Warren Resell Trip Report Kwa-Zulu Natal Private St Th 1 to 7 October 2014 (7 Days)
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Warren Resell Trip Report Kwa-Zulu Natal Private st th 1 to 7 October 2014 (7 days) Sentinel Rock Thrush by Heinz Ortmann Trip Report compiled by Tour Leader: Heinz Ortmann Trip Report - RBT Resell KwaZulu-Natal Private October 2014 2 Tour Summary This week-long tour through KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland and a small part of the highland kingdom of Lesotho covered a multitude of habitats in one of South Africa’s most diverse provinces. From the humid and sub-tropical eastern seaboard to the temperate and cool high altitude grasslands of the west, the birding was good throughout. Most of the migrants had not yet arrived, but we nevertheless managed a very decent 272 bird and 26 mammal species. Our tour began with us leaving our guesthouse in Johannesburg and heading through the Highveld region of Mpumalanga toward Swaziland. Grey-headed Gulls flew overhead as we left the greater Johannesburg metropolis and Spur-winged and Egyptian Geese, Black-headed Heron, Helmeted Guineafowl and Long-tailed Widowbirds were a common sight in the agricultural areas immediately to the east. The ploughed fields eventually began to give way to more natural secondary grassland, and with this came regular sightings of Black-winged Kite, Jackal Buzzard, Greater Striped Swallow, South African Cliff Swallow, Cape Longclaw and African Pipit. The Highveld is characterised by having many small pans and we had good views of Glossy Ibis, African Snipe, Common Greenshank, Cape Teal, Cape Shoveler and Yellow-billed Duck, to name but a few of the species we encountered. Ant- eating Chat, African Stonechat, Red-capped and Spike-heeled Larks were also in attendance in some of the drier grassland that we drove through. Yellow Mongoose and Common Duiker were two of the mammals occurring in these areas. Nearing Swaziland it became evident how the habitat began to change to an Acacia dominated thornveld woodland. A Cape Weaver colony noisily greeted us at the border post whilst Speckled Pigeons made use of the buildings for nesting. Once in Swaziland, and having passed through the hilly grassland around the capital and into the thornveld, we came across Brown-headed Parrot, African Cuckoo, Burchell’s Starling, Tawny Eagle, African Hoopoe, Crowned Hornbill, Lilac-breasted Roller, White-crested Helmetshrike and Marico and White-bellied Sunbirds. A small stream that we crossed had White-throated Swallow, White-rumped and African Palm Swifts, Burchell’s Coucal, and Southern Masked and Village Weavers. White-necked Ravens were present in the more mountainous areas of Swaziland and once back in South Africa we found a small group of Marabou Stork near the Pongola Game Reserve entrance. We arrived after dark at our accommodation near Mkuze, having seen Vervet Monkey, Nyala and Red Nyala bull at a waterhole by Heinz Ortmann Duiker in the area. Trip Report - RBT Resell KwaZulu-Natal Private October 2014 3 The following morning we planned on leaving very early to get to Mkuze Game Reserve, which was an hour’s drive to the north. However, the presence of Eastern Nicator and Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher in the parking lot of our accommodation did delay our departure, but not without good reason! A small pan en route to Mkuze GR had Common Ringed, Kittlitz’s and Three-banded Plovers, Little Stint, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper and African Spoonbill. Another stop along the road provided great views of Spectacled Weaver and African Green Pigeon. Muzi Pan just outside Mkuze GR had a surprisingly high water level for this time of year, with Greater Flamingo, Purple and Squacco Herons, Little Egret, African Jacana, Black-winged Stilt and Pied Avocet all present. Wire-tailed Swallow and Common House Martins were seen in a mixed flock of swallows, and nearby a pair of Red-breasted Swallows was building a nest in a roadside culvert. Mkuze GR has a checklist second only to the much, much larger Kruger National Park and is regarded by many to be the best birding spot in South Africa. At the entrance gate we had fantastic views of White-browed Robin-Chat, Lesser Striped Swallow, and Purple-banded and White-bellied Sunbirds. In the woodland areas were Green-winged Pytilia, Blue and Common Waxbills, Red-billed Firefinch, Pink- throated Twinspot, Yellow-throated Petronia, Grey Penduline Tit, Southern Black Tit, Long-billed Crombec, Burnt-neck Eremomela and Chinspot Batis in mixed bird parties, to name but a few. These bird parties also attracted the odd Grey Tit- and Ashy Flycatchers. Other birds regularly encountered during the day included Brubru, Common Scimitarbill, Yellow-fronted Canary, African Pied Wagtail, White-browed Scrub Robin, Grey-headed Bushshrike, Cardinal Woodpecker, Kurrichane Thrush, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove and Black-crowned Tchagra. White-backed and White-headed Vulture, as well as Bateleur, were