Sunday 18th August 2019
Report by Paul and Sally Bartho
Sally and I had most enjoyable birding with KZN Midlands at the Botanical Gardens in Pietermaritzburg. The day started off very misty and took its time to clear up. Despite that the birding was good. It all started with a Black Sparrowhawk as we entered the Gardens and went on from there. Here are a few of the birds we saw.
Read MoreDear All
Please find attached (click here) the movements of our Bearded Vultures; Jeremia, Pharaoh and Mollie and our Cape Vulture N207, for the past week.
Read Morereport by Tyron Dall
A very good turnout of about 30 birders turned up for the walk which we started at just after 8am from the Environmental Centre, where I believe quite a few people have seen Green Twinspots before.
Read MoreDear All
Please find attached (click here) the movements of our Bearded Vultures; Jeremia, Pharaoh and Mollie and our Cape Vulture N207, for the past week.
Good news from our nest camera this week- Although the chick is not yet visible, it appears that it has hatched !
Kind regards
Sonja Krüger
https://www.facebook.com/projectvulture
https://twitter.com/vultureproject
The July Sunday outing of BirdLife Port Natal was to the Amatigulu Nature Reserve on the north coast. 12 birders met at the turnoff from the N2 at 07h30 and were serenaded by a Rufous-naped lark as we waited. It was a short drive to the entrance of the reserve, where I was surprised to find that there was no entrance charge.
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uMlalazi is a winter wonderland for birding. Not only is it a lot warmer than home but a number of species arrive from higher altitudes or further south down the coast to enjoy the relative warmth just as we do. One never knows what can pop up and so 20 hopeful birders assembled at uMlalazi on Friday the 12thJuly. Some lucky eager beavers were able to arrive the day before or early on the Friday morning.
Read MoreReport by Terry Walls
Saturday 6th July 2019
Once again we could not have asked for better weather for a birding outing.
We met in the car park at 7:30 am where a number of the more common birds were there to greet us: Hadeda Ibis, Common, Glossy and Red-winged Starlings, Dark-capped Bulbul, House Sparrow, Red-eyed Dove and of course the Common Myna.
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The presentation will start at 19h00 so please get there a little early for tea/coffee and a chat about bird sightings or news.
Report by Tyron Dall
Nine birders enjoyed a wonderful mornings birding with excellent weather. The first bird to get our attention was an African Darter on a mud flat in the middle of the river, which seemed to be waiting for the sun’s rays to warm its outstretched wings.
19 June 2019
Report by Sandi du Preez
17 birders attended the BLPN bird walk on a lovely sunny day. This must be a record number for a Wednesday activity ! No guessing what the attraction was – obviously the hopes for a sighting of the Spotted Ground Thrush! More about that later.
Crispin Hemson kindly joined as for a while.
Mention must be made of our new young birder, Justin Stoltz – 12 years old and already knowledgeable about the birds. He told me that birding is his favourite hobby – Welcome Justin – don’t ever lose your enthusiasm!
Birding was fairly challenging as the birds don’t call much during the non-breeding winter months. Crispin wandered off and then phoned me to say that he was looking at a juvenile Green Twinspot. We all rushed off to see it but by the time we reached him the silly bird had flown off.
In winter one can see six species of Sunbird and we were lucky to see all six (Amethyst, Collared, Grey, Olive, Purple-banded and White-bellied). But the star was undoubtedly the magnificent Grey Sunbird with it’s red pectoral tufts!
Southern Boubous were calling the whole time, often in duet. They have many calls and one individual had a very different and extremely pretty call.
A special bird of the day was a single Red-billed Firefinch.
In the reservoir area we saw two very active Tawny-flanked Prinias. Some of the other species seen on the walk were Terrestrial Brownbul, Black Cuckooshrike, Square-tailed Drongo, African Paradise Flycatcher, African Goshawk, Black-headed Oriole, Black-backed Puffback, Red-capped Robin-chat, Black Sparrowhawk, Kurrichane Thrush, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Purple-crested Turaco and Golden-tailed Woodpecker.
Four species of Weavers were observed (Dark-backed, Spectacled, Thick-billed and Village).
