Kruger Jan 2017: Flowers and Feathered Friends

[Atravelynn]

"a lot of my shots were ruined by a strange reflected glare from the car (which was a pale metallic colour)" Something more to consider before pressing the shutter. Overall reflections did not hamper you. How lovely to see cheetah cubs, along with all the other riches.

[xelas]

@@Tdgraves , it looks like rhinos are not endangered specie, based on your many sightings (and ours also). Sadly we both know that is not true.

[Tdgraves]

@@xelas except that this time we only saw them in the extreme south of the park, in contrast to all of our other trips.....

[TonyQ]

@@Tdgraves

Great photos!. It is encouraging to see the Rhino. Well done with your Cukoo.

[Tdgraves]

Day 9: Biyamiti morning drive 25/1/17

 

As we were changing camps today and were planning an around about loop to kill time later, we didn't want to do too long a morning drive, so we went south onto the S25, as we were planning to leave via the weir later on and then turned off onto the S26 - unexplored territory for us and to the Mpondo dam. It was a mild 24 degrees and I had the 5D today.

 

First up some relaxed impala in the beautiful morning light

 

 

 

 

And a common sandpiper on a bridge

 

 

 

African hoopoe

 

 

Lesser striped swallow

 

 

 

and a singing Natal spurfowl (all three courtesy of the OH with the 7D who was on the correct side of the vehicle)

 

 

 

Some more impala

 

 

 

By this point in the trip, I had decided that flowers would feature somewhere in the TR title, so I really tested the OH's patience by stopping for every variety of flower whilst I was driving (even worse than for a small bird....)! I am a keen gardener but not a botanist, so most are unknown to me, however, these are gloriosa lilies (we grow the red and yellow ones)

 

 

These look like zinnias

 

 

 

these look like they are related to potatoes

 

 

something in the pea family?

 

 

look like thistles...

 

 

petunia?

 

 

and a couple of flowering shrubs

 

 

 

You may think that as I am filling up this installment with flowers, that there was no game, but you would be wrong. Around the next bend was this pair...

 

 

 

 

and from the 7D

 

 

 

They stopped and made a plan - one went across the road purposefully to the left and the other back into the bushes on the right. The dam and a waterhole were quite close, so all we could do was hope that they would turn up there. They did not. Never mind, a brief but intimate sighting.

 

Juvenile bateleur

 

 

At the waterhole, I managed a new bird, a little grebe

 

 

Wood sandpiper

 

 

and at the dam, a very distant great egret

 

 

 

This klipspringer was the last sighting of the drive.

 

 

It was 37 degrees as we left camp, not ideal for cooking or packing up the car but on we must go...

[Tdgraves]

Day 9: Biyamiti to Berg-en-Dal, 25/1/17

 

Just as we finished packing up the car, I hears the red-chested cuckoos again so I crept towards them, using the house as cover and was finally able to get a shot in better light

 

 

 

As Berg-en-Dal is very close to Biyamiti and check in time is only 2pm, we though we would take the long route, rather than hanging around reception waiting for time to pass. So we went up north to the weir and up the gravel roads to the Afsaal picnic spot and then back down the tar road to Berg-en-Dal. As it was 37 degrees, there was not much about!

 

Arrow-marked babbler

 

 

 

We timed our arrival pretty well and they let us in a bit early, after lunch in the camp restaurant. It had clouded over a bit, so unpacking was less sweaty. As we were unpacking, I realised that we had left the motion camera attached to a tree in front of our house in Biyamiti Even on the S25, this is probably a four hour round trip and as we had been driving all morning in the heat, I really did not want to lose a relaxed game drive for a retrieval mission. When I told the camp staff, they were initially sceptical that anyone would be coming this way to return it, but relaxed when we told them they had three days to do so and we could pick it up at the gate. They called Biyamiti for us and I told them where the camera was (although all the staff knew as they were intrigued by it). He couldn't promise me that it would be dropped off, as most of his staff leaving for the weekend on Fridays use the Crocodile bridge gate, not the Malelane gate that we were planning on using. However, they would courier it to us, if hand delivery was not possible. Phew! This is the third time we have brought a motion camera to KNP: the first time it was stolen and last time we left it in Shimuwini. I think it is cursed.....(we also never seem to catch anything interesting)!

[michael-ibk]

Great shots of the Cuckoo! They turned out to be also my "nemesis" birds in Ethiopia, heard them all the time with their "It will rain" song, but never managed more than a record photo.

[Tdgraves]

Day 9: Berg-en-Dal, evening drive, 25/1/17

 

After unpacking, I couldn't sleep, so I had a wander around camp to find some birds, but there were not many around. This purple-crested turaco flew over me and I managed to get a shot of it in the tree before it vanished

 

 

 

It was really hot and overcast, so the drive was pretty quiet. We did a short loop over the hill and back via the tar road

 

 

 

 

We saw some rhino, but not for photos, until not far from camp, we came across theses two

 

 

who got a bit grumpy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, the grumpy one (on the right) decided that we were a rhino and started chasing after us - time to leave! We were hoping to watch a film before our restaurant dinner, but it was cancelled due to the impending storm.