seen soaring over the more open areas, with Yellow-throated Longclaw seen in the grasslands and Little Bee-eaters hawking insects close to the ground. Undoubtedly though the grassland highlight was a male Black-bellied Bustard doing its cork-popping display! Nsumo Pan in the south-eastern corner of the reserve had Pink- backed and Great White Pelicans, Goliath Heron, African Openbill, Woolly-necked and Yellow-billed Storks, and Whiskered Terns. Pied and Malachite Kingfishers sought their next meal in the shallower water, whilst African Fish Eagle and Western Osprey sat perched high up over the pan edge scanning for an opportunity to pounce on any unsuspecting fish below. Pods of Hippo were also common throughout the pan. The thicker woodland on the pan periphery had Dark-backed and Lesser Masked Weavers, and Scarlet-chested and Collared Sunbirds. Cuckoos were seen well including Red-chested, Klaas’s and Diederik. Although we didn’t manage to find any of the ‘Big 5’ mammals, we did have great views of Common Zebra, Nyala, Chacma Baboon, Common Warthog, Giraffe and Kudu. Leopard Tortoise, Marsh Terrapin and a few large Nile Crocodiles were the reptilian Giraffe by Glen Valentine highlights. We returned to our accommodation near Mkuze having had a fantastic experience that day. Trip Report - RBT Resell KwaZulu-Natal Private October 2014 4 The next morning we did some birding around the accommodation near Mkuze. Bearded Scrub Robin, Rudd’s Apalis, Square-tailed Drongo, Yellow-bellied and Sombre Greenbul, Yellow-breasted Apalis and Green-backed Camaroptera were all seen well. A group of Crested Guineafowl were also in attendance close to one of the rooms near the lodge. After breakfast we headed to St. Lucia via False Bay Park. Whilst there, we saw Red-capped Robin-Chat, Black Cuckooshrike, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, and Olive and Grey Sunbirds. In St. Lucia we had the pleasant surprise of a Shikra flying past and perch in a tree near the main road in town. The trail on the edge of town produced great views of Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Livingstone’s Turaco, African Yellow White-eye, Green Malkoha and Woodward’s Batis. In the afternoon we made our way along the eastern shores of Lake St. Lucia to Cape Woodward’s Batis by Glen Valentine Vidal. The grasslands contained Levaillant’s and Croaking Cisticola and we found a single Senegal Lapwing. This area of iSimangaliso Wetland Park has good numbers of large mammals and we encountered Bushbuck, Common Reedbuck, Red Duiker and White Rhinoceros. At the Cape Vidal campsite we saw Vervet and Samango Monkeys, and a group of close to sixty Banded Mongoose rampaging through some refuse bins. Reptiles that were found in the campsite area included Leopard Tortoise, Striped Skink and Moreau’s Tropical House Gecko. We left for Eshowe and the Dlinza Forest early the next morning. The forest birding was phenomenal! We had hardly set foot in the forest when we saw our first special for the day and one of our main targets, a pair of Spotted Ground Thrush! A short while later we had glimpsed an Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, watched a pair of Narina Trogon for almost half an hour, and had good views of two Green Malkohas. Other species seen well in the forest included Trumpeter Hornbill, Chorister Robin-Chat, Lemon Dove, Terrestrial Brownbul, Cape Batis, Olive Woodpecker, Grey Cuckooshrike, Scaly- throated Honeyguide, Purple-crested Turaco and Thick-billed Weaver. A brief glimpse of the diminutive Blue Duiker was all that we had in terms of mammals in the forest. With a long journey ahead we meandered through to the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and the lovely town of Howick. In the surrounding areas we found White-faced Whistling Duck, Fan-tailed Widowbird and Long-crested Eagle. The drive took us up toward the Drakensberg foothills and we had our first views of the lovely Grey Crowned Crane not far from our Purple-crested Turaco by Glen Valentine accommodation in the Himeville area. The next morning we were picked up by our local guide and we eagerly headed toward the Sani Pass road. On the way we made a few stops, finding Rock Kestrel, large numbers of Cape Canary, a pair of Lanner Falcon, a single Grey Rhebok and had a great view of a family of Cape Clawless Otter Trip Report - RBT Resell KwaZulu-Natal Private October 2014 5 frolicking in the water of one of the local dams. On this same dam we had good views of Great and Intermediate Egrets, Southern Pochard, Red-billed Teal and African Darter. Having seen all this we made our way to the bottom end of the pass. Birds on the way up the pass included Cape and Sentinel Rock Thrush, Black Saw-wing, Brown-throated and Rock Martins, Wailing Cisticola, African Yellow Warbler, Cape Grassbird, Fairy Flycatcher, Drakensberg Prinia, Brown-backed Honeybird, Ground Woodpecker, Streaky-headed Seedeater, Greater Double-collared and Malachite Sunbirds, Yellow Bishop, Red-throated Wryneck, and good views of Barratt’s Warbler.