Unfortunately we did not see a Spotted Ground Thrush. They seem to be rather elusive this year (except to Crispin of course!). After doing the bird list at tea-time we recorded 46 species but when most people had left a Pied Crow flew overhead, so the total count was 47. (click here to see the list of the species seen and heard). Tamsin and I went for a little walk up the central path and we were lucky to see a Slender Mongoose.
Thanks to Paul Hobden and Jacqui and Justin Stoltz for photos.
Birders from the coast got to see more than only birds on this outing to the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Reedbuck, impala, nyala, warthog and zebra wander around the residential estate, but the highlight was undoubtedly seeing a leguaan sunning itself on the reedbeds at one of the dams.
But back to birding, the club welcomed new member, Renate Roos from Shallcross, who attended her first outing. The gentle walk in the conservation area yielded a final tally of 53 species, which is quite respectable for a chilly day shortly after the winter solstice. (See list below).
There was brief confusion at one tree where two brightly coloured yellow birds shared the same branches. The puzzle was solved when one bird was identified as an immature Black-headed Oriole (with a black, not red, bill) and a Village Weaver already coming into breeding colours.
There were no problems identifying the third yellow job, clearly a Yellow-throated Longclaw.
After the walk, Paul and Sally Bartho kindly invited members to enjoy their refreshments on the lawn of their home nearby.
A few intrepid birders then took off to visit the Karkloof Conservancy Centre a few kilometres outside Howick before returning home.
The bird hides were quiet, but we were rewarded with a variety of water birds: African Spoonbill, Red-billed Teal, a pair of South African Shelduck and a juvenile Black Crake that along with one adult foraged in front of us for long time. The best sighting of all though was a pair of Wattled Crane seen from the hide but way off in the fields, fortunately a drive along the road got us a lot closer and a convenient layby afforded us a better view of the birds. The birds were not very obliging about posing for a photo though.
It is always such a delight to show someone a lifer and our new member, Renate, was delighted with the bird. 22 birds were seen in the roughly 2 hours we were on site. Bird list for Karkloof Conservancy Centre follows the Amber Lee list below.
Bird list for Amber Lee
Pentad: 2925_3015, Start: 2019-06-23, End: 2019-06-23, Species: 53, Observations: 53
1. Red-winged Starling, 2019-06-23 11:14
2. Drakensberg Prinia, 2019-06-23 10:51
3. White-bellied Sunbird, 2019-06-23 10:50
4. African Dusky Flycatcher, 2019-06-23 10:36
5. Southern Black Flycatcher, 2019-06-23 10:30
6. White-rumped Swift, 2019-06-23 10:23
7. Little Swift, 2019-06-23 10:23
8. Brown-hooded Kingfisher, 2019-06-23 10:19
9. Sombre Greenbul, 2019-06-23 10:11
10. Southern Black Tit, 2019-06-23 10:02
11. Fork-tailed Drongo, 2019-06-23 09:59
12. Yellow-throated Longclaw, 2019-06-23 09:54
13. Black-collared Barbet, 2019-06-23 09:53
14. Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, 2019-06-23 09:46
15. Fan-tailed Widowbird, 2019-06-23 09:37
16. Cape Grassbird, 2019-06-23 09:34
17. African Palm Swift, 2019-06-23 09:29
18. Reed Cormorant, 2019-06-23 09:27
19. Little Grebe, 2019-06-23 09:26
20. Cape White-eye, 2019-06-23 09:26
21. Blacksmith Lapwing, 2019-06-23 09:25
22. Acacia Pied Barbet, 2019-06-23 09:13
23. Black Crake, 2019-06-23 09:12
24. Woolly-necked Stork, 2019-06-23 09:08
25. Black-headed Heron, 2019-06-23 08:49
26. House Sparrow, 2019-06-23 08:42
27. Bronze Mannikin, 2019-06-23 08:39
28. Amethyst Sunbird, 2019-06-23 08:38
29. Levaillant’s Cisticola, 2019-06-23 08:33
30. African Pipit, 2019-06-23 08:31
31. Jackal Buzzard, 2019-06-23 08:28
32. Common Moorhen, 2019-06-23 08:27
33. Red-eyed Dove, 2019-06-23 08:26
34. Southern Fiscal, 2019-06-23 08:23
35. African Stonechat, 2019-06-23 08:23
36. Brown-throated Martin, 2019-06-23 08:20
37. Cape Longclaw, 2019-06-23 08:20
38. Dark-capped Bulbul, 2019-06-23 08:16
39. Helmeted Guineafowl, 2019-06-23 08:11
40. African Hoopoe, 2019-06-23 08:09
41. Black-headed Oriole, 2019-06-23 08:06
42. Cape Wagtail, 2019-06-23 07:57
43. Village Weaver, 2019-06-23 07:53
44. Southern Red Bishop, 2019-06-23 07:51
45. Cape Crow, 2019-06-23 07:50
46. Speckled Pigeon, 2019-06-23 07:47
47. Hadeda Ibis, 2019-06-23 07:47
48. Egyptian Goose, 2019-06-23 07:46
49. Cape Robin-Chat, 2019-06-23 07:46
50. Red-billed Quelea, 2019-06-23 07:42
51. Cape Turtle Dove, 2019-06-23 07:42
52. Brubru, 2019-06-23 07:41
53. Cape Sparrow, 2019-06-23 07:38
Bird list for Karkloof Conservancy Centre.
