We spent a day and a half inside Hluhluwe - Imfolozi Game Reserve, safari-driving which isn't the best way to watch birds. So birding was rather casual, but still very enjoyable. Here are my eBird checklists of day 1 (eastern section) and day 2 (southwestern section). We didn't see anything unusual, and missed some target species (like Southern Bald Ibis), so I celebrated the common and beautiful South African birds. Always a treat. My favourite was Mocking Cliff-Chat. There's a territorial pair on Nyalazi Gate itself - stunning birds:
I like the pastel colours of the female too:
Black-backed Puffback - mobbed a Natal Green Snake
Purple-crested Turaco - crazy bird
Burchell's Coucal
African Pipit
White-faced Whistling Ducks
Fan-tailed Widow
Pin-tailed Whydah - trash bird but a real cracker
Square-tailed Drongo
Lesser Striped Swallow
Nice to encounter Palearctic migrants in fair numbers - mainly European Rollers and Red-backed Shrikes:
On our last afternoon we seeked a change of scenery, and headed over to the private nature reserve False Bay Park, an extension of St. Lucia lake that is very close to Hluhluwe. We had higher expectations of the site, but it was half-disappointing there. Still, managed to add a few trip ticks, and snap some common stuff.
White-fronted Plover
Yellow-billed Stork
Grey-headed Gull - sorry about the clipped wingtip
Water Thick-knee
Next post - Kruger Park!
No comments:
Post a Comment