Kamberg Wildlife Sightings – October 2016

Submissions by Pamela Kleiman of Connington Farm

KAMBERG

Although most days were still pretty chilly, it was good to get out and see how the veld had greened up, to see the Spring flowers starting and to see some of the migrant birds returning

A view looking down the D450 valley

I enjoyed seeing the first of the Spring flowers. In low lying wet areas there were sheets of Tulbachia natalensis

Tulbachia natalensis

Tulbachia natalensis

Dierama sp.

A small farm dam covered in pink water lilies

I was focusing on a flight of different swallows one day when I noticed one that was flying very slowly. I zoomed in on it only to discover it was a Bearded Vulture flying very high over my cottage on Connington farm!

Bearded Vulture

Some of the other special birds I managed to photograph were :-

The first pair of Pin-tailed Whydahs I had seen for the season

Pin-tailed Whydah (male and female)

A Secretarybird very close to home

Secretarybird

On a very cold and damp morning there were 4 young Southern Bald Ibis sitting in a tree

Southern Bald Ibis (young)

 

Southern Bald Ibis (young)

This African Harrier-hawk landed right next to the road as I drove past

African Harrier-hawk (Gymnogene)

Two Red-necked Spurfowl came out of a swampy area – a first for me in KZN

Red-necked Spurfowl

HLATIKULU

Not an awful lot to report for this area, but it was good to see the Banded Martin had returned and to see a couple of African Bald Ibis close to the side of the road in the Hlatikulu reserve.

Banded Martin

Southern Bald Ibis – I was interested to see the comparison of the adults and the young birds (shown in the Kamberg report above)

Southern Bald Ibis (adult)

 

 

Field mushrooms

Ajuga ophrydis

Boston Wildlife Sightings – August 2016

Caroline McKerrow of Stormy Hill

We saw quite a bit at Stormy Hill this August. The Bushbuck pair were visiting, as well as the Reedbuck. The resident Duiker is wandering around.

Resident Duiker wandering around

A vlei rat was helping itself to some horse food leavings at the stables.

Vlei rat

The Village Weavers and the Hadedas are building nests in the bird tree.

Village Weaver working hard on his nest to impress the female.

We went on a ride and saw a huge bird at the dam which we think was a lammergeier (it’s the only bird that fits the sighting in our bird book.) I’ve also included some photos of our resident Jackal Buzzards.

Jackal Buzzard

Jackal Buzzard

Crystelle Wilson of Gramarye

There is concern about the status of Secretarybirds in South Africa, which has been uplisted from Near-threatened to Vulnerable. This is due to factors such as habitat loss and collisions with fences and power lines. BirdLife South Africa has a special research project on these birds which can be followed at https://www.facebook.com/secretarybirdconservation. It is always a highlight to spot them in the field, and especially in an agricultural setting where they appear to adapt to their surroundings.

Secretarybird

Equally pleasing was catching sight of a Wattled Crane, a long distance away from the camera.

Wattled Crane

The atlas list for the Elandshoek pentad 2935_3000 included: Cape Glossy Starling, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Natal Spurfowl, Levaillant’s Cisticola, Red-necked Spurfowl, Spur-winged Goose, African Firefinch, Cape Wagtail,

Cape Wagtail

Black-headed Oriole, Southern Boubou, African Wattled Lapwing, African Spoonbill, Grey Crowned Crane, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, Cape Sparrow, Cape Longclaw,

Cape Longclaw

Olive Thrush, Red-billed Teal, African Darter, Reed Cormorant, Common Moorhen, Southern Red Bishop, Red-capped Lark, Dark-capped Bulbul, Cape Robin-Chat, Three-banded Plover,

Three-banded Plover

Cape Crow, Cape Turtle-Dove, Jackal Buzzard, House Sparrow, Red-billed Quelea, African Stonechat, Pied Starling, Cape Weaver, Drakensberg Prinia, Brown-throated Martin, Long-crested Eagle,

Long-crested Eagle

White-breasted Cormorant, Egyptian Goose, South African Shelduck (the male has a grey head and females black and white)

