Soutpansberg Birding August Updates

Hi Birders,

Birding is becoming very exciting up here in the Soutpansberg lately with the early arrival of some migrants birds already in our area.I have been taking birders from local and abroad to various soutpansberg birding hot spots always rewarded with good sightings of special birds.I have been up to various sites lately and I am very happy with the activity of calling and sightings of birds that were difficult to see but lately from this mid-August they are showing up well enough.

From Entabeni Forest in the central Soutpansberg along the riverine forests birds becoming common and seen are amongst others African Broadbill,African Finfoot,White-Backed Night-Heron,Orange Ground Thrush,Narina Trogon and Green Twinspot.A nest of White-backed Night-Heron discovered in a small dam also a good start for researching and monitoring project.

This week at Roodewal Forest some nice sightings amongst others was a pair of African Crowned Eagles seen together in the nest with a male bringing building materials to the nest.African Broadbill continue to become very vocal and calling until late morning also another good indication that they will start breeding soon.

Another good sightings of special birds at Hanglip Forest in Makhado(Louis Trichardt)amongst others were Narina Trogon,Yellow Streaked Greenbul,Grey Cuckooshrike,Olive Thrush,Lemon Dove,Knysna Turaco,Olive Woodpecker,Crested Guineafowl,Yellow Throated Woodland Warbler.etc

Levubu area in the Levubu Post Office and surrounding with sightings of Grey-Headed Parrot is alive again.The sightings of several flocks of Grey-Headed Parrot spending their entire morning and afternoon feeding on Mabola plum fruit(Parinari Curatellifolia) is also good.Most of the flock I counted ranges between 8 and 6 birds.Other birds seen around Levubu were African Green Pigeons,African Cuckoo Hawk,Lizard Buzzard etc.

Happy Birding.

Another spectacular birding over the weekend on Saturday 10th of August with a birder Gareth Hazel from Gauteng in a mission of chasing some of the special birds in the Soutpansberg area.Although the weather was not favouring us most part of the day we saw some amazing sighting of birds during the trip from central Soutpansberg mountains;Muirhead Dams,Botanical Garden,Sagole Big tree travelling down in a misty mountains of Thathe Vondo sacred forest and ended up from the north of Entabeni Forest.

We recorded some marvellous list of birds and amongst many birds to name a few;a sighting of about a dozen of Mottled Spinetail was good,Blue-Spotted Wood-Dove,Pink-Throated Twinspot,African Broadbill,Orange Ground-Thrush,African Pygmy Goose,Blue-Mantled Crested Flycatcher,Southern White-Crowned Shrike,Olive Woodpecker,Lizard Buzzard,Chorister Robin-Chat,African Hawk-Eagle,Black- Chested Prinia,Kalahari Scrub-Robin and Marico Sunbird.

Happy Birding.