Chlidonias leucopterus Seen at Mkuze & Muzi. Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrid Seen at Mkuze. Sterna Seen at Kommetjie, Veldriff & Durban. Great Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii Seen at Kommetjie, Betty’s Bay & Veldriff Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis Seen at Kommetjie, Betty’s Bay & Durban.

PTEROCLIFORMES: Pteroclidae Namaqua Sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo NP..

COLUMBIFORMES: Rock Pigeon Columba livia Introduced. Seen in and around human habitation. Columba guinea Seen at many sites. Rameron (African Olive) Pigeon Columba arquatrix Seen at Kirstenbosch, Bontebok & Wilderness. Lemon Dove Columba larvata Seen at Wilderness, Eshowe & Ongoye. Mourning Collared-Dove Streptopelia decipiens Seen at Kruger. Red-eyed Dove Streptopelia semitorquata Seen at Many sites. Ring-necked Dove Streptopelia capicola Commonly seen throughout. Streptopelia senegalensis Commonly seen throughout. Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove Turtur chalcospilos Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Tambourine Dove Turtur tympanistria Seen at Wilderness. Muzi & Dlinza. African Green-Pigeon Treron calvus Seen at Kruger & Muzi.

CUCULIFORMES: Musophagidae Livingstone’s Turaco Tauraco livingstonii Seen at St Lucia. Knysna Turaco Tauraco corythaix Southern African endemic Seen at Wilderness & Marutswa.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 30 Purple-crested Turaco Tauraco porphyreolophus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Heard at Dlinza. Gray Go-away-bird Corythaixoides concolor Seen at Kruger & Polokwane.

CUCULIFORMES: Cuculidae Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitaries Seen at Mkuze. Klaas's Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas Seen at Kruger. Heard at Wilderness, Mkuze & St Lucia. Dideric Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius Heard near Bontebok. African Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx cupreus Heard at Wilderness & Dlinza. White-browed (Burchell’s) Coucal Centropus superciliosus burchelli Southern African end. if split Seen at Kruger. Heard at Wilderness & St Lucia. Green aereus Seen at Dlinza.

STRIGIFORMES: Tytonidae Tyto capensis Seen near Johannesburg. Barn Owl Tyto alba Seen near Underberg. Heard at Swellendam.

STRIGIFORMES: Strigidae African Scops-Owl Otus senegalensis Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Cape Eagle-Owl Bubo capensis Seen at Wakkerstroom. Spotted Eagle-Owl Bubo africanus Seen at Kirstenbosch, Kruger & Underberg. Heard near Johannesburg & Mkuze. Pel’s Fishing-Owl Scotopelia peli Seen at Mkuze. Pearl-spotted Owlet Glaucidium perlatum Seen at Kruger & Polokwane. African Wood-Owl Strix woodfordii Heard at Eshowe. Asio capensis Seen near Johannesburg.

CAPRIMULGIFORMES: Caprimulgidae Fiery-necked Nightjar Caprimulgus pectoralis Seen at Wilderness, Kruger & Mkuze. Swamp Nightjar Caprimulgus natalensis Seen at St Lucia. Square-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus fossii Seen at Kruger.

APODIFORMES: Apodidae Alpine Swift Apus melba Seen at Agulhas & Karoo. African Swift Apus barbatus Seen at Suikerbosrand. Little Swift Apus affinis Seen at most sites. White-rumped Swift Apus caffer Seen at many sites. African Palm-Swift Cypsiurus parvus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 31 COLIIFORMES: Coliidae Speckled Mousebird Colius striatus Seen at many sites. White-backed Mousebird Colius colius Southern African endemic Seen at Darling wildflower route, West Coast & Karoo. Red-faced Mousebird Urocolius indicus Seen at Darling wildflower route, Agulhas, Bontebok, Karoo, Polokwane & Mkuze.

TROGONIFORMES: Trogonidae Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina Seen at Wilderness & Mkuze. Heard at Dlinza & Ongoye.

CORACIIFORMES: Alcedinidae Half-collared Kingfisher Alcedo semitorquata Seen at Wilderness. Malachite Kingfisher Corythornis cristatus Seen at Wilderness & Kruger. African Pygmy Kingfisher Ispidina picta Seen at Umlalazi. Brown-hooded Kingfisher Halcyon albiventris Seen at Veldriff, Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & St Lucia. Striped Kingfisher Halcyon chelicuti Seen by one of the guides in Kruger. Giant Kingfisher Megaceryle maximus Seen at Wilderness & Kruger. Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis Seen at Kommetjia, Overberg, Wilderness, Kruger & Mkuze.

CORACIIFORMES: Meropidae White-fronted Bee-eater Merops bullockoides Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus Seen at Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & St Lucia. European Bee-eater Merops apiaster Seen at Darling wildflower route.

CORACIIFORMES: Coraciidae Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudatus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze Rufous-crowned Roller Coracias naevius Seen at Kruger.

CORACIIFORMES: Upupidae Eurasian (African) Hoopoe Upupa epops africana Seen at many sites.

CORACIIFORMES: Phoeniculidae Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus Seen at Wilderness, Kruger, Mkuze & Underberg. Common Scimitar-bill Rhinopomastus cyanomelas Seen at Kruger & Polokwane.

