Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

The Little Egret is a relatively small, white heron weighing about 500g with a wingspan of around a metre and characteristic yellow toes, believed to aid in attracting prey to within striking range.

Little Egrets forage singly or in small groups in shallow, open wetlands, on the margins of rivers, dams, lakes, lagoons and waterlogged pastures and agricultural fields, and in the intertidal belt along the coast. They feed mostly on small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, insects and other invertebrates

Breeding in this species coincides with the rainy season (in South Africa mostly the summer months), usually nesting in colonies numbering dozens up to thousands of pairs and often in association with other species of egret, heron, ibis and cormorant. They build their nests of sticks on cliffs, in reedbeds or trees, usually over the water, or on the ground on safe islands. Clutches of up to 5 eggs are incubated by both parents for a little over 3 weeks, and the chicks fledge at about 6 weeks old.

The IUCN estimates that there may be over 3-million (and the population is growing) Little Egrets distributed over Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Vagrants have become established in the Caribbean and now appear to be spreading into North and South America. In South Africa the Little Egret is a common resident (subject to local movements to the coast during winter) all over the country, with the exception of the arid Northern Cape where it is mostly seen only along the course of the Orange River.

Little Egret

Little Egret (photo by Joubert)

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

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Bubulcus ibis

The well-known Cattle Egret is a small (280-450g) white heron (egret) with a wingspan of less than a metre.

Cattle Egrets usually forage in small groups numbering 10 – 20, but can at times be found in flocks of thousands where food is abundant. These birds inhabit open grasslands, savannas, pastures and meadows, swamps and marshes. They’re a familiar sight wherever large wild or domestic herbivores are grazing, catching insects and small vertebrates disturbed by their big neighbours’ movements. They will also peck ticks and other parasites from these bigger animals.

As with most other egrets, Cattle Egrets breed colonially in groups numbering from a dozen to several thousand pairs, often in mixed species congregations. Nests are built of sticks in trees and reedbeds, often over or surrounded by water. In South Africa breeding reaches a peak in the summer months. Clutches of one to five eggs are incubated by both parent birds for about three weeks, while chicks become independent at about 45 days old.

With a growing population estimated at as many as 10-million, and an expanding distribution on every continent except Antarctica, the IUCN considers the Cattle Egret to be of Least Concern. Their rapid range expansion in the past 100 years is directly correlated with the expansion of cattle farming across the globe. In South Africa they occur in every province, although they’re not very common in the xeric northwest of the country. They’re also much more numerous during the warm summer months, with many birds migrating to central Africa to escape the harshest of winter in our southern climes.

Western Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets (photo by Joubert)

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets in flight over the sea at the estuary of Lake St. Lucia

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

Cape Buffalo and cattle egret

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret (photo by Joubert)

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

Camping fest at Satara

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At the end of April, we had the privilege of visiting the Kruger National Park with a wonderful group of friends; altogether 21 adults and children from 5 families and by far the biggest group we’ve ever accompanied to the Park! Our base for the four nights was the camping area at Satara Rest Camp, allowing us to introduce our friends to many of our favourite places in the central section of the Park.

A wonderful group of friends enjoying the scenery at Nwanedzi

Our previous visit to the Satara area was in the winter holidays of 2016, at the height of one of the worst droughts on record in South Africa. What a pleasure seeing the region transformed into a sea of lush green vegetation now at the end of the summer rainfall season, and experiencing a few of the final showers rolling over the Lowveld before winter sets in!

