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Archive for Birding
Day 5 – Bird of Prey Sanctuary and Natal Lion Park
First of all in the morning we all got up and had some breakfast that Victor made for us. After everyone was finished we made our way to the African Bird Of Prey Sanctuary. It was very good there. We all got to see and learn about different birds of prey we wouldn’t normally see in our country. We also saw a show at 10.30 to learn even more about these birds. I personally enjoyed it because I am not really a bird person, therefore it was really informative for me. We all managed to get some stunning photos to re-live the memories of the sanctuary. We also had some hotdogs after the show and spent some money in their gift shop.
After the bird of prey sanctuary we went to the Natal Lion Park. Before we went there Victor told us to go in with an open mind and make a decision about the zoo afterwards. Just from him saying this I realised that this zoo might not be of the best standard. And boy was I right. The enclosures that the animals were in were of very poor quality and none of the animals had any enrichment which is crucial in a zoo. I am not a very emotional person when it comes to most things but as soon as I saw the lions (my favourite animal) I literally just burst out crying. They were acting so unnaturally it made me angry more than anything.
I do understand that running a zoo takes time and money and that the owner might not have much. But there are such simple solutions to stop the animals behaving in this way. Even just a little enrichment would help. I know that if you want to work in the animal industry you have to see the bad side as well as the good. Therefore I am grateful that the college took us there. It has opened my mind to how some animals get treated and if anything it has made me more determined to succeed in the animal industry.
All in all I think it was a very good day!!! 
Written by Jessica Randall
Did You Know – Narina Trogon
Narina Trogon factsheet is this weeks factsheet, see below
Category: Albizia camp, Birding, Did you know?, Environmental Awareness Course /
Tags: accommodation near game reserve, Albizia camp, animal factsheet, apaloderma narina, birdwatching, educational, Environmental awareness course, hluhl, hluhluwe-imfolozi, hluhluwe-umfolozi, holiday accommodation, learn about narina trogon, Narina Trogon, narina trogon factsheet, school trips, south africa, south african accommodation, south african animals, south african birds, umkhumbi lodge
Day 8 – uMkhuze
The bird hunting continues!
A fantastic days sightings at uMkhuze, even whilst loading the car with our cameras, telescope, binoculars, bird books and most importantly breakfast we could hear the birds whistling around us.
No sooner had we pulled out of Umkhumbi Lodge gate than we see 2 Burchells Coucals sitting on a fence post, how could it possibly be a bad day after that!?
The bird list for today is:
- plover
- sandpipers
- swift
- moorhen
- lilac breasted roller
- nesting black-bellied starling pair
- white-faced whistling ducks
- 3 purple gallinule heron
- 2 heron
- bulbul
- barn swallow
- violet-back starling
- barbet
- collared dove
- 3 crested frankolin
- 2 rudds apalis
- mousebird
- crowned hornbill
- cardinal woodpecker
- tawny flanked prinia
- nobbeaked duck female
- jacan (adult and juvenile)
- glossy ibis
- sacred ibis
- emerald spotted dove
- cape dove
- gold-tailed woodpecker
- open billed stork
- red-breasted cuckoo
- broad billed roller !!
- eagle with nesting material
- dusky flycatcher
- golden breasted bunting
- nob-billed ducks
- egyptian goose
- broad billed roller
- black-bellied korhaan
- bustard
- european bee-eater
- bluecheeked bee-eater
- european bee-eater
- blue-cheeked bee eater
- red-backed shrike (again the most common bird of the day!)
