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From
Underberg we had a long but nice drive back to Durban, where we changed cars again,
back to a Toyota Corolla. Our next stop was Eshowe,
in the rolling hills of Zululand. Dhlinza Forest is a
reserve located within the town limits, a tract of coastal evergreen forest
sporting the only canopy walk in South Africa. We visited the forest in the
late afternoon and the next morning, and on both occasions we were practically
the only visitors. Apart from a nice variety of forest birds like Grey
Cuckoo-Shrike, Delagorgue's Pigeon and Green Coucal, the
biggest prize of the reserve was the rare and endangered Spotted
Ground-Thrush.
We were very lucky to see one bird calling from a low
branch, with the amazing song of a Chorister Robin in the background,
and then a pair moving through the undergrowth. Walking silently along the
forest trails in the early morning we could see the elusive Blue Duiker
quite well.
Purple-crested Turaco
From Eshowe we drove to St. Lucia, a small town by the Umfolozi River Estuary,
where we birded the Gwala-Gwala Trail in a
reserve near the river. The forest was teeming with birds, even at noon. Highlights here included Livingstone and Purple-crested Turacos, Woodward's
Batis, Natal Robin, and Brown Scrub-Robin. Good numbers of Nile crocodiles and hippos sunned themselves on the sand banks, where
frequent signs warned about the fact that every year there are human casualties
to both animals.
 Warning sign
From Eshowe we drove to Mkhuze (variously spelled Mkuzi, Mkuze), a 40,000
hectare game reserve in northern Zululand. Less renowned than other Southern
African parks like Kruger or Chobe, Mkhuze is particularly valued by birders.
The Lebombo Mountains form its eastern boundary, and through a wide variety of
habitats more than 400 bird species can be seen, together with game species
like Great Kudu, both White and Black Rhino, and Nyala,
one of the most beautiful Tragelaphus (or spiral-horned) African forest
antelopes.
White Rhino
We were based in an area of Sand Forest, a localized type of dry
habitat where we saw the rare Neergaard's Sunbird, Crested Guineafowl,
and Yellow-spotted Nicator among many other woodland species. We saw
females with calves of both species of Rhino, an encouraging sight, and
a waterhole hide surrounded by riverine forest provide great opportunities for
game and birds coming to drink. Night drives weren't very productive, except
for a few Spotted Dikkop and Fiery-necked Nightjar. We also saw a female Suni,
the smallest South African antelope.
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| Spotted Ground-Thrush, Dhlinza Forest |
Black-collared
Barbet |
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| Vervet Monkey, adult |
Vervet Monkey, young |
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Hippos napping |
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African Pied Wagtail |
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Cape Glossy Starling
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| Black Rhino with calf |
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Spotted Dikkop |
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Nyala Bull |
Nyala, female and calf |
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Wild Dogs |
Wild Dogs sniffing a Leopard
Tortoise |
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I had told the guys at Rockjumper about my
great interest in finding Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus), a species
that I had never seen, and they arranged an outing with a researcher who was
radio-monitoring a pack in Mkhuze. The 12-member pack had been part of a
re-introduction plan, released two years before. Since there are no lions in
the reserve, the dogs seem to be doing very well, except for two casualties due
to poacher's snares. We were very lucky in that another Rockjumper group
birding the area had seen the dogs the day before near an airfield not far from
the main camp, which narrowed down the search a lot (the dogs wander throughout
the reserve and can easily cross it in one night).
Helped by the radio signals
sent by a collar wore by one of the dogs, we found 11 of them in the late
afternoon, trotting along a dirt road surrounded by dense woodland. We followed
them at a respectful distance and saw them come upon a large Leopard
Tortoise; adult dogs ignored it, but the curious younger ones spent some
time investigating it before moving on.
 White-fronted Bee-eater
After a while they seemed to smell
something that totally changed their mood, from easy-going and relaxed to fully
alert. Most of the pack disappeared into the bush, and soon we saw a terrified Impala
crossing the road at full speed, followed by the dogs, so focused on their
quarry that they totally ignored us and our cars as they chased the antelope
into the forest. Sarah, the young American researcher, told us that the dogs
hunt daily, sometimes twice, and rarely miss their prey once they start a
chase. They usually prefer Impala and female Nyala, but three dogs can tackle
down a fully grown Nyala bull.
 Red-capped
Lark
After two full days in Mkhuze we drove
northeast into the Mpumalanga highlands and to Wakkerstroom,
a pleasant little town surrounded by endless rolling grassland, and next to a
large protected marsh. A road network radiating from the town gives access to
several open habitats, most of them fenced as private farmland. The
Wakkerstroom area is well-known for its larks: the critically endangered Rudd's
Lark is found almost exclusively in its extensive upland grassland.
 Rolling grassland near Wakkerstroom
We needed a local guide in order to cross the fences that enclose much of the
larks' habitat, and spent a long time walking across wind-swept pastures
looking for them. We were very lucky considering the time of the year, and had
very good views of Rudd's, Pink-billed and Eastern Long-billed
larks, plus other common birds like Red-capped Lark, Orange-breasted
Longclaw, Mountain Wheatear and large numbers of Long-tailed
Widowbird, unfortunately in winter plumage. We just had a brief glimpse of Botha's
Lark as we flushed one.
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