South African Shelduck

African Sacred Ibis, Red-knobbed Coot, Little Grebe, Yellow-billed Duck,

Yellow-billed Duck

Buff-streaked Chat,

Buff-streaked Chat (male)

Bokmakierie, Hadeda Ibis, Black-headed Heron, Wattled Crane, Village Weaver, Red-eyed Dove, Common Fiscal, Cape White-eye, Fork-tailed Drongo, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Speckled Mousebird,

Speckled Mousbirds

Sombre Greenbul, Amethyst Sunbird, Hamerkop, Secretarybird, Malachite Kingfisher

Malachite Kingfisher

Christeen Grant of Sitamani

Scattered bones and new life in August. Is anyone else missing the gusty winds usually prevalent during August?

We experienced mainly mild temperatures, apart from a couple of cold fronts that brought in some wonderful rain, between there were clear blue skies, spectacular sunrises and new green grass started covering the hillsides.

After the rain new life in popped up almost overnight. Dried out Moss, Selaginella dregei, greened up;

Selaginella dregei

Bracken Pteridium aquilinum and Tree Fern Cyathea dregei fronds started unfurling.

Pteridium aquilinum

Cyathea dregei

Colourful spots appeared in the new grass, Apodolirion buchananii one of my favourite first spring flowers,

Apodolirion buchananii

Dimorphotheca jucunda, Graderia scabra, Green-tipped Fire Lily, Cyrtanthus tuckii vibrantly red, Ledebouria ovatifolia, Nemesia caerulea and Ursinia tenuiloba.

Dimorphotheca jacunda

Dimorphotheca jacunda

Graderia scabra

Cyrtanthus tuckii

Ledebouria ovatifolia

Nemesia caerulea

Ursinia tenuiloba

A few dried out seed heads of Themeda triandra interspersed in unburnt areas.

Themeda triandra

Masses of Buddleja salviifolia flowers scent the air,

Buddleja salviifolia

new leaves of the Cabbage Trees, Cussonia paniculata wave like a feather dusters on long trunks

Cussonia paniculata

and the delicate yellow Ouhout, Leucosidea sericea flowers are attracting hover flies, bees and birds.

Leucosidea sericea

Leucosidea sericea

I found a few huge Field Mushrooms, Agaricus campestris after the rain.

Agaricus campestris

Revealed in burnt off areas were two sets of scattered bones. I think the skull is of a Porcupine and the other set was a small antelope, probably a Duiker. As there seemed to be little disturbance of the bones I think they died of natural causes.

Porcupine skull

Remains possibly of a Duiker

The Common Reedbuck are still keeping close to the house and one evening a female and male casually picked their way grazing as they moved.

Common Reedbuck (female)

Common Reedbuck (male)

An exciting find was a pile of what I’m sure was relatively fresh Eland droppings.

Eland droppings

The Village Weavers are back at the Pin Oak in the garden and one male was very busy starting to build a nest. Black-headed Orioles, Black-backed Puffbacks, Cape Robin-chats, Fork-tailed Drongos, Cape White-eyes, Speckled Pigeons and Southern Boubous are some of the birds I’ve seen round the house and at the birdbaths. The Fish Eagle I hear regularly calling from the valley.

Male Village Weaver building a nest

Male Village Weaver building a nest

On my way home one day I spotted a tiny, ±2mm Crab spider, Family Thomisidae on the road. Unusual for me as I’d never seen a black one before, the ones I normally see are yellow, green or pink.

Crab Spider

On Mt. Shannon, Mondi Plantation, Philip came across a very weak Long-crested Eagle on the ground, it had a ring on one leg. On investigation he discovered that it had been ringed by Lindy Jane Thompson, as an adult bird, on the 25th March 2015, on the Boston-Dargle Road. When he returned it had gone, leaving no trace.

Long-crested Eagle

On another day we saw a pair of South African Shelducks, Yellow-billed Ducks and a Reed Cormorant on the dam as we walked past.

