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Etienne Marais, the owner and guide of Indicator Birding, arranged a "Warbler Weekend" for a small group of people in the Zaagkuildrift-Kgomo-Kgomo area north of Pretoria over the weekend of 14-16 March. We were to be based at Wolfhuiskraal farm and would target warblers, in particular River warbler, Icterine and Olive-tree warblers, Common whitethroat and Thrush nightingale.
Immediately after work on Friday, we left Middelburg and drove without incident to Pretoria. Heavy rains in the 2 weeks preceding the weekend had us worried - Pretoria had an average of around 350mm, about half the annual rainfall! The access road to Zaagkuildrift is notoriously muddy and tricky after heavy rains so Etienne sent us an alternative route to get us to the farm. Good thing too, because even on the alternative route we were slipping and sliding through a few longish muddy patches, un-tactfully reminding us of our experience in the Ibera wetlands in Argentina last year. But we were now out of city traffic and much more relaxed so we birded without really stopping and were happy to add Shaft-tailed whydah and Violet-eared waxbill among other common birds. We made it to the farm without assistance and caught the rest of the group just as they were leaving to try find River warblers in the south eastern corner of the farm. Putting on sandals for wet and muddy tracks, we joined the whole group as we drove down for a short distance and then parked. On a very muddy farm road we walked, stopped and listened several times as Etienne alternatively played back River warbler calls or whistled Pearl-spotted owlet calls. However, the River warblers were quiet and in the dusk we returned to the bush camp. Electricity was off since we arrived but not long after Etienne lit our braai fire, power came back on and we had a relaxed evening while learning to recognize warbler calls. With an early start planned for Saturday, we all left for bed quite early.
After a quick cup of coffee, we were on our way at 05:30. We drove down to the same spot we were at yesterday and immediately after getting out of the car, we heard the first River warbler calling. Following Etienne's instructions we all moved into a good vantage spot and then tried to be as quiet as possible while Etienne occasionally whistled Pearl-spotted owlet or played back River warbler. Unfortunately the warblers were calling from the other side of the fence on the public road so after about half an hour, it was decided to drive around and try outside the farm. This we did and spent the next 3 hours moving to a few different locations up and down the road, each time moving to within about 5-10m of where a bird is calling and then waiting patiently and very quietly. Unfortunately, even after spending 4 hours in total looking for a River warbler, we were still to see one. Etienne had a brief view of one while trying to move it towards our group but the rest of us - not a glimpse. Eventually we started looking for other warblers as well as Thrush nightingale up and down the public road. We started meeting a number of other birders doing the same thing and Etienne decided it's best to return to the farm where there's fewer people calling and less disturbance. Back on the farm we located both Common whitethroat and Icterine warbler. Both Nicola and I saw the whitethroat beautifully but our views of the Icterine was so poor, we decided not to tick it. With the clouds finally starting to lift after almost 2 weeks of solid rain and cloud, it had become to warm up nicely. We retreated to the bush camp for lunch after which Etienne showed some photos of warblers that highlighted the important diagnostic features to look for. At 2pm we were off again, this time aiming for the flood plain at Kgomo-Kgomo. Since most of the rain falling in Pretoria ends up here, via either the Apies or Pienaars rivers, we expected the flood plain to be exactly that - a flooded plain. First problem though was getting through two sections of road that were flooded. I wasn't prepared risking our 2x4 so we bundled in with Etienne and two our group, Alta and Michelle. In three 4x4s we managed to get through the flooded road sections (almost knee-deep and more than 100m long) and while doing so got fantastic views of our third lifer for the trip - Dwarf bittern! We reached the floodplain and even Etienne was stunned - he said in 15 years of birding this area, he'd never seen so much water. There were lots of waterfowl present: African spoonbill, Yellow-billed and Great egrets. Whiskered terns, Black-winged pratincole, Red-billed teal, White-faced, Fulvous and Knob-billed ducks, Reed cormorant, Egyptian goose, Glossy and African sacred ibis, Black-headed, Grey, Purple, Green-backed and Squacco herons etc. A few stops along the bridge netted Temminck's courser, Western yellow wagtail and Wood sandpiper. It was now getting a late in the afternoon and Etienne led us back east along the dirt road and took an unmarked track heading south back to floodplain. He found a nice spot along the water's edge where we could sit for sundowners while watching birds. It was beautiful evening; the clouds had cleared and the setting sun made for excellent lighting. Lots of birds were about and in addition to those mentioned earlier we had Malachite and Pied kingfishers, Common and Lesser moorhens, African purple swamphen, Black and Black-crowned night herons and Southern pochards. A marsh harrier that we saw earlier also came flying past and although initially we thought it might be Western marsh harrier, pictures later confirmed it to be a juvenile African marsh harrier. Just after sunset it was time to head back home and with the spotlights out, we cruised slowly back. A possible European nightjar disappeared the moment the car's headlights fell on it but we got fantastic views of a Marsh owl and Spotted thick-knee. Back at the farm it was time for a braai and then bed.
On Sunday morning we were up early once again and headed for the public road where we heard the River warblers calling yesterday. It was a misty morning and again the warblers were calling, but on the other side of the fence (back on the farm's property). We drove around to the inside and spent another hour or so without any visuals. Finally giving up on seeing River warblers, we headed back to the floodplain and stopped off at the same sun-downer spot of the night before. Marico sunbirds were flitting about the trees here and shortly thereafter on the bridge across the floodplain, we also added a Black-chested snake-eagle sitting in a sisal tree. Our weekend was drawing to a close though so for the last time we drove through the stretches of water to get back to the farm and pack up. We followed Etienne out to stop along the road in a last-ditch attempt to find Icterine or Olive-tree warblers. We dipped again on the warblers but got nice views of Pearl-spotted owlet that responded to Etienne's whistling. The drive back was fairly relaxed and we got home just before 5pm.
We ticked a total of 154 species for the weekend of which three were lifers (River warbler, Common whitethroat and Dwarf bittern). The floodplain was in really fantastic condition and Etienne was sure that crakes would start moving in shortly - let's see if we can visit again in a few weeks time to try and find them! Thanks Etienne and our fellow group members for a wonderful weekend in great company!