CORACIIFORMES: Bucerotidae Southern Red-billed Hornbill Tockus rufirostris Seen at Kruger. Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill Tockus leucomelas Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Crowned Hornbill Tokus alboterminatus Seen at Kruger & St Lucia.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 32 African Gray Hornbill Tockus nasutus Seen at Kruger. Trumpeter Hornbill Ceratogymna bucinator Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, Dlinza & Ongoye.

CORACIIFORMES: Bucorvidae Bucorvus leadbeateri Seen at Kruger.

PICIFORMES: Lybiidae Crested Barbet Trachyphonus vaillantii Seen at Wakkerstroom, Kruger & Mkuze. White-eared Barbet Stactolaema leucotis Seen at Mkuze & Ongoye. Green Barbet Stactolaema olivacea Seen at Ongoye. Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Pogonolius bileatus Seen at Kruger & St Lucia. Heard at Mkuze, Ongoye, Dlinza & Durban. Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogonolius pusillus Seen at Mkuze. Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogonolius bileatus Seen at Kruger. Pied Barbet leucomelas Southern African near endemic Seen at Bontebok, Karoo & Kruger. Black-collared Barbet Lybius torquatus Seen at Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Mkuze & Umlalazi.

PICIFORMES: Picidae Rufous-necked Wryneck Jynx ruficollis Seen at Wakkerstroom & Sani Pass. Golden-tailed Woodpecker Campethera abingoni Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Heard at St Lucia. Knysna Woodpecker Campethera notate Southern African endemic Near-threatened. Seen at Wilderness. Ground Woodpecker Geocolaptes olivaceus Southern African endemic Seen at Swartberg, Wakkerstroom & Sani Pass. Heard at Karoo. Cardinal Woodpecker fuscescens Seen at West Coast, Tankwa Karoo, Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Heard at Swartberg Pass.. Bearded Woodpecker Dendropicos namaquus Seen at Mkuze. Olive Woodpecker Dendropicos griseocephalus Seen at Wilderness, Dlinza & Marutswa.

FALCONIFORMES: Rock Kestrel Falco rupicolus Seen at many sites. Greater Kestrel Falco rupicoloides Seen at Tankwa Karoo. Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus Seen at Sani Pass. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Seen at Cape of Good Hope, Kleinmond, De Hoop, Wilderness & Wakkerstroom.

PSITTACIFORMES: Psittacidae Brown-necked (Cape) Parrot Poicephalus r. robustus Southern African end. If split Seen at Marutswa. Brown-headed Parrot Poicephalus cryptoxanthus Seen at Kruger.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 33 PASSERIFORMES: Platysteiridae Black-throated Wattle-eye Platystera peltata Seen at Mkuze. Cape Batis Batis capensis Southern African endemic Seen at Kirstenbosh, Wilderness. Wakkerstroom, Dlinza, Ongoye & Sani valley. Heard at Marutswa. Woodward’s Batis Batis fratum Seen at St Lucia. Chinspot Batis Batis molitor Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Pririt Batis Batis pririt Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo.

PASSERIFORMES: Vangidae White Helmetshrike Prionops plumatus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

PASSERIFORMES: Malaconotidae Brubru Nilaus afer Seen at Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Black-backed Puffback cubla Seen at Wilderness, Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia, Dlinza & Ongoye. Black-crowned Tchagra Tchagra senegalus Seen at Kruger & heard at Mkuze. Brown-crowned Tchagra Tchagra australis Seen at Kruger. Tchagra tchagra Southern African endemic Seen at De Hoop. Southern Boubou ferrugineus Southern African endemic Seen or heard at many sites throughout.. Crimson-breasted Gonolek Laniarius atrococcineus Seen at Polokwane. Bokmakierie zeylonus Southern African endemic Seen at Darling Wildflower route, De Hoop, West Coast, Karoo, Tankwa Karoo, Wakkerstroom & Sani. Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike Telophorus sulfureopectus Seen at Kruger & Polokwane. Heard at Mkuze & St Lucia. Telophorus olivaceus Southern African near endemic Seen at Wilderness, Heard at Wakkerstroom & Marutswa. Four-colored Bushshrike Telophorus viridis Seen at St Lucia. Heard at Mkuze. Gray-headed Bushshrike blanchoti Seen at Kruger.

PASSERIFORMES: Campephagidae Gray Cuckooshrike Coracina caesia Seen at Dlinza.

PASSERIFORMES: Laniidae Southern Fiscal collaris Seen at most sites. Magpie Shrike Corvinella melanoleuca Seen at Kruger & Polokwane. White-crowned Shrike anguitimens Southern African near endemic Seen at Kruger.

PASSERIFORMES: Oriolidae African Black-headed Oriole Oriolus larvatus Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, Sani Valley,& Marutswa. Heard at Wilderness.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 34 PASSERIFORMES: Dicruridae Square-tailed Drongo Dicrurus ludwigii Seen at Mkuze, St Lucia, Ongoye, Dlinza & Marutswa. Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis Seen at most sites.

PASSERIFORMES: Monarchidae African Crested-Flycatcher Trochocercus cyanomelas Seen at Wilderness & St Lucia. Heard at Mkuze, Dlinza & Marutswa. African Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, Dlinza & Sani Valley..

