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Budget Eastern South Africa II July 2016

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Budget Eastern South Africa II July 2016 Trip Report - RBT Budget Eastern South Africa II July 2016 Budget Eastern South Africa II 5th to 16th July 2016 (12 days) Half-collared Kingfisher by Gareth Robbins Trip report by compiled by tour leader Gareth Robbins Tour photos by Gareth Robbins, Stefan Johansson and Chuck Holliday. Trip Report - RBT Budget Eastern South Africa II July 2016 Today was the first day of the Budget East Tour II and after arriving at OR Tambo International Airport we made our way across the Highveld in the direction of the Kruger National Park. Black- winged Kites, Common Fiscals and Wattled Lapwings were seen along the way. We stopped in Nelspruit to collect stock for the tour and saw Village Weavers and Amethyst and Scarlet- chested Sunbirds in the parking lot of the shopping centre. We entered the Kruger National Park through Numbi Gate, here we saw a Martial Eagle, Crested and Black-collared Barbets and Greater Blue-eared Starlings. We then drove to Shitlhave Dam and managed to get great views of Giraffe along the way and spotted birds such as Fork-tailed Drongos, Southern Black Flycatcher, Bateleur, Brown Snake Eagle, Dark-capped Bulbul, Cape Starling and Southern Grey Female Saddle-billed Stork by Gareth Robbins Hornbills. Once we arrived at the dam, we saw young elephant bulls sparring in the cool water. Hippopotamus, Crocodile, Waterbuck and a large herd of Elephants were also present at the dam. We had great views of Black, Woolly- necked and Saddle-billed Storks, Blacksmith Lapwings, Three-banded Plover and an African Fish Eagle. We then made our way to Pretoriuskop Rest Camp and saw a Hyena with her cubs in a culvert along the side of the road. We finally arrived at our camp and had a relaxing barbeque outside our chalets. At first light, we left Pretoriuskop Rest Camp and headed in the direction of Skukuza Rest Camp. It did not take us long to see White Rhinoceros, African Elephant, one Lioness and a Hyena with cubs. As the sun rose, we started to see birds such as Striped Kingfisher, a melanistic Gabar Goshawk, Lilac-breasted Roller and Arrow-marked Babbler. We stopped at a large Dam and saw an African Fish Eagle, African Green Pigeon, Grey Go-away-bird, Green Woodhoopoes, African Grey and Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills and Brown-headed Parrots. As we continued towards Skukuza, we viewed Magpie Shrikes, Hooded Vulture, Tawny Eagle and Bateleur, Cape and Greater Blue-eared Starlings, Southern Grey-headed Sparrows, Blue Waxbills, Southern Black Flycatchers and three Bateleur by Gareth Robbins Pearl-spotted Owlets. By midday, we had successfully seen mammals such as Common Dwarf Mongoose, Impala, Plains Zebra, Trip Report - RBT Budget Eastern South Africa II July 2016 Greater Kudu, Common Duiker, Bushbuck, Giraffe and Common Warthog. We stopped in Skukuza Rest Camp and took a short walk around the camp which produced great sightings of Collared, Scarlet-chested and White-bellied Sunbirds which were feeding on flowering aloes near the restaurant. We also saw a Long-billed Crombec, Cape White-eye, Dark-capped Bulbul, Red-faced Cisticola, White-fronted Bee-eater, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, White-browed Robin- Chat, along with a good view of a Martial Eagle flying overhead. We then took a drive along the Sabie River and were very lucky to see White-throated Robin- Chat, Cape Batis, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Yellow- breasted Apalis and Great Egret. We turned around and drove through a drier section away from the river where we saw Southern Black Tits, White-browed Black-headed Oriole by Gareth Robbins Scrub Robin, African Hoopoe and a Marico Flycatcher. Our next visit was to the Skukuza Nursery and along the way, we saw a small group of Marabou Storks flying overhead. We took a short walk around the nursery and got good views of Black Crake and Black-headed Oriole. We arrived at Skukuza Golf Club where we saw Grey and Goliath Herons, White-breasted Cormorants, African Darter, African Jacana, Pied and Giant Kingfishers, Speckled Mousebirds, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, African Pied Wagtail, Burchell’s Starling, Wire-tailed Swallow, African Dusky Flycatchers and Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove. We also had some great views of Hippopotamus and Nile Crocodiles. Our highlight of the day was finding a Lesser Jacana which does not normally occur in this part of South Africa. On our way back to Pretoriuskop we had an excellent view of two Spotted Eagle Owls perched on a tree not too far from the road, as well as Purple Rollers and Water Thick-knees. Back in Pretoriuskop, we took a walk around the camp, managing to see a tree full of Purple-crested Turacos and we were also very fortunate to see a juvenile Green Twinspot in the