Ken Borland

The Pilanesberg National Park is often not for the faint-hearted in mid-summer, especially if you set off during the heat of the day.

Thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Sun City and their Final Round golf day, I only managed to get into the park at midday and a boiling hot afternoon saw the temperature hover between 34° and 37 ° celsius.

On days like that, searching for waterbirds is often the best option and I headed from the eastern Manyane Gate to Ratlhogo Waterhole in the northern section of the park.

The waterhole was quiet, apart from a couple of Blacksmith Plovers hanging about … But there, behind the common Plovers was something different and a lot smaller …

It turned out to be a lone juvenile Ringed Plover pottering about in the shallow water … a bird I have not seen for some time.

On my way to Ratlhogo, I came across some Redbilled Oxpeckers on Impala, some lone Elephant, a Kalahari Scrub Robin and a Lesser Masked Weaver was a welcome sighting too. A Southern Boubou revealed himself in the thicker streamside vegetation, while the typical, but charming Pilanesberg birds like Familiar Chat and the sweet-calling Rufousnaped Lark were also spotted.

From there I headed for much-needed liquid refreshment at the Pilanesberg Centre and their grossly overpriced shop. It was quite busy with birds, though, including a nice sighting of a Diederick Cuckoo, and from there I headed for Mankwe Dam.

A Greenbacked Heron was found sheltering in one of the quieter tributaries, while Horus Swift and Yellowbilled Egret were two less commonly seen birds. Three species of duck – Yellowbilled, African Black and Whitefaced – were at the dam as was a solitary needle-billed Marsh Sandpiper, along with Yellowbilled Stork.

Heading towards the Bakubung exit, Marabou Stork were having their usual congregation at Lengau Dam and, surprisingly considering the temperature, I finished the afternoon jaunt with a respectable 57 species of bird.

 

Sightings list

Greater Striped Swallow

Plains Zebra

Helmeted Guineafowl

Familiar Chat

Blue Wildebeest

Warthog

European Swallow

Laughing Dove

Impala

Redbilled Oxpecker

Elephant

Pied Crow

Rufousnaped Lark

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Glossy Starling

Lesser Masked Weaver

Egyptian Goose

Waterbuck

Cape Turtle Dove

Goldenbreasted Bunting

Blackeyed Bulbul

Southern Boubou

Forktailed Drongo

Blacksmith Plover

Ringed Plover

Southern Yellowbilled Hornbill

European Bee-Eater

Springbok

Sabota Lark

Giraffe

House Sparrow

Southern Masked Weaver

Vervet Monkey

Cape Wagtail

Redwinged Starling

Diederick Cuckoo

Greenbacked Heron

Horus Swift

Nile Crocodile

Common Moorhen

Pied Kingfisher

Yellowbilled Egret

Threebanded Plover

Marsh Terrapin

Reed Cormorant

African Jacana

Black Crake

African Darter

Grey Heron

Yellowbilled Duck

Dabchick

African Black Duck

Great White Egret

Whitefaced Duck

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

Marsh Sandpiper

Yellowbilled Stork

Hippopotamus

African Fish Eagle

Lesser Striped Swallow

Redeyed Dove

Whitethroated Swallow

Common Waxbill

Nile Monitor

Slender Mongoose

Kurrichane Thrush

Grey Lourie

Marabou Stork

Chacma Baboon

Southern Black Flycatcher

 

There’s something mystical about the North Pongola riverine forest at Ndumo Game Reserve.

Walking through the tropical forest, dominated by magnificent Sycamore Figs and their impressive buttresses, there is an air of expectancy in the shady, cool interior that something rare is just around the corner. The only sounds are those of the birds going about their business and the occasional Hippo in the river.

Maybe it’s because of its location on the border with Mozambique, but Ndumo is one of those exotic places where I always expect the unusual.

And a guided walk through the North Pongola riverine forest almost always throws up something special.

On this occasion it produced a couple of specials.

One of the features of Ndumo is the brilliant skills of their guides. Utterly professional, charming and with such huge knowledge and pride in their special corner of the country, if you’re looking for that elusive Lifer, they’ll be your best bet to find it!

Their ability to mimic bird calls is second to none and our guide quickly called up a Redfronted Tinker Barbet. Although these little gems call for hour after hour, even through the stifling heat of the day, it’s usually from the top of leafy trees and they are very difficult to see unless you can call them down to the lower branches.

