 |
| The South Africa crew - left to right Thomas, James and Mayur. This is the best group photo, sadly it's all downhill from here! |
A birding trip to South Africa has been on the cards for a long time. My friend Mayur Prag, a fellow Oxford DPhil student, works part-time as a Birding Africa tour guide and constantly complains about British birding. "Come to South Africa!" he says, and rattles off all the reasons why South African birding is so much better than the British scene. More species, better looking birds, showier individuals at closer range for photography, amazingly diverse habitats and scenery - the list goes on. In fact, I was convinced that this must be hyperbole, borne from a strong sense of nationalistic pride. I have birded overseas many times, and I do generally think that the birds can be a bit easier to see than in Britain (and it is certainly very exciting ticking off loads of new species), but could South Africa really deliver on Mayur's promises?
James Hammond was also keen to experience the South Africa birding phenomenon and so after many months an approximate date for the trip was decided and planning could begin - a three-week trip starting mid-November and going into December. For me, it had to be timed to coincide with a break in employment after my postdoc ended, which conveniently was the beginning of summer and one of the best periods for birding in South Africa. Mayur would kindly act as our de-facto guide, as well as fellow Birding Africa colleague Cameron Blair (who agreed to join for a few days at the beginning of the trip).
One of our main targets was Pennant-winged Nightjar, which is only found in the far north of the Kruger National Park. The display period of this spectacular bird was a key constraint in terms of planning not only the timing but the route we would take across the country. The Nightjar begins displaying in mid-October and peaks in early November, becoming more difficult to see towards the end of the month. Therefore, we would have to start in the north to give us the best chance of connecting - for other logistical reasons, the trip had to be in November rather than October. Having not spent much time in the north of the country, many of the species found in this area would also be South African lifers for Mayur.
We decided early on that we would mostly self-drive in Kruger and take tents for camping - this allowed us a bit more freedom as well as saving money. The exception to this was the night drive for Pennant-winged Nightjar, as visitors are not generally allowed out of the camps after 6pm. We also decided to book a second evening game drive that was more focused on general safari, as many of the big predators are more active at night. For the other locations away from Kruger, we booked a mixture of AirBnBs, lodges and campsites. We also planned to mostly cook for ourselves rather than eat out all the time. Overall, we were able to do this trip relatively cheaply compared to an organised tour, with the biggest expenses being flights and the hire car.
 |
| Mayur's logistics map, roughly showing the areas we visited |
Mayur structured the itinerary around key locations and target species - a mixture of endemics, showy birds and species that he had yet to see. There were also locations planned for rare plants and other animals. I've given a brief overview below, which is a summary of a massive Google docs spreadsheet that we had for logistics.
Itinerary
Day 0 - 18th November
Overnight plane from London Heathrow to O.R. Tambo, Johannesburg. I chose a direct flight with British Airways whilst James flew with Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Abada.
Day 1 - 19th November
Land in Johannesburg, meet with Mayur and Cameron and start our first day of birding in Gauteng, mainly trying to see Tinkling Cisticola.
Day 2 - 20th November
A full day spent birding the Zaagkuilsdrift and Crake Road area before heading to Polokwane for owls. Key targets Crimson-breasted Gonolek, Black Heron and Southern White-faced Owl.
Day 3 - 21st November
Early morning birding at Vaalkop Plains for endemic larks, chance of White-bellied Bustard and other dry area specialists. First attempt at Bat Hawk in Tzaneen plus a visit to known Blue-Spotted Wood Dove sites. Rest of day spent travelling to Woodbush for our overnight stay in the forest.
Day 4 - 22nd November
Plan to spend all morning birding the forest in Magoebaskloof, with our main targets being Mountain Wagtail, African Emerald Cuckoo, Narina Trogon and Black-fronted Bushshrike. Drop Cameron at Tzaneen then a three-hour drice to Kruger National Park. Quick stop at Modjadji Cycad reserve and ideally arrive at Punda Maria rest camp before dusk (to avoid the massive fine for latecomers).
Day 5 - 23rd November
First full day in Kruger - all morning spent birding the Pafuri area with an early drive out from the rest camp to Crooks Corner. Main targets Dickinson's Kestrel, Bohm's Spinetail, Arnot's Chat, and Racket-tailed Roller with a chance of Collared Palm Thrush and Pel's Fishing Owl. Return to camp in time for pre-booked night drive to the Pennant-winged Nightjar display site.
Day 6 - 24th November
More of the same around Pafuri to try and mop up any of the remaining target species before driving to Shingwedzi Rest Camp.