- 2 blue waxbill/ cordon bleu
- broad-billed roller
- chinspot batis
- weaver
- black-shouldered kite
- purple-crested turaco/ lourie
- red-breasted swallow
- lesser striped swallow
- pie-tailed swallow
- swallow
- white-tailed swallow
- bulbul
- mystery bird
- cisticola
- red-cheeked mousebird
- stint
- canary
- unidentified bird of prey
- eagle
- cattle egret
- spurwing
- 4 red bishop
- 2 burchells coucal
- 3 trumpeter hornbill
- 5 yellow-billed hornbill
- stuffed buzzard
- woodland kingfisher
- 2 pied kingfisher
- 2 malachite kingfisher
- kingfisher
- masked weaver
- golden weaver
- pells weaver
- crested guinea fowl
- helmeted /crowned guinea fowl
- foamnest frog
- hippo
- dragonfly
- natal hinged tortoise
- forest cobra
Category: Activities, Birding, Extreme Nature Tour, Jason and Adam /
Tags: african safari, bird safari, bird sightings, birding holiday in south africa, birding safari, Extreme nature tour, game drive, hluhluwe accommodation, hluhluwe-imfolozi, KwaZulu Natal, kwazulu natal travel base, rare south african birds, safari, south african birds, twitcher holidays, twitching
Day 4 – Kosi Bay Snorkelling
Snorkelling is the plan today! Armed with our goggles, snorkels and flippers we clambered into the Land Cruiser ready for Tommy to drive us down to Kosi Bay mouth estuary. It is possible to walk down, but after a long day snorkelling driving back up the hill is much nicer! when we got down to the water the tide was extremely high, obviously we had over-estimated quite how much time we would need to stop so Jason could take pictures of Cisticolas (only joking Jason, I know they were cormorants really…! 
)
The best part about getting down to the estuary when it is still high tide is that as the water recedes across the estuary mouth, islands of sand appear littered with the small sea-life that water birdsclass as delicacies. This brings water-birds flocking (pardon the pun) for an easy snack. The sand dunes were teeming with birds such as tern as we walked around the edges of the estuary mouth in search of crabs, snakes, birds, lizards and anything thing else that moved!
As quickly as the tide rises, it drops, so we didnt have to wait for long before we could wade across the estuary mouth to the reef.
At first glance the area of water containing the reef raises a few sceptical looks and raised eyebrows from all who have yet to experience it.
The best way to view the reef is to walk to the top and float down across the reef with the current, it is lazy snorkelling, no effort needed, the best kind of snorkelling!
Jason and Adam saw (to name a few – there are so many!);
- Terns
- Cormorants
- Black Mangrove seed pod
- Shoals and shoals of un-identified baby fish
- Pink Clawed fiddler crabs
- Ring Cowrie
- Ramshorn shell
- Coneshell
- Honeycomb moray eel
- Occelated snake eel
- Bandtail cardinal
- Ninestripe cardinal
- Striped grunter
- one spot snapper
- Bream
- Mussel cracker (juvenile)
- Big eye stumpnose (juvenile)
- small scale purse mouth
- old woman (juvenile)
- emperor angelfish (juvenile)
- double sash butterfly fish (juvenile)
- Boomerang trigger fish
- Spotted toby
Check out the pictures on our Kosi Bay site!
And most importantly the lesser-spotted reef dwelling snorkel fish (losticus Jasonus).
After hours and hours of floating around in the estuary (it is surprisingly tiring, but well worth it) it was time to retreat back to Amangwane Kosi Bay for a braai (BBQ to us pommies) and bush TV (fire).
Steak and boerewors (sausage), pap n’ sous (local maize meal and sauce – tasty), potato salad (Africa style), coleslaw, fresh bread and salad. Needless to say we all went to bed on exceptionally full stomachs as it was too good to leave any!
Category: Activities, Amangwane Kosi Bay, Birding, Extreme Nature Tour, Jason and Adam, New friends, Wetland Park Group /
Tags: birding holiday in south africa, birding safari, estuary, Extreme nature tour, fish, heritage site, hluhluwe accommodation, Kosi Bay, kosi bay accommodation, KwaZulu Natal, reef, rustic holiday, snorkelling, south african birds, twitcher holidays, UNESCO
Day 3 – Kosi Bay
Amangwane at Kosi Bay is one of my favourite places, so imagine my joy when we were to go to Kosi Bay for three nights looking for more birds to tick off of Jason and Adams substantial birdlist!
