Ken Borland

Golf courses, despite usually bringing dramatic change to the natural environment, are often havens for a number of bird species, even if they are generally the usual suite of semi-rural/semi-urban birds that have adapted well to their altered landscape.

Leopard Creek, however, is an exceptional golf course, not only because of the quality of its design and the magnificent test of golf it provides, but also because of its setting, in the thorn thickets and thick woodland along the Crocodile River, with the famous Kruger National Park on the other side of the water.

As a birdwatcher covering golf at Leopard Creek, there is double excitement because apart from watching the professionals tackle the daunting course, there is always the feeling that something special from the avian world could be lurking nearby.

I have previously seen specials like the Blackthroated Wattle-Eye and African Finfoot at Leopard Creek, so I am always excited driving through the entrance, situated across the river from the Malelane Gate into Kruger National Park.

The first bird I saw was no surprise – a Blackeyed Bulbul, the ubiquitous Toppie one sees so often in the bushveld. The new name – Darkcapped Bulbul – is poor in my opinion because all three South African species have much the same black crest on top of the head.

But then, skedaddling along the side of the tar road was something most unexpected – a Plainbacked Pipit.

This nondescript LBJ is usually a bird of grasslands and rocky hillsides. It does venture into the lowveld in winter and is sporadically recorded in Kruger Park, where it probably breeds and there are estimated to be about 500 adults. According to Roberts, it is often found on the edges of wooded country.

But the grasslands of Leopard Creek are what is known as sweet grass (sweet grasses maintain their nutrients in the leaves in winter and are therefore attractive to grazers) so it is often overgrazed, which makes it more attractive to Pipits, especially when there has not been much summer rain yet.

The more arid conditions meant a bird like Marico Flycatcher, very much a denizen of the western grasslands, was also present. The Marico Flycatcher is a great lover of Acacias though and the low rolling hills surrounding the Crocodile River are full of stunted Knobthorns Acacia nigrescens, so although rare this far south-east, it was not an unprecedented vagrant.

Leopard Creek, being a top golf course, does have a lot of water besides the Crocodile River, and this is obviously a magnet for both birds and animals.

The Knob-billed Duck is more a bird of vleis and pans (even temporary ones), than rivers and it is often seen flying over the golf course, but only in summer because it is a migrant from further north in Africa, generally breeding in the north-eastern areas of South Africa.

Whitefaced Duck, a common bird that sticks around all year long, is almost always seen flying over and whistling it’s beautiful call, while Water Dikkops patrol the tar roads at night, when Bushbuck come out to play after sheltering during the hot sunlight hours.

African Pied Wagtails march up and down any of the fairways close to water, while a couple of the bigger water hazards hold Reed Cormorant and African Fish Eagle, overhead, and Common Sandpiper, feeding on the sandbanks when they get tired of the Crocodile River.

The Fish Eagle is not the only raptor that comes over from KNP airspace, Wahlberg’s Eagles, which are especially common in southern Kruger and enjoy a diverse range of prey, leave their woodland strongholds to check out what’s on offer at Leopard Creek.

No trip to Leopard Creek is complete without walking out to the 13th green, situated 32 metres above the Crocodile River, and on this hot day some stately Waterbuck were present while a family of Chacma Baboons were foraging and vocalising. Along the way to this stunning viewpoint, the riverine woodland holds such delightful birds as the Plumcoloured Starling, Natal and Crested Francolins, Heuglin’s Robin, Blackcollared Barbet, Sombre Bulbul and Redbilled Firefinch.

Where is Leopard Creek?

Sightings list

Blackeyed Bulbul

Plainbacked Pipit

Vervet Monkey

Rock Monitor

Blacksmith Plover

Sacred Ibis

Plumcoloured Starling

Impala

Whitefaced Duck

Little Swift

Knob-billed Duck

Water Dikkop

European Swallow

Egyptian Goose

Natal Francolin

Helmeted Guineafowl

Heuglin’s Robin

Cape White-Eye

African Pied Wagtail

Blackcollared Barbet

Hadeda Ibis

Common Sandpiper

Crested Francolin

Bushbuck

Sombre Bulbul

Redbilled Firefinch

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Reed Cormorant

African Fish Eagle

Chacma Baboon

Marico Flycatcher

Waterbuck

Wattled Plover (Malelane)

Threebanded Plover (Malelane)

 

Friday’s presentation at the IRB’s Talent Optimisation Programme in Stellenbosch was entitled “Where Is Rugby Going?” and it’s a safe bet that it is going onwards and upwards in many countries thanks to courses such as this one.

