Mkuze Game Reserve birding, Nov 2013

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• List of birds

With the good rain we and Zululand had in October, it looked like a perfect plan to drive down to Mkuze Game Reserve for a weekend's birding. However, things went a bit pear-shaped on Friday afternoon shortly after I picked Nicola up from work. We had 5 hours to drive the 400 odd kms to Mkuze before the gate closed at 7pm - not a lot of breathing space considering that most of the road there has a speed limit of 100km/h and frequently down to 80km/h. Ten minutes after we left Nicola's work, just on the other side of the N4 towards Ermelo, the X-trail's front left brakes suddenly seized up completely. Thinking fast, we decided to take the wheel off and smack the disk brakes a couple of blows to loosen whatever was going on, drive back home and swap cars. In a flat panic of blurred action, Nicola jacked the car while I loosened the nuts and then took the wheel off. We couldn't see anything wrong so I just gave the brakes a few hits with the tire iron, put the wheel back on and literally in less than 10 minutes, we were on our way back home. Hitting the brakes seemed to have helped as the car didn't lurch to a stop now if I eased off the accelerator and we couldn't smell the burning brake pads anymore. But now we started to worry about getting to Mkuze before the gates closed. Driving as fast as I dared, we got back home safely and in about 6 minutes tossed all our stuff from the Xtrail to the Jazz, washed hands re-set the alarm and were off again by 14:35. But now we had lost a very precious 45 minutes or so and it was going to be tight. The next four hours flew past at breakneck speed as I sped and overtook the countless trucks on the Mpumalanga roads. It took us a frustrating 30 minutes to get through Ermelo, now in such a state of poor traffic control and endless road works that we swore to not drive through there again in at least 3 years. Outside Ermelo I was able to pick up some speed and also made up some time once we hit the KZN roads. Finally, as dusk became night, we drove the last 20km gravel road to the entrance gate, entering the reserve at 18:45 just as the gate guard was walking up from the camp site to lock up for the night. Incredibly relieved, we relaxed as we drove the last 10kms to the reception and found our hut open with the keys in the door. Nicola's snackwich dinner was gulped down before we passed out after a stressful afternoon.

When my alarm woke us at 04:30, the first birds had already started calling and before we left the camp at 5am, we had Red-chested cuckoo, Emerald-spotted wood dove, Crested guineafowl, Chinspot batis, Green-backed camaroptera and Grey tit-flycatcher on the list. We first headed down to the kuMasinga hide but found it occupied by a family noisily having breakfast and didn't stay long. We then followed directions to a flowering bush south of the kuMasinga hide where Brian Wilson has possibly seen a Plain-backed sunbird the previous weekend. The directions were perfect but unfortunately the weather wasn't. Although pleasantly cool, a stiff south-easter had started blowing and we found the flowering bush devoid off any birds, let alone a Plain-backed sunbird. However, the birding was still reasonably good and we ticked the usuals at regular intervals, including Orange-breasted and Gorgeous bush-shrikes, Black- and Brown-crowned tchagras, Senegal lapwing, Common scimitarbill, Sombre and Yellow-bellied greenbuls, Terrestrial brownbul, Black, Diderick, Klaas's and African cuckoos, Collared, Marico, Purple-banded and Scarlet-chested sunbirds among many others. At the Nsumo pan hides, the wind howled across the lake and it was decidedly unpleasant. We stuck around long enough to pick up Wooly-necked and Yellow-billed storks, African openbill, African jacana, Glossy ibis and an excellent sighting of an Osprey. We turned north and made a quick pass of the airstrip where a single African pipit was seen and a few Crowned lapwings harassed a passing Yellow-billed kite. We spent lunch at the Inhlonhlela hide but this yielded nothing new. On our way back to Mantuma camp we heard our sixth cuckoo for the day: African emerald cuckoo. A quick stop at Mantuma for our exit permit for the next day was followed by a drive back towards the entrance gate. Large sections of Mkuze had burned this year and after some good rains, the entire Mkuze looked like paradise - it was incredibly green with new shoots all over, dense grass and bush having burned away so you could scan deeper into the veld and it seemed that all the animals were also enjoying this bounty tremendously. We paid a visit to the Thaleni picnic site and Malibala hide that has unfortunately seen better times but added a number of good birds like Rufous-naped and Sabota larks, Red-fronted and Yellow-rumped tinkerbirds and then spent 10 minutes watching a very tame Black-bellied bustard picking up grasshoppers and calling it's peculiar champagne-cork pop. We were back at our hut just after 5pm with dusk starting and the strong wind still blowing. We made a quick dinner in the shared kitchen and heard Fiery-necked nightjar calling before heading for bed. We ID'd 99 birds for the day - certainly not the best Mkuze can offer but then the wind we had all day definitely hampered birding, especially at Nsumo pan.