Three Yellow-billed ducks in the foreground, two South African Shelduck in the middle (male and female), and a Reed Cormorant in the background.

Kamberg Wildlife Sightings – July 2016

Pamela Kleiman of Connington Farm

 

 

The month started off with freezing weather and frost to the top of the Oaks the first weekend. After some lovely rain a few weeks later – we recorded 74mms – it was time to burn the veld

 

We were surprised when the farm dogs found a very young Duiker in the farm hedge. Fortunately it managed to escape and ran into the fields where we later saw a pair of Duiker – he trying to mate and she just not interested.

The only other mammals seen on the farm were a striped Mouse – ? Xeric four-striped Grass Mouse ?

the occasional Reedbuck and Jackal called most early evenings

Not too many insects around, but I did manage to capture a single African White butterfly female.

Early in the month I took a trip to the western area of the conservancy and was happy to discover the Cape Vulture roosting site near Kamberg.

Some of the special birds I encountered:

Drakensberg Prinia,

Drakensberg Prinia

Southern Black Tit that was very active in the garden this month.

Southern Black Tit

A Fork-tailed Drongo that was trying to devour a mouse it had caught – a very unusual sighting.

Fork-tailed Drongo

During the last week of the month the Yellow-billed Egrets started appearing.

Yellow-billed Egret

Purple Heron eyeballing a cow

Purple Heron

A Dark-capped Bulbul discovering the suet I had just put out in my new bird feeder – available from the RNR Conservancy stand at the Rosetta Market.

Dark-capped Bulbul

As an Atlasser based on Connington Farm in the Kamberg Conservancy, I get around to various areas in the district. I discovered the Hlatikhulu Conservancy sign the other day so have decided to add my bit. Unfortunately I am not sure of the boundaries of this conservancy, so I have only incorporated sightings near and west of the sign.

Some of the species I saw were Jackal Buzzard, Southern Red Bishop, a group of about 10 Pin-tailed Whydahs, a distant male Mocking Cliff-chat, Sentinel Rock-thrush,

Male Sentinel Rock-thrush

Red-capped Lark,

Red-capped Lark

Male Anteating Chat showing his white shoulder,

Anteating Chat

2 Secretarybirds in 2 different areas, this is a photograph of a young Secretarybird with a damaged wing,

Young Secretarybird with a damaged wing

Pied Kingfisher,

Pied Kingfisher

African Sacred Ibis, Egyptian Goose, Black-headed Heron, African Stonechat, Pied Starling, Buff-streaked Chat, Cape Vulture and a Barn Owl that must have died an awful death.

Barn Owl

It had just caught a few wing feathers on the barb of a barb-wired fence and was unable to free itself.

Barn Owl caught in a fence

As it is midwinter and very dry I look forward to Spring and Summer to discover other gems in this area.

Dargle Wildlife Sightings – June 2016

Jen Fly – Kildaragh Farm

All wildlife seems to be hibernating and as per usual, the Red-lipped Heralds are snugly coiled in the wood pile. We noticed 2 Common Reedbuck on our property – an unusual sighting these days! Good to see. They ran off onto Iain Sinclair’s farm.

Interesting birds have been seen in the garden: Green Wood Hoopoe, Wryneck, Oriole, Golden Tailed Woodpecker, Gurney’s Sugarbird, Malachite and Amethyst Sunbirds. A small flock of about 20 Helmeted Guineafowl scratch round in our pastures with numerous young. With the drought, it has been a good breeding season for them. We regularly see Black-winged Lapwings flying over on their food seeking missions.

In the veld we have noticed Natal Spurfowl, Cape Longclaw, and have heard the Common Quail with their gentle call.

An old Aloe arborescens, the Krantz aloe, that grows on one of our hill slopes is particularly beautiful this year. If you are frustrated with your garden in this season of drought, here’s what to plant!

Andrew Pridgeon – Copperleigh Farm

Spotted a Secretarybird whilst driving past Selsley farm. We also spotted one on Knowhere farm earlier in the month whilst moving some cattle.