[Towlersonsafari]

At What distance did you decide to make your excuses and leave the rhino? @@Tdgraves ?

Edited May 24, 2017 by Towlersonsafari

[Tdgraves]

At What distance did you decide to make your excuses and leave the rhino? @@Tdgraves ?

We were right next to them (remember I had the 5d)......

[Peter Connan]

Lovely encounter very well captured!

[Tdgraves]

Day 10: Berg-en-Dal, morning drive, 26/1/17

 

They were right to cancel the film show - the storm broke over night, a huge thunder storm. It was still overcast with intermittent rain the next day and it was noticeably cooler. I had the 7D today. We took the tar road out of camp and very soon ran into these guys....

 

 

 

 

As we were the first to arrive at the sighting, I parked in front of this one on the right, so on the wrong side of the road. The lion in the middle of the road soon moved off into the grass.

 

 

My considerate parking made no difference though, as the next vehicle to arrive parked on the other side of the road opposite the lion, effectively blocking the road. And then they proceeded to sit there on their phones drinking coffee, apparently not that interested in the lions! This parking is exactly what you are not supposed to do. This soon became apparent when a minibus transporting the camp staff's children to school was the next vehicle to arrive. The driver of the other car made no attempt to move, or even acknowledge the fact that they were blocking the road and staff needed to come and go. The kids were very excited at see big male lions on their way to school though. I was able to reposition our car a bit so that the minibus could get through, only for the next car to arrive then park into the gap . After this it became a bit of a circus....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The one which had moved over soon came back

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then the OSVs started to arrive. During the time we were there, there must have been at least 10 of them and this convinced me that they are all in radio contact, as this is the road to the camp (not a through road) and I'm sure would not normally be on their route. One of these vehicles even parked off road, right next to one of the lions, ruining my shots.

 

 

 

 

 

Another one in the grass

 

 

By now there was quite a queue of vehicles stuck behind us, so we thought we'd move on and give them a chance, which was easier said than done as we were completely boxed in....

 

All of the gravel roads were closed due to the rain, so we carried on north up towards the Afsaal picnic spot. We arrived really early, as game was sparse, I didn't even need a comfort break yet! I was just turning into the car park when we heard hyaena calling. Just opposite on the corner of the next junction was a mother hyaena and pups!! Coffee break aborted.

 

 

Again we had the sighting to ourselves for quite a while

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then the OSVs started to arrive, but much to my surprise and restoring my faith in humanity, each one of them stopped (I guess it was a slow game day) and most of the occupants seemed to enjoy seeing the babies. One of them even helped a couple to change their tyre at the picnic site after spotting their flat!

 

So now it was time for coffee. I can highly recommend Afsaal for coffee - much better than from Mugg & Bean (although that is not relevant now). A short break and off we go again, further north towards Skukuza. As it was a slow game day, the rest is all birds...we did get a brief glimpse of a dwarf mongoose, but no photos.

 

Black kite

 

 

 

Steppe buzzard??

 

 

 

Barn swallows

 

 

European bee-eaters

 

 

And then we ended up in Skukuza, where I found this green pigeon

 

 

And then we turned south again for the long drive back to camp.

 

Dark-capped bulbul

 

 

Wahlberg's eagle

 

 

Another rest stop in Afsaal, where I found these tame red-winged starlings

 

 

 

And near to camp, Amur falcons

 

 

male

 

 

female

 

 

What a long drive!

[Towlersonsafari]

I love the lion resting on its paws @@Tdgraves and the hyena babies are very cute

[Tdgraves]

Day 10: Berg-en-Dal, birding in camp, 26/1/17

 

I usually find that there are a lot of birds around Berg-en-Dal, but was a bit disappointed the previous day, so I thought I'd try again. It was very overcast, which didn't help. Past the petrol station I could hear bird song, but it was difficult to localise as there was a generator on. Eventually I found this, deep in the bush andhigh above my head, my first new species of the day, an Eastern nicator

 

 

 

Black-backed puffback

 

 

I then thought I'd join up with the perimeter walking trail (the rhino trail) to see what I could find. Annoyingly, after battling through the undergrowth (the path needed clearing) I ended up back on the main road, a few metres from where I started. Grrrr.

 

I soon cheered up though when I spotted this Southern boubou

 

 

 

 

 

Nowhere near the number and variety of birds that I am used to, but at least a new species and an unusual one. Time to get ready for the afternoon game drive....

[PCNW]

The rhinos with their heads together, the lion looking right at you and the smiling hyena pup! Good stuff.

[Tdgraves]

Day 10:Berg-en-Dal, evening drive, 26/1/17

 

It was very humid and overcast and we were worried that there would be another storm, so we thought we'd go slowly along the S110 (which was still open) in case it was closed tomorrow and then back via the tar road. It was predictably pretty quiet. We saw a duiker but not to photograph and mainly it would be birds.

