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We left Middelburg just after 5am on Saturday morning and first drove past Wonderfontein pans to see what we could find. The usual crowd of Red-knobbed coots were around but Grey heron, Red-billed teal, Yellow-billed duck, a pair of Maccoa ducks, Wood sandpipers, Whiskered terns and lots of swallows were around. No flamingoes though.Down to Chrissiesmeer we drove, arriving in the town some time after 7am. We immediately took the farm road leading towards the large Chrissiesmeer lake. It was overcast and cool, and with a very full dam we knew we were not going to see hundreds of birds. But we did get the odd swamphen or two, Southern red- and Yellow-crowned bishops, a Black-shouldered kite harassing an immature Martial eagle, lots of Steppe buzzards and a few Jackal buzzards as well. White stork shared recently cut fields with Black-headed herons and two Goliath herons were spotted on the grass islands close to shore. Just past the main dam we saw what first looked like just another Amur falcon, but getting closer I noticed the bird had barring instead of streaking on the chest. Closer still and I recognized we had something else here. A quick scan of the field guide and there it was - Eurasian hobby! Another lifer!
Further down the road there wasn't much else and when we reached the tar road we turned east and about 12km down the road turned on another farm road back towards Chrissiesmeer. We added Cape shoveler, Banded martin and a Common moorhen before getting back to Chrissiesmeer - a tally of 63 birds for the day. Just before noon we headed back home.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Monday, 14 February 2011
Ribbok kop attempt (hiking and birding) Feb 2011
Labels:
Drakensberg,
Freestate,
Golden Gate,
hiking,
mountains,
national park,
South Africa
At 14:25 we left Middelburg and drove via Bethal to Standerton. This section of road was OK but on the way to Vrede, the surface got progressively worse and in all, 6 Stop/Go sections hindered us from making good time. We eventually arrived in Golden Gate around 19:30 and greeted all the "old "members and two "new" members, Petra and Sylvia. We quickly pitched my 3-man tent, had some dinner and stood around talking until about 9pm when we headed for bed.
Day 1 (12 Feb): At 5am my alarm went off and we lay dozing for a short while before getting up. We had a quick breakfast and by 6am, Brian gave us a lift down to the Stables. We immediately started walking towards the hut but at the very first stream we got damp toes crossing it. It was a nice easy walk through to the hut but in places even the jeep track was so overgrown that we had to shield our eyes as we walked through 3m tall grass. We reached the hut just before 07:30, had a quick break and then headed up the valley. Three river crossings in quick succession, coupled with heavy morning dew, soaked us all to the bone. The track disappeared completely after the fourth crossing and we bashed our way through a short section of thick grass and stunted Ouhout trees to reach the slope on the true left. Gordon and I decided that it would be easier for us to head for the top of the ridge running towards Snowhill, than trying to stick to the path in the valley. We stopped at a small side stream to fill our water bottles and off we went. Gordon soon took the lead but I started dragging behind, feeling a bit nauseous and dizzy. After climbing about 200m I started feeling worse and was barely able to make 10m at a time before needing a rest. Even after resting, drinking water and having a juicy plum, I kept on collapsing after 10-15m of climbing. This did not bode well. I then decided to rather abort my own attempt at Ribbok kop. I dropped my pack and tried to catch up to Gordon who was a long way ahead by now. At last I was able to get his attention and got him to come back towards me. I explained the situation and that Nicola and I will be returning to the hut but he can still have a go at Ribbok kop if he wants. He agreed and dropped his pack on the spot. I took the two pieces of tent he was carrying and then walked back to where Nicola was waiting by my pack. We returned back to the hut where we rested and read the rest of the afternoon. I only started feeling better later that evening.
George was the first to arrive around 2pm and not long after the rest of our group also traipsed in. They were surprised to see us and explained they also had a tough and hot day’s walking behind them. Another two people arrived some time later – a father and young daughter; we opened up space in our room for them to sleep. Gordon showed up at 4pm looking tired but triumphant – he made it! He showed us some pics of the climb and explained how he went about it – it all made me really sad that I couldn’t do it this time but also more determined to return and get this one under my belt. Around 17:30 we started making dinner. Gordon forgot the packet of bacon he was supposed to bring but luckily we had some spare tuna which we added to the tomato/onion mix with pasta.
