Ken Borland

Birding in the arid north-western reaches of the Limpopo Province is much more profitable when there are rivers around and the Limpokwena Nature Reserve is a case in point.

Situated where the Limpopo and Mogalakwena rivers meet, Limpokwena is like a bushveld oasis in the vast stony plains of Mopane scrub that dominate the region.

The well-equipped lodge area is a place of tremendous tranquility under the fever and sausage trees and, from the reserve entrance to the main camp, there is a road along the Mogalakwena River that provides a foretaste of the marvellous birdlife that is to come.

There are lovely massive trees along this major tributary of the Limpopo, which marks the border between South Africa and – from west to east – Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Mogalakwena starts life as the Nyl River in the eastern Waterberg.

A morning drive along the Mogalakwena River brought something special early on as the bright yellow flash of a Goldenbreasted Bunting flying into a tree next to the river caught my eye, closely followed by a Greyheaded Kingfisher alighting in the same dead branches.

Not far from where I spotted the Greyheaded Kingfisher, an intra-African migrant that is always a good sighting, the road passes a beautiful spot with the Mogalakwena on the one side and a big pond on the other, surrounded by very pleasant riverine forest.

A Malachite Kingfisher, a year-round resident, was catching breakfast in the pond and creating ripples that disturbed the serene reflection of trees and clear blue sky in the water.

A little further on, a handful of Blackfaced Waxbill were feeding on the seeds of the tall grass, that is so prevalent in March in the Limpopo River Valley, and then flying up into the remains of a thorn tree. These typical seed-eaters of the arid west nest in thorn trees.

Blackfaced Waxbill are pretty unobtrusive little birds, the antithesis of the raucous Hadeda Ibis.

But my first sighting of these very familiar birds that are normally quick to announce their presence was of a couple quietly straggling along the river road. Of course I did soon hear noisier Hadedas.

Seeing as though ‘Mogalakwena’ means ‘fierce crocodile’ in the local Tswana language, it was little surprise to spot a rather large one, on a sandbank, well-hidden by some short trees.

Lodge sundowners

Heading back to the lodge, just up the road from that idyllic space, some Vervet Monkeys peered at me naughtily, their heads poking above the long grass. Fortunately they were no trouble at all on this trip.

A sundowner outside my cottage, close to the Mogalakwena and a smaller stream, was called for and, overlooking the stream bed from a slighly elevated vantage point, one gets excellent views of whatever is flying around the riverine forest.

A Tropical Boubou was rather noisy as it settled down for the night in the trees above the firepit and, well after sunset, a Woodland Kingfisher landed in the tree in front of me, calling away; their loud, piercing call is one of the sounds of summer in northern South Africa.

An African Scops Owl also popped in for a visit, giving its characteristic frog or insect-like call (depending on what amphibians or insects sound like in your neck of the woods) – Prrrrruup! – from close quarters.

The smaller stream was a side channel, a dry bed with pools of water after the rains and well-wooded fringes, which is why there was still a fairly new-looking Hamerkop nest in a tree in front of my cottage.

These massive nests are amongst the most remarkable in the Avian kingdom and I did see a few Hamerkop flying in fluttery fashion along both rivers.

The next day a Crested Barbet was investigating holes in the trees in front of the cottage and an Emeraldspotted Wood Dove was pottering around in one of the dry stream beds.

The deck

The lodge have built a deck on the banks of the Mogalakwena River and this is a great spot to look over and along the water.

A Brown Snake Eagle was cruising overhead and a Meyer’s Parrot was clearly visible at the top of a Red Bushwillow, eating the seeds, which are poisonous to livestock but loved by parrots.

A Greenbacked Heron came flying along the full river, which also had a Pied Kingfisher patrolling, and then the dry 35° heat meant it was time to cool off at the swimming pool, which was sparkling most alluringly in the shade of the welcoming trees back at the warm hospitality of the lodge.

