THE BIRDS: May 2016

Tuesday 31 May 2016

WHAT IT IS...

THE BIRDS

We have created this page to catalogue the development of our birding "life list" and to help keep record of the amazing sights, sounds, creatures and plants we encounter on our various ramblings through our amazing land. I'm sure a lot of this will end up as incoherent nonsense but for the rest I trust this will allow for good memories and maybe even inspiration to some who may want to visit some of our odd spots..
There are so many amazing places in our wee land, from mountains to grasslands, deserts to evergreen woods, steamy tropical forest to the endless beaches and so much of it all remains to be seen..

The page is a bit of a collaboration between the 3 Markwell brothers, of which I am the eldest and best and our wives, girlfriends, parents and close family friends (who could probably be credited with getting us birding in the first place)

For me the beauty in birding is setting out on your feet and getting into the birds world, you see and experience so much more than you could from a viewing deck, hide or car. All the little extra details become as relevant as the quarry.. The different biotopes, climatic conditions, insects, mushrooms, mammals, reptiles all in your face (and in your skin.. literally)

We sadly do not own any serious photographic equipment so we do our best with what we have... Phones and a glorified Point and shoot. The images are really just to get an idea, not to win competitions or whatever. If anyone has an image they would like to add (with credit to the photographer) please send it.

Basically If anyone who sees this would like to contribute, leave a message and we will add your stuff..

ps. I have no idea what im doing here so please navigate via the Post headings to the right of the page....

04/04/2016
Ok, so as for the other week we now have an upgraded Canon DSLR which i am learning to use, hopefully this will result in slightly better pics going forward, its a learning curve though so fingers crossed.
CANON if you should ever chance across this and wish to invest in a few amateur twitchers I will spread you wonderful branding all over the place ;)

Kiff.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BUBO LIFE LIST

THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO OUR COMBINED AFRICAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN BIRD LISTS

MARKWELL 01

MARKWELL 02

MARKWELL 03

AFRICAN SPOONBILL,DURBAN, MARKWELL

WHITE FRONTED BEE-EATER, MARWELL

Wednesday 18 May 2016

SHONGWENI DAM

Shongweni Dam is located approximately 30 km outside of Durban and just outside of Hillcrest so its quite close to us.
One of Msinsi’s most varied game reserves, Shongweni occupies 1700 hectares in a valley where the uMlazi, uGede and Sterkspruit Rivers meet. They offer game viewing and birding along the river banks, wildlife includes White Rhino, various antelope and Giraffe.
Fishing enthusiasts find special inspiration in seeking out a favourite spot with a view of the iconic Shongweni Hill, while canoeing fans have up to 51 hectares of water to explore in the dam.
From water to forest, cliff to grassland, thornveld and even palmveld, Shongweni Dam and Game Reserve varied range of habitats means it attracts more than 260 different bird species. Your patience could be rewarded by the elusive Narina trogon and bat-hawk. Scan the cliffs carefully for the masters of the skies - nesting black storks, martial, crowned and black eagle. Take a canoe onto the dam to glide past spurwing geese and glimpse white-backed night heron.

Tuesday 3 May 2016

IMFOLOZI HLUHLUE NATURE RESERVE

Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, formerly Hluhluwe–Umfolozi Game Reserve, is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in Africa. It consists of 960 km² (96,000 ha) of hilly topography 280 kilometres

(170 mi) north of Durban in central Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts.

The park is the only state-run park in KwaZulu-Natal where all the big five game animals occur. Due to conservation efforts, the park now has the largest population of white rhino in the world.

However, the rhinos and the park's wilderness areas are now threatened by plans to build an open-cast coal mine right on the park's border, a plan that a growing coalition of organisations is fighting to stop.

Throughout the park there are many signs of Stone Age settlements. The area was originally a royal hunting ground for the Zulu kingdom, but was established as a park in 1895.

The Umfolozi and Hluhluwe reserves were established primarily to protect the white rhinoceros, then on the endangered species list.

Hluhluwe–Imfolozi was originally three separate reserves that joined under its current title in 1989.

The park is home to Africa's big five game: elephant, rhinoceros (black/hook-lipped and white/square-lipped), Cape buffalo, lion and leopard. It is home to 86 special species including:

Nile crocodile, hippo, cheetah, spotted hyena, blue wildebeest, jackal, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, nyala, eland, kudu, impala, duiker, suni, reedbuck, common warthog, bushpig, mongoose, baboons,

monkeys, a variety of tortoises, terrapins, snakes and lizards. It is one of the world's top spots for viewing nyala. The park is a prime birding destination and is home to 340 bird species.

The Hluhluwe River Flood Plain is one of the only areas in the whole of South Africa where yellow-throated, pink-throated and orange-throated longclaw species can be seen together.

Bird life include night heron, Wahlberg's eagle, Shelley's francolin, black-bellied korhaan, Temminck's courser, Klaas's cuckoo, little bee-eater and crested barbet.

There are two main camps, namely Hilltop in Hluhlue and Mphila in Imfolozi.

This trip was particularly successful in terms of birds.