Southern Kruger Park Bird Watching & Game Spotting
My first trip to the Kruger for my Discovering the Kruger Park project, saw myself and Aimee traversing the Southern sections of the Kruger National Park below Skukuza and Lower Sabie.
We
arrived at 6.30am at the Numbi Gate, sorted out the registration so we
could enter the Kruger and we were on our way onto what I call the
Mestel/Shabeni Loop,
which follows the S3 via
Mestel Dam,
then onto the S7 and via the S10 around the Shabeni outcrops. It was a
very nice route which yielded some nice sightings of African Cuckoo,
Blackbellied Bustard and
Klipspringer
amongst other game and bird life.
We
the carried on to the
Pretoriuskop
Rest Camp and onto the
H2-2, the
Voortrekker road, which we hoped would yield some of the rare antelope
species of the Kruger. Unfortunately the road was very quiet but we did
see Brubru, Woolly Necked Stork and an
Impala lamb
that was at most 2 days old. It was really young. We then carried on to
the H3 and
Afsaal
Picnic Spot, we narrowly missed 2
Leopard
sightings but did see a Black Stork and an adult and juvenile
Saddlebilled Stork. We carried on to
Berg-en-Dal
rest camp.
After
resting from the mid afternoon heat we left Berg-en-Dal we traveled
along the
Matjulu and
Timfenheni
loops respectively, where we encountered a myriad of birds of prey along
with a lot of antelope species in abundance. Coming back we saw
Small
Spotted Genet and
Lesser
Bushbaby in camp.
The
next morning, at 4.35am, we left Berg-en-Dal onto the
S110 tar road,
straight onto the H3 and then we did a bit of the
H1-1 to Skukuza
and back to the S114
dirt road. During the long stretch towards the
Biyamiti Weir
and the
S139, we saw many birds that included Doublebanded Sandgrouse,
Trumpeter Hornbill, Cinamonbreasted Bunting and European Roller. We
encountered a couple of
Lion in thick
grass, Elephant,
and lots of
Duiker to name a few.
After arriving at Biyamiti and exploring the camp, it's hide and walking trail, we turned in for an early night to the magnificent sounds of the bushveld.
Another
4.30am start saw us travel the S139, onto the S114, via the
Gardenia
hide and onto the
S25,
the Crocodile River Road. We had an amazing view of a bull Elephant
creating a mud bath close to the pan at the Gardenia Hide, was amazing
to see. We saw a Leopard cross the road close to the Hlongo river on the
S25 and saw a large amount of
Warthog with
young along the route. From
Crocodile
Bridge we drove the
S130 via the
H4-2. We missed
seeing some Wild
Dog, but we did see a
Spotted
Hyaena hunt some Impala, which it was unsuccessful at doing. We
carried on to
Sunset Dam and Lower Sabie.
From
Lower Sabie we travelled back on the Nhlowa Road,
the S28,
and then to the
Duke
Waterhole on the
S137. We also visited the Nhlanganzwani Dam on the
S107. We also
stopped at the
Nthandanyathi hide. We saw a lot of birds and mammals and this is a
very good route to travel.
Back on the H4-2, we worked ourselves to Mpondo Dam, where we saw a white Impala amongst a herd of normal Impala, a very unusual sighting. We also watched a Civet on the far bank of the dam. Close to the Biyamiti camp, we bumped into a juvenile Martial Eagle and further on a Scrub Hare. What a great day!
A
bit of a sleep in and we were greeted by
Vervet
Monkeys who had some very young babies with them at Biyamiti. They
caused a bit of havoc and stole our sugar when we were not watching. We
travelled to Lower Sabie once more to drive the S130 road again, which
is one of the best
dirt roads in the Kruger without a doubt. We also travelled the very
under rated S82
loop road, this is a quiet but very active road in terms of wildlife. On
the way back to Biyamiti we went along the S25 once more in hope of
seeing some nocturnal creatures, but to no avail. We encountered a
number of angry Elephants and some great bird sightings.
