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When news broke of a first confirmed South African record of a Malagasy pond heron being seen in Phinda Game Reserve around 13 June, we didn't give it much thought. We were a little sorry that we'd already booked and paid our long weekend's accommodation but it was quite a far drive anyway and located in a fairly inaccessible and expensive private reserve. However, Trevor Hardaker managed to gain permission from Phinda and Mziki shareblock (the private residents are where the heron was actually located) for birders to visit the reserve on a private game drive to view the bird. Over the weekend, the bird was located and photographed every single day and when by 20 June it seemed to have settled in nicely, we decided to give it a go. John Bradshaw booked and advertised a drive for Sunday morning 25 June and this suited us perfectly and I contacted him immediately. Places were going fast but we luckily got seats reserved and started getting excited.
Having decided that we could spend a bit of time birding around Mkuze on the Saturday, we used Friday evening to pack everything before dozing a little. Just after 1am on Saturday morning I woke Nicola up. Coffee and tea flasks packed, we jumped in the car and headed towards Mkuze. This time of the morning the road was relatively quiet but the N11 through to Ermelo and then N2 towards Piet Retief still had a fairly awful surface with plenty of roadworks around the towns. Despite this we managed to get Mkuze entrance gate shortly after opening time and we stopped for breakfast at Emshopi campsite. A stroll around the camp produced Chinspot batis, Bearded and Brown scrub robins, Cardinal and Golden-tailed woodpeckers, White-bellied and Scarlet-chested sunbirds, Yellow-bellied and Sombre greenbuls, Black-crowned tchagra, Grey-headed and Orange-breasted bushshrikes, Spectacled weaver, Square-tailed drongo, Red-fronted tinkerbird, Kurrichane thrush, African dusky flycatcher and Red-billed oxpecker. Nsumo pan looked in fairly good condition considering the crippling drought in Zululand over the past two years; we ticked Wire-tailed swallow, Saddle-billed and Yellow-billed storks, African jacana, White-faced whistling duck, Little grebe, Brown-hooded, Pied, Malachite and Half-collared kingfishers, Black-winged stilt, African spoonbill, African darter and a few others. We snacked for lunch in one of the hides along the pan and then headed north again to complete the loop past the airfield and then back to Emshopi campsite and entrance gate. All in all we listed a 102 species for the morning - another great day in Mkuze!
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| Cardinal woodpecker |
With the intention of scoping out the area where Phinda was, we drove along the back roads towards Hluhluwe town but soon discovered that the access gate to Phinda was early on and we couldn't really go any further. So we turned towards Hluhluwe where we checked into Hlulala Guest House and got some takeaways for dinner. John Bradshaw, Joan and Diego showed up around 7pm and we chatted for a while before Nicola and I turned in and the others went for dinner.
On Sunday morning we were up and ready to go at 05:30. Traffic was light so early in the morning so we arrived at the Phinda Game Reserve in about 20 minutes. After signing in we drove for another 20 minutes or so to the meeting point just outside the Mziki shareblock. Our game ranger and another two passengers were already waiting so after sorting out indemnities, we were on our way. It was a very pleasant and cool morning with some clouds drifting in from the east (there was some rain earlier).
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| Sunrise over Mziki dam |
The sun hadn't risen yet but the birds were out and singing and even before we reached the dam where the heron is located, we recorded Southern black tit, Blue waxbill, Sombre greenbul, White-bellied sunbird and Emerald-spotted wood dove. Upon first sighting of the dam, we stopped and scanned for as far as we could see and although we noted Reed cormorant, Blacksmith lapwing, Egyptian goose, African spoonbill, Goliath heron and several other waterbirds, there was no sign of the pond heron. Slowly our guide drove us around to the other side, close to the dam wall, but still nothing. We had only been searching for it for about 20 minutes but we could feel there was a slight edge to everyone's conversations! The shallow fringes opposite the dam wall had thicker grass and reed beds and we finally drove towards these. Just before reaching it, a small white heron flew up in front of us and our guide immediately exclaimed: "There it is!" The vehicle stopped dead in its tracks and eight pairs of binoculars whipped up to catch a quick glimpse. It was indeed the Malagasy pond heron!
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| First view of the Malagasy pond heron |
With everyone having at least seen the bird, we now approached cautiously until we're about ten metres from the bird. It was happily wading in the grass-fringed shallows along with a couple of African spoonbills and we spent the next twenty minutes watching and taking hundreds of pictures. Having satisfied everyone's craving for a fantastic view, we started moving to different positions to try and maximise quality light and surroundings for better photos.
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| Malagasy pond heron feeding alongside African spoonbill |
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| Staring down the barrel of a gun |
By 08:30 we finally decided to go and have a celebratory coffee and left the heron. As we drove off, it decided to relocate to the other side of the dam and many of us got some in-flight pictures too. Coffee and biscuits went down well between all the smiles and before we returned, we drove down for another look at the heron, now in it's new position on the side of the dam where we started. The sun was out now and light conditions much better so we stayed with it for another half an hour to take pictures.
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| Better light on the opposite side of the dam |
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| Preening |
Finally our time was up and just before 10am we were back at our vehicles. We all said our goodbyes and left in different directions, Nicola and I still exploring a little more on the reserve's public roads before turning back home just before noon.
Another hugely successful twitch for us. Along with the Golden pipit in Pongola in 2010, this was definitely one of our top trips!
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