Saturday 5th November

Our outing to Alvestone Wildlife Park began at 6:00 when we met Roz, one of the landowners at the gate. The weather looked a little bleak, the wind was howling, and a few drops of rain also evident on the windscreens. Nevertheless we decided to persevere.

Alverstone Wildlife Park is a 100 hectare nature reserve near Hillcrest, Durban, South Africa. The reserve was created in 1997 by a group of neighbouring landowners. The park has a diverse ecosystem, which includes grasslands, a forest, and wetlands.A number of mammals can be found in the reserve, including duiker, bushbuck, bushpig, civet, genet, mongoose and rock hyrax. Herds of blesbok, blue wildebeest, impala and zebra have been introduced to the reserve (Source: Wikipedia)

We walked along the path that winds it’s way along the rocky ridge, bush on the left and grassland on the right of the path. Here we were expecting to see Robin and Stone Chat, but neither showed up. 

A little further along the path we came across a few Yellow-fronted Canary. A Rhombic Night Adder lying in the pathway got the adrenaline going,  and we were happy to see it move off after posing for a few photographs. 

The narrow road that leads down to the dam was quiet with a few forest birds calling but keeping well out of sight. A Long Crested Eagle landed in a tree a little way off, the tree was swaying in the wind making it difficult to photograph the Eagle.

Once we reached the dam, the weather improved a little and we saw, Brown-hooded Kingfisher and Black Flycatcher. The little path beyond the dam produced the bird of the day, Broad-tailed Warbler, which was a lifer for many. It posed beautifully for photographs as it rendered a full repertoire of its calls.

Other birds seen there were Greater Double-collared Sunbird,  female Black Cuckoo-shrike and Brown-backed Honeybird. A Gorgeous Bush-shrike was calling close by, but did not make an appearance. On the walk back to the boma, the weather cleared up Beautifully and we had nice views of Yellow-thoated Longclaw and Plain-backed Pipit. 

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While enjoying our refreshments at the boma, there was a termite alate emurgence which almost instantly attracted a number of Swifts, Swallows, followed by a Jackal Buzzard Yellow- billed Kite and Peregrine Falcon.

The total number of birds seen or heard was 68 

Wahlberg’s Eagle was added to the list, after the photograph of the Eagle was shared by Maxine Carter. Making it 69.

Terry Walls