The Talent Optimisation Programme is into its ninth edition and it was hosted for the eighth time by the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, about 50km east of Cape Town and situated in an historic rugby centre. It targets coaches, trainers and match officials from the Tier 2 nations who don’t have their own high performance programme.

This year’s course had 34 participants from countries like Canada, Fiji, Georgia, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Romania and Russia, but was also attended by delegates from Argentina and Scotland.

The South African Rugby Union (Saru) are highly supportive of T.O.P. and this year the participants enjoyed a rare treat when Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer and his management team gave a presentation on their plans for next year’s World Cup.

“Both the quality of input – the presenters we had – and the application of the delegates were absolutely wonderful and it was a big week for them. We had 12 coaches, eight match officials and four of their coaches, and 10 strength and conditioning trainers attending. All these guys have come through the IRB educational pathways, levels one to three, and this was like a finishing school for them,” Mark Harrington, the IRB head of technical services, said.

“Saru have been brilliant, providing all their coaching staff, including Heyneke Meyer, and Nick Mallett and Mark Lawrence were also heavily involved. The feedback we received was hugely positive, especially Heyneke’s presentation, while Nick got them really thinking around the current preferred style of play in rugby. He even predicted what would happen to the Sharks five days before the game!”

Other countries represented at T.O.P. were Tonga, Singapore, Portugal, Brazil, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, USA, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain and all the participants have significant experience and qualifications which just need to be polished in a high-performance environment.

The course was run under the watchful eyes of ex-Scotland coach Richie Dixon, former Wales lock Phil Davies, Steph Nel of the Western Province Institute, Bernd Gabbei, the IRB referee development consultant, Des Ryan, the head of sports medicine and athletic development at the Arsenal Academy, and Liam Hennessy, Ireland’s former head of fitness.

The uprising of enthusiasm within the delegates was noticeable and there is no doubt they will return to their countries eager to impart the knowledge they have obtained at T.O.P.

“It’s one of the best courses I’ve ever been to and I can’t wait to pass on the knowledge from here to other coaches back home. It was phenomenal what I learnt in terms of technique, tactics and administration too,” Kevin Mwema, a Kenyan high performance coach said.

His compatriot, Michael Owino, is a strength and conditioning coach in the national sevens programme, and he expressed similar sentiments.

“It was a great week, learning day in, day out, from someone like Liam Hennessy, who trained guys like Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell. He’s one of the best guys to get the knowledge from and I can’t wait to get home to share it all. With the kind of knowledge I now have, I can change mindsets and ensure we have the right culture in our teams,” Owino said.

“That knowledge-sharing aspect is very important and once the course is done, we will have points of further contact with the participants if they need further support. It’s all about info sharing,” Harrington said.

The strength of the T.O.P. is that the IRB have ensured that they have high-quality presenters – ex international coaches like Jake White, Mallett, Gert Smal, Alistair Coetzee, Pieter de Villiers and Jacques Nienaber, former Test stars like Brendan Venter, Rassie Erasmus and David Campese, leading sports scientists like Professor Tim Noakes and Ross Tucker, top referees such as Steve Walsh, Craig Joubert, Jaco Peyper and Lawrence, and even leadership and high performance development author Rasmus Ankerson of The Goldmine Effect.

“We have a specific focus on getting the big guns to come and speak, it’s really important that they are current experts and people that the participants can really learn from. We have twice as many applicants as we have space for and it’s really encouraging to see the depth across the Tier 2 nations,” Jock Peggie, the IRB training manager said.

That can only be good news for the future of rugby and its expansion across the globe.

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