Attending:  Sandy Olver, Stan & Val Culley, Graham & Sue Salthouse, Stanley Gengan, Robin Eccles, Bob & Hazel van Rooyen (9)

Species: 77  (see end)                                                    Text: Hazel van Rooyen

We started off our day hesitantly, like rabbits with noses twitching, testing the air for signs of adverse weather.  But all proved well with some lovely sunshine brightening up the landscape during the course of the day.  By the time we arrived Sandy was well into her spotting with a count of 15 species already to her credit, including White-eared Barbet, Southern Black Fly-catcher, Yellow-fronted Canary, Red-fronted Tinkerbird and Purple-crested Turaco.  Whilst we waited for everyone to arrive, a nearby mulberry tree proved too tempting for some starlings and barbets, even though the fruit was not ripe.  A Woolly-necked Stork flew across to some tall trees with its beak full of nesting material.

Everyone having arrived, we drove slowly towards the entrance gate stopping first at a spot with a small stream trickling close by. 
Yellow Weaver (Photo: Sue Salthouse)
Here we spotted Yellow, Weaver, Thick-billed Weaver, Little Swift, Lesser-striped Swallow, Natal Spurfowl, Jackall Buzzard, Green Pigeon, Little Rush Warbler and Violet-backed Starling. 

A pretty Layman butterfly settled on a Senecio plant while a bee hurried to join in.  
Layman Butterfly (photo: Hazel van Rooyen)

Where the road turned towards the reserve, we stopped again and investigated the farm road where Brown-hooded Kingfishers and Pin-tailed Whydah perched  high on the telephone wire.  A Brown Scrub-Robin sang sweetly in the indigenous shrubbery while Gorgeous Bush-Shrike  and Southern Boubou called from the taller trees.   Driving slowly along Common Waxbills and African Firefinches flew in front of us.  At the gate we stopped for our breakfast, listening to the cries of a Crowned Eagle and Trumpeter Hornbill.  Suitably fortified we began our visit to the reserve proper. 

Driving through forest of low-hanging branches an African Goshawk flashed across in hot pursuit of another bird.  It paused briefly on a branch before speeding off again.

Turning  towards the view site we were met by an expanse of grassland covered with the different hues of yellow, blue and purple wild flowers.  

A mutual friendship (photo: Hazel van Rooyen)

Looking for birds (photo: Hazel van Rooyen)
It's a kinda Magic (photo: Hazel van Rooyen)


Up here we saw African Stonechat, Black-crowned Tchagra, and Croaking Cisticola.  When we had had our fill of the breath-taking view, we made our way passed a dam which was devoid of any activity as far we could see and moved along to the other dam which we walked around.  Yellow-throated Longclaw were in abundance in the grassland.  
Yellow-throated Longclaw (photo: Hazel van Rooyen)


 A Greater Double-collared Sunbird provided a splash of colour in a dead bush at the edge of the dam.  An uncommon sight was a family of Black Saw-wings resting in a dead tree – they are usually always on the move.  A prinia was spotted in some tall dead-looking grasses in a soggy area which fed into the dam – ah, but not a Tawny-flanked, Sandy noted.  On closer examination it was identified as a Drakensburg Prinia which is not listed for this reserve.  This was an exciting finish to the day and a Lifer for some.  After finishing our walk, we picnicked at the edge of the woods on top of the hill and returned home having had an excellent day’s birding.  

A Wildebeest looks on (photo: Hazel van Rooyen)

Stan & Val added a Black Sparrowhawk to the list on their way out.

From main road up to entrance gate: Species 51
Barbet, Black-collared
Barbet, White-eared
Boubou, Sunbird
Bulbul, Dark-capped
Buzzard, Jackal
Camaroptera, Green-backed
Canary, Brimstone
Canary, Yellow-fronted
Cisticola, Red-faced
Coucal, Burchell’s
Dove, Red-eyed
Dove, Tambourine
Drongo, Fork-tailed
Drongo, Square-tailed
Firefinch, African
Flycatcher, Southern Black
Greenbul, Sombre
Greenbul, Yellow-bellied
Kingfisher, Brown-hooded
Kingfisher, Pygmy
Kite, Yellow-billed
Mousebird, Speckled
Oriole, Black-headed
Green-Pigeon, African
Prinia, Tawny-flanked
Robin, Brown Scrub
Shrike, Gorgeous Bush
Sparrow, Grey-headed
Spurfowl, Natal
Starling, Black-bellied
Starling, Red-wing
Starling, Violet-backed
Stork, Woolly-necked
Sunbird, Collared
Sunbird, White-bellied
Swallow, Lesser-striped
Swift, Little
Swift, White-rumped
Tinkerbird, Red-fronted
Tinkerbird, Yellow-rumped
Turaco, Purple-crested
Wagtail, Cape
Warbler, Little Rush
Waxbill, Common
Weaver, Cape
Weaver, Spectacled
Weaver, Thick-billed
Weaver, Yellow
White-eye, Cape
Whydah, Pin-tailed
Widowbird, Red-collared
 
In addition: Inside the Reserve: Species 26
Batis, Cape
Cisticola, Croaking
Cisticola, Rattling
Eagle, Crowned
Goshawk, African
Honeyguide, Lesser
Hornbill, Crowned
Hornbill, Trumpeter
Ibis, Hadedah
Lark, Rufous-naped
Long-claw, Yellow-throated
Neddicky
Prinia, Drakensburg
Raven, White-necked
Saw-wing, Black
Seed-eater, Streaky-headed
Sparrowhawk, Black
Starling, Cape Glossy
Stonechat, African
Sunbird, Amethyst
Sunbird, Greater Double-collared
Tchagra, Black-crowned
Weaver, Village
Widowbird, Fan-tailed
Wood-Hoopoe, Green
Woodpecker, Golden-tailed
 
All photos property of photographer