Birding Weekly 20140630

Long-billed Crombec (Sylvietta rufescens) found feeding in a Leadwood
(Combretum imberbe) next to Grootvlei Dam in Northern Kruger

It wasn't long before we headed off to the Lowveld for some visiting and of course birding. It is always great to be back in familiar territory however, lifers and new birds for my Kruger list don't come easy. unfortunately I walked away with great sightings and great memories. A drive from South to North was taxing, but ending in Makuya Park made it worthwhile. 

It is great to see the changes through Kruger when travelling from its Southern tip to its Northern Tip, however the North is still a special area when it comes to the birds. Further I found photographing the birds more favourable here than West Africa and so to recapture some common birds that I hadn't seen for a longtime while in West Africa was great. It was refreshing to see White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides) and Southern Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus rufirostris) and compare them with similar species in West Africa, such as the Red-throated Bee-eater (Merops bullocki) and Western Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus kempi). 

White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops
bullockiodes) around Pafuri

Moving away from comparisons... it was great to bird in an area rich in diversity for its wildlife. Kruger is also amazing for its high presence of endangered species and thus is a key area for the survival of some endangered birds. We were fortunate enough to see Saddle-billed (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), Woolly-necked (Ciconia episcopus), Yellow-billed (Mycteria ibis), Black (Ciconia nigra) and Marabou (Leptoptilos crumeniferus) Storks. Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicosus) and Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) make it onto the list of what we saw and the Red-data list. Many more Red-data species can be made mention of.

Some of the smaller birds we saw were the Buffy (Anthus vaalensis) and African (Grassveld, Anthus cinnamomeus) Pipit. seemingly too early in the dry season for the dry season specials to emerge. The dry fields were filled with Chestnut-backed Sparrow-larks (Eremopterix australis). Some of the Eremomelas came out to play namely the Green-capped (Eremomela scotops) and Burnt-necked (Eremomela usticollis).

Ending off in Makhuya Park was great and gave me time to do some Atlasing. After neglecting my Atlasing skills in West Africa I did one Pentad, in which I got rough 50 plus birds for a day of birding.

Other species: Red-capped Robin-chat (Cossypha natalensis)

Bearded Scrub-robin (Erythropygia quadrivirgata)

Southern Ground-hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeteri)

Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus)

To end off a trip to the lowveld I thought the common yet beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) would add colour to the blog.