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| Hamerkops (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
Attendees: Doug & Angie Butcher, Irma Smook, Margaret Jones, Hazel Nevin, Lennart Erikssen, Carol Louw, Bob & Hazel van Rooyen,
(Text: Hazel van Rooyen)
Bird count 47 (see end)
Sunday 13 March saw a small but serious bunch of birders meeting up at the TC Robertson Nature Reserve in Scottburgh. Whilst waiting for the gate to open a Grey Heron on a dead stick in the river posed for us to give it closer inspection and two squawking and croaking Hamerkops on the far bank performed some not so innocent antics. A third ran around wondering what was going on and an Egyptian Goose came to see what the fuss was about. Pied Wagtails played in the dead tree and 3-banded Plovers scampered at the edge of the river.
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| Grey Heron (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Pied Wagtails (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Tasselberry - sumptious fare enjoyed by many birds (Photo : Hazel van Rooyen) |
Eventually the gatekeeper arrived and we drove into the reserve. Hazel Nevin ably led us through the forested Shaka/Bushbuck Trail which climbs up the side of the hill – and up, and up. Most of the forest was quiet until the vegetation thinned out and here the sunshine was awakening the birds – Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds (naturally), White-eared Barbets, Bronze Mannikins, Amethyst and Grey Sunbirds and Cape White-eyes. Here we noticed a tree with tassel after tassel of bright-coloured berries – the Tasselberry, enjoyed by most birds. And rounding the top of the hill Red-wing Starlings whistled musically, Black-capped Bulbuls chittered, while the hollow bubbling of the Burchell’s Coucall could be heard in the distance. Descending the hill, we began to see Olive Sunbird, Yellow-fronted Canary, Thick-billed and Yellow Weavers. Down at river level some Grey Waxbills in a tall far-away tree were difficult to identify but juvenile Little Bee-eaters proved more obliging. A Familiar Chat flashed its rufous rump and a Chin-spot Batis sang “three blind mice”.
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| Little Bee-eater Juvenile (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Little Bee-eater (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Breakfast in a shady spot (Photo: Doug Butcher) |
By this time we had worked up an appetite and enjoyed our breakfast beneath some shady trees, after which we approached the River Walk via a hide at a pond but this was quite dry and nothing stirred except for a Tawny-flanked Prinia in the reed-bed.
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| Goliath Heron (Photo: Doug Butcher) |
At the river a Goliath Heron sat humped like an old man on a dead tree. Further around the river bend, the Kingfisher Hide was strategically placed and we spent some time watching Pied Kingfishers diving very successfully for small-fry.
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| Pied Kingfisher diving for a meal (Photo: Butcher) |
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| Pied Kingfisher with a tasty tidbit (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
Blacksmith Lapwings patrolled the bank while Sacred Ibis flew in and out. An African Harrier-Hawk soared high above and an immature African Fish-Eagle surveyed the river from the tree-tops. Suddenly a Purple Heron flew in but disappeared quickly into the reeds. Woolly-necked Storks circled in front of us but decided there was nothing worth stopping for and flew away over the hills. At the side of the hide a Yellow Weaver had a nest and brought a yummy juicy grasshopper to his family.
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| Woolly-necked Stork (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Yellow Weaver (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
From here we walked back to the vehicles and Hazel showed us the way to the opposite side of the river where we drove slowly along the river bank. A Malachite Kingfisher caught her eye but was too quick for the rest of us.
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| Crookes Family Church, Renishaw (Photo: Doug Butcher) |
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| Graveyard looking out to the ocean (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
Driving further on up the hill we came to a lovely little church which belonged to the Crooke family, sugar barons from the 19thcentury. A well-kept churchyard of by-gone family members looked over the Mpenbanyoni River valley to the sea. From this vantage point Hazel pointed out to us a Crowned Eagle’s nest and was about to say that there hadn’t been a chick last year when the wind blew a frond of green away from the nest and there sat a beautiful chick! Delight all round! It had been perfectly hidden by the frond and we had to wait for the wind to blow to get a good but fleeting look.
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| Crowned Eagle Juvenile (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Crowned Eagle Juvenile (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
What a lovely way to end our morning’s birding. We had our picnic in the peace and quiet next to the church and parted company - until next time.
(All photographs property of photographer)
Bird count: 47
| Barbet Black-collared Barbet White-eared Batis Chin Spot Bee-eater Little Bulbul Black-capped Canary Yellow-fronted Chat Familiar Cormorant Reed Coucall Burchell’s Dove Red-eyed Dove Tambourine Eagle African Fish Eagle Crowned Egret Little Goose Egyptian Hamerkop | Harrier-Hawk African Heron Goliath Heron Grey Heron Purple Ibis Hadedah Ibis Sacred Kingfisher Brown-hooded Kingfisher Malachite Kingfisher Pied Lapwing Blacksmith Mannikin Bronze Martin Brown-throated Plover 3-banded Prinia Tawny-flanked Spurfowl Natal Starling Red-winged | Stork Woolly-necked Sunbird Amethyst Sunbird Grey Sunbird Olive Swallow Barn Swallow White-throated Tinkerbird Yellow-rumped Turaco Purple-crested Wagtail Cape Wagtail Pied Waxbill Grey Weaver Spectacled Weaver Thick-billed Weaver Yellow White-eye Cape |
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