Club Atlas Adventure #11 – Nungwane Dam

Let’s kick off this trip report with a contribution from one of the participants. 

“On Sunday the 18th August I went on my first atlassing excursion. With Dave Rimmer as the organiser and guide, I together with 6 other birders visited a part of eThekwini which most of us never even knew existed. A typical Zulu rural area amid sometimes spectacular scenery consisting of grassland interspersed with bush and occasional forest. Although there was human habitation, a large part of the area was relatively intact, and yielded good birding.  

A Lifer for me was the Brown-backed Honeybird, but my favourite sighting was of a pair of Crowned Eagles, circling close overhead. What also got my heart racing was a great view of a very dark morph of a Black Sparrowhawk. The enthusiasm and camaraderie from the other birders and the expert guiding of Dave made for a great day out. Great company, great birding, and a great environment. Thanks to all who made it special.” (Jimmy Pauck)

The August atlassing trip took us to the remote south-west sector of eThekwini to tackle pentads 3000_3035 and 3000_3040. I had done these pentads once previously in July 2021 with Adam Cruikshank, during the Clubs Colour Me Green atlas challenge, and I was keen for a return visit. Seven birders joined me on this atlas challenge this month – Jane Morris, Robyn Wainwright, Rob McLennan Smith, Jimmy Pauck, Kevin Hendrikse, and Cary and Veronica Kroeger. 

Location of Pentads 3000_3035 and 3000_3040 – trip route plan and species log.

We opted to drive around in convoy, following the routes and key habitats that I had provisionally identified using Google Earth, stopping regularly to walk about and observe. Out first stop along the stream channel below the dam wall got us off to a good start, and within the first hour we had logged 42 species. No guessing what the first bird was…… the ubiquitous Dark-capped Bulbul. Other noteworthy birds seen were Red-throated Wryneck, African Fish Eagle, African Black Duck, and four Weaver species – Holub’s Golden, Eastern Golden, Village, and Spectacled Weaver.

Group get together at the start of the first pentad (DaveR)

View overlooking Nungwane Dam (Jane Morris)

Holub’s Golden Weaver (DaveR)

Spectacled Weaver (DaveR)

Our bird of the day was quite surprising. As you know, it has been a very dry winter, and with no late summer rains before the onset of winter the plants are rather bare, the scrub sparse and in many places the grasses non-existent. One section we were driving along had recently been burnt. Movement caught Jane’s eye so she asked me to stop and turn back. We all scanned around to see what it could possibly have been, and there on the roadside amongst the charred stubs of grass and pebbles, and no sign of any bushes close by was a small flock of Grey Waxbill. Certainly not a bird I had expected to see in that habitat.

Grey Waxbill (DaveR)

Small stream crossing – big set of wheels for the rough terrain (Jimmy Pauck)

The roads less travelled (Jimmy Pauck)

Over the course of the morning, we traversed several small streams and rivers. These are always good spots to look for birds for those where water is their main habitat, as well as for others that come down to drink. At a bridge across the Lovu River we saw Hamerkop, Grey Heron, Brown-throated Martin, Cape Wagtail, Little Bee-eater, Black Saw-wing, Lesser Striped Swallow, and Mountain Wagtail.

Downstream view along the course of the Lovu River (DaveR)

Upstream view along the course of the Lovu River (DaveR)

 Mountain Wagtail (DaveR)

Hamerkop (DaveR)

We started in, and spent the greater portion of our morning (3.5 hours) in pentad 3000_3040. This pentad prior to our visit had 12 Full Protocol (FP) cards, with an overall species list of 151. Our efforts managed to increase both the number of FP cards, and added 16 new species. The new ones added were Chinspot Batis, Cape Crow, Klaas’s Cuckoo, White-faced Whistling Duck, Yellow-billed Duck, Brown Snake Eagle, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Grey Heron, Malachite Kingfisher, Cape Longclaw, Brown-throated Martin, Alpine Swift, Speckled Pigeon, Holub’s Golden Weaver, and Cardinal Woodpecker. 

Not to be outdone, pentad 3000_3035, with 14 previous FP cards and 162 species had 9 additional species added to its SABAP list. With just over 2 hours in spent in this pentad, the new species added were Hamerkop, Crowned Eagle, Lanner Falcon, Grey Heron, Malachite Kingfisher, Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Cape Rock Thrush, and Cardinal Woodpecker.

A perfect spot for sundowners – any time after noon (DaveR)

It would be good to see more club members signing up for future atlassing trips. It really is a great day out exploring the more remote parts of our Metro, a fun way to learn about atlassing (even if you are not an Atlasser, nor aspire to be one…… but you may well become addicted), and get to see some great birds with like-minded people.

 Our combined tally for the day yielded 100 species across both the pentads we covered. 

I hope to see you at the next BeKZN Atlassing Adventure!

Trip report by Dave Rimmer and Jimmy Pauck. Photos (where credited).