Birding Southern Zululand Tour Southern Zululand KwaZuluKwaZulu----NatalNatal Province Durban Bayhead Mangrove, Pigeon Valley Park, Beachwood Mangrove, Umhlanga Conservancy and Waste Water Treatment Works, Sappi Stanger Bird Hide, Ongoye Forest, Umlalazi NR, Mtunzini, Dlinza Forest and Richards Bay January – December 2019 5 days 1 ITINERARY SOUTHERN ZULULAND Days Destination Summary Day 1 & 2 Durban Bayhead, Arrive Durban and transfer to Hotel Pigeon Valley, (Overnight) Beachwood Mangrove, Early morning visit Birding hotspots Durban Umhlanga, and surrounds. Sappi Stanger Afternoon visit Sappi Stanger Bird Hide. Overnight at Hotel Mtunzini Day 3 Ongoye Forest, Early morning birding Ongoye Forest, Dlinza Forest, Dlinza Forest and Nkandla Forest. Nkandla Forest Overnight at Hotel Mtunzini Day 4 Mtunzini area, Birding Mtunzini area, Amatikulu Nature Amatikulu N R, Reserve and Umlalazi Nature Reserve. Umlalazi NR Overnight at Hotel Mtunzini Day 5 Richards Bay Early morning birding on route to Richards Bay. Birding Richards Bay estuarine system and Casuarina beach. Bird areas on route home if time permits. Late afternoon depart for Durban 2 Day 1 & 2 : Birding Durban Area – Sappi Wetlands Stanger. Day 1 - Durban Arrival Durban – transport to Blue Waters Hotel on the beachfront. Afternoon at leisure. Evening Dinner with your guide and host. Overnight Hotel Durban Durban is located on the east coast of South Africa, looking out upon the warm waters of the Indian Ocean . The city lies at the mouth of the Umgeni River which demarcates parts of Durban's north city limit, while other sections of the river flow through the city itself. Durban has a natural harbour, the busiest port in South Africa and is the 4th-busiest in the Southern hemisphere. Day 2 – Birding Durban Area Early morning birding Pigeon Valley is a Natural Heritage Park . It is an unusual example of an urban reserve with high levels of biodiversity. Bayhead Natural Heritage Site, Durban Bay Bayhead Natural Heritage Site protects some of the last remaining and most accessible estuarine tidal flats in Durban Bay. An astonishing 120 or so species of aquatic birds have been recorded in Durban Bay, and a single visit is likely to reveal about 30-50 species. Umgeni River Mouth and Beachwood Mangroves The Umgeni River Mouth is one of the most easily accessible and popular birding spot in Durban. Within the mangrove reserve there are three main habitats. The dune scrub supports a limited number of species such as Square-tailed Nightjar , White-fronted Plover , Little Bee- eater and Southern Tchagra . Birding in the mangroves themselves is relatively poor, but patience will be rewarded with views of Black- throated Wattle-eye , Purple-banded Sunbird , and if you are lucky in winter, Mangrove Kingfisher . The fringing grasslands and reed beds are populated by Red-faced Cisticola , Rattling Cisticola and Rufous-winged Cisticola . Sappi Stanger Bird Hide The Sappi-Stanger Bird Hide is situated just off the N2 at Stanger, 70km north of Durban. The hide overlooks a large settling pond which is mostly covered by reeds and rafts of water hyacinth. A variety of wader and waterfowl species are attracted in fairly large numbers, and the hide provides opportunity to view a number of difficult wetland species. Specials Goliath Heron , Baillons Crake , Black Crake , Greater Painted-snipe , Yellow Wagtail (in summer), Little Rush-Warbler , Lesser Swamp- Warbler , Sedge Warbler , African Marsh-Harrier , Southern Brown- throated Weaver , and Black-throated Wattle-eye . Recorded vagrants include Spotted Crake , Lesser Moorhen and Pectoral Sandpiper . Proceed to Mtunzini Overnight at Lodge 3 Day 3 : Ongoye Forest, Dlinza Forest, Nkandla Forest. Ongoye Forest Ongoye Forest is situated about 150km north of Durban, just inland from Mtunzini. It is a large remnant patch of coastal forest and stretches for about 20 km along a ridge of hills between Eshowe and Empangeni. It is the only place to see Green Barbet in Southern Africa. Birds Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon , Lemon Dove , African Emerald Cuckoo , Narina Trogon , Grey Cuckooshrike , Yellow-streaked Greenbul , Spotted Ground Thrush , Brown Scrub Robin , Blue- mantled Crested Flycatcher , Green Twinspot , Mountain Wagtail Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon , Crowned Eagle , Black-chested Snake Green Barbet Grey Cuckooshrike Eagle , Striped Pipit and Plain-backed Pipit Black-rumped Buttonquail in the grasslands, and African Pygmy Goose nest holes. Dlinza Forest is situated to the south-west of Eshowe. This beautiful piece of forest covers an area of 250ha and due to its easy access and sought-after species, is one of southern Africa's prime forest birding spots. An average morning should provide about 35 good quality birding species. Bronze-naped Pigeon