PASSERIFORMES: House Crow Corvus splendens Seen at Cape Town airport. Cape Crow Corvus capensis Seen at Agulhas Plain, Wilderness, Karoo, Tankwa, Wakkerstroom, Underberg & Karkloof. Pied Crow Corvus albus Commonly seen at many sites. White-necked Raven Corvus albicollis Seen at Strandfontein, Agulhas, Wilderness, Karoo & Sani Pass.

PASSERIFORMES: Chaetopidae Cape Rockjumper Chaetops frenatus Southern African endemic Seen at Rooiels & heard at Swatberg Pass. Drakensberg Rockjumper Chaetops aurantius Southern African endemic Seen at Sani Pass.

PASSERIFORMES: Nicatoridae Eastern Nicator Nicator gularis Seen at Mkuze. Heard at St Lucia.

PASSERIFORMES: Alaudidae Rufous-naped Lark africana Seen at Wakkerstroom, Polokwane, Ongoye & Underberg. Heard at Suikerbosrand & Kruger. Cape Clapper Lark Mirafra apiata Southern African endemic Seen at Darling Wildflower route & Bontebok. Mirafra fasciolata Southern African endemic Seen at Suikerbosrand & Wakkerstroom.. Rudd's Lark Heteromirafra ruddi Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen at Wakkerstroom. Sabota Lark Calendulauda sabota Southern African near endemic Seen at Polokwane & Mkuze. Karoo Lark Calendulauda albescens Southern African endemic Seen at West Coast NP, Tankwa Karoo & Karoo. Spike-heeled Lark Chersomanes albofasciata Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo, Suikerbosrand & Wakkerstroom. Cape Long-billed Lark Certhilauda curvirostris Southern African endemic Heard near Paternoster. Agulhas Lark Certhilauda brevirostris Southern African endemic Seen at Agulhas Plain. Eastern Long-billed Lark Certhilauda semitorquata Southern African endemic Seen at Wakkerstroom. Karoo Long-billed Lark Certhilauda subcoronata Southern African endemic Seen in the Karoo Red-capped Lark Calandrella cinerea Seen at Darling wildflower route, Agulhas Plain, Wakkerstroom. Underberg & Sani Pass. Pink-billed Lark Spizocorys conirostris Southern African near endemic Seen at Wakkerstroom.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 35 Large-billed Lark Galerida magnirostris Southern African endemic Seen at Paternoster, Agulhas Plain & Sani Pass. Heard at Tankwa Karoo.

PASSERIFORMES: Hirundinidae Plain Martin paludicola Seen at Strandfontein, Darling Wildflower route, De Hoop, Bontebok, Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Underberg.& Sani Valley. Bank Swallow Riparia riparia Seen at St Lucia. Banded Martin Riparia cincta Seen at Darling Wildflower route. Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula Seen at many sites, especially in rocky areas. Hirundo rustica Seen at St Lucia. White-throated Swallow Hirundo albigularis Seen at Strandfontein, Oveberg, Darling Wildflower route, West Coast NP, Wakkerstroom & Underberg. Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Pearl-breasted Swallow Hirundo dimidiate Seen at Strandfontein, Overberg, Darling wildflower route & Bontebok. Greater Striped-Swallow cucullata Seen at many Cape and upland sites. Lesser Striped-Swallow Cecropis abyssinica Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia & Durban. . Rufous-chested Swallow Cecropis semirufa Seen at Kruger. Polokwane & St Lucia. South African Swallow spilodera Southern African breeding endemic Seen at Suikerbosrand & Wakkerstroom. Black Sawwing Psalidoprocne pristoptera Seen at Kirstenbosch, Overberg, Wilderness, Mkuze & St Lucia. Grey-rumped Swallow Pseudhirundo griseopyga Seen by one of the guides at St Lucia.

PASSERIFORMES: Fairy Flycatcher Stenostira scita Southern African endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo, Karoo & Sani Pass.

PASSERIFORMES: Paridae Southern Black-Tit Seen at Kruger. Gray Tit Melaniparus afer Seen at West Coast & Sani Pass.

PASSERIFORMES: Remizidae African Penduline-Tit caroli Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Southern Penduline-Tit Anthoscopus minutus Seen at West Coast.

PASSERIFORMES: Pycnonotidae Sombre Greenbul Andropadus importunus Seen at Kirstenbosh, De Hoop, Bontebok, Wilderness, Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Yellow-bellied Greenbul Chlorocichla flaviventris Seen at Mkuze, False Bay, St Lucia & Ongoye. Yellow-streaked Greenbul Phyllastrephus flavostriatus Seen at Ongoye. Terrestrial Brownbul Phyllastrephus terrestris Seen at Wilderness.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 36 Common (Dark-capped) Bulbul barbatus tricolor Commonly seen throughout the east. Black-fronted Bulbul Pycnonotus nigricans Seen at Karoo & Johannesburg. Cape Bulbul Pycnonotus capensis Southern African endemic Seen at many sites in the Cape.

PASSERIFORMES: Cape Crombec Sylvietta rufescens Seen at Karoo, Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Cape Grassbird Sphenoeacus afer Southern African endemic Seen at Simonstown, Rooiels, Sir Lowry’s Pass, De Hoop, Wakkerstroom, Karkloof & Sani Valley. Heard at Bontebok & Swartberg. Victorin's Warbler Cryptillas victorini Southern African endemic Seen at Sir Lowry’s Pass & Swartberg. Heard at Rooiels.

