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Ken Borland



Punda Maria, Pafuri & Crooks Corner 0

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Ken

Crooks Corner - the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers

Crooks Corner – the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers

Crooks Corner, which provides an amazing diversity of birds thanks to the combination of tropical riverine forest and sandveld, is one of those mystical, frontier places where you expect anything to turn up and is the north-eastern tip of Kruger National Park, at the end of the S63 Luvuvhu River Drive.

The confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers is called Crooks Corner because it was here, where the borders of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique meet, that scoundrels and rogues of a century ago would hide out and merely skip across the sandbars into another country when justice came a-looking.

There’s always something interesting in the dense forest or along the rivers at Crooks Corner, but the surrounding area is also great for birds and having that sense of expectation that something unusual is lurking just around the next bend is always exciting.

Heading back from Crooks Corner, away from the rivers in the direction of the Pafuri Border Gate with Mozambique, the road goes through an area of open Lala Palm savanna and then into Mopane forest that is fringed by Fever Trees.

Some little pools had formed below these Fever Trees which I initially drove past. But a hunch – you must always follow them! – made me go back and study the inundated areas more closely.

There were some baboons foraging on the ground and there, perched on a stick rising about a metre above the ground, was the distinct shape of a tiny heron.

Closer examination revealed the scarce Dwarf Bittern – only the second one I’ve seen. (The first was at Ndumo, also on the edge of a quiet pool in a well-wooded area).

The Dwarf Bittern is famous for its nomadic lifestyle, arriving in a place after good rains have led to local flooding, having an uncanny ability to find such areas within days of them being inundated.

It’s an enigmatic, secretive bird – partly nocturnal – and a much sought-after but seldom-seen tropical visitor.

Being mid-January, there were plenty of other pools scattered around the sandveld and the sweetveld grasslands on basalt, and just before the S63 Luvuvhu River Drive, Yellowbilled and White Storks, Water Dikkop and Little Bee-Eater were congregated around the water-filled depressions.

Turning on to the S63, the hundreds of Whitebacked Vultures either in the trees or circling in the sky soon became evident. There were 66 in two adjacent dead trees alone, with a few Lappetfaced Vultures among them.

Lappetfaced Vulture on the S63

Lappetfaced Vulture on the S63

Longtailed Starlings scratching around, Whitefronted Bee-Eaters swooping off the banks of the river, the odd Whitecrowned Plover on the sandbanks and Greenbacked Heron are the other typical birds of the S63, while a juvenile African Hawk Eagle was flying above the riverine forest.

The grassland around the Lala Palm savanna boasted Whitewinged Widow and a Steelblue Widowfinch was in a Fever Tree on the fringes of the forest, where a group of stately Ground Hornbill were strolling along and a Gymnogene was quartering nearby.

The viewpoint at Crooks Corner offered up Pied Kingfisher and Greenshank, while a Giant Kingfisher was hunting in front of the Pafuri picnic site and a Great White Egret was in the Luvuvhu River. Looking over the river from the main bridge, Rock Martin (and not Brownthroated as you’d expect over water), Little Swift and Wiretailed Swallow were all zooming about, while a Tropical Boubou was on the bank.

The beautiful Melba Finch was in the Acacia thickets as I was leaving Pafuri, the road back to Punda Maria passing through undulating grasslands studded with Baobabs, where all sorts of interesting sightings have been made.

Klopperfontein is always worth visiting and there was a solitary Hippopotamus lying in the dam, while a male Knob-billed Duck and a younger bloke had some territorial skirmishes. Ruff, Redbilled Teal and African Jacana were the other waterbirds present, while European Roller, Swainson’s Francolin, European Bee-Eater, Longtailed Shrike, Pintailed Whydah and Redbacked Shrike are common in the grassland around the dam and drift.

The Amur Falcon is the most common raptor in this habitat and one was sitting quite low down doing some serious maintenance on its heavily-barred tail.