Please pop in to support the bird club. Get a list of the top 10 plants to have in your garden to attract birds. Lovely setting, interactive slide show and bird calls, test your knowledge, have some eats and treats and buy a few bird & nature goodies.
Aloes and succulents for sale in the garden.
Dear All
Please find attached (Click here) the movements of our Bearded Vultures; Jeremia, Pharaoh and Mollie and our Cape Vulture N207, for the past week.
This past week has not been a good one for vulture; a dead Cape Vulture was picked up in the Eastern Cape- quite close to where N207 is foraging. Cause of death still needs to be established. In a second incident, 9 White-backed Vultures and 3 Lappet-faced Vultures were found dead near a carcass laced with poison. The carcasses were already a few days old, but hopefully we will still be able to establish what type of poison was used.
On a happier note, our nestcam birds (see attached) have been adding some interesting items to their nest.
Kind regards
Sonja Krüger
https://www.facebook.com/projectvulture
https://twitter.com/vultureproject
ESHOWE & SURROUNDS
Dlinza Forest Aerial Boardwalk and an area we think was Dreadnought Farm !
25th and 26th May 2019
Report by Nicolette Forbes
A group of around seventeen people responded that they would be joining us for the birding weekend getaway planned for Eshowe and surrounds and received an email with the logistics and arrangements. The plan was to meet late afternoon at the accommodation in Eshowe and chat about the next day’s birding around the fire that evening.
Thirteen of the group indicated they would arrive Saturday with the butterflying- birders and birding-butterflyers also committing to join us for the walk day on Sunday. Being keen to get started Ticky and myself left Durban early on Saturday morning and found ourselves on the road with the like-minded duos of Jane and Mike Roseblade and Sally and Paul Bartho from Howick. Without any prior planning we found ourselves converging on our Eshowe accommodation within minutes of each other during the late morning on Saturday – eager beavers we all were !
Having settled into our accommodation establishments, the Dlinza Forest Accommodation chalets run by Bev and Allan McKirdy who had kindly offered the BLPN group discount, and the Eshowe Guest House which was right opposite the chalets on the entrance road to the forest, we decided to wander along the Dlinza Forest entrance road and see what was around before heading back to meet and greet the rest of the party who would arrive much later in the afternoon. We were all amazed that despite it being midday and quite hot, there was a lot of bird activity particularly on the edges of the forest and at the picnic sites and we very quickly logged 28 species including Trumpeter and Crowned hornbill feeding through the treetops, Southern Black Tit, Square-Tailed Drongo, White-Eared Barbet and a group of Cape Batis putting on a great show. The bird list could probably have been longer but we were all distracted by the amazing numbers of butterflies moving around the edges of the clearing and at the entrance to the hide so a bit of time was spent photographing and trying to identify this moving feast.
Jane, Ticky and I then decided to check the nearby iHlazi Dam which is very close to town and situated on the upper reaches of the uMlalazi River while Sally and Paul decided to venture onto the boardwalk. The Blue Duiker was spotted from the Boardwalk (photo Paul Bartho). Our hope was to add some waterbirds to the already developing weekend trip list. Although, the dam had surprisingly low numbers of birds, some of the fringing areas had good emergent vegetation and in the lower reaches were large areas covered by a wonderful crop of flowering water lilies Nymphaea spp. The waterbirds were not plentiful, although the water habitat and the bushveld surrounds of the dam did add some nice species to the list with a pair of African Black Duck, Wire-tailed swallow, Purple-banded sunbird, African Stonechat and Brown-throated Martin.