Sunday morning we were up at 4am, packed the car after breakfast and were off by 5am. Our hope was that the wind would die down overnight so we could spend some time at the Nsumo pan hides. This was not to be as the wind was still going and had brought some heavier clouds with it too. So instead of making for Nsumo pan, we enjoyed slow birding towards the hides and picked up all the common birds we expect plus also Grey penduline-tit, lots of Yellow-throated petronia, Lesser honeyguide and heard a Jacobin cuckoo calling. At the pan hides we added Water thick-knee together with all the other birds we saw the previous day. it was however now already 9am and time we started heading back. We made another quick turn at the Plain-backed sunbird bush but again not a single sunbird in sight. KuMasinga hide proved an excellent last stop with Crowned hornbill, Yellow-bellied greenbul, African cuckoo, Swuare-tailed drongo, and undoubtedly our entire weekend's highlight: a cracking good view of two Pink-throated twinspots - only our second time ever and more than five years since we last saw them, also at Mkuze! With such a high, we had to turn our backs on another excellent Mkuze trip and headed home, this time driving a much more relaxed (although 30km longer) route via Amsterdam and Carolina, arriving to a Middelburg plunged in yet another complete power black-out. Thank you Eskom!

Kruger National Park birding Sep 2013

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• List of birds

On Friday afternoon we headed out to central Kruger National Park for a long weekend's birding. With news of a Caspian plover seen at Mooiplaas watering hole just outside Mopani camp, we were happy that our planned tour up to Phalaborwa and Letaba would be so close that we'd have a reasonable chance of twitching this uncommon Palearctic migrant. Our drive was fairly uneventful and we arrived in Phalaborwa just before 7pm. We stayed in Arimagham Guest House that wasn't fancy but good value for money for the one night. Nicola made some snackwiches for dinner and after a long day's work and driving we were fast asleep by 9pm.

It was hot and humid when we arrived last night but this morning it was overcast and cool as we drove up to Phalaborwa gate. Unsurprisingly, the queue was already about a 100m long when we got there, 20 minutes before opening time. While waiting we ticked off our first birds that had begun to call: African grey hornbill, Crested francolin, Black-headed oriole, Cardinal and Golden-tailed woodpeckers and a bunch of others. Getting through the gate went smoothly and by 06:05 we were inside. With a bit of extra distance to drive towards Mopani we kept to a steady 20km/h but stopped for everything that we thought we could ID. Sabota lark, White-backed vulture, Dark chanting goshawk, Purple and Lilac-breasted rollers, Bateleur, Blue waxbill along with some other common birds were seen on the tar road towards Mopani. When we reached the H1-6 we turned south and shortly after got onto the S49 north towards Mooiplaas watering hole. The dirt track delivered a few more birds but it only got interesting at the watering hole. First up was lots of Chestnut-backed sparrowlarks and a pipit (probably African) that wouldn't sit still long enough for a good view. Scanning the grassy scrub just on the northern side of the concrete dam, we suddenly spotted a large plover. A good look through the binocs confirmed our lifer for the trip - Caspian plover! Altogether there were six of them and Nicola managed a couple of decent photographs before we turned around. The weather was now windy and things became unpleasantly dusty on the dirt tracks. We made a quick stop at Mopani camp where we scanned the dam shore from outside the restaurant to add Saddle-billed stork, Great egret, Grey heron, African jacana, White-winged tern, Red-breasted swallow and Cut-throat finch. Our slow drive south towards Letaba yielded Green-winged pytilia, Marico sunbird, Burchell's coucal, Kori bustard and Wahlberg's eagle together with a few others but the overcast and windy conditions definitely prevented a high daily count. We reached Letaba camp sometime after 4pm and quickly pitched our tent before taking a slow drive along the river. Dinner was pre-cooked chicken pasta salad and with little else to do for the night, we settled in quickly.

It was windy throughout the night but still heavily overcast when we broke camp on Sunday morning. Our first birds for the day were heard and not seen: African mourning dove, Chinspot batis, Arrow-marked babbler, African fish eagle, Red-faced mousebird, Black-crowned tchagra. With the weather still very windy, we decided to stay off the dirt tracks as much as possible and stuck to the tar all the way to Olifants camp. It was now actually quite cold so it was kind of pointless sitting outside to have a snack so on we went again, taking the S92 and S91 loop back to the H1-5. The highlight of this loop was definitely a couple of White-crowned lapwings along the Olifants river but there were also some Yellow-billed stork, Pied kingfisher, Black-winged stilt, African green pigeon and our first Eastern nicator for Kruger. Back on the tar road we drove very slowly and got nice views of smaller species like Burnt-necked eremomela, Long-billed crombec, Yellow-breasted apalis and White-browed scrub-robin. With enough time left, we decided to take the S127 and S40 loop past Ratel pan picnic site. This turned out to be a very dusty decision but we still added a few more birds, including White-headed vulture. Arriving in Satara camp just after 5pm, we checked into our little bungalow that was sufficient (kitchenette outside, ensuite bathroom but a little overpriced for what you get. A trumpeter hornbill flew past as we parked and after dinner we went on a short walk around camp to look at a couple of African scops owls that were calling.