Wendy de Waal – Honeywood Cottage

Pat McKrill, Snake Country: “I’d go with your i.d. Ashley – Spotted Skaapsteker – although it’s not that clear. There’s a slim possibility of it being a Short-snouted Sand snake (grass snake, whip snake – I wish they’d make their minds up!) but we’d need a better pic. Still some activity on the warmer days. Yay.”

Pat & Sandra Merrick – Albury Farm, Lidgetton

A very quiet month. At the beginning of June we saw the Black Sparrowhawks hunting and eating pigeons every couple of days. We saw the female at the old familiar nest in the gum trees. She was either adding more material to the nest or feeding young we thought. Well that’s the last we have seen of them, so no idea what happened. With the dry dam we have seen no waterbirds – the crane have disappeared. Only hear the Jackal occasionally.

Black-backed Jackal

We see the secretary bird and gymnogene now and then.

Secretarybird

The odd Common (Grey) Duiker seen during the day. We saw a very small Reedbuck on one of our walks. When I drove around the farm today I saw 4 Common Reedbuck sitting in the pine trees away from the wind. Two were young females and 2 were young rams.

Sunrise

There are still a number of sunbirds about, feeding off the aloes and proteas.

Malachite Sunbird (non-breeding male)

Malachite Sunbird

Greater Double-collared Sunbird

Amethyst Sunbird

In the past few weeks about a dozen Weavers arrive at about 9am and descend upon the aloes in front of the house.

They have been destructive in the defoliation of the aloes – they pull off a petal,

place it beneath a foot, and suck out the nectar and then drop them on the ground.

They are also feeding off the tecomas,

bottle brushes and pig ears.

I think they are the non-breeding Masked Weavers but am sure someone will be able to identify them for me? So we only see the sunbirds very briefly as they get chased away by the weavers which is rather sad.

Another surprise is that the Sparrows are collecting feathers and going into their nest under the eaves of the house.

Surely they are not thinking of breeding now? Perhaps they are just making it warmer!

Southern Boubou enjoying the sun – seldom seen on the lawn – they prefer to be hidden among the shrubs.

Southern Boubou

Well that’s all there is to report this month. It would be wonderful to get some rain or snow soon.

Nikki Brighton – Old Kilgobbin Farm

While I hear Spotted Eagle Owls and Wood Owls at night, I never come across the Barn Owls that moved into the owl box in the shed earlier this year. I do hope they have not eaten a poisoned rat. As last month, Jackal calls are still very scarce. Where are they? Very early one morning I met a big Porcupine while out walking and have come across lots of quills on various paths. I wonder, do they shed them more during Winter?

I found a Samango monkey skin and skeleton in the grassland,

and this dead Scrubhare beside the road.

Not a lot in flower, but these little yellow daisies are so cheerful! The hairy, maroon coloured stems should have made it easy to identify, but I can’t find it.

An unusually coloured Leonotis leonarus blooms beside the D707.

Grassland streams have stopped trickling altogether. Planted aloes are looking splendid.

David Schneiderman – Carlisle Farm

We went out on our farm Carlisle yesterday and we found 2 Waterbuck and 2 Reedbuck.

Ashley Crookes – Copperleigh Farm

The water is still receding in Mavela Dam. The ducks, geese and other wildlife are walking through the mud and making little trails.

A very cold frog I found in one of the water troughs – aren’t they supposed to be hibernating?!

Whilst doing our mandatory firebreaks with the neighbours, I quickly snapped a few pics of the aloes in the area

Some burnt aloes, I’m sure by next year they will be looking beautiful once again.

Fires in the Dargle with Inhlosane watching from a distance

We had a very cold weekend this past week, with bits of snow and sleet falling. Sunday morning we woke up to lots of ice on the edges of the dam, and beautiful little icicles forming and coming up through the mud.

Kamberg Wildlife Sightings – June 2016

Pamela Ellenberger Kleiman

Being new to the district I hope to be able to contribute sightings occasionally from the Kamberg Conservancy.

A view from the D450 across the hill where 2 farmers regularly put out carcasses for the Vultures. As an atlasser I have seen a group of up to 40+ individuals flying in the area.