PASSERIFORMES: Phylloscopidae Yellow-throated Wood-Warbler Phylloscopus ruficapilla Seen at Wilderness & Marutswa.

PASSERIFORMES: Acrocephalidae African Yellow-Warbler Iduna natalensis Seen at Wakkerstroom & Sani Valley. African Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus Seen at Wilderness & Tankwa Karoo. Heard at Bontebok. Lesser Swamp-Warbler Acrocephalus gracilirostris Seen at Strandfontein, West Coast, Bontebok & Mkuze. Heard at Wilderness & Mkuze.

PASSERIFORMES: Fan-tailed Grassbird Schoenicola brevirostris Seen near Sabie. Barratt’s Warbler sylvaticus Southern African endemic Seen at Sani Pass. Knysna Warbler Bradypterus sylvaticus Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen at Wilderness. Little Rush-Warbler Bradypterus baboecala Seen at Strandfontein, West Coast & Bontebok. Heard at Wilderness.

PASSERIFORMES: Bar-throated Apalis Apalis thoracica Seen or heard at many sites. Rudd’s Apalis Apalis ruddi Seen at Mkuze & St Lucia. Yellow-breasted Apalis Apalis flavida Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Heard at Dlinza. Green-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura Seen at Wilderness, Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia & Ongoye. Miombo (Stierling’s) Wren-Warbler Calamonastes undosus stierlingi Seen at Kruger. Barred Wren-Warbler Calamonastes fasciolatus Seen at Polokwane. Rufous-eared Warbler Malcorus pectoralis Southern African endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo & Karoo. Red-faced Cisticola Cisticola erythrops Seen at Kruger. Rock-loving Cisticola Cisticola aberrans Seen at Wakkerstroom. Rattling Cisticola Cisticola chiniana Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 37 Red-headed Cisticola Cisticola subruficapilla Southern African near endemic Seen at many sites in the Cape. Wailing Cisticola Cisticola lais Seen at Suikerbosrand, Wakkerstroom & Sani Pass. Winding (Rufous-winged) Cisticola Cisticola g. galactotes Seen at St Lucia. Levaillant's Cisticola Cisticola tinniens Seen at Strandfontein, West Coast NP, Wilderness, Wakkerstroom, Sabie, Underberg & Sani. Heard at Suikerbosrand. Croaking Cisticola Cisticola natalensis Seen at St Lucia & Ongoye. Heard at Kruger. Piping Cisticola Cisticola fulvicapilla Seen at Bontebok, Swartberg, Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Ongoye. Heard at Rooiels & Sani Pass. Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis Seen at Strandfontein & De Hoop. Cloud Cisticola Cisticola textrix Southern African near endemic Seen at Overberg, Agulhas Plain & Suikerbosrand. Heard at De Hoop. Pale-crowned Cisticola Cisticola cinnamomeus Seen at Underberg. Wing-snapping Cisticola Cisticola ayresii Seen at Wakkerstroom. Tawny-flanked Prinia Prinia subflava Seen at Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia, Umlalazi & Dlinza. Black-chested Prinia Prinia flavicans Seen at Suikerbosrand & Polokwane. Karoo Prinia Prinia maculosa Southern African endemic Seen at many sites in the Cape. Drakensberg Prinia Prinia hypoxantha Southern African endemic Seen at Wakkerstroom & Sani Valley. Namaqua Prinia Prinia substriata Southern African endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo. Yellow-bellied Eremomela Eremomela icteropygialis Seen at Tankwa Karoo. Yellow-rumped Eremomela Eremomela gregalis Southern African endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo. Burnt-neck Eremomela Eremomela usticollis Seen at Kruger & Polokwane.

PASSERIFORMES: Sylvidae Bush Blackcap Sylvia nigricapilla Southern African endemic Near-threatened. Seen at Sani Pass & Marutswa. Layard's Warbler Sylvia layardi Southern African endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo, Karoo & Sani Pass. Rufous-vented Warbler Sylvia subcaerulea Southern African near endemic Seen at Darling wildflower route & Karoo.

PASSERIFORMES: Zosteropidae Cape White-eye Zosterops pallidus Seen at many sites throughout. African Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis Seen at False Bay.

PASSERIFORMES: Leiothrichidae Arrow-marked Babbler Turdoides jardineii Seen at Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze.

PASSERIFORMES: Promeropidae Cape Sugarbird Promerops cafer Southern African endemic Seen at Cape of Good Hope, Rooiels, Agulhas & Swartberg.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 38 Gurney's Sugarbird Promerops gurneyi Southern African endemic Seen at Sani Valley.