By Monday morning the wind had finally settled a bit and the clouds looked a little thinner too. We left Satara very slowly and had some excellent birding along the first 10-15km picking up around 50 species. But when we did only 20km in over 3 hours, we realized that we were not going to make our destination (Pretoriuskop) at this rate. Since we also wanted to have a quick stop at Lake Panic, we decided to push on a bit and only stopped if we spotted something worthwhile. We made good progress and by lunch time were on the Sabie road just outside Skukuza. One of the many small loops next to the river had a nice big fruiting fig tree and we sat in the car here for lunch. Then it was off to Lake Panic that was surprisingly quiet, having had to fight for sitting place several times before. Lake Panic delivered the usual customers: Grey, Goliath and Green-backed heron, Village and Lesser masked weavers, Water thick-knee, Black crake, African jacana and Lesser striped swallow. We took the S65 south to link up to Napi road and picked up calling Greater honeyguide and a couple of Southern white-crowned shrikes. Napi road was quiet, but a lone white rhino crossing the road right in front of us provided good photo opportunities. Our little hut in Pretoriuskop was tiny but again, we weren't going to spend a lot of time there so it was OK. Tonight we were lazy and ate in the restaurant but this again disappointed just like our previous Kruger restaurant experience. We were hoping that things have picked up in the last 3 years but obviously it had not. But at least we didn't have dishes to do so after another walk around camp, we were off to bed.

Deciding to exit via Malelane gate in the south, we departed Pretoriuskop when the camp gate opened at 6am and got onto Voortrekker road. While it was still cool we picked up many good birds and a reedy patch in a little depression produced Croaking cisticola. By the time we reached the tar road towards Malelane we had 50 birds for the morning and after we exited, we stopped on the Crocodile bridge and added another 15 birds in and around the river. It was just before 11am as we tackled the road back and safely reached home just before 3pm. There were major road works between Malelane and Nelspruit with two long Stop/Go sections, so we'll try our best to avoid having to travel this road in the next 2-3 years. An excellent long weekend with 156 birds for the trip, not bad considering that the only cuckoo we heard was Klaas's, migratory birds are only starting to arrive now and the weather on the first 2.5 days wasn't conducive to high bird counts.

Kaapschehoop birding/hiking Sep 2013

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• List of birds

At just after 4pm on Friday, we left Middelburg, heading for the picturesque town of Kaapschehoop with our friends Laura and Bennie for a weekend of relaxed birding and hiking. Despite some slightly dodgy directions we found our accommodation – Karin's Kaia, a lovely 2-bedroom cottage with an upstairs lounge and balcony - very comfortable for the weekend. We quickly settled in, made dinner and enjoyed David Attenborough's Life of Birds for an hour or so. By that time it was getting late so we headed for bed, ready for an early morning start the next day.

Saturday morning we had a quick breakfast and then headed out to walk to the escarpment. It was unfortunately quite windy and overcast, so most birds were sensibly hiding away. However, a few ones did show themselves: Buff-streaked chat, Familiar chat, both Sentinel and Cape rock-thrushes, Yellow bishop and a number of Wailing cisticolas calling. We reached the escarpment very quickly and were disappointed to find the wonderful view covered by haze. The wind was not at all daunted by the cliff face and rushed up at us, so we turned around and headed back. We had some fun bundu-bashing and climbing the wonderful rocky boulders before getting back to town. On the outskirts we saw both male and female Amethyst sunbird, Southern double-collared and Red-winged starlings. We stopped off at the cottage for a quick breather, before we obtained a permit for Battery creek waterfall from Koek 'n Pan. We crossed the road and quickly dipped down into the kloof, where we followed the winding path alongside the stream. At one river crossing Pieter went on ahead while I waited for Laura and Bennie, who had become entangled in some thorny branches. Once free we turned to follow Pieter and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a Mountain wagtail flying low across the stream. I quickly pointed it out to Laura and Bennie since it was a lifer for them. We then spent a nice half hour at the foot of the falls taking numerous photos. Laura crossed the stream to get a better angle, but on the way back she slipped and fell into the stream, giving her elbow a nasty knock. Fortunately she had passed her camera to me before crossing, so the only consequences were wet clothing and a very nasty bruise. After that incident we headed back so Laura could get to some dry clothes. On the way back out we had fleeting glimpses of an Olive woodpecker before leaving the forest. Once home we rested for an hour before heading into town for an afternoon snack at the pancake restaurant. Dinner was a braai with potato salad and roast vegies followed by another hour or so of Attenborough’s Life of Birds before bed.

We had planned a nice breakfast of omelets and bacon, but unfortunately I could not partake due to a nasty tummy bug. Despite my best efforts, I could not even keep water down, and the mere thought of food had me gagging. Fortunately Laura had some handy Valoid so I dosed myself before we climbed in the car and headed back. We got home by lunch time where we settled in for a quiet afternoon. Despite all the incidents, it was a very relaxing weekend, and our only regret was that the inclement weather had made for a small birding count.