trees next to our chalets. Today, we made our way to Skukuza Rest Camp. As soon as we left Pretoriuskop, we passed the hyena den and had close views of one adult Hyena. Our next sighting was male Sable Antelope which crossed the road in front of the vehicle. There are Purple-crested Turaco by Gareth Robbins Trip Report - RBT Budget Eastern South Africa II July 2016 less than two hundred of these beautiful animals left in the park which made this sighting even more special. Between Pretoriuskop and Skukuza, we saw Brown-crowned Tchagra, Blue Waxbills, Cardinal Woodpecker, Tawny Eagle and Yellow-throated Petronias. At the small waterhole, we saw Grey Go-away-birds and a small group of Brown-headed Parrots drinking. We also managed to see a few more White Rhinoceros and a large herd of Buffalo. We then made a brief stop in Skukuza before heading further north in the park where we were very Sable Antelope by Stefan Johansson fortunate to get close views of two Lionesses with a cub as they crossed the road behind our car. A little further along the way, we saw a herd of Elephants and had fantastic looks at a Giant Eagle Owl sitting in a large tree. We then entered a drier area of the park where we saw Brown Snake-Eagle and a Lappet-faced Vulture in its nest. We arrived at Mlondozi Lookout Point where we saw a pair of Cardinal Woodpeckers as well as better views of a Long-billed Crombec. We left Mlondozi and headed the direction of Lower Sabie where we were very fortunate to see Red-crested Korhaan and the huge Kori Bustard. We crossed the Sabie River, seeing Goliath Heron, African Jacana, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Stork, Little Bee-eater, Pied Kingfisher and a brief glimpse of an African Black Duck flying past the vehicle. We stopped for lunch at Lower Sabie and walked around the camp, coming across Blue Waxbill, Spectacled Weaver, Black-collared Barbet, Southern Boubou, White- browed Robin-Chat, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Whiskered Tern, African Spoonbills, Little Egret, Grey-rumped Swallows and we even had a brief look at a Bearded- Woodpecker as it flew overhead. We then left Lower Sabie and made our way back to Skukuza. We stopped at Sunset Dam and had great views of Yellow-billed Storks, around fifty Water Thick-knees and a few White- crowned Lapwings. We then stopped to gaze at a Leopard that was sleeping in a tree, with two male Lions walking nearby. The leopard could not have cared less and a pile up of around 200 Leopard in tree by Stefan Johansson cars had suddenly appeared. Closer to Skukuza, we got a brief glimpse of a Little Sparrowhawk too. After a very successful day, we Trip Report - RBT Budget Eastern South Africa II July 2016 had a well-deserved meal at the local steak ranch in the camp. An interesting fact is that Skukuza means “he who sweeps clean” (James Stevenson Hamilton swept the area clean of poaching). Skukuza was the Tsonga name for James Stevenson-Hamilton, who was the park warden of the Sabie Nature Reserve which later became the Kruger National Park. Skukuza is also the administrative headquarters and main camp of the Kruger National Park. Today we left Skukuza before sunrise and headed in the direction of the Malelane Gate. We took a short detour to the Sabie River and saw Three- banded Plover and a Malachite Southern Ground Hornbill by Gareth Robbins Kingfisher. As the sun rose, we started to see a few birds, including White- browed Scrub-Robin, Cape Batis, Black-backed Puffback, along with a great sighting of a Grey-headed Bushshrike. As we continued, we came across a couple of bird parties. Within these parties were a Pearl-spotted Owlet, Yellow-fronted Canaries, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Golden-breasted Buntings, Brubru, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Yellow-throated Petronia and a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl. One of the highlights of this drive was the close views of Hippopotamus and a Violet-eared Waxbill. As we neared the Afsal Picnic Site, we came across four Southern Ground Hornbills, African Stonechats and a beautiful pair of Southern White-faced Owls as well as Dwarf and Slender Mongoose. We had a delicious roosterkoek (grilled roll) for lunch and then made our way to Pretoriuskop where we saw White-backed Vultures and a Spotted Hyena devouring the scraps of an animal carcass. After arriving in Pretoriuskop Rest Camp, we joined the Sunset Drive where we had good views of African Elephants sparring and a large herd of African Buffalo. We were also very fortunate to see a Serval in the tall grass. Little Sparrowhawk, Spotted Eagle Owl, Spotted Hyena, Scrub Hare and Common Duiker were also well observed. In total, we saw four different species of Owls in one day! Southern White-faced Owl by Gareth Robbins Our plan for the morning was to spend a few hours before breakfast birding the Pretoriuskop rest camp.
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