PASSERIFORMES: Muscicapidae Pale Flycatcher Bradornis pallidus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Mariqua Flycatcher Bradornis mariquensis Southern African near endemic Seen at Polokwane. Southern Black-Flycatcher Melaenornis pammelaina Southern African endemic Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & Dlinza. Fiscal Flycatcher Sigelus silens Seen at Darling Wildflower route, De Hoop, Bontebok, Wilderness & Karoo. Dusky-brown Flycatcher Muscicapa striata Seen at Kirstenbosh & Wilderness. Ashy Flycatcher Muscicapa caerulescens Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & Dlinza. Gray Tit-Flycatcher Myioparus plumbeus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Karoo Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas coryphaeus Southern African endemic Seen at De Hoop, Bontebok, Karoo & Tankwa Karoo. Brown Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas signata Southern African endemic Seen at St Lucia & Ongoye. Bearded Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas quadrivirgata Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Red-backed Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas leucophrys Seen at Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Cape Robin-Chat Cossypha caffra Seen at many sites throughout. White-throated Robin-Chat Cossypha humeralis Southern African endemic Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. White-browed Robin-Chat Cossypha heuglini Seen at Kruger& Mkuze. Red-capped Robin-Chat Cossypha natalensis Seen at Mkuze, St Lucia & Umlalazi. Chorister Robin-Chat Cossypha dichroa Southern African endemic Seen at Wilderness, Sabie, Ongoye, Dlinza & Marutswa. White-starred Robin Pogonocichla stellate Seen at Wilderness. Short-toed Rock-Thrush Monticola brevipes Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo. Sentinel Rock-Thrush Monticola explorator Southern African endemic Seen at Sani Pass. Cape Rock-Thrush Monticola rupestris Southern African endemic Seen at Rooiels & Sani Valley. African Stonechat torquatus Seen at many sites. Buff-streaked Bushchat Saxicola bifasciatus Southern African endemic Seen at Wakkerstroom & Sani Valley. Southern Anteater-Chat formicivora Southern African endemic Seen at Darling Wildflower route, Karoo, Suikerbosrand, Wakkerstroom & Sani Pass. Mocking Cliff-Chat Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris Seen at Kruger. Sicklewing Chat Cercomela sinuate Southern African endemic Seen at Paternoster, Karoo & Sani Pass. Karoo Chat Cercomela schlegelii Southern African near endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo & Karoo. Cercomela tractrac Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo. Familiar Chat Cercomela familiaris Seen at Rooiels, De Hoop, Karoo & Sani Pass.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 39 Mountain Wheatear Oenanthe monticola Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo, Suikerbosrand, Wakkerstroom & Sani Pass. Capped Wheatear Oenanthe pileata Seen at Darling wildflower route, Veldriff, Agulhas & Suikerbosrand.

PASSERIFORMES: Turdidae Spotted Ground-Thrush guttata Endangered. Seen at St Lucia & Dlinza. Orange Ground-Thrush Geokichla gurneyi Seen at Marutswa. Groundscraper Thrush Psophocichla litsitsirupa Seen at Kruger. Kurrichane Thrush Turdus libonyana Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus Seen at Kirstenbosch, Wilderness, Dlinza, Underberg & Marutswa. Karoo Thrush Turdus smithi Southern African endemic Seen at Karoo & Johannesburg.

PASSERIFORMES: Sturnidae Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Introduced. Seen at Johannesburg, Wakkerstroom, Mkuze & in many towns. European Starling Sturnus vulgaris Introduced. Commonly seen in the Cape but also in Wakkerstroom. Wattled Starling Creatophora cinerea Seen at Kruger. Cape Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis nitens Seen at Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze, Underberg & Marutswa. Greater Blue-eared Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis chalybaeus Seen at Kruger. Burchell's Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis australis Southern African near endemic Seen at Kruger. Black-bellied Starling Notopholia corruscus Seen at Mkuze, Dlinza & Ongoye. African Pied Starling Spreo bicolor Southern African endemic Seen at many sites. Red-winged Starling Onychognathus morio Seen at many sites. Pale-winged Starling Onychognathus nabouroup Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo.

PASSERIFORMES: Buphagidae Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

PASSERIFORMES: Nectariniidae Collared Sunbird Hedydipna collaris Seen at Wilderness, Kruger, Mkuze, False Bay, St Lucia, Ongoye & Dlinza. Orange-breasted Sunbird Anthobaphes violacea Southern African endemic Seen at Cape of Good Hope, Rooiels, Sir Lowry’s Pass & Swartberg. Eastern Olive Sunbird Cyanomitra olivacea Seen at St Lucia, Dlinza & Ongoye. Mouse-coloured Sunbird Cyanomitra verroxii Seen at Wilderness, False Bay, St Lucia & Dlinza. Heard at Umlalazi. Amethyst Sunbird Chalcomitra amethystina Seen at Kruger & Marutswa. Scarlet-chested Sunbird Chalcomitra senegalensis Seen at Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & St Lucia. Malachite Sunbird Nectarinia famosa Seen at many sites in the Cape & highlands.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 40 Southern Double-collared Sunbird chalybeus Southern African endemic Seen at most Cape sites. Neergard’s Sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus Southern African endemic Near-threatened. Seen at Mkuze. Greater Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris afer Southern African endemic Seen at Wilderness, Wakkerstroom, Sabie & Sani Valley. Mariqua Sunbird Cinnyris mariquensis Seen at Kruger & Polokwane. Purple-banded Sunbird Cinnyris bifasciatus Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Heard at Umlalazi. White-breasted Sunbird Cinnyris talatala Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Dusky Sunbird Cinnyris fuscus Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo.