It
was our day to leave, and the first trip of this expedition came to an
end far too quickly. We had a wonderful sighting on the H3 of a Lioness
and her 2 sub adult cubs eating an Impala. We were so close to them and
it was amazing to hear the bone crunching and watch these apex
predators. There were only 3 cars including ours and we eventually let
them eat in peace. Then on our way leaving via the same gate we came in,
we had a great trip seeing numerous species of various wildlife and
ended off by doing the many
loops
around Pretoriuskop. Below is a summary of all the
mammal and
bird
species we recorded during this amazing trip.
Mammals seen: Fruit Bat, Slit Faced Bat, Small Spotted Genet, Lesser Bushbaby, Impala, Waterbuck, Burchell's Zebra, Common Duiker, Steenbok, Klipspringer, White Rhino, Buffalo, Giraffe, Hippo, Chacma Baboon, Vervet Monkey, Tree Squirrel, Kudu, Warthog, Blue Wildebeest, Elephant, Lion, Civet, Bushbuck, Scrub Hare, Leopard, Slender Mongoose, Dwarf Mongoose and Spotted Hyaena. (29 species)
Birds seen: Burchell's Starling, Cape Glossy Starling, Greater Blue Eared Starling, Violetbacked Starling, Wattled Starling, Darkcapped Bulbul, Woodland Kingfisher, Blackbreasted Snake Eagle, Greenbacked Night Heron, Egyptian Goose, African Barred Owlet, Common Waxbill, Blue Waxbill, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Orangebreasted Bush Shrike, Blackbellied Bustard, Redcrested Korhaan, Natal Spurfowl, Rednecked Spurfowl, Crested Spurfowl, Helmeted Guineafowl, Marabou Stork, Black Stork, Bearded Woodpecker, Steppe Eagle, Wahlberg's Eagle, Burchell's Coucal, Laughing Dove, Cape Turtle Dove, Redeyed Dove, Grey Hornbill, Redbilled Hornbill, Yellowbilled Hornbill, Crested Barbet, Jacobin Cuckoo, African Cuckoo, Redchested Cuckoo, Redheaded Quelea, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Forktailed Drongo, Southern Masked Weaver, Blacksmith Lapwing, Water Thick-Knee, Kori Bustard, Threebanded Plover, Magpie Shrike, Brubru, Puffback, Chinspot Batis, Sabota Lark, Redcollared Widow, Bateleur Eagle, Woollynecked Stork, Grey Go Away Bird, Arrowmarked Babbler, Pintailed Whydah, Eastern Paradise Whydah, Cinamonbreasted Bunting, Black Cuckoo, Tawnyflanked Prinia, Mocking Cliff Chat, Redbilled Oxpecker, Emerald Spotted Wood Dove, Marico Sunbird, European Bee Eater, Southern Boubou, Fierynecked Nightjar, Groundscraper Thrush, African Hoopoe, African Hawk Eagle, Crowned Lapwing, Little Grebe, Saddlebilled Stork, Yellowbilled Kite, Barn Swallow, Hamerkop, Cattle Egret, Southern Black Flycatcher, Harlequin Quail, Common Sandpiper, Pied Kingfisher, Redbilled Woodhoopoe, Eastern Blackheaded Oriole, Southern Whitecrowned Shrike, Redbilled Buffalo Weaver, Lesser Striped Swallow, Hadeda Ibis, Whitefaced Duck, Speckled Mousebird, Goldenbreasted Bunting, Grey Heron, Lilacbreasted Roller, European Roller, Alpine Swift, African Openbill, Great Egret, Martial Eagle, Doublebanded Sandgrouse, Lesser Grey Shrike, Trumpeter Hornbill, Pied Wagtail, Hooded Vulture, Whitebacked Vulture, African Fish Eagle, Redbreasted Swallow, Wood Sandpiper, Blackwinged Stilt, Whitecrowned Lapwing, Village Weaver, Melba Finch, Greenbacked Pytilia, Fiscal Flycatcher, Whitebrowed Robin Chat, Cape Robin Chat, Senegal Lapwing. (114 species)