An African Fish Eagle was calling and soaring high above the swimming pool and then a single Arrowmarked Babbler flew with great purpose over the pool to join its noisy colleagues who were headed towards the riverine bush.

As one enters Limpokwena, one is struck by the rugged, arid landscape. Thorny trees and Mopane thickets seem to be the only vegetation seen in the heat haze, apart from the Baobabs, scattered amongst the old farms and scratched by the former inhabitants and gouged by the Elephants which currently roam the area, many coming across the Limpopo from the Tuli Block in adjoining Botswana.

As I drove through the gate, a group of Chacma Baboons seemed to be chilled and happy to see me, but my closer approach saw them stampede away, fleeing across the old farmlands.

A Common Myna then came flying across the road towards the Mogalakwena River with nesting material in its beak.

It was not a very promising start.

The Mopaneveld

But it’s not just the riverine areas of Limpokwena that make this such a highly-recommended spot for nature lovers. There is also much to discover in the rocky koppies of this hot and dry region.

When one comes out of the river drive, the road heads westwards straight into the heart of the Mopaneveld. A Jacobin Cuckoo flew across the road and then played a bit of hide-and-seek as I tried to get a decent sighting.

There were numerous Whitebrowed Sparrow Weavers and lots of nests, although many of these are roosting nests. Practically all of them, however, are on the leeward side of the trees, away from the prevaling wind. The most widespread of the Sparrow Weavers is also quite chirpy and bossy.

A family group of White Helmetshrike also flew across the road, chuckling away at their noisy, colonial neighbours.

A big group of Banded Mongoose, 15-20 of them, were also on the road and, with no termitaria in sight, they had probably come down from their shelter in the rocky outcrops, which were dotted with the striking Purple-Pod Cluster-Leaf (Terminalia prunioides). The plum-coloured fruits of this deciduous tree, which is often associated with Mopane, are also loved by parrots.

As the road then turns north and heads gently down towards the Limpopo River, one comes across a clearing in the Mopaneveld, a peaceful bit of open Acacia savanna.

A Giraffe was enjoying browsing in a less-enclosed space, attended to by a Redbilled Oxpecker. Whitefronted Bee-Eaters were sharing a tree with Redbilled Buffalo Weavers and there was also a European Roller in the vicinity. An African Hoopoe and a Glossy Starling were confidently picknicking on the ground next to the road.

The peace was rather shattered, however, when a Namaqua Dove male that was chilling in a tree was dive-bombed by another arriving male!

When I headed out again in the afternoon on my complimentary game drive with host Riley as a wonderful companion – so passionate and interesting about the bush – we started by admiring a Lesser Grey Shrike, which was incredibly dapper in its bright white, grey and black colours.

Soon we were enjoying a herd of African Elephant as a couple of Helmeted Guineafowl went careening down the road at breakneck speed.

We went through that same patch of open Acacia savanna and the Bee-Eater, Hoopoe and Glossy Starling were all still there.

Our destination was Island Camp, and seeing it was one of the highlights of my stay. It would be a dream camping spot for me and anyone else feeling adventurous.

Island Camp is a stunning spot on the Limpopo and you have to cross a high log-bridge over one of the channels of the river to get there. You are basically camping right in the river as there are four rustic tents set up on an actual small, unfenced island in the river famous for both its beauty and danger.

There is a little bench of waterfalls just up the way from the camp which looks a great spot for fishing birds, and the pristine riverine trees, where a Collared Flycatcher had been seen a month earlier, allowed me to add Goldentailed Woodpecker and Spottedbacked Weaver to my list.

Before returning to the Lodge, we popped in at the superb sunken photographic hide. There were a pair of Great Sparrow, which can be locally common but are mostly uncommon in South Africa, on the telephone line approaching the hide and I was delighted when they then came to the water to drink.

On my final morning at Limpokwena, a quick scan of the waterhole, that has water pumped into it regularly, at the lodge showed little else than Marsh Terrapins and a Brownhooded Kingfisher in the trees along the dry watercourse running just outside the fence-line.

