Atlasville, 9 Feb 2008
Today, I decided to combine a drive along the Zaagkuilsdrift Road to the Kgomo-Kgomo floodplain with a visit to Borakalalo National Reserve. My last visit to Borakalalo had not been too good a day given the very wet conditions and the fact that the Klipvoor Dam was full to overflowing. So arriving just after midday today would not be too much of an issue as the dam is still at maximum capacity and the veld still exceptionally lush during a very wet summer.
I arrived at the start of the Zaagkuilsdrift Road at 06:15. By 09:00 I had already ticked 75 species. After sightings of White-browed Scrub Robin and Kalahari Scrub Robin the first photo of the day, and third robin species, was a very vocal White-throated Robin-Chat. Other good sightings followed of Bokmakierie, Chestnut-vented Warbler, Striped Kingfisher, Brown-crowned Tchagra and Black-chested Prinia, among others, before I encountered a mixed swallow group ranged along a telephone wire. These included Barn Swallow, Greater Striped Swallow and Pearl-breasted Swallow, giving me my first ever photos of the last one. A short excursion down Crake Road added Wood Sandpiper and Black-headed Heron. Returning to the Zaagkuilsdrift Road the first bird encountered was unfortunately an overnight hit and run victim, not how I wanted my first photo of a Western Barn Owl. My last bird photo before heading to Borakalalo, at Kgomo-Kgomo, was also my first for the species (though no more than a good ID shot) – Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. I also added Serrated Hinged Terrapin at a small dam. A good morning’s work, I already had a day list of 118.
Borakalalo proved as uninteresting as my previous, early summer visit. I did swell the day list to 132 adding, among others, African Darter, African Spoonbill, Common Myna, Groundscraper Thrush, Knob-billed Duck, Red-crested Korhaan, Southern Black Tit, Yellow-billed Kite and Yellow-crowned Bishop. The last was seen at the Sefudi Dam where I also photographed a Red-knobbed Coot with a juvenile and two dragonfly species, Banded Groundling and Barbet Percher.
While Borakalalo on its own would have been a disappointment it helped swell the day total to that more than acceptable total of 132.