Part of the beauty of Kosi Bay is that it is not too far from <a href=”www.umkhumbilodge.co.za”>Hluhluwe</a> where Umkhumbi Lodge is based. This means that you do not have to set out at stupid o’clock in the morning to reach your destination. Taking advantage of this the two boys went for a mornings drive around False Bay where despite the unusual wind (thought to be because of cyclone Funso) they still managed to get some sighting;
- dabchick
- white breasted cormorant
- greater flamingo
- african white backed-vulture
- woolynecked stork
- little egret
- hadeda ibis
- white headed vulture
- black winged stilt
water dikkop
swift (greater crested) tern
brown-hooded kingfisher
Then it was time to drive to kosi bay, this provided even more sightings to tick off the list. On the way we spotted;
- pied kingfisher
- yellow billed kite
- palm nut vulture
- brimstone canary
And of course countless Cisticola, sunbirds, swallows (all of which were flying too quickly across the road and into thethick bush for us to ID whilst in a car (this is despite Jasons well practiced braking skills…).
We arrived at Kosi Bay early enough to deposit our gear in our en-suite reed chalets and have a drink or two before heading to the viewpoint to see what other creatures we could find (of both the winged and wingless varieties.)
The boys relax and chat at the viewpoint
Here you go Jason, the moths you wanted a picture of
The viewpoint is spectacular, with beautiful sunsets and even more magnificent sunrises. And we arrive there – after an interpretive walk with Tommy informing us about the different plants and trees and identifying the countless tracks in the sand that we point out to him – to the beginnings of an African sunset. If you have not yet seen one, it is impossible to describe the colours as the sun rays play on the clouds, even long after the sun has hidden behind the mountains and hills.
Tommy identifies the tracks in the sand.
The boys try and identify the birds sitting on the fishtraps
Category: Amangwane Kosi Bay, Birding, Extreme Nature Tour, Jason and Adam, New friends, Wetland Park Group /
Tags: birding holiday in south africa, birding safari, Extreme nature tour, heritage site, hluhluwe accommodation, Kosi Bay, kosi bay accommodation, KwaZulu Natal, rustic holiday, south african birds, twitcher holidays, UNESCO
Day 2 – Hluhluwe Imfolozi
Day 2 – Hluhluwe-Imfolozi
Thankfully it was not a baking hot day in the park today! The sun was out, there was no chill on the breeze (except at 5 o’clock in the morning maybe) and the bird sightings were fantastic!
hamerkop
woolynecked stork
hadeda ibis
african white backed-vulture
lappet faced vulture
white headed vulture
yellow billed kite
wahlbergs eagle
african hawk eagle
martial eagle
brown snake eagle
steppe buzzard
forest buzzard
natal francolin
three-banded plover
blacksmith plover
wattled plover
wood sandpiper
water dikkop
bronze-winged courser
cape turtle (ring necked) dove
laughing dove
green (emerald) spotted dove
*purplecrested turaco
burchells coucal
mozambique nightjar
horus swift
speckled mouse bird
redfaced mousebird
malachite kingfisher
little bee-eater
african woodhoopoe
red-billed woodhoopoe
trumpeter hornbill
cardinal woodpecker
bearded woodpecker
rufous naped lark
sabota lark
eurasian swallow
greater striped swallow
lesser striped swallow
fork-tailed drongo
black-eyed bulbbul (common)
fantailed (zitting) cisticola
cloud cisticola
levaillants cisticola
lazy cisticola
neddicky
spotted flycatcher
african dusky fly catcher
african paradise fly catcher
yellow-throated longclaw
fiscal shrike
red-backed shrike – this rare bird turned out to be the most common bird in the park today!