Day 7 - 25th November
Fewer specific targets here but just trying to get into the swing of Kruger birding as we travel south towards drier areas. Morning loop out towards Kanniedood Dam before a monster seven-hour drive to Satara rest camp, with a lunch stop at Oliphants rest camp overlooking the river. Big game becomes increasingly common further south (combined with easier viewing in the more open landscape) so lots of general wildlife spotting as well as birding. The plains approaching Satara are traditionally good for Pallid and Montagu's Harriers.
Day 8 - 26th November
A full day spent birding loops around Satara before returning for a pre-booked evening safari drive from the camp. Targets here include any Sandgrouse, Coursers, Southern Ground Hornbill, Black-bellied Bustard, Kori Bustard and Verreaux's Eagle Owl.
Day 9 - 27th November
More birding around the Sweni River Valley before heading to Skukuza rest camp.
Day 10 - 28th November
Skukuza to Lower Sabie rest camp - a bit of a change in the scenery and perhaps a second chance at Bat Hawk, which are sometimes seen hunting over the restaurant balcony.
Day 11 - 29th November
Finally reaching the southern tip of Kruger with a visit to the Malelane gate before heading to Pretoriuskop rest camp for our last night in the national park.
Day 12 - 30th November
Quick morning loop looking for Green-capped Eremomela before driving to White River for our third and final chance at Bat Hawk. Then a long drive to at Blyde River Canyon, stopping at a few river sites to search for African Finfoot, Half-Collared Kingfisher and African Pygmy Kingfisher.
Day 13 - 1st December
Many targets here including Taita Falcon, Southern Bald Ibis and Montane Blue Swallow. Some time spent admiring the spectacular scenery before heading to Dullstroom.
Day 14 - 2nd December
Full day spent birding the uplands of Veloren Valei, our targets including Buff-streaked Chat, Denham's Bustard, Blue Crane, Wattled Crane, Eastern Long-billed Lark, Mountain Chat and Gurney's Sugarbird. Staying for a second night next to Dullstroom dam.
Day 15 - 3rd December
Journey to Drakensberg with many stops along the way - the first for Lesser Jacana at a breeding site, then Rudd's Lark and Bush Blackcap as we approach the big hills. Arrive at Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge at the edge of Drakensberg.
Day 16 - 4th December
Sentinel Peak hike with Lammergeier, Drakensberg Rockjumper, Drakensberg Prinia and Drakensberg Siskin being expected targets along the route. Second night staying at the lodge.
Day 17 - 5th December
Long drive to Johannesburg, stopping at some wetlands along the way to try and get back any missed species before our internal flight to Cape Town. Arrive late at our guesthouse in Pinelands.
Day 18 - 6th December
First day in Cape Town with an early start for our pelagic trip booked with Birding Africa, hopefully to see our first Albatrosses and everything else expected of the Southern Oceans seabird madness. Light birding around Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens afterwards, with targets being Cape Sugarbird, Forest Canary, Brimstone Canary, Orange-breasted Sunbird and the family of Spotted Eagle Owls.
Day 19 - 7th December
A full day in the West Coast National Park, with stops to see Cape Long-billed Lark and Verreaux's Eagle on the way. Within the park, Black Harrier is the iconic bird (and emblem of the Birding Africa tour company), as well as having our first opportunity to really grill some mudflats for waders.
Day 20 - 8th December
Whistle-stop tour of the rest of Cape Town's birding sites, starting with White-backed Ducks at Pardevlei before heading south for Cape Rockjumper, Cape Siskin, Victorin's Warbler and Ground Woodpecker before arriving at the famous African Penguin colony at Stony Point. Chance afterwards to see Cape Eagle Owl at roost.
Day 21 - 9th December
Last full day before flying home. More of a sightseeing day with some hiking planned (either Table Mountain or Silvermines). Perhaps see a couple of birds if everyone isn't sick of it all by this point.
Day 22 - 10th December
Early morning flight back to O.R. Tambo before our respective return flights to the UK.
So all in all a pretty packed schedule with a lot of travelling involved, and a lot of potential species to connect with. We set a conservative target of 400 species, which would be possible if it all went smoothly and we avoided dipping the same birds day after day. There was some discussion over whether to bring scopes, but in the end we decided against it - largely due to luggage constraints, as both James and I own relatively bulky, full-sized scopes and tripods. Maybe a travel scope or one of the new Swarovski stabilised scopes should be the next purchase for world birding. So it was just bins, camera and my little sound recording kit for this trip.
Now that I've finally got this first bird blog post out, I'll try and keep up the momentum and write the others relatively quickly. The trip divides fairly well into five standard-length posts - Pre-Kruger, Kruger north, Kruger south, Dullstroom/Drakensberg and Cape Town. I've already processed all of the photos, which was the biggest time sink (I took over 16000), so hopefully I'll be able to remember the specifics of what actually happened, including all of the funny anecdotes that made the trip shine. Luckily I have Mayur and James to go back to for help with this!
No comments:
Post a Comment