Blackbellied Starling was found on the edge of the forest, while we were slapping our legs from the hordes of mosquitos [apparently there are 66 different species of the winged terrors at Ndumo!), followed by a Yellowbilled Stork flying over to one of the pans.

Our guide then turned his attention to the rather distant sound of a Narina Trogon hooting. His determination to find this beautiful bird was impressive as we turned this way and that, backtracked a couple of times, and there he was, sitting high on a branch. I saw him for just an instant, but Stidy had a good view.

The other special was African Finfoot, a pair exploding down the river as the trail cuts close to the bank, but fortunately well above it given that Hippo are around and the biggest Nile Crocodiles I have ever seen are along that stretch of water.

One bird you are unlikely to see on the North Pongola walk though is the Gorgeous Bush Shrike, a clear rival for the dazzling beauty of the Trogon and, if anything, even harder to spot.

For that, your best bet is driving through the thick, spiky tangles of the Mahemane Bush/sand forest. Having heard several calls on the previous day, I eventually spotted one crawling through the thicket close to the road. The stunning red, black, green and yellow beauty sat a couple of times in little openings, providing one of the better sightings I’ve had of one of my favourite birds.

Ndumo also boasts some wonderful woodland, particularly on the road to camp and we picked up Striped Kingfisher early on, followed by another beauty, Plumcoloured Starling, Purplecrested Lourie, Gymnogene, Browncrowned Tchagra, Crested Guineafowl, Purplebanded Sunbird, Little Sparrowhawk, Black Cuckoo and Tambourine Dove. White Helmetshrike is also almost always along that road, going up or down the hill full of Silver Clusterleaf trees.

Nyamithi Pan was pretty full after all the recent rain, cutting down on numbers of birds, but we still picked up Goliath Heron, Glossy Ibis, Purple Heron, Yellow Weaver, Squacco Heron, African Spoonbill and Openbilled Stork. Wiretailed Swallows had a nest in Ezulwini Hide and were busy feeding four chicks.

The second hide, near the low-level bridge, was much-changed from previous years, with the bank in front of the hide having washed away and it was not as productive as in the past.

A Large-Spotted Genet visited camp in the evening and the next morning we headed off to Red Cliffs, a favourite spot overlooking the Usuthu River and the borders of Mozambique and Swaziland. Along the way, we picked up Bluemantled Flycatcher and Natal and Bearded Robins in the thick sand forest, while Black Saw-Wing Swallows were flying around the Red Cliffs picnic site.

Pale Flycatcher and Bateleur were spotted on the Manzimbomvu Loop through the south-western Acacia woodland, while Green Pigeon was in the trees at the NRIC picnic site.

Grey Penduline Tit was also a welcome little visitor to our camp, while the much larger Great Eastern White Pelican also flew over.

One of the other mysterious things about Ndumo is how, on every trip, something very common seems to be missed! On the final morning, Yellowbreasted Apalis, which is normally all over camp in the hedges, finally made its appearance and Cardinal Woodpecker was another common bird which just snuck on to the list before we finally exited one of the places that is truly great for the soul.

 