Day 2 (13 Feb): We were up early again. Gordon wanted to complete the second day’s hike but Nicola and I were now keen to go back and drive home since we had a much longer drive than everyone else. Since Gordon’s stuff was in our car back at Glen Reenen we would have to wait for him to finish. So Gordon set off early to try and get back as soon as possible. Nicola and I didn’t dawdle and by 06:30 we were hiking back to the Stables on our own. We got to the road and started the 4km walk back to Glen Reenen. We reached the camp around 08:30, had a quick shower and then drove around to do some birding while we waited for Gordon. Just before 11am we were back at the campsite and had something to eat while reading. Heavy clouds had started building up in the south and a few spots of rain also fell – we were getting a bit worried when Gordon had not showed up by 11:30. We drove up the first loop road to see if we could see him coming down off the ridge from Generaals kop but couldn’t find him at all. Back at the camp again I walked up to the chalets to see if I can see him coming from the dam but again nothing. I then went to the bathroom and when I got out, saw Gordon just having a sit at the car with Nicola – it was just after noon. We passed all Gordon’s stuff to him and immediately headed back, eventually arriving home just before 18:00.
Although we got some exercise for the weekend, it was very disappointing for me not to achieve the summit of Ribbok kop like Gordon did. But we'll be back!
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Mkhombo Dam Nature Reserve birding Feb 2011
Labels:
birding,
Mkhombo Dam,
Mpumalanga,
nature reserve,
South Africa
Links
05 Feb 2011 - Day count: 92, Trip count: 92
We left home just after 4am on Saturday, driving without incident to Marble Hall where we filled up with fuel and then drove another 50km odd to Mkhombo dam. We started our birding day by driving through the Libangeni township as directed in the Birding Gauteng guide. Having plotted GPS coordinates before we left, the directions were easy to follow. Scaly-feathered finch, Malachite kingfisher and Green-winged pytilia were among the first birds on the list but we very soon reached the edge of the dam where the tracks disappeared into the water. It was completely impossible to drive east from here so we sat at the water's edge for a while. Unfortunately the dam was so full that there were really no birds to see. A couple of powerboats created a lot of noise passing to the west and fishermen started crowding the lake as well. We followed a track further west, but this also soon ran into the dam. In the mean time we added a couple of swallows, Kalahari scrub-robin, Chinspot batis, White-faced duck and a Namaqua dove.
A bit disappointed with the high water level, we turned around, went back through the township and drove further west to Point 7 in the BG guide. We found a track going off the road but couldn't locate any marshy bits here. There was however a small dam on the opposite side of the road but this was fenced off and unaccessible. Back on the tar road there were Long-tailed paradise-, Shaft-tailed and Pin-tailed whydahs all over. A singel African marsh harrier sat on a telephone pole and we also got European bee-eater and Lilac-breasted and European rollers. We continued north to Point 8, and turned onto a track directly opposite the road going to Rust-de-Winter. We found the Western gate which was unlocked and entered un-challenged. We followed the fairly good track to Point 12 through thornveld and here added Orange-breasted bush-shrike, Chestnut-vented tit-babbler, Sabota lark, Woodland kingfisher, Burchells' starling, lots and lots of Red-billed quelea and then the big excitement! A quick glimpse plus the crystal clear call of Barred wren-warbler! A lifer for both of us!
Reaching the end of the track, we turned around and followed some of the minor tracks until the grass was obscuring the tracks completely. We returned to the tar road and continued to Loding gate. Here the track unfortunately petered out completely not far beyond the township. We sat among some trees for lunch before going back all the way to the eastern end of the dam to access the dam wall. This was a huge disappointment. The weekend crowd of loud and half-drunk fishermen were all over the launching area and there were no birds around. We drove some of the rocky tracks further along and picked up a few more birds but as far as we went we could hear the voices and parties of fishermen on their boats or on shore so we left after about half an hour's quick birding. With the afternoon getting long, we drove north, found the track towards Bloedfontein gate and drove towards the dam. As soon as we "entered" the reserve we could see the huge potential of the dam as a birding site with lots of shallow inlets full of reeds and lilies. We finally added an African jacana but even here it was obvious that the dam is very full. Just after 4pm we returned and headed to Marble Hall where we spent the night.
06 Feb 2011 - Day count: 78, Trip count: 115
We got up just before 5am, had a quick breakfast, and then headed back to Mkhombo. I didn't realize yesterday just how far it is from Marble Hall and it was a good 40 minutes before we entered the western section. On the way we added the common roadside birds including Amur falcon, Long-tailed paradise, Pin-tailed and Shaft-tailed whydahs, Abdim's stork, Black-shouldered kite and Namaqua dove. Before entering the gate we also added Barn and Pearl-breasted swallows, Magpie shrike and 3 Hamerkops. Inside we got the usual birds and again heard the Barred wren-warbler calling. Having not recorded any yesterday, we were surprised by the number of Helmeted guineafowl this morning. I spotted two Southern pied babblers in the distance but once again, when we reached the dam, nothing of note could be seen and only Lesser swamp warbler calling in the reeds was added. We drove back out the same route and didn't linger, as we still wanted to check out Mdala Nature Reserve. At Mdala there were no issues entering the park (R10 per vehicle plus R20 per person) but the Education Centre inside was being used as a voter registration station so who knows if that was the reason for the ease of entry. The broad-leaved woodland was rather quiet (it was already 10am) and we only added Black-backed puffback, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, Cape weaver and Groundscraper thrush. The track towards Zwelabo camp indeed turned a bit nasty about 2km inside the reserve gate and "poorly maintained" is not very accurate - more like, completely un-maintained. We were happy with our first exploration of this area, and considering the flood-levels in the dam, the birding in the surrounding area was pretty good. We plan to return regularly.