PASSERIFORMES: Cape Wagtail Motacilla capensis Seen at many sites throughout. African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. African Pipit Anthus cinnamomeus Commonly seen in grasslands throughout. Long-billed Pipit Anthus similis Seen at Karoo & Wakkerstroom. Plain-backed Pipit Anthus leucophrys Seen at Karoo. Buffy Pipit Anthus vaalensis Seen by the guides at Wakkerstroom.. Yellow-tufted Pipit Anthus crenatus Southern African endemic Seen at Karoo & Sani Pass. Yellow-breasted Pipit Hemimacronyx chloris Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen at Wakkerstroom. Orange-throated Longclaw Macronyx capensis Southern African endemic Seen at Strandfontein, Kleimond, West Coast, Wakkerstroom & Underberg. Yellow-throated Longclaw Macronyx croceus Seen at Mkuze, St Lucia & Umlalazi.

PASSERIFORMES: Emberizidae Lark-like Bunting Emberiza impetuani Southern African near endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo & Karoo. Cape Bunting Emberiza capensis Southern African near endemic Seen at many sites. Golden-breasted Bunting Emberiza flaviventris Seen at Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & Sani valley.

PASSERIFORMES: Fringillidae Cape Siskin Pseudochloroptila totta Southern African endemic Seen at Cape of Good Hope & Swartberg. Drakensberg Siskin Pseudochloroptila symonsi Southern African endemic Seen at Cape of Good Hope & Swartberg. Black-headed Canary Alario alario Southern African endemic Seen at Karoo. Cape Canary canicollis Southern African endemic Seen at many sites in the Cape & highlands. Yellow-fronted Canary Serinus mozambicus Seen at Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & Umlalazi. Forest Canary Serinus scotops Southern African endemic Seen at Kirstenbosh, Wilderness & Marutswa. Black-throated Canary Serinus atrogularis Seen at Karoo, Suikerbosrand & Wakkerstroom.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 41 Brimstone Canary Serinus sulphuratus Seen at De Hoop & Sani Valley. Yellow Canary Serinus flaviventris Southern African near endemic Seen at West Coast NP, De Hoop, Bontebok, Karoo & Suikerbosrand. White-throated Canary Serinus albogularis Southern African near endemic Seen at Tankwa Karoo & Karoo. Protea Canary Serinus leucopterus Southern African endemic Seen at Swartberg. Streaky-headed Seedeater Serinus gularis Seen at De Hoop, Wilderness, Polokwane & Sani Valley.

PASSERIFORMES: Passeridae House Sparrow Passer domesticus Introduced. Commonly seen around human habitation. Cape Sparrow Passer melanurus Southern African near endemic Seen at many sites in the Cape & highlands. Southern Gray-headed Sparrow Passer diffusus Seen at De Hoop, Wilderness, Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & Marutswa. Yellow-throated Petronia Petronia superciliaris Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

PASSERIFORMES: Ploceidae Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver Bubalornis niger Seen at Kruger. Spectacled Weaver Ploceus ocularis Seen at Kruger & heard at St Lucia. White-browed Sparrow-Weaver Plocepasser mahali Seen at Polokwane. Cape Weaver Ploceus capensis Southern African endemic Seen at West Coast, Bontebok, Wilderness & Underberg. African Golden Weaver Ploceus subaureus Seen at Mkuze, St Lucia & Durban. Holub’s Golden Weaver Ploceus xanthops Seen near Sabie. Southern Brown-throated Weaver Ploceus xanthopterus Seen at St Lucia. Lesser Masked-Weaver Ploceus intermedius Seen at Hermanus, Kruger & Mkuze. Southern Masked-Weaver Ploceus velatus Seen at many sites. Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus Seen at Wakkerstroom, Kruger & Marutswa. Forest Weaver Ploceus bicolor Seen at Mkuze, St Lucia, Dlinza & Ongoye. Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea Seen at Wakkerstroom, Karkloof & Sani Valley. Red Bishop Euplectes orix Seen at many sites. Yellow-crowned Bishop Euplectes afer Seen at Suikerbosrand. Yellow Bishop Euplectes capensis Seen at Strandfontein, Overberg, Agulhas Plain, Bontebok, Wilderness, Sabie & Sani Valley.. White-winged Widowbird Euplectes albonotatus Seen at Wakkerstroom. Red-collared Widowbird Euplectes ardens Seen at Wakkerstroom & Sabie. Fan-tailed Widowbird Euplectes axillaris Seen at St Lucia, Karkloof & Underberg. Long-tailed Widowbird Euplectes Seen at Suikerbosrand, Wakkerstroom & Underberg.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 42 Grosbeak Weaver Amblyospiza albifrons Seen at Kruger, St Lucia & Durban.

PASSERIFORMES: Swee Waxbill melanotis Southern African endemic Seen at Wilderness & Sabie. Green-backed Twinspot Mandigoa nitidula Heard at Ongoye & Dlinza. Black-tailed Waxbill Estrilda perreini Seen by one of the clients at the end of the tour in Durban. Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild Seen at many sites throughout. Black-cheeked Waxbill Estrilda erythronotus Seen at Polokwane. Blue-breasted Cordonbleu Uraeginthus angolensis Seen at Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Pink-throated Twinspot Hypargos margaritatus Seen at Mkuze. Violet-eared Waxbill Granatina granatina Southern African near endemic Seen at Polokwane. Green-winged Pytilia Pytilia melba Seen at Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala Seen at Kruger. African Firefinch Lagonosticta rubricata Seen at Wakkerstroom. Zebra Waxbill Sporaeginthus subflavus Large numbers seen at Suikerbosrand. Ortygospiza fuscocrissa Seen at Underberg. Bronze Mannikin Spermestes cucullatus Seen at Kruger, Karkloof & Durban. Black-and-white (Red-backed) Mannikin Spermestes cucullatus nigriceps Seen by one of the clients at the end of the tour in Durban.

