Atlasville, 23 February 2009
Got back this afternoon from 3 nights at Ngwenya, using some of the days banked after our shortened visit in January. My work schedule at the moment means that anything other than weekends away is out of the question. As on our last trip we drove down in the late afternoon on Friday to Ngwenya, arriving after dark.
Saturday morning saw us as usual first in the queue at the Park entrance gate at Crocodile Bridge waiting for it to be opened at 05:30. Bright blue skies boded well for some decent photography when the opportunities arose. We headed north from Crocodile Bridge towards Lower Sabie on the main tar road ticking off among others Helmeted Guineafowl, Grey Go-away-bird, Southern White-crowned Shrike and Burchell’s Starling, as well as all 3 of the common francolin/spurfowl – Natal Spurfowl, Swainson’s Spurfowl and Crested Francolin – before turning off onto the gravel Gomondwane Loop. After two decades of trying still no Black Rhino to be seen here, but the birding day list swelled to 31 with the addition of the likes of Southern Black Tit, Common Quail, Arrow-marked Babbler, Golden-breasted Bunting and Southern Grey-headed Sparrow. Back on the tar we encountered Jacobin Cuckoo, Diederik Cuckoo, Southern Red Bishop, Black-backed Puffback, Southern Boubou, Red-faced Mousebird and White-browed Scrub Robin. We by-passed the entrance to Lower Sabie Camp stopping at Sunset Dam where the first photography opportunity arose, with this male Giant Kingfisher. Other new additions to the day list here included Water Thick-knee, White-crowned Lapwing and Tawny-flanked Prinia.
From the deck at the cafeteria at Lower Sabie Camp we watched the ever-present hippos in the Sabie River while one of the summer visitors, a Spotted Flycatcher, hawked insects from a perch on the deck railings. Perhaps this is very individual that was using this same perch during our January weekend? Crossing the Lower Sabie causeway and turning north onto the gravel Mlondozi Road one of the first additions to the day list was a small flock of the very photogenic African Green Pigeon. They were followed very soon by Burchell’s Coucal, White-winged Widowbird and Rufous-naped Lark. Only other photo in the Park was of Broad-bordered Grass Yellow butterflies massing on some fresh elephant dung. Although further additions to the day list included Secretarybird, Common Buzzard, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Green-winged Pytilia, Namaqua Dove, Sombre Greenbul, Black-headed Oriole and Black Cuckooshrike none had produced good photo opportunities (or maybe I’m just getting very choosy now).
We were back at Ngwenya in time for a short walk and I added Terrestrial Brownbul and Green-backed Camaroptera, bringing the day’s birding total to a respectable 112 species, as well as Red-veined Dropwing dragonfly and Wandering Donkey Acraea butterfly.
On Sunday we were again first in the queue at Crocodile Bridge gate. Today though we turned first left in the Park and headed along the Crocodile River Road where first photo of the day was a Magpie Shrike followed very soon by a male Long-tailed Paradise Whydah sporting his breeding plumage. By this stage the day list already stood at 37 including the likes of African Pied Wagtail, Crested Barbet, African Firefinch, Red-backed Shrike, Rattling Cisticola, Woodland Kingfisher and European Bee-eater. Where the road crosses the Bume River I managed photos of a Red-veined Dropwing dragonfly and one of a small family of Common Dwarf Mongoose.
Things got very quiet for the next 3 hours until we reached the Lake Panic Hide west of Skukuza, where many of the usual residents were present – Little Heron, African Jacana, Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher and Thick-billed Weaver. Also seen in the bush around the hide were African Paradise Flycatcher and Orange-breasted Bushshrike. As in January the Wire-tailed Swallow were swooping in and out of their nest under the roof overhang of the hide. Star of the show here though was a male Common Tigertail dragonfly.
Although we remained in the Park until late afternoon there were no special sightings of the larger mammals and although the bird list continued to grow the only addition that I would regard as not one I’d see too frequently was African Cuckoo. All in all a very average day in the Park.