Wonderful to see so much water in the Park – here at Nsemani Dam

Satara scenery

Scenery along the S100

Dusty sunset on the S100

Scenery along the S100

Wonderful to see so much water in the Park – here at Gudzani Dam

Wonderful to see so much water in the Park – here at a stream crossing on the S41

Sunset at Nsemani Dam

Downpour approaching along the Olifants River valley

Rainbow over the Olifants

Sunset at Satara

Of course the dense vegetation made game-viewing very tricky, and in stark contrast with our visit last year when there seemed to be predators resident at every one of the few remaining pools of water, we really had to work hard to find the meat-eaters for which Satara is so famous on this visit. We don’t consider ourselves “Big-5” chasers, but when you’re introducing a couple of newbies to Kruger’s wonders you do want her to put her best foot forward, and luckily Satara remained true to her reputation as one of the best game-viewing areas in the Park. Even if the predators kept us in suspense at their appearance, there were still a myriad of other species of game to be found in good numbers and keeping us enthralled on our drives, and even in camp! Of course, we expected to find high concentrations of plains zebra, blue wildebeest and giraffe roaming the central plains, but we were very surprised to find so many elephants around Satara!

Waterbuck among the spiderwebs

Banded mongoose

Hippos at sunset

African Wild Cat visiting our campsite in Satara

Kudu cow

African Buffalo

Huge herd of impala

Spotted Hyena on a night drive

Waterbuck calf

Well camouflaged Foam Nest Frog

There seemed to be armoured crickets everywhere you looked! This one was feasting on a trampled comrade in Satara’s parking area…

Pride of lion just north of Tshokwane

Lion hiding from the rain

Big warthog boar

Blue wildebeest

Giraffe

Plains Zebra

Blue wildebeest

Plains Zebra

Giraffe

Plains Zebra

Giraffe in rainstorm

Plains Zebras caught in rainstorm

Elephant

Elephant cow with deformed right tusk

Elephant

Wary elephant trio

Big Bull showing off (photo by Joubert)

Elephant in a downpour

For anyone looking for birds, Kruger could never disappoint, however on this visit the Park seemed to be bursting at the seems with feathered inhabitants even more than usually. We’ve shown you the enormous flocks (rather swarms!) of queleas in an earlier post, but notably we’ve also seen bigger flocks of marabou stork and wattled starling on this trip than ever before – no doubt in response to an eruption of food in the form of grass-seeds and the insects that feed on it.

Juvenlie Bateleur

Saddle-billed Stork

Wattled Starling

Marabou

African Mourning Dove

Marabou

Burchell’s Starling

Lilac-breasted Roller

Ostrich

Swainson’s Spurfowl

Pied crows

Egyptian Goose

Brown Snake-Eagle

Wattled Starling

African Scops Owl

At the end of our stay we had to contend with every camper’s worst nightmare – having to break up camp in pouring rain! They say that any friendship that survives going on holiday together will remain standing come what may, and happily it seems despite the hardships of dripping wet, muddy bodies and thoroughly soaked camping equipment, our friendship with the Bernards, Krugers, Nels and Therons have come through the tribulations with flying colours.

Camping at Satara, Kruger National Park, April 2017 – click the image for an enlarged view

(If you’d like to find out more about Satara and surrounds, have a look at the dedicated blog post we published about this popular part of the Kruger National Park)

Red-billed Quelea

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Quelea quelea

Some of the most impressive sights of our recent visit to the Satara area of the Kruger National Park was the enormous flocks of Red-billed Quelea occupying the grasslands of the central plains. Following the good rains that bought respite from an awful drought, the savannas are heavy with a rich harvest of seeding grasses, and literally millions of the little birds are making the most of the abundant foodsource. When their population reaches a peak, as it currently has, there could be as many as 33-million Red-billed Queleas swirling in cloudy swarms over the Park!

Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017

The Red-billed Quelea is a small (20g) seed-eating sparrow-like nomad inhabiting grasslands and grainfields (causing enormous losses to farming communities). Swarms that could number in the millions descend on watering holes at least twice daily. While feeding they “roll” over the grasslands in a wave-like motion, most impressive to witness! While seeds make up the vast majority of their diet they do catch small insects as well, especially when raising chicks.

