Birding at Tintswalo: Birding Update: May 2013

Bennett's Woodpecker

It’s been a good month and we have managed to find 150 different species for the month. As the days get shorter and cooler, believe it or not, the birding actually gets easier. Many birds attempt to warm up first thing in the morning by perching in the open and are easily found sunning themselves. The bird behaviour has also changed a fair bit and we are noticing more and more bird feeding parties. These parties consist of many different species in a single party and we are finding several special species including the elusive Black Cuckoo-shrikes.

Lilac-breasted Roller

Bateleur

It's an important time of the year for most of the raptor species in the Manyeleti Game Reserve. It is the beginning of the breeding season and we have already found several pairs breeding. Darren managed to get some fantastic shots of a pair of White-backed Vultures in the act.

White-backed Vulture

The African Hawk-eagle nest on Buffalo plains is being watched to see if they use the same nest as they did last year. They have been seen more and more this month in the area and it seems they may use the same site again.

A juvenile Bateleur has also given us some really good viewing and is looking for opportunities to raid the Red-billed Buffalo-weaver nests at Ingwe Manzi. This has also given us some great opportunities for photographing this youngster interacting with another species.

Juvenile Bateleur

A guest that visited us this month for a photographic safari, was lucky enough to see the African Fish-eagle at Main dam hunting ducks. He managed to get a few phenomenal shots of the action. The Eagle didn’t only try once but made four separate passes, isolating a duck from the flock and chasing it down. However every time the Eagle got into the strike zone, the duck would plunge and dive in the dam.

African Fish Eagle chasing a Fulvous Duck
Photograph courtsey of Ken Chias

White-backed Vultures

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Tawny Eagle

Birders big 6

Saddled-billed Stork

There have been a few sightings of these magnificent birds over the last month. Mostly the activity has been in the Main dam area with the birds taking time off from their parental responsibilities to feed in their most productive feeding spot, Main dam! The nest seems to be very close to the Kruger National Park boundary, directly east of the dam. Last month we watched the male collecting nesting material and heading into this direction. The number of chicks and how many survive is a mystery and we will just have to wait to see the outcome. We are excited to see the results of their latest breeding effort.

Southern Ground Hornbill

These charismatic large birds have been fairly scarce this month. Jan had a few good sightings in the south of the reserve and the Main dam flock have been seen a few times as well. Usually we have very frequent sightings of these birds, but this month we just didn’t have the luck we usually have.

Specials

African Jacana

African Jacana chick

Having found 150 species in winter, we think we did quite well. A number of special birds were found by myself and our new guide and birding specialist Jan Pienaar. Some of the special birds that we have seen include Bronze-winged Courser at night, Fulvous Duck at Main dam and both Lesser and Greater Flamingo at Main dam.

Yellow-billed Hornbill eating a scorpion

Jan found a Black-crowned Night Heron at Main dam and I had a very special little bird in the Riverine forest in front of the lodge, a Brown-backed Honeybird. One of the better hotspots for Ostrich, is on the gabbro plains around Koppies and we had several sightings in this area.

Common Ostrich

We also had multiple sightings of Yellow-billed Oxpecker on the old male Buffalo that stay around the lodge area. Main dam also produced Kittlitz’s Plover and White-fronted Plover on the islands of the Dam, as well as African Snipe seen by Jan on a few occasions. There were also four Black Storks at a pan to the west of the lodge and Grey Penduline Tit at the lodge itself.