Trip Report From Mapungubwe national Park

Last week on Friday 22nd Of March I had a chance to do birding around 
Mapungubwe National Park with Hans and his wife a dedicated birder from 
Pretoria.
Just along the road by  Langjan Nature Reserve we saw a flock of about 100 
Marabou Storks circling and some few Amur Falcon.

We arrrived at  Mapungubwe late morning but the abundance of birdlife was 
quite spectacular with lots of birds to see and just entering the gate 
there is a dam before the newly built Interpretive centre and we saw water 
birds such as Little Grebe,Egyptian Goose,Blacksmith Plover,Grey 
Heron,Black Crake,White Faced Duck,Red-Billed Teal,Common Greenshank,Three 
Banded Plover and Marsh Sandpiper.

 From the dam and just around Mapungubwe Interpretive Centre we saw a 
resident pair of Mocking Cliff-Chat and other birds around there we saw 
many pairs of Cinnamon-Breasted Bunting,Rattling Cisticola,Red Winged 
Starling and many huge flocks of Red-Billed Quelea all over.

We slowly drove towards the confluence of Limpopo and Shashe River and 
birding on the main road was good with sightings of birds amongst others 
Meve's Starling,Southern-Pied Babbler,Flappet Lark,Sabota Lark.Southern 
Carmine Bee-Eater,European Bee-Eater,Kurrichane 
Buttonquail,Brubru,Yellow-Fronted Canary,Chinspot Batis,Laughing 
Dove,Namaqua Dove,Jameson's Firefinch,Spotted and Marico Flycatcher,White 
Crested Helmet-Shrike,African Grey and Southern Yellow-Billed 
Hornbill,Brown Hooded Kingfisher,African Paradise Flycatcher,Long-Tailed 
Paradise-Whydah,Lilac-Breasted and Purple Roller,Black-Chested Snake 
Eagle,Southern Grey-Headed Sparrow,Cape Glossy Starling,Barn,Wire-Tailed 
and Lesser Striped Swallow,Cape and Pied Wagtail,Red-Billed 
Buffalo-Weaver,Southern Masked and Lesser Masked-Weaver,Pin-tailed Whydah 
and Cardinal Woodpecker, and some big flocks of Wattled Starling just 
before the Confluence and the Picnic Site.

Around the Confluence Viewing Decks we spotted some few birds as it was 
mid day and there  was little activity and the birds around there were few 
Rock Martin,Familiar Chat,Golden Breasted Bunting,Blue Waxbill,Willow 
Warbler,Grey Go-Away-Bird and African Stonechat.There were some water 
birds along the Shashe and Limpopo confluence and special birds was a 
single Saddle-Billed Stock,Great Egret and African Spoonbill.One thing 
that was lacking was Raptors and Vultures around the Park although we saw 
a distance flock of Vultures in a distance.

Happy Birding

African Broadbill Nesting,Roodewal Reserve

I had a good day yesterday when one of the nest of African Broadbill at Roodewal Reserve,Soutpansberg hatched after monitoring it for about a months.The chicks are few days old and happy.Apart from the Broadbill I am so glad to see Green Twinspot with young ones as well.Other birds seen were Eastern Nicator,Scaly Throated Honeyguide,Tambourine Dove,Narina Trogon and African Crowned Eagle.