Sightings list

Nyala

Emeraldspotted Wood Dove

Goldenbreasted Bunting

Blackeyed Bulbul

Kurrichane Thrush

Striped Kingfisher

Impala

Vervet Monkey

Diederick Cuckoo

Yellowthroated Sparrow

Blackbacked Puffback

Chinspot Batis

Plumcoloured Starling

Purplecrested Lourie

Whitebrowed Scrub Robin

Brownhooded Kingfisher

Cattle Egret

Goliath Heron

European Swallow

African Darter

Reed Cormorant

Glossy Ibis

Egyptian Goose

Trumpeter Hornbill

Grey Heron

Purple Heron

Yellow Weaver

Squacco Heron

African Jacana

Hadeda Ibis

Nile Crocodile

African Fish Eagle

Spurwinged Goose

African Spoonbill

Whitefaced Duck

Openbilled Stork

Little Egret

Pied Kingfisher

Hippopotamus

Great White Egret

Hamerkop

Wiretailed Swallow

Scrub Hare

Giraffe

Spotted Dikkop

Blue Wildebeest

Large-Spotted Genet

Lesser Striped Swallow

Gymnogene

Forktailed Drongo

Redeyed Dove

Browncrowned Tchagra

Blue Waxbill

Crested Guineafowl

Yellowfronted Canary

European Bee-Eater

Whitewinged Widow

Warthog

Bluemantled Flycatcher

Natal Robin

Banded Mongoose

Whitebellied Sunbird

Bearded Robin

Gorgeous Bush Shrike

Rattling Cisticola

Southern Black Flycatcher

Redchested Cuckoo

Sombre Bulbul

Collared Sunbird

Purplebanded Sunbird

Glossy Starling

Black Saw-Wing Swallow

Spottedbacked Weaver

Bateleur

Greenbacked Camaroptera

Marsh Terrapin

Steppe Buzzard

Crested Francolin

White Helmetshrike

Little Swift

Blackcollared Barbet

Little Sparrowhawk

Striped Skink

Crowned Plover

Pale Flycatcher

Cinnamonbreasted Rock Bunting

Sabota Lark

Speckled Mousebird

Redbilled Woodhoopoe

Common Duiker

Green Pigeon

Nile Monitor

Red Duiker

Woollynecked Stork

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

Redfronted Tinker Barbet

Blackbellied Starling

Yellowbilled Stork

Narina Trogon

Bluegrey Flycatcher

Buffalo

Sacred Ibis

Squaretailed Drongo

African Finfoot

Forest Weaver

Whitebacked Vulture

Black Kite

Grey Penduline Tit

African Hoopoe

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Great Eastern White Pelican

African Pied Wagtail

Wood Sandpiper

Dark Chanting Goshawk

Thickbilled Weaver

Longbilled Crombec

Abdim’s Stork

Malachite Kingfisher

Black Cuckoo

Slender Mongoose

Tambourine Dove

Yellowbreasted Apalis

Cardinal Woodpecker

 

My second trip to Bonamanzi – situated between Lake St Lucia and Hluhluwe – saw me armed with my newly-acquired 4×4, a Hyundai Tucson 2.0 diesel automatic, which I call the Serval, but my wife calls Catalina.

Sadly, Lauren could not get leave to join me on this trip (she is forced to take leave over Christmas when her company is closed, which is most unfair I believe) so I was accompanied by Stidy, the renown cartoonist, my long-time birding mate and the sharer of many dramatic adventures with me.

Stidy was particularly pleased that I now had a 4×4 to ferry him around in, because it allowed me to track down a lifer for him – Lemonbreasted Canary.

Next to the entrance gate at Bonamanzi is a little track heading northwards along the boundary fence, into some pristine Lala Palm Savanna, the perfect habitat for the little canary Stidy was so eager to get … particularly since he had missed the ones I saw several years earlier heading into Crook’s Corner at Pafuri in the Kruger National Park!

But, given the amount of rain that had fallen in Zululand in October and November, this track was something of a quagmire … ideal to test out the capabilities of my new 4×4!

Marico Sunbird was a nice first sighting heading down the track and some Lesser Blackwinged Plover gave us a foretaste of the more exotic treat to come.

And there they were: Half-a-dozen Lemonbreasted Canaries cavorting on the trees hanging over the boundary fence. I allowed Stidy the agony of convincing me that they weren’t just washed out juvenile Yellowfronted Canaries, but there was no denying the greyish backs and the cute little black-and-white face patches.

It was a fortunate sighting because, shortly thereafter, the track disappeared beneath a large, muddy pool. Walking through it, I quickly became mired in the mud and there was no way I was going to risk the Serval ploughing through that and getting stuck on her first real outing!

It seemed harder, more slippery going on the way back … mostly because Borland forgot to engage the 4×4 properly! Sigh … must have been all the excitement of the canaries!

It was only the next day when we discovered we weren’t meant to be on the track at all … the No Entry sign had disappeared at the start, which perhaps explained the perplexed look of the guard at the main gate as we ducked off down the road.

Bonamanzi has a couple of the best camping sites I have ever had the pleasure of staying in and fortunately we were allocated the same one as on my previous visit – beautifully tucked away in the sand forest with your own ablutions and scullery.

That makes birding highly rewarding even when sitting on your camp chair and Yellowbellied Bulbul, Crested Guineafowl and Forest Weaver were all seen close to home.