During the first 2 weeks of May I was privileged to see a large flock of Southern Bald Ibis in 4 different areas, the main one along the D450

I see this pair of Grey Crowned Cranes regularly along our valley which has a series of farm dams in it.

I love the name Groundscraper Thrush. The only time I have seen them they have been calling from the top of the tallest trees!

Red-throated Wryneck, a permanent visitor to my garden.

During May the Black-headed Oriole was often in the garden. Now in June I no longer hear it.

African Harrier-hawk is often seen in the Oak trees along our valley much to the annoyance of many of the small birds.

Just a picture of a Long-crested Eagle giving the eye to two Hadedas.

On the 23rd May there were still White Storks around despite the fact that we had already had a few mornings of quite heavy frost.

Hottentot Teal that were a new atlas recording for our area.

On the road to Fairview farm I recorded 2 pairs and 2 individual Secretarybirds last week.

Buff-streaked Chat. This is a Species I am delighted to be finding more and more often in our area.

There is an ever present flock of White-faced Whistling Ducks on ponds on one of our dairy farms.

Another new atlas recording – rather a bad shot, unfortunately of a Black Crake on Connington’s small dam.

This Denham’s Bustard was also another new atlas recording which I saw along the main road to Kamberg.

It is such a pleasure to have a pair of Lanner Falcons on Connington. They give me the occasional fly-past.

High up on grass veld last week I was surprised to find 6 Wattled Crane – such beautiful creatures.

A very skittish and unexpected visitor to my garden on Connington this week was a Black Sparrowhawk, only just managed this record shot before it flew off.

Great to be back in the country and be able to see Duiker wandering across the fields in front of my cottage.

June 21st. Full moon breaking through the cloud.

Boston Wildlife Sightings – August 2015

Christeen Grant of “Sitamani”:

August has been very dry, despite a few very early in the season thunderstorms, not much rain and that quickly dried up in the hot winds that followed them. There have been mainly very hazy conditions, creating stunning sunrises and sunsets.

Just the small amounts of moisture has started the slow season change to summer, grass is greening, the earlier spring flowers are starting to appear, with them insects and birds re-growing summer plumage.

A first sighting / exciting find for me was two small groups of Urginea capitata. These small plants of the Hyancinthaceae Family, are only about 15cms tall, topped with dense inflorescenses of star shaped white flowers. Apparently they are used as a good luck charm by traditional healers.

Urginea capitata

Urginea capitata

The Common Soap Aloes, Aloe maculata are bright orange splashes of colour on the rocky hillside. Anemone fanninii wave newly opened white flags on the grassy slopes.

Common Soap Aloe – Aloe maculata

Anemone fanninii

The morning after a light rain shower Green-lipped Fire Lilies Cyrtanthus tuckii as well as fragrant, dainty Apodolirion buchananii started appearing.

Cyrtanthus tuckii

Cyrtanthus tuckii

Apodolirion buchananii

Apodolirion buchananii

Tritonia lineata, Tulbaghia leucantha, Dimorphotheca jucunda, Nemesia caerulea, Gazania krebsiana, Gerbera ambigua and Ledebouria ovatifolia, one with Bee fly, Bombomyia discoidea.

Tritonia lineata buds

Tritonia lineata

Tulbaghia leucantha

Dimorphotheca jucunda

Nemesia caerulea

Gazania krebsiana

Gerbera ambigua

Ledebouria ovatifolia with Bee fly, Bombomyia discoidea

Other insects spotted on or near flowers was a Lunate Ladybird Cheilomenes distigma on a Berkheya setifera bud, other Ladybirds and an interesting Milkweed Bug, Spilostethus sp.. A Crab spider, Thomisidae sp on Tritonia lineata, a small spider on the window and a delightful frosted spider web in the grass were also seen.