PASSERIFORMES: Viduidae Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura Seen at Mkuze, Dlinza & Underberg. Shaft-tailed Whydah Vidua regia Seen at Polokwane.

MAMMAL LIST Taxonomy follows Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa by C & T Stuart.

Pteropodidae: Fruit Bats Wahlberg’s Epauletted Fruit-Bat Epomophorus wahlbergi Seen at Kruger. Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat Epomophorus gambianus Seen at Kruger.

Cercopithecidae: Cheek-pouched Monkeys Chacma Baboon Papio ursinus Southern African near endemic Seen at De Hoop, Karoo, Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Vervet Monkey Cercopithecus pygerythrus Seen at Karoo, Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze, St Lucia, Karkloof & Durban. Samango Monkey Cercopithecus albogularis Seen at St Lucia.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 43 Galagidae : Galagos Greater Galago Otolemur crassicaudatus Seen at Mkuze. Heard at Kruger & St Lucia. Lesser Galago Galago moholi Seen at Kruger.

Lagomorpha: Hares Cape Hare Lepus capensis Seen at Karoo & Wakkerstroom. Scrub Hare Lepus saxatilis Seen at Karoo, Wakkerstroom, Kruger, Eshowe & Mkuze.

Sciuridae: Red Bush- Paraxerus palliatus Seen at St Lucia. Tree Squirrel Paraxerus cepapi Seen at Kruger.

Pedetidae: Springhares Springhare capensis Seen at Wakkerstroom.

Hystricidae: Porcupines Cape Porcupine Hystrix africaaustralis Seen at Mkuze.

Muridae: & Mice Four-Striped Grass Mouse pumilio Seen at Bontebok, Wilderness & Karoo. Sloggert’s slogetti Southern African endemic Seen at Sani Pass.

Canidae: & allies Black-backed Jackal Canis mesomelas Seen at Karoo.

Mustelidae: Mustelids Spot-necked Otter Hydrictis maculicollis Seen at Wakkerstroom.

Herpestidae: Banded Mongoose Mungos mungo Seen at Kruger. Small Grey Mongoose Galerella pulverulenta Southern African endemic Seen at Strandfonein & Karoo. Slender Mongoose Galerella sanguinea Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Dwarf Mongoose Helogale parvula Seen at Kruger. Yellow Mongoose Cynictis penicillata Southern African near endemic Seen at De Hoop & Wakkerstroom. Suricate (Meerkat) Suricata suricatta Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo & Wakkerstroom. White-tailed Mongoose Ichneaumia albicauda Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

Viverridae: Genets & Civets Common Large-spotted Genet Genetta maculata Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 44 South African Large-spotted Genet Genetta tigrina Southern African endemic Seen at Wilderness.

Hyaenidae: Hyaenas Spotted Crocuta crocuta Seen at Kruger. Aardwolf Proteles cristatus Seen at Karoo.

Felidae: Cats Lion Panthera leo Vulnerable. Seen at Kruger NP. Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus Vulnerable. Seen at Kruger NP. Serval Leptailurus serval Seen near Johannesburg.

Elephantidae: Elephants African Elephant Loxodonta africana Vulnerable. Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

Procavidae: Hyraxes Rock Dassie (Hyrax) Procavia capensis Seen at Betty’s Bay, Karoo, Wakkerstroom & Sani Pass.

Equidae: Horses Cape Mountain Zebra Equus z. zebra Southern African endemic Vulnerable. Seen at De Hoop, Agulhas Plain & Karoo. Plains (Burchell's) Zebra Equus quagga Seen at Karoo, Kruger, Mkuze, St Lucia & Mtunzini.

Rhinocerotidae: Rhinoceroses White Rhino Ceratotherium simum Near-threatened. Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Black Rhino Diceros bicornis. Critically Endangered. Seen at Kruger.

Suidae: Pigs Warthog Phacochoerus africanus Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia.

Hippopotamidae: Hippopotamuses Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius Vulnerable. Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia.

Giraffidae: Giraffes Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis Seen at Kruger & Mkuze.