 

White-fronted bee-eater

 

 

 

Red-backed shrike

 

 

Southern black flycatcher

 

 

And then I couldn't believe my eyes - a trumpeter hornbilll! I was under the misguided impression that they only occurred in the Northern Kruger....

 

 

 

 

spotted flycatcher

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eurasian hobby

 

 

Distant brown snake-eagle

 

 

Rattling cisticola

 

 

Black-collared barbet

 

 

and finally some mammals near to camp

 

 

As we approached camp, the light improved. A strange bird flew over and I stopped. A pair of Dideric cuckoos had landed on a branch right next to the road and were in beautiful light. We just had the cameras raised and focussing, when a vehicle keen to get back to camp, sped past and scared them off. GRRRR. I fear that @@Peter Connan has passed on his Dideric cuckoo curse to us....

[Peter Connan]

I am sorry.

 

But, i have not passed it on, as I still have it. Perhaps it is spreading...

 

Hope it ends soon for you.

[Tdgraves]

I am sorry.

But, i have not passed it on, as I still have it. Perhaps it is spreading...

Hope it ends soon for you.

Highly infectious, I'd say.....

[Tdgraves]

Day 11: Berg-en-Dal, morning drive, 27/1/17

 

After the drive the night before, we went to reception to enquire as to whether anyone would be able to reunite us with our motion sensitive camera. I was speaking to a trainee and he passed me over to the man who had called through to Biyamiti for me. There were three staff on reception and no other customers. He then regaled me with a story of how a contractor had agreed to drop it off at the gate for us, but had forgotten and so it was still in his vehicle. I was pretty chilled about it, as the SANParks staff had already told me that they would be able to courier it back home if the worse came to the worst. This is Africa after all. I was asking questions about when the contractor may be back in the park, trying to work out about sending it, when he eventually had enough and could hold it in no longer. They were winding me up. All three of them burst out laughing. It had been dropped off at the gate for us to collect!! I imagine if I was more uptight this strategy may have ended in tears...

 

Also the previous night, we were struggling to light the braai. As there was a storm coming, I had made sure that the charcoal and logs were underneath the thatch as the stoop is uncovered. Unfortunately, I had chosen the exact spot where the rain ran off of the roof, so the charcoal was a black puddle. As were were trying to make fire, I heard an owl. So I grabbed my torch and started looking at the tops of the tall trees that surrounded us - nothing. I eventually gave up and sat back down again with my glass of wine. And there was the noise again, really loud. I looked up, no more than two metres above me was an African barred owlet - a new species for us. Unfortunately even with the stoop light and a torch, we were unable to photograph it!

 

Today was our last day and as we needed to check out, we could only have a short drive. We left camp via the tar road up to Afsaal and back via the S110. The gravel roads were still closed. It was slightly cloudy when we left but it soon cleared and got to 22 degrees. I had the 5D today. It would turn out to be another birding day.

 

Golden-breasted bunting

 

 

Hooded vulture (courtesy of the OH)

 

 

Steppe buzzard

 

 

 

This yellow-billed kite gave us a couple of goes at take off photos

 

 

 

 

 

 

My attention was caught by a flash of red in a tree, unfortunately the male would not pose, but this is a female scarlet-chested sunbird, another new species for us

 

 

 

Violet-backed starling

 

 

Magpie shrike

 

 

Yellow-billed hornbill

 

 

Yellow-fronted canary

 

 

Black-headed oriole

 

 

We had to get back to camp to pack up and then we had a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant, where we saw this pair....

 

 

of purple-crested turacos

 

 

 

 

A good end to the trip and on the last 12 kms leaving the park, we saw nothing of note.

[Tdgraves]

Motion-camera photos

 

We have never been very successful using the motion-sensitive camera whilst in the KNP (notwithstanding leaving it behind/having it stolen) and this year was no exception!

 

Letaba

 

 

Satara

 

 

 

 

Biyamiti

 

 

 

[Tdgraves]

Summary

 

So no leopards this time and more surprisingly, no wild dog. However we did have 5 mostly very good lion sightings and an unprecedented 4 cheetah sightings, including a hunt.

 

According to my Roberts app we saw 185 species of birds, including our day in Rietvlei and three days at our friends' place. This included 19 new species in KNP, only 3 of which I failed to capture on camera and was 47 higher than last years' count, despite not seeing over 20 species which we saw last year e.g. no Kori bustard (?!??), bush/helmet shrikes and no pied kingfishers!

[Towlersonsafari]

Thank you @@Tdgraves for a very entertaining report.It was due in large part to the earlier Kruger reports that we went there this year

Edited May 30, 2017 by Towlersonsafari

[Atravelynn]

What do you think that last motion picture shot is? I think the lions enjoyed watching the "circus." Wonderful hyena pups, looking very curious about everything. The birds were out and about for you on page 5.

[Tdgraves]

@@Atravelynn I think it is a genet

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much for a great trip report. I really enjoyed it.