On the way out of this quite wonderful bit of natural wilderness, a Steppe Buzzard was quietly perched, perhaps also departing, beginning its northward migration as summer came to a perfect end.

Where is Limpokwena Nature Reserve?

Sightings List

Chacma Baboon

Impala

Common Myna

Southern Yellowbilled Hornbill

Redeyed Dove

Pied Kingfisher

Plains Zebra

Cape Turtle Dove

Lilacbreasted Roller

Vervet Monkey

Waterbuck

Blue Wildebeest

Tropical Boubou

Tree Squirrel

Woodland Kingfisher

Hamerkop

Forktailed Drongo

Redbilled Hornbill

Redbilled Woodhoopoe

Laughing Dove

Common Warthog

Egyptian Goose

Greyheaded Kingfisher

Goldenbreasted Bunting

Grey Hornbill

Malachite Kingfisher

Grey Heron

Blackeyed Bulbul

Blackfaced Waxbill

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

Natal Francolin

Hadeda Ibis

Nile Crocodile

African Darter

Longtailed Starling

Jacobin Cuckoo

Whitebrowed Sparrow Weaver

White Helmetshrike

Banded Mongoose

Redbilled Quelea

European Bee-Eater

Namaqua Dove

Whitefronted Bee-Eater

Redbilled Buffalo Weaver

European Roller

Giraffe

Redbilled Oxpecker

African Hoopoe

Glossy Starling

Grey Lourie

Greater Kudu

Blackbacked Puffback

Crested Barbet

African Fish Eagle

Arrowmarked Babbler

Emeraldspotted Wood Dove

Lesser Grey Shrike

African Elephant

Helmeted Guineafowl

Crowned Plover

Goldentailed Woodpecker

Spottedbacked Weaver

Cinnamonbreasted Rock Bunting

Great Sparrow

Common Duiker

Redbacked Shrike

Blacksmith Plover

Southern Masked Weaver

Brown Snake Eagle

Spotted Flycatcher

Water Dikkop

Meyer’s Parrot

Threebanded Plover

Greenbacked Heron

African Scops Owl

Five-Lined Skink

Marsh Terrapin

Brownhooded Kingfisher

Steppe Buzzard

Birdwatchers will tell you that a minor claim to fame of Gqeberha is that all four species of South African Bunting can be found in the area, and they stick around all year long too.

But while South Africa’s top-order batsmen were bunting the ball around St George’s Park on Friday, none of them were able to stay at the crease long enough to get past 70, which was the score made by captain and opening batsman Dean Elgar.

Keegan Petersen (64) and Temba Bavuma (67) both batted with impressive class as well, and Ryan Rickelton made his way to 42 before falling to a reverse-sweep.

It all amounted to a total of 278 for five after the Proteas had won the toss and elected to bat under heavily overcast skies on a greenish pitch.

And Petersen said he still feels South Africa are ahead after the first day of the second Test against Bangladesh.

“I think it’s a decent score, although losing those two late wickets has levelled things out a bit. But I think we are still a bit ahead of the game.

“It would have been nice to just be three down because then we would really have been in the driving seat.

“We did well, it was a tricky pitch with a bit in it for the seamers, but we dealt with it well. But hundreds are just eluding us, but it’s not for the want of trying.

“Hundreds would put us in even better positions, while making fifties and getting out kind of balances things out. With hundreds you really get ahead in the game,” Petersen said.

One aspect of the South African batting that is working well is the new opening partnership between Elgar and Sarel Erwee, who may have only scored 24 on Friday, but that ensured a solid start with his 52-run stand with his skipper.

Elgar is enjoying a tremendous series with half-centuries in every innings, and that has lifted him into second place on South Africa’s all-time run-scoring list against Bangladesh. The left-hander has 606 runs in eight innings at an average of 86.57, and has overtaken Hashim Amla (602 @ 66.88), with just Graeme Smith (743 @ 82.55) ahead of him.

