Northern Natal (Hluhluwe, iSimangaliso, St. Lucia)

A recent trip to Northern Natal has added a number of new lifers and many new photos.

7 Bird, Mammal and Amphibian lifers, 3 new species galleries and many additional photos.

 

Lifers

Neergaard’s Sunbird
Pink-throated Twinspot
Purple-banded Sunbird
Plain Grass Frog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red Bush Squirrel
Rudd’s Apalis
Rosy-throated Longclaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Galleries

Black-winged Lapwing
Lemon-breasted Canary
Sand Martin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated Species

Collared Pratincole
Green Malkoha
Crested Guineafowl
Green Barbet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow Weaver
Southern Brown-throated Weaver
Lesser Masked Weaver
Gorgeous Bush-shrike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grey-rumped Swallow
Livingstone’s Turaco
Narina Trogon
Red Forest Duiker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pied Crow
Southern Black Flycatcher
Western Yellow Wagtail
Tambourine Dove

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Novice
Diurnal Copper Dung Beetle

 

Kruger National Park – Aug 2021

Photo galleries updated after our visit to Tsendze and Satara

 

Cardinal Woodpecker
Waterbuck
Greater Kudu
Yellow-throated Longclaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kori Bustard
Lion
Steenbok
Shikra

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White-throated Robin-chat
Common Greenshank
Lowveld Large-scale Yellowfish
Magpie Shrike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White-crested Helmet-shrike
Common Scimitarbill
Burchell’s Coucal
Kittlitz’s Plover

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark
African Wood-owl
Black-backed Jackal
Purple Roller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puffadder
African Barred Owlet
Common Buttonquail
Western Barn Owl

Hermanus July 2021

An unplanned visit to Hermanus in July 2021 added some nice surprises in 2 lifers.  Residents probably were thinking this guy was quite mad to sit in a ocean facing parking lot during some of the worst storms the cape has had this year, but this is ideal conditions to see peleagic birds closer to shore.

 

Lifers added were:

White-chinned Petrel
Sub-Antarctic Skua

 

 

 

 

 

 

New photo gallery for:

Southern Giant Petrel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New photos for the following species:

Southern Tchagra
Jackal Buzzard
Orange-breasted Sunbird
African Marsh Harrier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Crane
Large-billed lark
Rock Kestrel
Denham’s Bustard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

African Penguin
Cape Rock-jumper
Ground Woodpecker

Kameelpoort Game Farm Species Update

A  number of species have new photos added after a visit to Kameelpoort Game Farm close to Northam in June 2021

Dark Capped Bulbul
Lapwing African Wattled
African Wattled Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Red-billed Oxpecker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Waxbill
Coqui Francolin
Meyer’s Parrot
Jameson’s Firefinch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black-winged Kite
Black-faced Waxbill
Green-winged Pytilia
Chestnut-vented Warbler (Tit-Babbler)

Area list

My latest excursion was to Mkhombo Dam in Mpumalanga. After Trevor Hardacker sent out the Rare Bird Report which indicated that there were no less than four potential rarities or regional rarities at the dam, I decided that it was time for a bit of a chase.

We managed to get 3 of the four rarities which included Pectoral Sanpiper (lifer), Ruddy Turnstone (lifer) and African Pygmy Goose. Sadly we did not get the Spotted Crake.

The birding at the dam was exceptional and here is the list of species seen:

Bishop Southern Red

Bishop Yellow-crowned

Canary Black-throated

Cisticola Rattling

Cisticola Zitting

Coot Red-knobbed

Cormorant Reed

Cormorant White-breasted

Crake Black

Crow Pied

Cuckoo Diderick

Darter African

Dove Laughing

Dove Namaqua

Drongo Fork-tailed

Duck Fulvous

Duck Maccoa

Duck White-faced

Eagle African Fish-

Egret Cattle

Egret Great

Egret Little

Flycatcher Marico

Goose African Pygmy-

Goose Egyptian

Grebe Little

Greenshank Common

Guineafowl Helmeted

Hamerkop

Heron Black

Heron Goliath

Heron Grey

Heron Squacco

Ibis Hadeda

Kingfisher Malachite

Kingfisher Pied

Lapwing Blacksmith

Moorhen Common

Mousebird Red-faced

Pigeon Speckled

Plover Common Ringed

Plover Three-banded

Pytilia Green-winged

Robin Kalahari Scrub-

Roller Lilac-breasted

Ruff

Sandpiper Common

Sandpiper Marsh

Sandpiper Pectoral

Sandpiper Wood

Shrike Crimson-breasted

Shrike Red-backed

Snipe African

Sparrow-Weaver White-browed

Starling Cape Glossy

Stilt Black-winged

Stork Yellow-billed

Swallow Barn

Swallow Greater Striped

Swamphen African Purple

Swift White-rumped

Tern Whiskered

Tern White-winged

Tit-Babbler Chestnut-vented

Turnstone Ruddy

Warbler Barred Wren-

Warbler Lesser Swamp-

Waxbill Blue

Waxbill Common

Weaver Lesser Masked-

Weaver Southern Masked-

Whydah Pin-tailed

Widowbird Long-tailed