Nesting occurs communally in the rainy months and hundreds, even thousands, of nests are woven per tree (prefers thorn trees) by the males. Breeding colonies could consist of more than 2 million monogamous pairs, and is a magnet for every imaginable predatory bird, reptile and mammal that is large enough to take adults and chicks. Clutches normally number three eggs and the female incubates them for only 12 days, whereafter the chicks fledge within another two weeks!

The Red-billed Quelea may well be the most abundant bird on the planet, with an estimated population as large as ten billion, and as such is considered as being of least concern by the IUCN. It occurs widely in the savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa and can be found in every one of South Africa’s provinces, where it must number in the hundreds of millions.

(The photos in the following gallery were taken on visits to the Kruger Park and elsewhere)

Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea female

Female Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Quelea female

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Quelea pair

Red-billed Quelea female

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Queleas

Flock of Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea (photo by Joubert)

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea

de Wets Wild turns five!

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We’re fresh back from a wonderful breakaway in the Kruger National Park, and of course have lots to share with you from our latest trip to the bush, so stay tuned!

Today also marks the fifth birthday of de Wets Wild – Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged us along the way!

Sunset at Satara

Great Egret

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Ardea (Egretta) alba

At almost a metre tall with a wingspan of 1.7m and a weight of up to 1½kg, the Great Egret (or Great White Heron) is the largest of the white herons (or egrets) occurring in South Africa.

Great Egrets normally forage alone or in small, loosely associated groups, although they do sleep and breed in large colonies of up to a thousand pairs (often with other kinds of herons as well as cormorants and ibises). They are usually seen in flooded grasslands, along rivers and dams and at estuaries and lagoons, where they prey mainly on fish and frogs and occasionally on other vertebrates. Nests are built of sticks, over water in sturdy trees or reedbeds or on islands. In South Africa most breeding occurs during the rainy summer season. Both sexes incubate the clutch of up to 6 eggs for a little over 3 weeks, and then feed the chicks on regurgitated food until they are able to fly within two months of hatching.

Great Egrets occur on all the continents except Antarctica, and is commonly encountered over most of Africa south of the Sahara. Owing to its enormous distribution and large population, the IUCN considers the species of Least Concern. In South Africa, they are absent only from the arid west of the country.

Great Egret

Great White Egret

Great White Egret struggling to swallow a Tilapia

Great Egret

Black-headed Heron

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Ardea melanocephala

Unlike most other herons, the Black-headed Heron isn’t closely associated with water, and they are mostly seen stalking grasslands, scrublands and cultivated fields and only infrequently in marshes or next to waterbodies, for prey that ranges from insects to mammals, reptiles and birds the size of doves.

Black-headed Herons stand about 90cm tall with a wingspan of 1.5m and weigh around 1½ kilograms.

Pairs are monogamous and nest colonially (up to 200 pairs) with other herons of their own kind or in mixed-species congregations with herons, ibises and cormorants. Nests are large platforms built of sticks in high trees, reedbeds or cliffs, in which clutches of 2 to 4 eggs are incubated. In South Africa breeding has been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in the summer months.

Black-headed Herons are commonly encountered over most of South Africa, even in suburban parks, open plots and road verges in cities and towns. It is also common over most of Sub-Saharan Africa and the IUCN considers it to be of Least Concern with an increasing population, benefiting from the clearing of land for agricultural enterprises .

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Heron on the Kamberg Road

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Herons

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Herons

Black-headed Heron

Black Heron

Black-headed Heron

Goliath Heron

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Ardea goliath

Weighing in at between 4 and 5kg and standing up to 1.5m high with a wingspan of over 2.3m, the Goliath Heron is the biggest of its kind.