southern boubou
brubru
southern tchagra
(three-streaked) brown crowned tchagra
wattled starling
(cape) glossy starling
red-winged starling
red-billed oxpecker
white bellied sunbird
scarlet chested sunbird
house sparrow
southern-grey headed sparrow
spotted backed (village) weaver
redcollared widow
blue waxbill (blue-breasted cordon-bleu)
pintailed whydah
long-tailed (eastern) paradise whydah
dusky indigobird (black widowfinch)
yellow fronted canary
streaky headed seedeater
golden breasted bunting
(cinnamon-breasted) rock bunting
There may also be one or two that have been forgotten on the list, Jason will find out when he goes through the pictures.
And then of course, as a sidenote they also spotted some non-avian species too, such;
chacma baboon
vervet monkey
african elephant
white rhino
warthog
burchells zebra
giraffe
blue wildebeest
impala
buffalo
nyala
leopard tortoise
bells hinged tortoise
All in all, not a bad days game viewing!
As with all the best days, no day would be complete without the telling of stories over a beer in the lappa before dinner.
Stories and bragging rights exchanged at the bar
Category: Activities, Birding, Extreme Nature Tour, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, Jason and Adam, New friends /
Tags: african safari, bird safari, birding holiday in south africa, birding safari, Extreme nature tour, game drive, hluhluwe accommodation, hluhluwe-imfolozi, KwaZulu Natal, kwazulu natal travel base, safari, south african birds, twitcher holidays
Day 1 – Arrival – Nature Tour
We have another nature tour on the go at the moment, but this time the focus is on birds (everything else as well – but mostly bird).
It is off to a great start though! Tired and weary having just landed in South Africa, Jason and Adam made their way to Umkhumbi Lodge, pulling in the gate they saw a Cattle egret, hadeda ibis and a long crested eagle.
Jason and Adam then made the mistake of just having a ‘quick’ lie down, no one can just lie down here – the beds draw you into deep deep sleep as soon as your head hits the pillow usually! But they both woke up in time for dinner, steak was on the menu – no one wants to miss the tender beef steak!
But an early night for the boys as they have an early morning tomorrow with a full day game drive at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi game reserve which is only a 35 minute drive away from Umkhumbi Lodge.
Day 4 (part 2) – Extremely long day for an extreme nature tour
Off we go to find some flat lizards! We found some, but boy the rocks were hot hot hot!!
We also found a Black Kite after talking about them in the car on the way.
After hearing us in the car two black kites thought they would give us the privilege of watching them swoop in the geothermals
What else to do but road cruise back to Hluhluwe?!
We saw different species, even ones that we had only heard of – unfortunately however due to the high level of traffic on the roads a lot of these were DOR (dead on road) 
DOR:
3 x snouted cobra
marble tree snake
molesnake
eastern purple glossed snake
Vine snake
The eastern purple glossed snake
Live:
cape wolf snake
transvaal quill snouted
house snake
The Wolf Snake
The Transvaal guill snouted snake
Category: Birding, Bushwire, Extreme Nature Tour, Fredrik and Mikael, Road cruise /
Tags: bird sighting, birding safari, birding tour, birdwatching, Crocodiles, Extreme nature tour, KwaZulu Natal, lizards, nature safari, nature tour, night drive, road cruise, snake, snake safari, south africa, south african birds, south african lizards, south african safari, South African snakes, zululand, zululand holiday
Did You Know – Pink Throated Twinspot
See below for the latest in our factsheet series
Category: Albizia camp, Birding, Did you know?, Environmental Awareness Course, Our animals /
Tags: accommodation near game reserve, accommodation near Mozambique, Albizia camp, animal factsheet, bush accommodation, bush lodge in South Africa, educational, Environmental awareness course, hluhluwe accommodation, learn about pink throated twinspot, pink throated twinspot, south africa, south africa accommodation, south african animals, south african birds, stay in south africa
