We spent the morning exploring the beautiful Dlinza Forest Nature Reserve in the town of Eshowe. This panoramic view awaits you at the top of the aerial boardwalk at Dlinza – an excellent way to experience the middle and upper stories of the forest that one doesn’t normally have access to – click on the image for a larger view. Of course we’ll share more about Dlinza when we’re back from holiday!
View from the Dlinza Reserve’s Aerial Boardwalk
Today we spent some time exploring the Raphia Palm National Monument, quite literally one of the biggest attractions here at Umlalazi Nature Reserve. See if you can make out Joubert standing next to two of the towering giants.
The time for our December holidays have finally arrived, and we kick of our summer vacation at beautiful Umlalazi Nature Reserve on the north coast of Kwazulu-Natal Province!
The shy African Firefinch is a tiny (11cm, 10g) seedeater inhabiting humid thickets in savanna and riverine woodland. They are usually seen in pairs or small groups.
Pairs are monogamous and the male is responsible for the building of the small ball-shaped grass-nest in a densely-leaved bush or dense grass during the summer months. Both parents share the incubation duties for the clutch of 2-5 eggs, which hatch after about two weeks. The nestlings are fed on small insects and fledge when they about 3 weeks old. The chicks become independent around 2 weeks after leaving the nest.
The African Firefinch has a rather patchy distribution across much of sub-Saharan Africa. The IUCN lists it as being of least concern. In South Africa they can be found from the Eastern Cape, through Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo and into Gauteng and the North West Province.
The Sombre Greenbul is a shy species, often more easily heard than seen. They are usually encountered singly or in pairs, feeding on insects and other invertebrates as well as ripe fruit and berries, nectar and flowers. They prefer dense habitats, ranging from forests to thickets in coastal scrub, where they usually move around in the middle and upper levels, and has adapted well to densely planted suburban gardens. Sombre Greenbuls breed in spring and summer, building their cup-shaped nests amongst dense leaves quite high above the ground.
The IUCN lists the Sombre Greenbul as being of least concern. It is distributed along Africa’s Indian Ocean coastline and adjacent hinterland from Somalia to South Africa, where it is to be seen in the Western and Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and the Lowveld and Escarpment of Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces.
One of our most familiar swallows, often found in close association with human habitation, is the Greater Striped Swallow. They prefer open, undulating and mountainous habitats, often near open water, where they hawk the flying insects that form their staple diet.
Greater Striped Swallows breed from early spring to deep in autumn and build mud-nests beneath overhanging rocks and toppled trees, but they have adapted well to using the underside of roofs and bridges for the purpose (see photos). Usually clutches consist of 3 eggs, incubated by the female alone for 3 weeks though both parents feed the chicks once hatched. The chicks start flying when they’re a month old but will return to the safety of the nest for a few days afterwards still. Adults measure about 18cm long and weigh around 25g.
Greater Striped Swallows are to be seen seasonally in most of Africa south of the equator, “wintering” in the DRC, Angola and Tanzania and moving southwards to breed in southern Africa from August to March – during summer they occur in virtually every corner of South Africa. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern.
It is time for the annual SA Blog Awards again! In 2017 we won in both the “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog” categories and we need your help to defend our titles!
If you enjoy De Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and the wildlife that thrives there with you, please support us again in the 2018 South African Blog Awards? We’ve again entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog“, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site. After voting, you’ll receive an e-mail requiring you to click on a link to confirm your votes.
Thank you very much for your support – we really do appreciate it!
True to its name, the Arrow-marked Babbler is a noisy, social bird, usually encountered in territorial groups of between 3 and 15 individuals and commonly found in thickets in savanna and woodland habitats. Here they forage mostly on the ground, feeding on a variety of fruits, seeds, invertebrates and small reptiles. Pairs of Arrow-marked Babblers are monogamous, and assisted in the processes of nest building, incubation and chick-rearing by the entire group. They may breed at anytime of year, and clutches consist of 2-5 eggs that hatch after about 2 weeks. Adults of the species have a length of about 24cm and weight of around 72g
The Arrow-marked Babbler occurs in Africa south of the equator, and is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. In South Africa it can be found in the provinces of Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West and Gauteng.
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