Attendees:  Barry Willis & Sue Hansbury;  Margaret Jones; Doug & Angie Butcher; Stan & Val Culley;  Stanley Gengan; Sandy Olver;  Hazel Nevin

Text: Sandy Olver

Bird count: 76 (see end)

Red-chested Cuckoo (photo: Stan Culley)

The new venue of Sezela Sugar Mill was a great success,  with 76 species noted.  Below the mill are vast reed beds full of interesting sightings,  I am told it’s an excellent place for swallow roosts.  Birding was quite a challenge,  though rewarding,  with some special warblers  -  lucky we had Stan to ID!   The river then winds down towards the sea,  but choked unfortunately with water hyacinth,  so there were no ‘swimmers’ or ‘bank sitters’.   Management told us a year ago that they were waiting for summer floods to open the mouth and scour out the river!!   Looks as if the problem has gone passed any other control.


The gate to the top dam was locked.  Stanley knew a way to walk round to check the birds,  but the lunch braai members repaired to the relative coolth of Umdoni Forest.
 Species:
Barbet Black-collared
Bee-eater Little
Bishop Southern Red
Bittern Little
Boubou Southern
Bulbul Dark-capped
Buzzard Steppe
Canary Yellow-fronted
Cisticola Rufous-winged
Cormorant White-breasted
Coucal Burchell's
Crane Grey Crowned
Crow Pied
Cuckoo Diderick
Cuckoo Red-chested
Darter African
Dove Red-eyed
Drongo Fork-tailed
Duck White-faced
Duck Yellow-billed
Eagle Long-crested
Egret Cattle
Egret Great
Fiscal Common (Southern)
Fish-eagle African
Flycatcher Southern Black
Goose Egyptian
Goose Spur-winged
Grebe Little
Greenbul Sombre
Greenbul Yellow-bellied
Heron Black-headed
Heron Purple
Heron Squacco
Ibis Hadeda
Jacana African
Kingfisher Brown-hooded
Kite Yellow-billed
Lapwing Blacksmith
Mannikin Bronze
Moorhen Common
Mousebird Speckled
Plover Three-banded
Prinia Tawny-flanked
Quelea Red-headed
Reed-warbler African
Reed-warbler Great
Sandpiper Wood
Saw-wing Black (Southern race)
Seedeater Streaky-headed
Snake-eagle Black-chested
Sparrow House
Sparrow Southern Grey-headed
Sparrowhawk Black
Spurfowl Natal
Starling Black-bellied
Starling Red-winged
Starling Violet-backed
Stonechat African
Sunbird Olive
Swallow Barn
Swallow Lesser Striped
Swallow White-throated
Swamp-warbler Lesser
Tinkerbird Yellow-rumped
Turaco Knysna
Wagtail African Pied
Wagtail Cape
Warbler Sedge
Waxbill Common
Weaver Spectacled
Weaver Thick-billed
Weaver Village
Whydah Pin-tailed
Widowbird Fan-tailed
Woodpecker Golden-tailed