Arguably more impressively, Elgar is now the leading run-scorer in all Tests at the historic St George’s Park ground, going to 641 in 14 innings at 49.30, overtaking Jacques Kallis (617 @ 36.29) and AB de Villiers (591 @ 49.25).

“Dean obviously leads from the front and has been extremely consistent,” Petersen said. “He’s leading properly with this young team.

“He’s a hard leader and he expects us to be at our best all the time. We just try and follow him.”

While most of the attention around the Sharks has been focused on the lack of clinical finishing in their attack, the gaps in their defensive matrix are also a concern as they go into their vital United Rugby Championship match against the Dragons at Kings Park on Friday night.

As coach Sean Everitt has pointed out, while the Sharks were extremely wasteful of their opportunities in last weekend’s loss against Edinburgh, they also leaked three tries in sodden conditions, so it’s not as if their defence was faultless either. And the Dragons scored three tries against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld to show that they have the weaponry to hurt the home side if they lose their shape in defence.

“In the last week everyone obviously looks at the opportunities we created on attack and were not converted, but we also need to look at the tries we conceded,” Everitt said.

“We let in three tries, so that means we need to score four to win the game, but that’s very difficult in these conditions.

“There were small details we fell short on in terms of taking our opportunities, but it’s a massive issue that we conceded three soft tries that we could have handled normally,” Everitt said.

The Sharks coach seldom volunteers much comment on individual performances, but given the spotlight on Curwin Bosch, Everitt felt the need to set the record straight on his starting flyhalf.

“There’s been a lot of talk about Curwin and we need to be factual,” Everitt said. “His kicking has been really good until last week and his kicking stats are the best we have.

“Against Zebre Parma he controlled the game and attacked much better than he had before. In terms of game-management, he did really well against Edinburgh.

“He showed his class in tough conditions and we were able to win 65% territory. Plus no-one sees the leadership he puts in through the week, how he performs well in training,” Everitt said.

Victory against the Dragons is crucial for the eighth-placed Sharks because they host the in-form Lions in their next match, before closing the round-robin campaign with games against top sides in Leinster, Connacht and Ulster.

As a human being, Mark Boucher seems to lack the gene for a fear of failure which made him one of the most tenacious cricketers around, but now as a coach he has admitted to frustration that that is exactly the weakness his Proteas team showed as they crashed to a series loss to Bangladesh in humiliating fashion in the third and final ODI at Centurion on Wednesday evening.

Choosing to bat first, South Africa’s batsmen folded meekly to 154 all out in 37 overs. Bangladesh them showed them how to bat on the SuperSport Park pitch as they raced to victory in just 26-and-a-half overs with just one wicket down.

“We lacked intent, we went to sleep after a good start to our innings,” Boucher said after the loss. “We wanted to take the game forward, you do need to take some risks, but there was almost a fear of getting out.

“It was as if we were not batting to set a total, which Bangladesh showed should have been more than 300, but batting to not get out, and then we spiralled into a total collapse.

“We need to have belief in how we play, we’ve played spin very well in places like Sri Lanka but then we come back here and go back to old ways. We have to have faith to play the way we want to play.

“We wanted to be proactive, we have worked hard on shot-selection and the guys know they have the armoury. But it’s like a mental block. We need to put the fear of failure out of our minds, the fear of getting out,” Boucher said.

What is baffling, however, is that much the same team beat India 3-0 in January and they should have had the confidence of a billionaire on the front cover of Forbes magazine. Boucher said the vagaries of form had also played a role in the shock series defeat.

“Against India we had guys in great form and there were big partnerships. In this series we lost an aggressive player like Aiden Markram whose form is worrying, so new guys come into the team.

“In the back of their heads they probably want to get runs to prove that they belong here, and that brings in a bit of fear. Maybe they are too scared to play the way they should.

“So it comes down to a lack of form and belief,” Boucher said.