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At 4pm I picked Nicola up from work and we left immediately, driving down first the N11 to Ermelo, getting stuck behind endless numbers of trucks and then onto the N2, past Piet Retief and then south to Paulpietersburg, arriving at our farm accommodation outside Vryheid just after 8pm. We had the old farmhouse all to ourselves and had an easy evening before going to bed.
On Thursday morning we were up before sunrise and headed for Vryheid Hill Nature Reserve. Despite being managed by KZN Ezemvelo, the tracks inside the reserve does not seem to be maintained and on top of the hill it’s so washed away that we eventually had to turn around. But the drive through the forest is nice and apart from Broad-tailed warbler (lifer) calling in the grassland below, we also added Red-fronted tinkerbird, Tambourine dove, Sombre greenbul and African paradise flycatcher. On top of the hill it was cold, windy and misty but we did spot a female Buff-streaked chat before we headed back to town again. The Klipfontein Bird Sanctuary was rather disappointing – very overgrown and the hide locked with no explanation of where to obtain the lock combination. We left Vryheid around 10am and made our way slowly to Melmoth, arriving in Eshowe around lunch time. At Bishop’s Seat inside Dlinza forest we had lunch but spotted nothing until we drove back out and Nicola spotted a Narina trogon, low down in the forest, barely 3 meters from the car. We checked into Dlinza Forest Accommodation, a mere 100m from the Aerial Boardwalk and after taking a bit of a rest, spent the last hour of daylight on the boardwalk picking up Cape batis, Trumpeter hornbill, Cape white-eye and Knysna turacos.
Waking up to thick mist and a chilly wind, we were not very hopeful as we walked back to the Aerial boardwalk but our guide for the morning, Sbu, managed to find a whole bunch of forest birds in the 3 hours we spent with him: Terrestrial brownbul, Chorister and Red-capped robin-chats, Eastern olive sunbird, Scaly-throated honeyguide, Square-tailed drongo, Olive woodpecker, Dark-backed weaver, African goshawk, Red-fronted and Yellow-rumped tinkerbirds and undoubtedly the prize of the day, Spotted ground thrush (lifer for Nicola). Having finished our walk in Dlinza forest we spent another hour at the hide and on the boardwalk before returning to the lodge, picking up lunch and driving out to Entumeni forest. The track into Entumeni was narrow and thickly overgrown; it took some careful driving to reach the picnic spot but it was quiet, secluded and absolutely beautiful. Not feeling like walking much, we just sat around the picnic table and ate lunch and in the process got Yellow-bellied greenbul responding to playback, heard a single Olive bush-shrike call and saw some chattering Collared sunbirds right above our table. Just after 1pm we left again, spotted a lone Red-backed mannikin on the way out before holing up for a rest in the heat of the day. Late afternoon we ventured back onto the boardwalk . Purple-crested turacos were calling raucously and even though a human family with a noisy toddler and baby scared some birds away, we still picked up two Grey cuckooshrikes, Bronze mannikins and a few Cape white-eyes. Back at the Forest Accommodation it was time for dinner and an early night.
It was still dark when we left for Mtunzini and although the sky was clear, a strong wind was still blowing. Sakhamuzi Mhlongo, a Zululand Birding Route guide, was waiting for us at the BP station just outside Mtunzini; we picked him up and he guided us into Ongoye forest where we parked next to the Birding Camp in the eastern section of the forest. This was our first attempt at finding Green barbet. We took a walk down into the forest to where a small stream was running and got good views of Yellow-streaked greenbul, Square-tailed drongo and Collared sunbird but the wind was blowing strongly and made so much noise in the trees that we could not hear any responses to our Green barbet playback. After walking up and down for about half an hour we returned to the car and drove deeper into the forest. The faint track crossed waving grasslands where the car scared up Neddicky, Croaking and Zitting cisticolas. We parked at the edge of the forest about 3km from where the Birding Camp is and started walking down. Although our Green barbet playback was still unsuccessful, there were plenty of other birds that kept us interested: Black-bellied starling, African paradise flycatcher, Narina trogon and Red-fronted tinkerbird made it onto the list. After walking for almost a kilometer, Sakhamuzi veered off onto a thin trail and a little deeper into the forest. We played the Green barbet call again and then suddenly we all three heard it – a faint response far off. We moved on a little onto a bare granite slab and played the call again – and almost immediately Sakhamuzi saw it fly in – we had it! A single Green barbet was sitting right above us in the tree and we had fantastic views of it as it turned this way and that and eventually called it’s soft chook chook call while we were watching. Nicola even managed to get a few pictures through the binoculars before it flew off. A few other birds also attracted our attention: a Dark-backed weaver made a brief appearance and then a Grey sunbird responded very well to playback. Happy with our success we made our way back to the car and picked up some more forest birds: Grey cuckooshrike, Cape batis and close-ups of Blue-mantled crested flycatcher. On the drive back to Mtunzini we also saw Dusky indigobird and then made a turn at the Umlalazi Nature Reserve where we had brief glimpses of another two lifers we were hoping to get: Palm-nut vulture and Mangrove kingfisher. A nice surprise came in the fly-by of two Broad-billed rollers – a very good record this far south. Just after 12:30 we finally said goodbye to Sakhamuzi who did a great job finding us four lifers for the day. Back in Eshowe it was time for a shower and a rest. Late afternoon we made another call to the boardwalk but the weather has changed: the wind was still blowing strongly but now from the south-west and heavy clouds were racing across the sky. We only stayed for about 10 minutes - it was obvious all the birds were hunkering down for the coming storm, so we followed suit.
It rained during the night and was cool as we packed up at 4am. But a few stars could be seen and it looked like we'd still have a last rain-free birding day. We headed for the N2 and then drove north to reach Bonamanzi Game Park just after 6am. We were hoping to get Lemon-breasted canary and if we we re able to get onto the Hluhluwe flood plain, Rosy-throated longclaw as well. Driving to Lalapanzi camp we heard Bearded scrub-robin, Yellow-bellied and Sombre greenbuls, Terrestrial brownbul and our first Gorgeous bush-shrike for the year. At Lalapanzi we learned that access to the Hluhluwe flood plain is only through a booking and costs R500 per person so we left the longclaw for next time. We had breakfast at one of the hides but this produced few birds and we soon left to drive the rest of the park. Approaching our turn-around time, we heard a strange call that left us baffled. Parking the car, we slowly walked towards the call, close to one of the isolated chalets. Whatever it was stopped calling when we got near but as I searched beyond the chalet I suddenly saw a medium-sized bird of prey take flight from a perch. It was obviously where the call came from and at least now we had an idea of what it could've been. Back in the car we played all the raptor calls and then suddenly we got it - it was a Southern banded snake-eagle! This was quite a surprise lifer and we had to listen to the playback several times to confirm the ID. Happy with a lifer, we left the reserve but just before we crossed the train tracks to get back to the highway, Nicola spotted a longclaw among some Crowned lapwings. Although it was just a Yellow-throated longclaw, we haven't seen this species in almost 3 years and Nicola made another discovery: a whole flock of Lemon-breasted canary feeding in longish grass next to the longclaw and lapwings! Fantastic! Vowing to return to Bonamanzi later in the year, we settled on the long drive home, getting back without incident at 4pm.
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