Mkuze Game Reserve birding, Nov 2014

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• List of birds 

With storm clouds looming on the eastern horizon, we left Middelburg just after 2pm, taking our now standard route to Pongola via Carolina and Amsterdam. Despite some rain along the way, the drive was uneventful and we arrived in Pongola just after 6pm. Our accommodation at Pongola Guest House was clean, neat and quiet and with an air-con and fridge/microwave thrown in, a very good value-for-money spot. With a very early start in mind, we were in bed by 9pm.

My alarm got us going at 03:30 and afte a quick cup of coffee we were on our way for the last 80kms or so to Mkuze. Dawn was already in the making when we reached Mkuze town but a fair bit if cloud obscured the sunrise.Just after 5am we drove through the gate and spent the next 3 hours slowly birding the road towards Mantuma camp. Highlights included Sombre greenbul, Pale flycatcher, Crested guineafowl, Red-breasted swallow, Black-bellied bustard and Scarlet-chested sunbird. At the office we made a booking for the Fig forest walk on Sunday morning and then drove off to the sandveld forest. At Masinga hide we spent almost and hour and was joined by several other groups, including a overseas birding tour. At the hide's waterhole we picked up Village and Lesser masked weavers, Little bee-eater, Yellow-throated petronia and African pygmy kingfisher. After leaving the hide we headed south and stopped off at the hides along Nsumo pan. Although some cloud have kept the sun from blazing down, the day had become terribly humid and we were thankful for the occasional breeze wafting through the car. At Nsumo pan there wasn't much activity apart from some African openbills and Pink-backed pelicans in the far distance. After lunch at the picnic spot we headed back to Mantuma camp to check in and get all our liquids, fruit and veg into the fridge. In ther afternoon, heavier clouds appeared in the east as we drove out towards the airstrip and Ophansi gate. We exited Mkuze to bird in the riparian forest along the Mkuze river and noted Red-capped robin-chat, Trumpeter hornbill, Dark-backed weaver, Tambourine dove, Yellow-rumped tinkerbird and were very surprised when we heard Fiery-necked nightjar calling - it was admittedly quite dark and had cooled down significantly, but still practically full daylight. Just after 4pm we entered the reserve again and slowly made our way back, arriving in camp just before 6pm. Even though the weather wasn't ideal, we notched up 116 birds for the day, beating our previous best of 110 at Mkuze! With our open hut windows allowing some cool air in, we had cold chicken and potato salad for dinner before the early morning caught up with us.

The Fig forest walk started at 6am we slept late and only got up at 04:45. After a quick breakfast and cleaning up, we walked over to the office where we met two other couples who were joining us on the walk. Thankfully we were all birders so we looked forward to a productive walk. More cloud had moved in overnight and it was completely overcast and pleasantly cool - even cold while driving on the open safari-vehicle to Nsumo pan.At the start of the walk-in, Yellow-bellied greenbul and Rudd's apalis were calling and soon we also heard Dark-backed weavers and Trumpter hornbills. Our first special bird we saw, almost as soon as we entered the forest proper. I saw a small bird flutter into some tangles and while I still tried to get my binocs on it, Nicola excitedly shouted: Broadbill! The whole group managed to see this beauty before it disappeared and we moved on. Our next one was a very co-operative Blue-mantled crested-flycatcher and although i didn't even bother with trying to photograph it, we got really good views. Green malkohas were calling every now and then but there was much more excitement when a flash of brown turned out t obe a Pel's fishing owl! We tried to re-locate it after it flew off and twice more got glimpses of it in flight - unfortunately never a perching view but nevertheless, we weren't complaining! A newly built mid-level boardwalk provided nice views of African dusky flycatcher and African green pigeon. Eventually it was time to leave and we headed back out. Reaching Mantuma camp just after 10am, we rushed to pack up quickly and then birded slowly on our way out. At noon we were on the N2 and had a comfortable drive back.

We notched up 137 birds for the short weekend and I added 15 new birds for the year, bringing my annual tally to 993 - now just 7 short of my target for 2014!

Quaggapad hiking trail, Nov 2014

Nicola picked me up from the airport and we headed straight out towards Balfour. The directions were fairly straight forward although the 16km gravel road we had to travel on was certainly not the best in the world. We arrived sometime after 6pm to find Eddie, Shirley, Karen and Edith already there and settled. We were delighted to hear that we got upgraded to the cottage next to the main farmhouse where there was electricity, fridge, microwave, hot water and all kinds of luxuries we shouldn’t get too used to. Mike and Moira arrived shortly after us and as Eddie had already got the fire going earlier, it wasn’t long before various pieces of dead flesh were sizzling away. After dinner we still chatted late into the night before going to bed.

Day 1 (08 Nov): The bunch of tame peacocks roaming around the farmhouse woke us early but a cup of coffee soon dispelled the sleepiness. By 06:45 we were ready to go and with a cloudy sky and cool breeze at our backs, we headed into the veld. We first walked past the hiker’s hut where we would’ve stayed had we not been upgraded and then turned north through some cattle grazing and into low hills. The trail was reasonably well marked through the short grass and it was quite obvious that we were going to climb onto every single koppie and hill we could see. We took a few breaks along the way but there was very little of interest along the trail. At some point the trail turned back to cross the entrance road to the farm and then approached a small farm dam surrounded by large gum trees where Black-headed herons had built a large heronry. This was our lunch spot – the shady gums provided welcome relief from the sun that had now started blazing down in the late morning. With lunch done the path traced back to the road and then appeared to head over yet another hill before taking a longish roundabout route back to the farm. My feet were sore and I’d had enough of the purposeless path so I whipped out the GPS, got a heading back to the farm and walked straight for it with Nicola, Moira and Karen joining me. Just before 1pm we were back at the farm cottage with the rest of the group trickling in over the next fifteen minutes. A quick shower was blissful in the hot afternoon and we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting in the cottage’s cool lounge. Despite threatening thunder and lightning, we didn’t get any rain and just before 5pm, Nicola got the braai fire going. After dinner the farm’s owner brought us imported pear cider from Sweden that had been delivered to them by mistake and never picked up again – it was delicious! With the alcohol doing it’s trick, we made it to bed quite a bit earlier than yesterday.

Day 2 (09 Nov): All of us except Karen were again ready by 06:45 and again we first walked to the hiking hut from where the shorter Day 2 started. The path wound up the first koppie of the day where we spotted Blesbok, Red hartebeest and Zebra in the distance. Northern black korhaans were calling loudly from all over the grasslands and they were joined by Cape longclaws, Wing-snapping and Zitting cisticolas, Diderick cuckoo and the ever-present Hadeda ibis. At a rest stop in between some acacias, Edith spotted a Spotted eagle-owl in a tree but it unfortunately flew off just as I had the camera ready. We saw another two eagle-owls as the path started circling back towards the farmhouse and along a stream that fed several small farm dams we also notched up Commmon greenshank, Spurwing goose and Hamerkop. We were back at the cottage by 10am and had a quick shower before we left for home.

Although not a particularly memorable hike, it was good to get out in the veld again and meet up with old friends and good company.