We returned to our accommodation and found two more of our party had settled into their accommodation, Sean Glynn and his sister Gail who also joined us all the way from Howick. They were admiring the garden birds so we decided to join them and eventually all the early arrivals were gathered in the garden outside our chalets in the late afternoon sun to chat and enjoy the many squadrons of Trumpeter Hornbills that seemed to be a never ending parade over our heads as they headed off to their evening roosts. The rest of the expected mob started to arrive with Wilma van der Walt and Wendy van Elden, followed closely by Mick Jackson, and then much later Marian Langrand, and finally Leigh-Ann and Charles Barford who had been spending a few nights at the Hluhulwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve and came via a rather adventurous route through to Eshowe. After a chat about the next day’s schedule and a festive braai everyone settled into their beds in anticipation of the early start in the morning.
We met at the gates to the forest on Sunday at 06h30 and began our walk slowly towards the office and entrance to the aerial boardwalk. The early hour and morning light were enjoyed by all and the hide at the entrance started our Sunday viewing off with a bang. Although still frustratingly dark for the photographers with big lenses we were treated to cracking views of Lemon Dove, Green Twinspot, Redbacked Mannikins and Tambourine Dove. Some of these were lifers for a few of the party and we were particularly delighted that Gail got the Green Twinspots which she had expressed a wish to see as we started out from the chalets. Ticky and I were delighted that the hide and already produced some of the promised specials but were filled with trepidation about what to do about the rest.
After everyone had had their fill of the hide sightings we continued on to the boardwalk where we tried to get a view of Eastern Bronze Naped pigeons without success despite hearing their calls at intervals through the morning. A climb up the tower produced views of Grey Cuckooshrike and Scaly-throated Honeyguide for some of the participants. A couple of participants remained on the tower while most of the group walked one of the forest trails in the hopes of finding one of the other specials at Dlinza, Spotted Ground-thrush. This was a successful venture and we ended up with two birds very close to the path and seen by the whole group. Well done to Paul for getting a photo. The tower people also managed to connect with the thrushes by walking the same path about a half hour later.
By this time the butterfly-birders, Jenny Norman, Steve Woodhall, Sandy du Preez and Zach Simpson had arrived at Dlinza. Steve had hung some butterfly traps which we would check later. After waiting a little while on the boardwalk, without success, for the Eastern Bronze-naped pigeon to show itself and complete Sean’s wishlist, the birding group decided it was time to explore a new area and try to find the Dreadnought Farm site and see what was there. The butterfly group said that they would follow on and join us once they had checked the Dlinza activity.
At this point things moved into the realm of uncertainty. I had been provided with directions as well as permission to visit the farm by the landowner so the group headed off in a five car convoy down the Nkandla Road towards Entumeni Forest. And that’s where it got interesting…four u-turns because signs mentioned in the directions were not in place (for instance some can only be seen once you turn around and head back towards Dlinza) and a chance meeting with another farmer got us onto the right road … or did it ?
After following the directions to turn off the main road at the Entumeni Forest sign (which was not there) and then turn right at the Farmwatch sign (not there) and pass the farm name sign (not there) we crossed a river and decided to call it quits by turning up the road alongside the river crossing at which we had stopped. It was now quite hot but all was not lost as we discovered a beautiful river with two accessible crossings each with dragon and damselflies to entertain us – its anything with wings you see – and surrounding riverine vegetation and valley sides with amazing birds for the time of the day.
We walked along the farm road alongside the river and added Black Cuckooshrike and Narina Trogon to the list. We eventually decided to picnic in the shade by the one river crossing. With no Vodacom signal in that area I suddenly realised that the butterfly group would be trying to find us by following the same directions but given how difficult the directions were to follow they would have no hope of finding us. I underestimated Steve’s radar because as we were all sitting chatting and picnicking suddenly this car pulls up and to our amazement there they were. I still have no idea how thdey found us – it led one birder to ask if they had a tracking device on my phone. Quite a few of the birders decided to leave as it was getting late but the butterflies were still humming along the same river road so Steve, Zach and I walked it again to the next river crossing and were rewarded with many different species and to our excitement a beautiful specimen of Natal Bar that allowed us great close-up views and photos. There were also scores of Blue Pansy, Pied Piper, Boisduval’s tree nymphs and many others. Sandy du Preez walked the road above the river getting a great view of Lemon Dove while Jenny logged birds, butterflies, dragon flies at the river crossing.