A pair of Whiteheaded Vulture flew overhead and Wahlberg’s Eagle was also patrolling around, but the most fascinating hunter in action was a European Cuckoo sitting on top of a low shrub. It somehow spotted a caterpillar at 90° from it, about five metres away, and immediately swooped on to it. From there it flew briefly into a tree to devour its favourite food before making another sortie on to some rocks and boulders to catch another caterpillar. For a normally shy bird, this was a wonderful sighting.

The H1-8 tar road goes through open savanna grassland with stunted Mopane and is good for raptors, with Steppe Buzzard and Brown Snake Eagle prominent on this occasion. A Striped Cuckoo also posed beautifully.

Heading back towards Punda Maria on the H13-1 takes one through mature Mopane forest and Purple Roller and a very confusing juvenile Blackchested Snake Eagle on top of a dead tree were seen. A small flock of Redbilled Helmetshrike flew into a Tree Mopane making their typical growling calls.

There are also patches of mixed woodland along the H13-1 and seemingly in the middle of this forest stood a gorgeous Saddlebilled Stork on an exposed branch. There must have been a spruit nearby, and the threatened member of the Avian Big Six looked mildly embarrassed by how beautiful it was with its combination of black, white, red and yellow.

Saddlebilled Stork up a tree!

Saddlebilled Stork up a tree!

Groundscraper Thrush was another bird which I did not expect to see high up on top of a dead tree, but perhaps the lack of short grass below forced it up into the heavens.

A Bennett’s Woodpecker and an African Hoopoe were together at a dead log, the Woodpecker on top and the Hoopoe at ground level.

A friendly female Bushbuck

A friendly female Bushbuck

Two lovely female bushbuck welcomed me back to camp after an idyllic day and Chinspot Batis, House Martin, Bateleur, Grey Hornbill, Blackbacked Puffback and Greybacked Camaroptera (on the Flycatcher trail behind the reception) are easily seen at Punda Maria, one of the best bird-watching camps in Kruger, an island of sandveld within the sea of Mopane. The camp also has a waterhole just outside the fence which has a marvellous hide overlooking it and Hamerkop, Marabou Stork, Bronze Mannikin and Common Waxbill (both feeding on the seeds of the rank vegetation around the water) were there, along with plenty of Buffalo, a few Elephant and some antelope.

The beautiful Gumbandebvu Hills and their magnificent sandveld woodlands surround Punda Maria and provide great birding. Driving around close to camp provided a flock of 15 Brownheaded Parrot and then numerous others of this threatened gem, indicating that many of the wonderful trees in the area were probably fruiting.

One of the big herds of Buffalo around Punda Maria was enjoying a marvellous mudbath – one individual was having such an awesome spa-day that it had all four feet in the air and was bellowing like a Lion!

The Buffalo having a wonderful spa-day in the mud!

The Buffalo having a wonderful spa-day in the mud!

Redbilled and Yellowbilled Oxpeckers were together with this herd, with the scarcer Yellowbilled tending to be on the young Buffalo and the Redbilled on the adults.

Redbilled Hornbill, Greater Kudu, Plumcoloured Starling, Nyala, Carmine Bee-Eater (using the telephone line in front of the staff quarters), and Blackheaded Oriole are also inhabitants of this beautiful area, which is most effectively explored by taking the circular Mahonie Loop (S99), one of my absolute favourite drives in Kruger.

All sorts of exotic calls ring out from the broadleafed woodland and a Whitebrowed Scrub Robin was on top of a tree, calling away, while a Jacobin Cuckoo was a bit more shy at the Witsand waterhole. Black Widowfinch, Green Pigeon, Browncrowned Tchagra, Paradise Flycatcher and Marabou Stork were also spotted.

The Dzundzwini Loop south-east of Punda Maria (S58) provides a break from the tall stands of Mopane with more marvellous mixed woodland.

A beautiful Woodland Kingfisher was sitting on a low shrub, unusually for a bird that is normally perched on trees, while another tropical intra-African migrant, the equally spectacular Broadbilled Roller, was up in the high branches as one would expect. Continuing the theme of weird birding pairs, a Crested Francolin was sitting in a bush with a whole bunch of Grey Louries!

