10 March 2024

Club Atlas Adventure #8 – Inanda Dam Quadrant

The 2024 Atlas outing programme was supposed to have commenced in February. However, that outing was cancelled due to adverse weather forecasts – no one really likes birding in the rain. The weatherman took umbrage to that decision and gave us the exact opposite conditions for the re-scheduled trip in March, which was hot, hot, hot!! Some people opted out beforehand, and those that did join me endured the hot conditions which reached up to 38⁰ C down in the Umgeni valley, but were rewarded with some excellent birding. The intrepid birders that braved the heat were Barry Forbes, Lorraine Retief, Robyn Wainwright, Trevor and Angie Mitchell, and Ian Matthews. The numbers are growing 😊

We assembled at Hillcrest Corner at 5.30am for a meet and greet, an introductory briefing on the objectives and protocols of atlassing for the South African Bird Project (SABAP2), as well as how to use Birdlasser to atlas. My original intention was to split the group in two, with each attempting to tackle two pentads each on the western and eastern flanks of Inanda dam. We decided to remain together and go as one group, as that would be more beneficial for those wanting to learn more about atlassing.

We spent the first 15 minutes or so at the start of the pentad boundary adjacent to the western entrance to Cotswold Downs Estate. A combination of early morning bird calls, the grassland on the west side, and a small dam inside the estate yielded many birds, and kept the fingers busy logging entries to the trip card. 35 species within the first quarter hour!

We pressed on, stopping occasionally when seeing / hearing a bird, which invariably added more species to the growing list. One of these stops just after Brackenhill was for a Lanner Falcon perched atop a dead gum tree, no doubt scanning the valley for a breakfast opportunity.

Atlassing requires recording birds whether they are seen or heard. Some can be particularly tricky customers to get visuals of. In this case, three particularly visually rewarding species that we sadly did not get to see were Grey-headed, Gorgeous, and Orange-breasted Bushshrike. And then you get those that only one or two persons get to see before they dive back into the undergrowth, and out of sight. I think Barry was the only one to see a Little Bittern – the first ever record for pentad 2940_3045, and that after 237 previous Full Protocol cards!

Driving through the valley and along the course of the Umgeni River provides a wonderful vista, and various habitat regimes. Despite the heat of the day, we managed to complete two Full Protocol cards and recorded a total 115 species altogether. We effectively called it quits for the two pentads around noon, but decided on a circular route back to base and end the day atop Inanda Mountain. Because here, the views overlooking Inanda Dam are spectacular, as are the raptors that take advantage of the rising air coming up from the valley and over the top. During our lunch and beverages stop here, we got to see more Lanner Falcon, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Jackal Buzzard, and Yellow-billed Kite. Pipits are other LBJs are usually quite prevalent in the short grasses, but this time all we got was confiding views of Zitting Cisticola. 

Atlasing is fun and gives your birding a purpose! We hope to see you at the next BeKZN Atlasing Adventure in April and June!

Trip report by Dave Rimmer.