04 February 2023 - Peddlars Bush, Saddleback Pass, Kaapmuiden, Malelane Gate, Crocodile Bridge Gate and Komatidraai Dam
It rained hard and heavy through the night, but had abated when we were up at 4:30 to head toward Barberton and onward into the indigenous forest patches of Peddlars Bush for the dawn chorus. That is when I realised how rusty I was on forest species calls and it was tough going, but slowly we tuned in and by listening to specific calls on the App, were slowly able to confirm the expected species. Photography was not even an option in the gloomy depths and with only fleeting views of most species. It was both challenging and rewarding at the same time. Once the sun started hitting the forest, birds slowly became more visible and our list continued to grow (I wont list all the species recorded, but we got most of the expected species, but also dipped on a few that we thought were certain), but the only one I was able to get a record image of was an Olive Bushshrike
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| Olive Bushshrike (Chlorophoneus olivaceus) |
Whilst watching a Forest Canary, this diminutive male Natal Red Duiker stepped out of the forest and walked for a short distance on the side of the road before silently disappearing back into the undergrowth. Awesome, as it had been many, many years since I had last seen one
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| Male Natal Red Duiker (Cephalophus natalensis) |
Whilst walking the forest roads, we came across this tiny pair of Frogs
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| Frog sp. |
And a couple of Brown species
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| Brown sp. |
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| Brown sp. |
Indigenous forest used to be found here - but this is what Sappi has replaced it with - a sterile industry
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| Sad |
We left Peddlars and headed back to the main road, turning left to head toward some grassland and a dam where we added a good number of species to the list including Red-collared Widow
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| Red-collared Widow (Euplectes ardens) |
And an African Yellow Warbler which Lex had previously recorded here
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| African Yellow Warbler (Iduna natalensis) |
From here it was back toward Barberton, stopping on Saddleback Pass for Familiar Chat
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| Familiar Chat (Oenanthe familiaris) |
Southern Tchagra, Red-necked Spurfowl and Gurney's Sugarbird
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| Gurney's Sugarbird (Promerops gurneyi) |
We detoured around Barberton to Kaapmuiden and onward to Malelane Gate to enter the Kruger Park. On the drive, more species were added, as well as on the bridge and gate at Malelane. We paid our entry and then walked the path around the reception ablutions finding Blue Waxbill
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| Blue Waxbill (Uraeginthus angolensis) |
And both Golden-tailed and Bennett's Woodpecker
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| Bennett's Woodpecker (Campethera bennettii) |
It was here I stepped off the open path to photograph the Woodpecker when I was summoned by the gate guard who videoed me while calling me. Apparently I had violated some law by stepping off the path and 'into the bush' when at the same time other visitors were all walking around the car park and also stopping and getting out of their cars on the bridge - go figure.
We entered the park and headed east on the road parallel to the Crocodile River continuing to add species to our growing list. A Bateleur cruised past parallel with the car
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| Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) |
We stopped to watch a troop of Vervet Monkey's enjoying Marula fruits that were on the ground under a large Marula Tree when suddenly they scattered in all directions. We though predator for sure, but it was an Ele that came lumbering through the bush and in about 15-minutes had hoovered up all the fruit that has been lying on the ground. This Ele had a strange injury or deformity on the end of its trunk, but we still enjoyed watching how it blew the berry's into its mouth
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| African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) |
Its always great to see Southern Ground Hornbill
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| Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) |
A little further one, I spotted a White-headed Vulture overhead. This is a threatened species and becoming increasingly difficult to find
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| White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) |
Of course a good few Red-billed Oxpecker's on the plains game
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| Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) on Impala |
There were good numbers of European Rollers on this route
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| European Roller (Coracias garrulus) |
At the Biyameti Weir, there were many Egrets, Herons, Hamerkops and Storks. Here a Black Stork catching a small fish
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| Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) |
Just before the main road to Crocodile Bridge, we spotted an alethe eruption 100m off the road that attracted many bird species including a few Black-backed Jackal. We were first alerted to the eruption by the mass of Hirundines and a Wahlberg's Eagle which departed soon after we stopped
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| Wahlberg's Eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi) |
Soon a few Marabou's dropped in flushing a pale Tawny Eagle
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| Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) |
Tawny Eagle
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| Pale form Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) |
The Marabou's were joined by up to 4 Kori Bustard's - it was a literal feast for all
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| Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) |
After exiting the Croc Bridge gate, we stopped at a small dam before Komatipoort and again added a good number of species, including a distant Sand Martin
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| Sand Martin (Riparia riparia) |
The Komati River was still in flood after the recent heavy rains
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| Komati River |
From here it was on to Komatidraai Dam, but unfortunately the gate was locked, so we had to find an alternative location. Lex got some info from one of his mates and we headed a little further in the last hour of the day to Nico's place and what a gem it was. Dwarf Bittern, Lesser Jacana, Great Reed Warbler and Rufous-winged Warbler being some of the highlights. An African Pied Wagtail landed close after the sun had set
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| African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp) |
We were treated to a fiery sunset as we called it a day on 169 species (we expected a total closer to 200, but were still very happy with some of the birds seen on the day, notwithstanding a great day together) and drove back to De Kaap Conservancy in Nelspruit
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| BBD Sunset |