Waterbuck and Tawny Eagle were present at the Dzundzwini Spring, marked by a big Sausage Tree at the base of the hill.

The H1-7 tar road that takes one from Punda Maria to Shingwedzi goes through a mixture of palm savanna and open Mopane shrubveld and a Blackcrowned Tchagra was singing beautifully, as only they can, while just a single Monotonous Lark was also calling away, perhaps trying to hail his mates.

The call of the Tawnyflanked Prinia was also heard all around the wetlands of the Shisha River System but a sighting was proving elusive until I finally spotted one in a Mopane tree.

Thulamila Koppie is a short drive from Punda Maria camp and again offers a mixture of woodland trees. The road to the top of the koppie – at 604m – is quite steep but it had been freshly graded on this day and Jameson’s Firefinch was amongst other finches and waxbills enjoying what had been thrown up by the maintenance team.

Sightings list

Elephant

Buffalo

House Martin

Bateleur

Grey Hornbill

Hamerkop

Rattling Cisticola

European Swallow

Brownheaded Parrot

Grey Lourie

Natal Francolin

Slender Mongoose

Forktailed Drongo

Yellowbilled Oxpecker

Redbilled Oxpecker

Greater Blue-Eared Starling

Redbilled Hornbill

Warthog

Cape Turtle Dove

Impala

Greater Kudu

Plumcoloured Starling

Nyala

Blackheaded Oriole

Plains Zebra

Common Rough-Scaled Plated Lizard

European Roller

Swainson’s Francolin

European Bee-Eater

Amur Falcon

Longtailed Shrike

Pintailed Whydah

Whiteheaded Vulture

Southern Masked Weaver

European Cuckoo

Redbilled Teal

Blacksmith Plover

Hippopotamus

African Fish Eagle

Knob-billed Duck

Grey Heron

Marsh Terrapin

Chacma Baboon

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Common Moorhen

African Jacana

Egyptian Goose

Redbacked Shrike

Laughing Dove

Steenbok

Blue Wildebeest

Cinnamonbreasted Rock Bunting

Steppe Buzzard

Brown Snake Eagle

Purple Roller

Blackchested Snake Eagle

Redbilled Helmetshrike

Saddlebilled Stork

Bushbuck

Chinspot Batis

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

Spotted Flycatcher

Striped Skink

Blackeyed Bulbul

Carmine Bee-Eater

Lilacbreasted Roller

Southern Yellowbilled Hornbill

Giraffe

White Helmetshrike

Groundscraper Thrush

Arrowmarked Babbler

African Hoopoe

Bennett’s Woodpecker

Redbilled Buffalo Weaver

Tree Squirrel

Woodland Kingfisher

Broadbilled Roller

Crested Francolin

Emeraldspotted Wood Dove

Redbilled Woodhoopoe

Whitebacked Vulture

Moreau’s Tropical House Gecko

Blackbacked Puffback

Brownhooded Kingfisher

Whitebrowed Scrub Robin

Yellowfronted Canary

Jacobin Cuckoo

Black Widowfinch

Green Pigeon

Browncrowned Tchagra

Paradise Flycatcher

Whitebellied Sunbird

Blue Waxbill

Marabou Stork

Bronze Mannikin

Common Waxbill

Vervet Monkey

Waterbuck

Tawny Eagle

Blackcrowned Tchagra

Tawnyflanked Prinia

Monotonous Lark

Crested Barbet

Striped Cuckoo

Longbilled Crombec

Water Dikkop

Little Bee-Eater

Yellowbilled Stork

Yellowbilled Kite

White Stork

Lesser Striped Swallow

Lappetfaced Vulture

Redeyed Dove

Longtailed Starling

Whitefronted Bee-Eater

Redbilled Quelea

Whitecrowned Plover

African Pied Wagtail

Common Sandpiper

African Hawk Eagle

Greenbacked Heron

Speckled Mousebird

Diederick Cuckoo

Whitewinged Widow

Nile Crocodile

Gymnogene

Hadeda Ibis

Threebanded Plover

Steelblue Widowfinch

Ground Hornbill

Pied Kingfisher

Greenshank

Dwarf Bittern

Giant Kingfisher

Great White Egret

Melba Finch

Leopard Tortoise

Ruff

Helmeted Guineafowl

Jameson’s Firefinch

Van Son’s Thicktoed Gecko

Burchell’s Coucal

Greybacked Camaroptera

Whitefaced Duck

Rock Martin

Little Swift

Wiretailed Swallow

Tropical Boubou

 