Bovidae: Horned Ungulates African Buffalo Syncerus caffer Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Eland Taurotragus oryx Seen at Cape of Good Hope, De Hoop, Karoo & Sani Valley. Greater Kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros Seen at Karoo, Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & St Lucia. Nyala Tragelaphus angassi Seen at Kruger, Polokwane, Mkuze & False Bay . Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus Seen at Wilderness, Kruger & Dlinza.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 45 Gemsbok Oryx gazella Southern African endemic Seen at Karoo. Common Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia. Mountain Reedbuck Redunca fulvorufula Seen at Underberg & Sani. Common Reedbuck Redunca arundinum Seen at Wakkerstroom. St Lucia, Underberg & Sani. Grey Rhebok Pelea capreolus Southern African endemic Seen at Agulhas Plain, Karoo & Sani Valley. Black Wildebeest Connochaetes gnou Southern African endemic Seen on a game farm near Wakkerstroom. This species is native to the area. Blue Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus Seen at Kruger & Mkuze. Red Haartebeest Alcelaphus buselaphus Seen at Bontebok & Karoo. Bontebok Damaliscus pygargus Southern African endemic Seen in the Overberg area & at Bontebok NP. Blesbok Damaliscus phillipsi Southern African endemic Seen at Suikerbosrand & on game farms near Wakkerstroom. This species is native to the area. Impala Aepyceros melampus Seen at Kruger, Polokwane & Mkuze. Springbok Antidorcas marsupialis Southern African near endemic Seen at Karoo. Suni Neotragus moschatus Seen at Muzi Pan. Klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus Seen at Karoo & Kruger. Raphicerus campestris Seen at Agulhas plain, Karoo, Wakkerstroom & Kruger. Red Duiker Cephalophus natalensis Seen at False Bay, St Lucia & Eshowe Blue Duiker Cephalophus monticola Seen at Dlinza & Ongoye. Common Duiker Sylvicapra grimmia Seen at Wakkerstroom, Kruger & Mkuze.

Otariidae: Sea Lions Cape Fur Seal Arctocephalus p. pusillus Southern African near endemic Seen at Hermanus.

Balaenopteridae: Roquals Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis Seen at Hermanus & De Hoop. Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Seen at St Lucia & Mtunzini.

Delphinidae: Dolphins Indo-Pacific Bottlenosed Dolphin Tursiops truncatus Dolphins seen way off shore at Umlalazi were probably this species.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 46 REPTILE LIST Taxonomy follows ‘Field Guide to the and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa’ by B.Branch (1998).

Crocodylidae: Crocodiles Crocodylus niloticus Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & St Lucia.

Agamidae: Agamas Southern Rock Agama Seen at Rooiels & Sani Pass. Southern Tree Agama Acanthocercus atricollis Seen at Kruger.

Geckonidae: Geckos Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko Pachydactylus bibronii Seen at Karoo. Moreau’s Tropical House Gecko Hemidactylus mabouia Seen at Karoo, Kruger & Mkuze.

Cordylidae: Girdled Black Girdled Lizard niger Seen at Cape of Good Hope & West Coast. Cape Girdled Lizard Cordylus cordylus Seen at Betty's Bay. Drakensberg Crag Lizard Pseudocordylus melanotus Seen at Sani Valley.

Varanidae: Monitors Nile Monitor Varanus niloticus Seen at Kruger. Rock Monitor Varanus albigularis Seen at Kruger.

Scincidae: Skinks Cape Skink Mabuya capensis Seen at West Coast. Striped Skink Mabuya striata Seen at Kruger, Mkuze & Sani Valley. Rainbow Skink Mabuya quinquetaeniata Seen at Kruger.

Colubridae: Colubrid Snakes Puff Adder Seen at De Hoop.

Lamprophiidae: Colubrid Snakes Common Slugeater Duberria lutrix Seen at De Hoop.

Testudinidae: Leopard Tortoise Geochelone pardalis Seen at Karoo & Kruger. Angulate Tortoise Chersina angulata Seen at West Coast NP, Tankwa Karoo & Bontebok. Tent Tortoise Seen near Prince Albert.

Pelomedusidae: African Side-necked Turtles Marsh Terrapin Pelomedusa subrufa Seen at Overberg & Mkuze.

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 47 LIST Amphibian taxonomy follows ‘ & Frogging in South Africa’ by V.Carruthers & L.du Preez (2011)

Pyxicephalidae: River frogs & Stream Frogs Banded Stream Frog Strongylophus bonaespei Seen at Overberg. Clicking Stream Frog Strongylophus grayii Seen at Overberg & Sani Pass.

Bufonidae: True toads Eastern Olive Toad Amietophrynus garmani Seen at Kruger.

BUTTERFLY LIST taxonomy follows ‘Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa’ by Steve Woodhall (2005)

Nymphalidae African Monarch Danaus chryssipus aegyptius Novice Amauris ochlea ochlea Layman Amauris a. albimaculata Common Bush Brown Bicyclus safitza safitza Burchell’s Brown Pseudonympha hippia Phalanta phalanta aethiopica Pearl Emperor Charaxes varanes Guineafowl Hamanumida daedalus Variable Diadem Hypolymnas anthedon wahlbergi Blue Pansy Junonia oenone Yellow Pansy Junonia hierta Painted Lady Cynthia cardui

Lycaenidae Sooty Blue Zizeeria knysna

Pieridae Zebra White Pinacopteryx eriphia eriphia Buquet's Vagrant Nepheronia buquetii Sulphur Orangetip auxo Common Orange Tip Colotis evenina evenina Smoky Orange Tip Colotis euippe omphale Small Orange Tip Colotis evagore Brown-veined White Belenois aurota aurota Large White Pieris brassicae Common Dotted Border Mylothris agathina

Papilionidae Citrus Swallowtail Papilio demodocus demodocus Green-banded Swallowtail Papilio nireus lyaeus

Tropical Birding www.tropicalbirding.com 48