Goliath Herons are found along large rivers, dams, swamps, lakes and estuaries, usually lined with extensive stands of reeds or papyrus, where they prey on fairly large fish, frogs, crabs and small reptiles and mammals. Despite their large size, Goliath Herons often loose their prey to African Fish Eagles. They readily wade into fairly deep water well away from the shore and will mostly fly over the water along watercourses rather than over land. Monogamous pairs usually nest alone, although sometimes in loosely associated colonies (also with other species of herons), in large nests built of sticks or reeds in trees, reedbeds or on rocky islands. in South Africa nesting has been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in spring. Clutches usually consist of 4 or 5 eggs, incubated for between 3 and 4 weeks with the hatchlings leaving the nest at about 5 weeks of age but being cared for by the parents for up to another three months.

Goliath Herons can be found on the wetter eastern parts of South Africa and along the Orange River in the dry west of the country, and further occurs over most of Africa south of the Sahara and in a few spots in Asia and the Middle-East. They are considered of Least Concern by the IUCN.

Goliath Heron

Goliath Heron with its catch

Goliath Heron

Goliath Herons at their nest

Goliath Heron

A special time at the Giant’s Castle

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Spending Easter in a beautiful natural location is almost a given for the de Wets. Our original plans for this particular long weekend was to visit the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, and specifically the Cathedral Peak area, but a last minute change in reservations had us heading for the Giant’s Castle area of the Park instead. A special place to celebrate a special holiday!

While we had only three days to spend at Giant’s Castle, the weather made sure we experienced almost every climatic experience the Drakensberg mountain range can conjure (with the exception of snowfall). Dark thunder clouds one day gave way to heavy fog and a constant drenching drizzle the next, followed in turn by a day of glorious sunshine! Giant’s Castle must be one of the scenically most spectacular parts of the entire Drakensberg range, and you cannot help but stand in awe at the shear majesty of the landscape surrounding you.

Thunder clouds descending on the Giant’s Castle area

Waking to a heavy fog

The road into the Giant’s Castle area

Bushmans River under overcast skies

Crystal clear mountain water

Beautiful little pond just below the camp at Giant’s Castle

the Drakensberg bathed in a glorious sunrise

Can you see the giant lying on his back?

Giant’s Castle scenery

Walking along the Bushmans River

Giant’s Castle scenery

Whether it rains or shines, Giant’s Castle’s grandiose scenery will keep your jaw dropping every so often. When that happens, and you bend down to pick it back up, take a moment to enjoy the magnificent juxtaposition of tiny beauties – pretty flowers, exquisite butterflies, delightful droplets, ornamental moss and lichens, and dainty insects – all around you!

Wildflowers abound in the Drakensberg

Mist-formed droplets on a spiders web

Orange Acraea

Lichen on a rockface

Beetles congregating on a bloom

Ladybug

Common Hottentot Skipper (male)

Water Bronze

Gaudy Commodore (dry season form)

Wichgraf’s Brown

Wildflowers abound in the Drakensberg

Eyed Pansy

It goes without saying that such a scenically attractive piece of earth wouldn’t be complete without a myriad of wildlife to round off the picture, even if, as at Giant’s Castle, they have to be content with taking a back seat to the surrounding landscape.

Eland being dwarfed by the magnificent landscape

Silhouetted Eland

The rangers’ horses huddled together on a cold morning

Bushbuck ewe

Mountain reedbuck in silhouette

Buff-streaked Chat

Olive Thrush

Cape Robin-Chat in the garden at Giant’s Castle Camp

Chorister Robin-Chat

Cape Rock-Thrush (male)

Red-winged Starling atop a boulder

Lucky visitors may spot a Bearded Vulture soaring above

Jackal Buzzard in flight

Black Saw-Wing

Common waxbill

White-necked Raven

Bold baboons frequent the camp at Giant’s Castle

Giant’s Castle is one of our favourite destinations in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, and we can’t imagine that we’d ever get enough of it (our previous visit was also over Easter, in 2014). Excellent amenities in the camp (managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife) and a terrific network of short and longer walking trails ensures that every visit is a pleasant and fulfilling experience, one we can highly recommend!