Punda Maria & Pafuri 2

Posted on July 01, 2014 by Ken

Impala ram resting on the Mahonie Loop

My favourite part of Kruger National Park is the far north – around Punda Maria and Pafuri. There is something mystical about this area, it has a very tropical feel with its diverse habitats and rich birdlife, featuring several rarities.

And so it seems entirely fitting that this area is one of two (the other being the Pilanesberg) where I have seen the mysterious Monotonous Lark, a little-known nomad that may or may not be an intra-African migrant because it only ever seems to be seen in Southern Africa in irruptions of breeding birds making their characteristic, persistent “for syrup is sweet” call. There seems to be no pattern to their movements, save for a link to above-average rainfall and even then, they’ll be present in an area in one year and totally absent the next.

It was also fitting that this mercurial bird was the last added to my list of 163 Kruger sightings on this trip.

As one heads out of Kruger Park via the Punda Gate, there is a little detour one can take to Thulamila Koppie, rising 604m above the mixed sandveld woodlands of the Punda Maria area. It’s a great vantage point to look out over the expansive plains to the east and south and it was from this spot that I watched the solar eclipse in 2002.

But the 3km drive to the top of the koppie also takes you through interesting birding habitat with the diverse vegetation featuring bushwillows, Marulas and Tree Mopanes. It’s ideal habitat for Monotonous Lark and sure enough, there they were calling away from the trees in the plain below the koppie.

The Purple Roller, a real lover of woodlands, was there as well and Crowned Hornbill was seen flying over before the turn-off to Thulamila.

The Punda Maria region is famous for its beautiful broadleafed woodlands, flourishing in an area that boasts the second-highest rainfall in the park (650mm per annum; compared to the 700-750mm in the relatively high altitudes of the rolling hills around Pretoriuskop in the south-west).

The Mahonie Loop is a fabulous drive around the hill that hosts Punda Maria camp, with a stunning diversity of trees growing in the sandveld and a concurrent multitude of birds.

Doing the loop counter-clockwise, the Dimbo stream is a profitable early spot. A pair of African Black Duck were in the shallow water, while Black Widowfinch was in the trees above.

There are plenty of Buffalo this far north and Redbilled Oxpecker was in attendance, while African Green Pigeon were enjoying the Jackal Berries. Longtailed Paradise Whydah was present on the south-western side of the loop.

Punda Maria camp is surrounded by Mopane, which is never the richest of birding habitats, so the camp provides an island of woodland habitat and is excellent for birding.

Heuglin’s Robin, resident in the thickets on old anthills, was somewhat frantically calling away and the cute Collared Sunbird were passing through as I returned from the Mahonie Loop. That night a Thicktailed Bushbaby came and visited my campsite, clambering along the trees above me at suppertime.

There is another dirt road to the east of the Mahonie Loop, the S60, which is also a beautiful route, great for birding. The S60 skirts the Gumbandebvu Hill and travels through wonderful subtropical sandveld woodland as well as mature Mopane forests, before reaching the open grasslands around Klopperfontein Drift, where many exciting sightings have been made.

White Helmetshrike is a regular on the slopes of Gumbandebvu, while the grasslands around Klopperfontein produced Western Redfooted Falcon, Dusky Lark, Amur Falcon, Martial Eagle and Browncrowned Tchagra. A Black Crake was pottering around the actual dam, where Diederik Cuckoo were also present.

