Monday the 1st of November was a declared public holiday in South Africa, to allow for the running of the municipal elections. Of course this little gift of a long weekend was too good to pass up, so the de Wets headed north into the Bushveld for a two night visit to the Nylsvley Nature Reserve – one of our country’s most highly-rated bird watching destinations.
Duck’s Den #3 at Nylsvley Nature Reserve, October 2021
Jacana Hide
Vogelfontein
Vogelfontein
Giraffe traversing the plains of Nylsvley
Decaying log or natural scuplture?
One of the hides at Vogelfontein in Nylsvley Nature Reserve, with waterbuck in the foreground
Exploring Nylsvley in the early morning
Nylsvley sunset
Nylsvley sunrise
True to its reputation, Nylsvley delivered abundantly on the bird front during our visit, despite the fact that many of the summer regulars haven’t arrived in South Africa yet and despite most of the wetlands being completely dry at the end of the dry season. We managed to tick 82 species of birds without trying very hard.
African Cuckoo
African Stonechat
Arrow-marked Babbler
Black-winged Kite preparing to dive onto its prey
Blacksmith Lapwing
Blue Waxbill
Burchell’s Coucal
Burchell’s Starling
Cardinal Woodpecker
Chinspot Batis (photo by Joubert)
Common Myna – not a species you want to see in a Nature Reserve, being an invasive exotic
Crested Francolins
Crimson-breasted Shrike
Wahlberg’s Eagle
European Bee-eater
Grey-backed Camaroptera
Grey Go-away Bird (photo by Joubert)
Hamerkop
Helmeted Guineafowl
Northern Black Korhaan male in flight
Lilac-breasted Roller
Magpie Shrike
Ostrich (photo by Joubert)
Red-billed Queleas
Red-breasted Swallow
Red-breasted Swallow (photo by Joubert)
Rufous-naped Lark
Immature Saddle-billed Stork
Secretary Bird in flight
Southern Masked Weaver male
Spoonbill
Spotted Flycatcher
Spur-winged Goose (photo by Joubert)
Female Violet-backed Starling
Female Violet-eared Waxbill
Wattled Lapwings
Wattled Lapwing (photo by Joubert)
Wattled Starlings
White-browed Sparrow Weaver
Wood Sandpiper
Yellow-billed Hornbill with a stinkbug
Yellow-billed Storks
Besides the birds, another reason to visit Nylsvley is the sizable populations of three of South Africa’s rarer antelope species that are found here: Southern Reedbuck, Roan Antelope, and Tsessebe.
Southern Reedbuck ram
Southern Reedbuck ewe
Roan Antelope
Roan Antelope bull
Roan Antelope cow and calf
Tsessebe and suckling calf
Tsessebe
Tsessebe
These antelope were just some of the 25 kinds of mammals we encountered during the 48 hours or so we spent at Nylsvley, ranging from bats, squirrels and mice to lofty giraffes.
Bushbuck hiding behind himself
Giraffe
Giraffe calf
Young Giraffe
Young Kudu bull
Lesser Bushbaby
Scrub Hare
Steenbok
Southern African Tree Squirrel (photo by Joubert)
Vervet Monkey
Warthog
Waterbuck
Blue Wildebeest
We found a little waterhole that was well frequented by the reserve’s giraffes, and had great fun photographing the giants as they stooped to drink.
Drinking Giraffe
Drinking Giraffe
Dribbling Giraffe
Drinking Giraffe
Dribbling Giraffe – photo by Joubert
Drinking Giraffe
Even on a smaller scale, Nylsvley has so much to offer!
A substantial ants-nest inside a living tree trunk
Large bee (Amegilla atrocinta) with a big thirst
Dusky Copper butterfly
Common Blue (Leptotes sp) (photo by Joubert)
Cricket
Millipede
Speckled Rock Skink
If you’d like to learn more about Nylsvley you are welcome to have a read through a previous post we did on the reserve following a visit in 2017.
Entrance Gate at Nylsvley Nature Reserve
And don’t worry – Marilize and I performed our civic duty by casting our votes as soon as we got back to Pretoria on Monday afternoon. 😉
DeWetsWild 
What an incredible variety of birds and such interesting mammals and other critters too. This seems like a wonderful place to stopover for a few days if and when travelling further north. Thanks for alerting us to it.
You’ll not be disappointed if you stop over at Nylsvley. The staff are so welcoming and helpful and you can see they take pride in looking after their charge. A small packet of dynamite this.
Looks like the reserve contains a banquet of birds and beasts!
I’m glad if the photos conveyed a bit of Nylsvley’s magical diversity, Siobhan!
How nice to see an abundance of birds, I’m sure that there must be also am abundance of small creatures and lots of grass seeds, to justify the variety of avians. Loved the pictures very much. Thank you, my friend. 🙂
Thank you very much, H.J. Indeed, Nylsvley appears to be in a very healthy state – even now at the end of the dry season.
Weereens ongelooflik baie diere en voels wat julle gesien het! Beslis die moeite werd vir so wegbreek naweek Dries!
Ons was regtig bly dat ons die geleentheid kon aangryp, Aletta. Die stille rustigheid was net wat ons nodig gehad het vir die laaste strek tot die Desember vakansie.
What immense diversity and beauty, many thanks for this!
Nylsvley is a very special place, Joep – well worth a visit!
Just the kind of rejuvenation one needs! We have heard the Burchell’s Coucal only once in our garden so far [it did not herald rain, so may have moved on in embarrassment :)] I enjoyed seeing birds so familiar to me, yet not seen for far too long.
What a pity that the Coucal couldn’t do its magic!
Sjoe nou verlang ek eers weer n bietjie. Baie bly Nylsvlei net so mooi uitgebrei en ook spesiale diere gekry. Daar is darem ongelooflik baie voels daar. Dink jy die Nyl sal komende somer weer water op oppervlakte kry? Die Nyl loop mos ondergronds( hoop so nog steeds).
Teen middel Januarie hierdie jaar het die Nyl oudergewoonte afgekom, Ineke, en die vleiland was pragtig onder water met derduisende besoekende voels – ongelukkig was ons toe pas terug van verlof af en kon nie gaan kyk nie, maar ons hoop as dit in 2022 weer gebeur om n naweek te kan afknyp.
Dis so ongewoon om die Nyl so op die oppervlakte te kan sien en beleef. Die rivier het ‘n vreeslike wye vloei bedding. Ons het altyd gaan kyk omdat dit baie ongewoon is. Al die opdammings maak dit ook nie makliker om te vloei nie.
So many beautiful birds, but the Blue Waxbill is a favorite of mine. The waterbuck….something happened to one of its horns?
Thank you, Lois – we also have a soft spot for the Blue Waxbills!
Yep, that waterbuck bull’s horns have definitely been through the ringer keeping their owner in charge of his harem!