Striped Pipit Emerald Cuckoo Probably best known for providing birders with the opportunity to view the Spotted Ground- Thrush , the forest also offers Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon , Green Malkoha , Olive Woodpecker and Green Twinspot , the latter for which a hide has been erected. Other species such as African Crowned Eagle , Narina Trogon , Trumpeter Hornbill , Crowned Hornbill , Chorister Robin-Chat , Terrestrial Brownbul and Lemon Dove . The Nkandla Forest comprises 1 600ha of climax Mistbelt forest and is one of the most outstanding examples in South Africa which lie above the Umhlathuze and Thukela Rivers. Streams rising in the forest form deep gorges leading into the Nsuze River. The Nkandla forest area is home to some 147 bird species. Species more typical of cooler forests include Knysna Turaco, Orange Ground Thrush, White-starred Robin, Bush Blackcap, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Grey Cuckoo- Shrike and Forest Canary . These birds are present throughout the forest, although the thrush is best seen along “Thrush Alley”. Other species include Olive Bush Shrike, Collared and Olive Sunbirds, Swee Waxbill, African Emerald and Black Cuckoos, African Crowned Eagle, Black Sparrowhawk, Buff-spotted Flufftail, Chorister Robin-Chat, Trumpeter Hornbill and Dark-backed Weaver . Orange Ground Thrush Trumpeter Hornbill Olive Woodpecker Yellow throated Woodland Warbler 4 Overnight at Lodge Day 4 : Mtunzini, Amatikulu NR, Umlalazi NR Mtunzini This small Zululand town and surrounds attracts numerous bird species to a large cross-section of habitats. River mouths and lagoons, coastal and swamp forest, mangroves, grasslands and woodlands are all represented, and there is a stand of large raffia palms which were planted many years ago and have since been declared a national monument. Specials Palm-nut Vulture , Spotted Ground-Thrush , Mangrove Kingfisher (winter), Black-throated Wattle-eye , White-eared Barbet , Purple-banded Sunbird , Gorgeous Bush-Shrike , Green Twinspot , Narina Trogon , Yellow- rumped Tinkerbird , Woolly-necked Stork . Palm-nut Vulture Mangrove Kingfisher Gorgeous Bushshrike Green Twinspot White-eared Barbet Amatikulu Nature Reserve This small reserve (2 100 ha) is situated about 100km north of Durban. It is one of the few places in southern Africa where wildlife can be viewed feeding on forested dunes overlooking the sea. It occupies a narrow strip along the coast, reaching a maximum width of 3km and a length of 20km. Despite its size, the reserve contains many different habitats (including coastal, riparian and dune forest, grassland, Lala palm bushveld, an estuary and a freshwater pan) which has resulted in a checklist of over 300 birds. The reserve lies at the confluence of the Amatikulu and Nyoni Rivers, the latter running uniquely parallel to the Indian Ocean for about 8km. Specials Dwarf Bittern , Crested Guineafowl , Green Malkoha , Swamp Nightjar , White-fronted Bee-eater , Olive Woodpecker , Black-throated Wattle-eye , Gorgeous Bush-Shrike , Green Twinspot , Grey Waxbill . Crested Guineafowl African Finfoot Swamp Nightjar African Pygmy Kingfisher Grey Waxbill Umlalazi Nature Reserve Alongside the Umlalazi lagoon a large stand of mangroves may just yield the elusive Mangrove Kingfisher and African Finfoot . The lagoon is home to a few pairs of, Woolly-necked Stork , African Fish-Eagle , Long-crested Eagle and a number of kingfishers. Black-chested Snake-Eagle , Palm-nut Vulture and Osprey are also seen occasionally. In the reed beds are Dark-capped Yellow Warbler (winter) and Red-faced Cisticola . As well as African Pygmy-Kingfisher , Black- throated Wattle-eye , White-eared Barbet and of course the magnificent Palm-nut Vulture which nest and feed on the huge Raffia Palms. 5 Overnight at Lodge Day 5: Richards Bay – Durban Richards Bay Area Richards Bay is one of South Africa’s top water bird areas. The habitats vary from Thornveld, Papyrus swamps, open freshwater lakes, Mangroves, Dune forest to mudflats, open sea and sandbanks. Over 350 bird species occur in the Richards Bay area, 73% of South Africa’s red data book species and 24 National Rarities have been recorded here. Specials Include African Pygmy-Goose , Greater Sand Plover , Red Knot , Bar-tailed Godwit , Eurasian Curlew , Collared Pratincole , Lesser Crested Tern , Blue-cheeked Bee-eater , Black-throated Wattle-eye , Green Malkoha . For the tern and wader enthusiast, Richards Bay is hard to beat. In summer, the mudflats teem with shorebirds including a number of species that are difficult to see elsewhere on the east coast: Greater Sand Plover , Red Knot , Terek Sandpiper , Bar-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Curlew . Lesser Sand Plover and Broad-billed Sandpiper are annual in small numbers, and Crab Plover have been seen