Natasja and
I visited the Nylsvley floodplain and Mkombo dam over the past three days. We
had a wonderful time and saw some fantastic birds and bird behaviour.
The Nylsvley
area is still quite dry and waterbirds numbers were low. However the first
pentad we did between Modimolle and Nylsvley had some nice patches of water and
we recorded lots of African Snipes, two Yellow-billed Egrets as well as Wood
Sandpiper, Purple Heron and African Jacana. The grassland areas had Banded Martin
which remains one of my favourite martins!
It was also good to record Red-billed Oxpeckers again (at Mkombo dam we
recorded nearly 20!), a species that is becoming more and more common again and
a nice illustration that conservation efforts can be successful. Another
interesting species recorded was Wattled Starling and although not an unusual
species to record in the area we only recorded one or two each time, usually
they occur in large flocks. We recorded 85 species in this pentad. Not too bad
at all!
We then met
with a farmer in the more northern section of the floodplain (hold thumbs if
all goes well the protections status of this part of the floodplain might soon
receive a higher conservation status) and during and after the meeting we saw a
flock of Abdim’s Storks and two Black-chested Snake-Eagles.
On Saturday
evening we did another pentad near Nylsvley Nature Reserve and had nice birds
such as Burnt-necked Eremomela and Grey-backed Cameroptera. Cape Vultures roosted
on the power line structures. In the late evening an outbreak of ant flies
attracted tons of birds and it was fantastic to see how species, for example Grey
Go-away-birds, which would usually not eat insects or catch insects in flight,
helped them to this food source. At one point we counted near to 15 species
feeding on the gravel road including a Burchell’s Coucal! One the way back to
the lodge we had a nightjar we could not indentify but the Marsh Owl a few
minutes later made up for the disappointment!
On Sunday we
visited Nylsvley Nature Reserve. We had 63 species in this pentad with most of
the birding done inside the reserve. The highlight must have been the Lizard
Buzzard that posed beautifully on a dead tree. I have not seen one for a while
so it was nice to meet this species again. A Levaillant’s Cuckoo was seen near
the Jacana Hide while a Bearded Woodpecker also announced its presence by its
tapping. How they keep tapping like that for such a long period of time remains
a wonder of nature. We are 99% sure we saw an out of range immature Spectacled
Weaver. Another atlaser recently recorded this species nearby and it would be
interesting to hear about other records of this species in this area as it
might be an indication of a change in distribution.
We planned
to take a break on Monday, sleep late and relax but the Facebook posting by
Etienne about the African Skimmer at Mkombo Dam necessitated a change in plans and
by 11:00 we were on our way to Mkombo. This is a beautiful area and even
without all the specials in the area you can easily spend a day here birding.
We met up with some birding friends and a few hours later we had beautiful
views of this immature skimmer. Such a shame that they are now considered
extinct in South Africa. Other interesting species seen were Yellow Wagtail and
Western Osprey. This spot must now rank as one of the best places in the wider Gauteng
region to see Osprey. The wagtails were not as yellow as those we saw a few
weeks back at Northern Farm but still a nice species to see as they feed between
the cattle. Speaking of cattle, one decided for some strange reason to rest its
head on my car’s engine cap. Why I have no clue – it was nearly 30 degrees
outside and the engine even hotter! Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters were seen and heard
a number of times – what a beautiful species. As can be expected there were tons
of waterbirds. Although a relatively common species I always enjoy watching
Goliath Herons – such majestic birds. How they manage to fly remains somewhat
of a mystery to me. A fantastic site to visit and we will certainly do so many
times in future.
Natasja and
I set us the challenge to see 300 species in the December period in the wider
Gauteng area (bit wider than the 100km radius) and these trips gave us a
massive boost towards this target. Now we can look forward to a few more trips
in December to find the species we need.