Ladybird

Ladybird

Lunate Ladybird Cheilomenes distigma on Berkheya setifera bud

Milkweed Bug Spilostethus sp

Milkweed Bug Spilostethus sp

Spider Crab spider Thomisidae sp on Tritonia lineata

Spider

Spiders web festooned with frost

Two regular early birds to the birdbath on the verandah, before the sun is up properly and the Cape White-eyes take over, are the Black-backed Puffbacks and the Cape Robin-Chats.

Black-backed Puffback

Cape Robin-Chat

On several early mornings I have seen a small group of four Mountain Reedbuck. Duiker are frequently active in the mornings and evenings, they ‘found’ the violets and within a few days all the flowers and leaves has been munched, leaving stalks and droppings behind. Common Reedbuck are also seen regularly. The eerie call of Black-backed Jackal is heard most evenings. A delight are the small Cape Serotine bat, Pipistrellus capensis bats that flit by at dusk. (Illustration: C. Grant, from Bats of Southern Africa: P.J. Taylor, pub University of Natal Press 2000)

Cape serotine bat Pipistrellus capensis

Rob and Celia Speirs of “The Rockeries”:

Six Crowned Hornbills in the pecan nut trees in the back garden.

Nigel and Tracy Murray of “Trelyon“:

One Southern Ground Hornbill flying over behind the farmhouse, towards the Gum trees.

Crystelle Wilson of “Gramarye” has again produced the Annual 2016 KZN Birdlife Calendar with 13 excellent photos by Hugh Chittenden of spectacular birds, each month on a separate page, a photograph summary of which appears below.

Crystelle Wilson of “Gramarye”:

An exciting sighting this month was seeing an otter playing in the dam on The Drift one morning. I often see otter scat near the Elandsriver, but don’t get to see the animal itself.

Otter

A bird heard more often than seen, is the Lesser Swamp-Warbler. At the end of winter with reduced vegetation around the edges of dams it was easier to find.

Lesser Swamp-Warbler

So too in the forest it was easier to spot species such as the Cardinal Woodpecker.

Cardinal Woodpecker

And it was good to see a pair of Secretarybirds, near Lynre farm.

Secretarybird

The first of the migrant species of birds are beginning to return, including the Yellow-billed Kites and Dark-capped Yellow Warbler.

The SABAP2 list for the Elandshoek pentad 2935_3100: African Spoonbill,

African Spoonbill

Alpine Swift, African Black Swift, Pied Starling, African Dusky Flycatcher, South African Shelduck, Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, Spotted Eagle-owl, Sombre Greenbul, White-breasted Cormorant, Bar-throated Apalis, White-throated Swallow, Lesser Swamp-warbler, Hamerkop, Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Amethyst Sunbird, Yellow-fronted Canary, Brown-throated Martin, African Darter, Cape Wagtail, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, Helmeted Guineafowl, Black Saw-wing, Red-billed Quelea, Pin-tailed Whydah (beginning to don its breeding colours)

Pin-tailed Whydah

Yellow-billed Kite, Green Wood-hoopoe, Cape Glossy Starling

Cape Glossy Starling

Cape Canary, Cape White-eye, Speckled Mousebird, Speckled Pigeon, Giant Kingfisher, Blacksmith Lapwing, Southern Red Bishop, Cape Weaver, Levaillant’s Cisticola, Red-knobbed Coot, Common Moorhen, Little Grebe,

Little Grebe

Bokmakierie, Reed Cormorant,

Reed Cormorant

Yellow-billed Duck, Common Fiscal, Red-capped Lark, African Pipit, Cape Longclaw, Black-headed Oriole, Southern Boubou, Black Sparrowhawk, Long-crested Eagle, African Hoopoe, Red-necked Spurfowl (which visited my garden),

Red-necked Spurfowl

Spur-winged Goose, African Rail, Egyptian Goose, Grey Crowned Crane, Black-headed Heron, Cape Turtle-dove, Red-eyed Dove, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Common Waxbill, African Firefinch, Cape Grassbird, African Stonechat, Cape Robin-chat, Dark-capped Bulbul, African Sacred Ibis,
Cape Sparrow

Cape Sparrow

Village Weaver, Cape Crow, Hadeda.

African Sacred Ibis