05 Feb 2011 - Day count: 92, Trip count: 92
We left home just after 4am on Saturday, driving without incident to Marble Hall where we filled up with fuel and then drove another 50km odd to Mkhombo dam. We started our birding day by driving through the Libangeni township as directed in the Birding Gauteng guide. Having plotted GPS coordinates before we left, the directions were easy to follow. Scaly-feathered finch, Malachite kingfisher and Green-winged pytilia were among the first birds on the list but we very soon reached the edge of the dam where the tracks disappeared into the water. It was completely impossible to drive east from here so we sat at the water's edge for a while. Unfortunately the dam was so full that there were really no birds to see. A couple of powerboats created a lot of noise passing to the west and fishermen started crowding the lake as well. We followed a track further west, but this also soon ran into the dam. In the mean time we added a couple of swallows, Kalahari scrub-robin, Chinspot batis, White-faced duck and a Namaqua dove.
A bit disappointed with the high water level, we turned around, went back through the township and drove further west to Point 7 in the BG guide. We found a track going off the road but couldn't locate any marshy bits here. There was however a small dam on the opposite side of the road but this was fenced off and unaccessible. Back on the tar road there were Long-tailed paradise-, Shaft-tailed and Pin-tailed whydahs all over. A singel African marsh harrier sat on a telephone pole and we also got European bee-eater and Lilac-breasted and European rollers. We continued north to Point 8, and turned onto a track directly opposite the road going to Rust-de-Winter. We found the Western gate which was unlocked and entered un-challenged. We followed the fairly good track to Point 12 through thornveld and here added Orange-breasted bush-shrike, Chestnut-vented tit-babbler, Sabota lark, Woodland kingfisher, Burchells' starling, lots and lots of Red-billed quelea and then the big excitement! A quick glimpse plus the crystal clear call of Barred wren-warbler! A lifer for both of us!
Reaching the end of the track, we turned around and followed some of the minor tracks until the grass was obscuring the tracks completely. We returned to the tar road and continued to Loding gate. Here the track unfortunately petered out completely not far beyond the township. We sat among some trees for lunch before going back all the way to the eastern end of the dam to access the dam wall. This was a huge disappointment. The weekend crowd of loud and half-drunk fishermen were all over the launching area and there were no birds around. We drove some of the rocky tracks further along and picked up a few more birds but as far as we went we could hear the voices and parties of fishermen on their boats or on shore so we left after about half an hour's quick birding. With the afternoon getting long, we drove north, found the track towards Bloedfontein gate and drove towards the dam. As soon as we "entered" the reserve we could see the huge potential of the dam as a birding site with lots of shallow inlets full of reeds and lilies. We finally added an African jacana but even here it was obvious that the dam is very full. Just after 4pm we returned and headed to Marble Hall where we spent the night.
06 Feb 2011 - Day count: 78, Trip count: 115
We got up just before 5am, had a quick breakfast, and then headed back to Mkhombo. I didn't realize yesterday just how far it is from Marble Hall and it was a good 40 minutes before we entered the western section. On the way we added the common roadside birds including Amur falcon, Long-tailed paradise, Pin-tailed and Shaft-tailed whydahs, Abdim's stork, Black-shouldered kite and Namaqua dove. Before entering the gate we also added Barn and Pearl-breasted swallows, Magpie shrike and 3 Hamerkops. Inside we got the usual birds and again heard the Barred wren-warbler calling. Having not recorded any yesterday, we were surprised by the number of Helmeted guineafowl this morning. I spotted two Southern pied babblers in the distance but once again, when we reached the dam, nothing of note could be seen and only Lesser swamp warbler calling in the reeds was added. We drove back out the same route and didn't linger, as we still wanted to check out Mdala Nature Reserve. At Mdala there were no issues entering the park (R10 per vehicle plus R20 per person) but the Education Centre inside was being used as a voter registration station so who knows if that was the reason for the ease of entry. The broad-leaved woodland was rather quiet (it was already 10am) and we only added Black-backed puffback, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, Cape weaver and Groundscraper thrush. The track towards Zwelabo camp indeed turned a bit nasty about 2km inside the reserve gate and "poorly maintained" is not very accurate - more like, completely un-maintained. We were happy with our first exploration of this area, and considering the flood-levels in the dam, the birding in the surrounding area was pretty good. We plan to return regularly.