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In November 2014, a pelagic trip off Durban arranged by Niall Perrins produced a Grey petrel and among a whole bunch of other goodies; with initial plans for my 2015 Africa Big Year already underway, this prompted us to add a 2015 pelagic trip to the plans.
It was a long drive to Durban and we only arrived at 9pm. Our accommodation at Bentley “lodge” was truly awful and I’d rather not dwell on it here – they will certainly not see us again. Saturday morning we were up very early and on our way before dawn. The confusing Durban roads took some time to negotiate but we made it to Wilson’s wharf in time to meet the rest of the group. The weather was overcast and cool and although there wasn’t much of a wind, the skipper told us a two metre swell was predicted. At 6am we were off and in the harbour we ticked our first birds: Caspian and Common terns, Grey plover, Terek sandpiper (very distant), Grey-headed and Kelp gulls. Raptors were also out and about and a Western osprey and Lanner falcon were nice additions. The moment we got past the breakwater it was obvious it was going to be an interesting day as the swells came in at a 45 degree angle and were as large as predicted. Our first pelagic birds were the predictable White-chinned petrels but it wasn’t long before a Flesh-footed shearwater and Great-winged petrel were spotted. Trying to look for the distinguishing features on the heaving boat was distinctly unpleasant. The motion sickness tablet I took that morning made me so drowsy I had to sit down for a while and close my eyes but this was perhaps not a good idea and twenty minutes later I was heaving as well. Throwing up did make me feel much better though and I was practically fine for the rest of the day except that I really struggled to keep my eyes open. A couple of Indian yellow-nosed albatrosses and Wilson’s storm-petrels got interested in the chum that was put out but we had barely started looking for interesting birds when there seemed to be a problem with the engines. It turned out something was wrong with the clutch and the skipper couldn’t get the boat to reverse at all. Disappointingly, the call was made to return to Durban. We puttered back for the next two hours and although it was now more pleasant since the sea was calmer and we were sailing with instead of against the swell, it would’ve been nice to stay out for another 1-2 hours. The Flesh-footed shearwater was a lifer for both Nicola and I and the Great-winged petrel was new for the year too. So at least not a complete waste. We were back in the harbour just after 1pm and after saying goodbye to everyone, headed up the coast to look for Red-headed quelea that was reported from Umhlanga Nature Reserve. Although we couldn’t find the queleas, we added Knysna turaco, Thick-billed, Spectacled and Yellow weavers, Sombre and Yellow-bellied greenbuls and Terrestrial brownbul. By early afternoon we took to the road again for the 3-hour drive to St Lucia. Arriving there with an hour or so daylight left, we stopped at the bridge over the estuary and then the estuary itself for a few more birds. Jo-a-Lize lodge smack in the middle of town was our accommodation for the night and although there was no-one at reception, the security guard had our room keys. The room was a little run-down and parking a long way away, but the air-con worked and we had a small kitchen too. After a quick shower we were in bed and asleep by 8pm.
Another early wake-up call saw us at Banghazi gate (iSimangaliso wetlands park) at 5am. The birds were already calling: Livingstone’s turaco, Black-collared barbet, Red-capped robin-chat, Terrestrial brownbul, Diderick and Red-chested cuckoos were all very vocal. We drove the Vlei loop through the forested coastal dunes but the “vleis” were sadly bone dry and an obvious result of the now year-long drought in Kwazulu Natal. The birding was still good though: Collared, White-bellied, Marico and Grey sunbirds, Green malkoha, Chinspot and Woodward’s batises, Crowned and Trumpeter hornbills, Narina trogon, Crested guineafowl, Square-tailed drongo, Black-bellied starlings etc. At Catalina bay the lake’s water had receded so much that you could almost not make out the flamingos standing in the shallows more than a kilometer from us. There were some waders on the shore but even with a scope we would’ve struggle to ID these. The forest at Cape Vidal produced absolutely fantastic views of Blue-mantled crested flycatcher, Brown scrub-robin, Woodward's batis and Rudd’s apalis. The beach was a bit crowded though and there were no birds around – after getting some ice-cream from the kiosk, we got moving again. Disappointingly, the Dune, Pans and Banghazi loops were all closed and with temperatures rising towards mid-day we thought we’d see if we could re-enter the park at Dukuduku gate west of town. Annoyingly, they wanted to charge us another R140 to enter the same park (it all falls under iSimangaliso wetland park) so instead we picked up a few more birds at the estuary before deciding to take a break from birding. For dinner we pigged out at the local seafood dig, Ocean Sizzler.
Initially we were going to drive back via Muzi pans and Mkuze, but the terrible drought has given us second thoughts and instead we decided to enter iSimangaliso again, but go through Dukuduku gate and then drive up to Charter’s Creek. A quick stop at the St Lucia bridge was totally worth it as it was low tide and there were thousands of waders out: Little stint, Grey plover, Pied avocet, Common, Wood and Curlew sandpipers, Ruffs and a bunch of others just too far away to ID. Other birds included Goliath and Purple herons, Great egret, African purple swamphen, Black crake and Caspian terns. We’ve never seen the western side of the lake before and the riparian forest immediately beyond the gate was simply teeming with birds: Crested guineafowl, Sombre and Yellow-bellied greenbuls, Terrestrial brownbul, Orange-breasted bush-shrike, Eastern nicator, Dark-backed weaver, Black-crowned tchagra and Burchell’s coucal were just a few. Beyond this forest patch though, we were back in grassland dotted with palms, much like the road up to Cape Vidal. This still produced Yellow-throated longclaw, European bee-eater, a few cisticolas and swallows, but the glut was over. It was obvious though that this part of the reserve would be magical in wet years and we could just imagine the likes of crakes, rails, flufftails and Black coucals all over the place. However, now it was dry and windy and although we spotted lots of giraffe, a couple of Red-billed oxpeckers and some cracking Collared pratincoles, the birding wasn’t great. We stopped briefly at Charter’s Creek but this was so sad (chalets are no longer in operation, lake shore is almost a kilometer from the jetty and picnic/ablution facilities dilapidated) that we turned around quickly. The drive home was uneventful.
Despite some under-average accommodation, slightly disappointing pelagic and horrendously dry conditions, it was a really great birding weekend. Although our species count wasn’t that high, the quality of birds was amazing and I added nine new birds for the year, bringing my African bird tally for 2015 to 989.