On the second morning, Redchested Cuckoo obliged us with some lovely views and a Greyheaded Bush Shrike came to visit as well, while we also picked up Bluegrey Flycatcher.

There is a fantastic dam just below the main office block, which is fenced off because of the large Nile Crocodiles that lurk ominously therein. The island in the dam was frantic with three species of weaver nesting – Thickbilled, Lesser Masked and Yellow – and they were predictably attended by Diederick Cuckoo.

We also picked up Blackcrowned Night Heron, Water Dikkop, African Jacana, Black Crake and African Spoonbill. The facilities include a wonderful wooden walkway over a portion of the dam leading to a functions area, where we took shelter from a sudden squall and picked up House Martin and Lesser Striped Swallow.

Once it cleared, we then had our lunch under the Fever Trees, next to the crocodile enclosure. One of them took a liking to me and gradually inched its way closer to the fence and me … it was close enough for me to hear the malevolent hissing of the ancient reptile.

We then went on a good long walk that took in a couple of hides and waterholes, returning back to the main camp through the sand forest, and picked up Natal Robin, Purplecrested Lourie, Woollynecked Stork, Bearded Robin, Purplebanded Sunbird, Wahlberg’s Eagle and Malachite Kingfisher.

Back at camp and after dinner, I tracked down a pair of Wood Owl calling near our camp, enjoying the sense of natural wildness as I then turned off my spotlight and stood under the tree from which they were hu-hu-hooting.

Our last morning was spent driving through the myriad of tracks through the sand forest and some determined birding rewarded us with sightings of Sombre Bulbul, Yellowbreasted Apalis, Southern Boubou, Yellowspotted Nicator, Pale Flycatcher and Greater Honeyguide, all of which had been calling and calling but had evaded being actually seen.

The Nicator was an especially good sighting as he sat on the outer edge of a thick clump of bush, chuckling away beautifully.

Bonamanzi is that kind of place … exotic, beautiful and rapidly becoming a firm favourite of mine.

The other great thing about Bonamanzi is that although there are Vervet Monkey around, they are very well-behaved ones that never bother your campsite!

 

Sightings list

Nyala

Yellowbellied Bulbul

Blackbacked Puffback

Crowned Hornbill

Crested Guineafowl

Goldenbreasted Bunting

Kurrichane Thrush

Forktailed Drongo

Red Duiker

Terrestrial Bulbul

Yellowbilled Kite

Yellow Weaver

European Swallow

Little Swift

Forest Weaver

Moreau’s Tropical House Gecko

Redchested Cuckoo

Greyheaded Bush Shrike

Blackbellied Starling

Squaretailed Drongo

Bluegrey Flycatcher

Impala

Grey Heron

Thickbilled Weaver

Lesser Masked Weaver

Nile Crocodile

Blackcrowned Night Heron

Diederick Cuckoo

Water Dikkop

Yellowthroated Sparrow

African Jacana

Egyptian Goose

Black Crake

Redeyed Dove

African Spoonbill

Warthog

Hadeda Ibis

African Pied Wagtail

House Martin

Lesser Striped Swallow

Natal Robin

Purplecrested Lourie

Woollynecked Stork

Great White Egret

Whitefaced Duck

Blue Waxbill

European Bee-Eater

Speckled Mousebird

Blackeyed Bulbul

Marico Sunbird

Crowned Plover

Lesser Blackwinged Plover

Blue Wildebeest

Glossy Starling

Lemonbreasted Canary

Common Waxbill

Bearded Robin

Emeraldspotted Wood Dove

Goldentailed Woodpecker

Brownhooded Kingfisher

African Fish Eagle

Purplebanded Sunbird

Greenbacked Camaroptera

Rattling Cisticola

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Malachite Kingfisher

Collared Sunbird

Hamerkop

African Palm Swift

Southern Masked Weaver

Spottedbacked Weaver

Wood Owl

Foam Nest Frog

Sombre Bulbul

Yellowbreasted Apalis

Southern Boubou

Yellowspotted Nicator

Steppe Buzzard

Pale Flycatcher

Greater Honeyguide

Paradise Flycatcher

–

Looking out over the Amatikulu Estuary, its confluence with the Nyoni and beyond that the Indian Ocean, one was struck by an enormous sense of tranquility as we enjoyed the scenery from the tented camp on the hill.