Wiretailed Swallow on dead tree stump in Luvuvhu River

Beyond Klopperfontein, the undulating tar road (H1-8) takes one towards the sandstone ridges that signal the floodplains of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers, and Pafuri, probably the most famous birding spot in Kruger Park.

Pafuri is lushly vegetated with acacia woodland grading into fever tree forests and then thickening as one enters the tropical riverine forest.

The area has changed considerably, however, since my first visit in 1998. Since then the 2000 floods and elephant damage have thinned out the taller trees and thicker bushes, and lately the Nyala Drive, heading westwards, has been more profitable than the better-known drive eastwards to Crooks’ Corner.

Redbilled Helmetshrike, Longtailed Starling – a tropical African species that is rare in South Africa but far more common around Pafuri – Redheaded Weaver, Hooded Vulture, Brubru, Woollynecked Stork and screeching Brownheaded Parrots were good sightings along Nyala Drive.

Pafuri picnic site always throws up something interesting though and on this occasion Grey Penduline Tit was with the more common Tawnyflanked Prinia in the undergrowth.

There are some interesting pans north of the Luvuvhu River bridge along the H1-9 and Marsh Sandpiper was in attendance at one of these.

Sightings list

African Black Duck

Little Swift

Common Caco

Egyptian Goose

Leopard Tortoise

Forktailed Drongo

Black Widowfinch

Goldenbreasted Bunting

Redeyed Dove

Blackeyed Bulbul

Blue Waxbill

Cape Turtle Dove

Nyala

Yellowthroated Sparrow

European Swallow

Plains Zebra

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

Yellowfronted Canary

Redbilled Oxpecker

Rattling Cisticola

Grey Hornbill

Green Pigeon

Lilacbreasted Roller

Paradise Flycatcher

Impala

Laughing Dove

Crested Barbet

Greater Kudu

Crested Francolin

Brown Snake Eagle

Bushbuck

European Bee-Eater

Longtailed Paradise Whydah

Collared Sunbird

Grey Lourie

Redbilled Woodhoopoe

Woodland Kingfisher

Grey Duiker

Blackbacked Puffback

Vervet Monkey

Emeraldspotted Wood Dove

Heuglin’s Robin

White Helmetshrike

Southern Masked Weaver

Blacksmith Plover

Threebanded Plover

Whitewinged Widow

Spotted Flycatcher

Fantailed Cisticola

Western Redfooted Falcon

European Roller

Dusky Lark

Elephant

Yellowbilled Hornbill

Tawny Eagle

Amur Falcon

Swainson’s Francolin

Longtailed Shrike

Melba Finch

Crowned Plover

Cinnamonbreasted Rock Bunting

Bateleur

Whitebacked Vulture

Hadeda Ibis

Wattled Starling

Martial Eagle

Little Bee-Eater

Browncrowned Tchagra

Redbacked Shrike

Greater Blue-Eared Starling

Thicktailed Bushbaby

Burchell’s Coucal

Buffalo

Redbilled Buffalo Weaver

Boomslang

Redbilled Helmetshrike

Natal Francolin

Longtailed Starling

Giraffe

Whitefronted Bee-Eater

Tree Squirrel

Jacobin Cuckoo

Redheaded Weaver

Southern Black Flycatcher

Slender Mongoose

Hooded Vulture

Kurrichane Thrush

Brubru

Striped Cuckoo

Woollynecked Stork

Arrowmarked Babbler

Steelblue Widowfinch

Marabou Stork

Brownheaded Parrot

Whitebrowed Scrub Robin

Cardinal Woodpecker

Warthog

Grey Penduline Tit

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Tawnyflanked Prinia

Yellowbreasted Apalis

Marsh Sandpiper

Black Crake

Chacma Baboon

Carmine Bee-Eater

Wiretailed Swallow

Pied Kingfisher

Wood Sandpiper

Brownthroated Martin

Diederick Cuckoo

Hamerkop

Redbilled Firefinch

Nile Crocodile

Common Scimitarbill

Greenbacked Heron

African Hoopoe

Crowned Hornbill

Purple Roller

Glossy Starling

Monotonous Lark

 

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