By this time it was around 15h30 and Steve needed to go and check his butterfly traps. We all drove back to Dlinza and I watched in fascination as Steve removed some of the larger and more interesting specimens. The traps were very full of tree-nymphs but there were also Green-veined Charaxes, Bushveld Charaxes and to everyone’s excitement the much rarer Scarce Forest Charaxes. A Narina Trogon decided to sit out in some late afternoon sun on the edge of the picnic site as we were packing up and then it was time to leave and we all headed for Durban after agreeing it had been well worth the trip.
Thank you to all of you that joined us. Our birdlist total was 53 species slightly lower than expected, but on looking at this when I got back and once I had submitted the data to the SABAP2 programme I noticed that it was very much in line with the average count for the Dlinza pentad and not a bad total for a winter count in predominantly forest habitats. All in all though, the cracking views of some of the more cryptic and rare forest species, the good weather, company, exploring a new site and habitats visited made for a wonderful weekend trip. We will definitely be going back to explore that new area starting with the birds in the early morning and then move on to all the other winged creatures. We hope that more members will join us for that birding adventure!
Report by Sandi du Preez
Wednesday 22 May 2019
At the start of the outing we stopped at the lookout/picnic shelter and a huge flock of Thick-billed Weavers flew overhead. From this spot we also saw Black-bellied starlings, Greater double-collared Sunbird, Cape White-eyes, Yellow-fronted Canaries, a Little Sparrowhawk and Dark-capped Bulbuls.
Walking down the slope to the bottom we had a lovely Bark Spider on its web hanging over the path. A certain someone, who shall be nameless, did not seem to enjoy the sight of this creature!
There were masses of Halleria lucida trees all over the reserve, heavy with flowers and dripping with nectar for the sunbirds and other nectar-feeders.
Walking towards the dam we came across a bird party and we were enthralled by a Black-backed Puffback with a huge caterpillar in its beak. Then it dropped the caterpillar and we watched it searching on the ground for it’s lost snack. Fortunately the sharp-eyed bird found it again and flew up into the tree to enjoy it’s breakfast!
The terrain is looking very different after the heavy rains and flooding. It was amazing to see how destructive water can be. The stream is flowing quite strongly but there is a lot of debris and destroyed vegetation and we could see how high the water had risen. Parts of the old path were covered with broken branches and rocks which had been washed down from the top ends of the reserve. New paths had to be created to avoid these obstructions.
The dam has also been affected. There were only 3 birds on the water – one Egyptian Goose and two Common moorhens.
The path towards the boardwalk was quite muddy but the wonderful Conservancy members have already been working hard to replace the missing and broken planks over the wetter areas.
Birding was a little challenging as the birds were rather quiet, and of course the migrants have departed. Empty skies – no Kites or Swallows at this time of the year. We didn’t even hear a Kingfisher or a Woodpecker! However five species of Sunbird were very welcome – Amethyst, Collared, Greater double-collared, Grey and Olive.
The total count was 36 species. Click here to see the list.
Sorry – no decent photos of birds. I’m missing John Bremner and his camera!
Sandi du Preez
Dear All
Please find attached (Click Here) the movements of our Bearded Vultures; Jeremia, Pharaoh and Mollie and our Cape Vulture N207, for the past week.
Please also find attached the latest activity on our nest- no egg laid yet….
Kind regards
Sonja Krüger
http://www.projectvulture.org.za/ https://www.facebook.com/projectvulture
https://twitter.com/vultureproject
Dear All
Please find attached (click here) the movements of our Bearded Vultures; Jeremia, Pharaoh and Mollie and our Cape Vulture N207, for the past week. Seems our Cape Vulture may breed in the Eastern Cape afterall.
I have also attached a lovely photo of the adult pair from our nest camera.
Kind regards
Sonja Krüger
https://www.facebook.com/projectvulture