Twelve hours later, that tranquility had been replaced by what felt like a raging hurricane as we tried to pack up camp after our two nights at Amatikulu Nature Reserve. Situated so close to the coast, we were bombarded by squalls that raced up from the south, bringing howling wind and heavy rain.

While the weather had been against us in terms of birding, we still enjoyed a fabulous stay and were most impressed by Amatikulu.

My first sighting arriving after the long drive from Johannesburg to the reserve, situated about 100km north of Durban and just above the mouth of the Tugela River, was of a Vervet Monkey. Fortunately, Amatikulu is one of the few places that has well-behaved monkeys and they did not trouble our camp at all!

A Wild Plum was the centrepiece of the campsite and in the morning we were greeted by a flock of Blackbellied Starlings foraging in it.

Our first morning consisted of doing the lengthy forest trail over the next hill and down to the estuary. We quickly picked up a Bluegrey Flycatcher and soon we were admiring the idyllic dune forest and that wet smell that came from the rather swampy conditions after all the recent rain. A stream also runs through the forest and we were impressed by a large stand of trees with their roots in the stream, which reminded me of banyan trees in India. (I wish I knew trees better, these had long, straight trunks and big glossy leaves if anyone can help with identification!)

Another notable forest tree was Tabernaemontana ventricosa, the Forest Toad Tree, with its beautiful five-star, helix-shaped, creamy white flowers.

An Eastern Olive Sunbird was chip-chipping away in the higher foliage but we managed to track him down, while Thickbilled Weavers were down on the forest floor even though the breeding season was surely underway.

Down we went through the beautiful forest until we came out on the river bank, from where we walked a few hundred metres to where the Amatikulu reached the Nyoni. Sitting down for a bite to eat, we were joined on a little sandbank by a delightful little Sanderling, as well as Whitefronted Plover and Common Sandpiper.

Towards the other end of the estuary, peeking above a sandbank, we spotted the distinctive heads and bills of a few Whimbrel. As pleased as we were to see them, we decided against wading across to their side because the river looked fairly deep and there are crocodiles about!

This did not deter a couple of locals from their handfishing in the estuary, which just adds to the sense of stepping back into a time when the Natal coast was not just holiday resorts.

Heading back to the picnic site, we picked up White-Eared Barbet and then Squaretailed Drongo, Blackbacked Puffback and Forest Weaver were waiting for us back at camp.

The afternoon, interspersed with showers, was spent doing the 4×4 trail through the hilly coastal grassland with patches of forest and Lala Palms.

It was prime habitat for Croaking Cisticola and he was our first tick on the afternoon drive, quickly followed by Yellowthroated Longclaw. A Longcrested Eagle came zooming over and Yellow Weavers were busy in one of the trees along the route.

Spectacled Weaver was also around and, although the swampy area around the Nyoni Pan looked very promising, it didn’t provide anything unusual.

Redbilled Oxpeckers were on a female group of Greater Kudu and we finally tracked down Natal Robin just before sunset.

In between squalls on the final morning, a visit to the ablutions turned up a Pygmy Kingfisher sitting briefly on a branch right by the door.

It was a great way to end a trip which pretty much blew us away in both senses of the phrase!

Sightings list

Vervet Monkey

Plains Zebra

Blackbellied Starling

Bluegrey Flycatcher

Whitefronted Bee-Eater

Blackeyed Bulbul

Redshouldered Widow

Redcollared Widow

Eastern Olive Sunbird

Sombre Bulbul

Thickbilled Weaver

Collared Sunbird

Pied Kingfisher

Egyptian Goose

Reed Cormorant

Great White Egret

Whitebreasted Cormorant

Common Sandpiper

Whitefronted Plover

Sanderling

Whimbrel

Yellowbilled Duck

European Swallow

White-Eared Barbet

African Pied Wagtail

Squaretailed Drongo

Blackbacked Puffback

Forest Weaver

Croaking Cisticola

Yellowthroated Longclaw

Giraffe

Longcrested Eagle

Yellow Weaver

Little Bee-Eater

Spectacled Weaver

Common Moorhen

Grey Heron

African Jacana

Scarletchested Sunbird

Greater Kudu

Redbilled Oxpecker

Redeyed Dove

Natal Robin

Red Duiker

Pygmy Kingfisher