Namaqua Sandgrouse

Pterocles namaqua

The Namaqua Sandgrouse is a bird of dry habitats (less than 300mm of annual rainfall), ranging from sandy savannas and shrubland to gravel deserts. It is a seed-eater and highly nomadic. When not breeding they move around in flocks, often congregating in their hundreds if not thousands at waterholes in the early morning.

Namaqua Sandgrouse may breed at anytime of year, though nesting peaks at the end of the rainy season when grasses go to seed. Pairs are monogamous and their nest is little more than a scrape in the ground next to a small shrub or clump of grass. Clutches of 2-3 eggs are incubated by both parents for a 3 week period, the female sitting on the eggs by day while the male takes the night shift. The chicks can walk and start foraging soon after hatching. For the first 2 months of their lives their father makes daily trips to a waterhole up to 60km away to carry water back to his chicks in his belly feathers. The chicks can start flying short stints when they’re about a month old, but remain dependent on their parents till the age of about 3 months. Fully grown they measure about 26cm in length and weigh around 180g.

The Namaqua Sandgrouse occurs from south-western Angola, through Namibia, Botswana and marginally Zimbabwe to South Africa, where it is found in the more arid western half of our country in the provinces of North West, Free State, Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern, the sinking of artificial waterholes in farm lands proving beneficial to this species.

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Namaqua Sandgrouse wetting his feathers to take water back to its chicks at the nest

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Namaqua Sandgrouse (male)

Namaqua Sandgrouse (female)

Namaqua Sandgrouse (male)

Namaqua Sandgrouse (female)

Namaqua Sandgrouse pair

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Ruddy Turnstone

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Arenaria interpres

The Ruddy Turnstone is a migrant wading bird visiting South Africa during our summer months, arriving from their breeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere (“our” birds mostly originate from central Siberia) about September and staying until April. Some birds, usually young ones, remain behind during our winter. While they prefer to forage along rocky or kelp-covered shores or beds of eelgrass growing on sandy or muddy flats exposed at low tide, they’re also occasionally recorded at inland freshwater bodies, especially while migrating. They feed on invertebrates uncovered by turning over rocks and debris washed out of the ocean, hence the name. Several birds may work together to shift heavier objects, such as dead fish. The Ruddy Turnstone is a gregarious bird, usually encountered in small flocks and often associating with other species of wading birds. Adults measure about 23cm in length and weigh around 100g.

With the exception of Antarctica the Ruddy Turnstone is found seasonally along parts of the coastline of every continent, and it is listed as being of least concern with an estimated mature population of up to 500,000 birds. In the austral summer they’re found along the entire South African coastline, being especially numerous at Langebaan Lagoon in the West Coast National Park.

Ruddy Turnstones

Ruddy Turnstone

Flock of Ruddy Turnstones (photo by Joubert)

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstones

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstones

Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstones

Ruddy Turnstone

Bontle’s Springhares

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I know of no place better than Bontle Camp in the Marakele National Park to more reliably see our very own African kangaroos, or Springhares to give them their proper English name even though they’re not hares either!

Springhare jumping aroun in Bontle Camp after dark

Pedetes capensis

The Springhare is a large rodent, measuring up to 90cm in length and weighing between 2.5 and 3.5kg. Their mode of propulsion is unique among mammals in sub-Saharan Africa, jumping kangaroo-like as they move around and covering up to 2m in a single bound.

They inhabit areas with compact, but not hard, soil – usually sandy or sedimentary – in which they very prodigiously tunnel their own burrows of up to 140m in extent. Each individual Springhare lives in its own burrow system, except for females who’d share it with their latest baby, and these have several entrances, side tunnels and escape holes. They’ll often block the tunnel entrance behind them once they’ve entered it. These tunnels are important refuges for many other kinds of animals that shelter in holes in the ground. While several Springhares may have tunnels in near proximity to one another they’re not social animals.

Female Springhares give birth to a single young (very seldomly twins) at any time of year after a 3 month gestation period. The baby stays in the mother’s tunnels until it is weaned at about 2 months of age. Females may have between 2 and 4 young every year. They only live to about 6 years old in the wild.

Springhares are a favourite prey of almost every predator on the continent, humans included. They are active at night and do not emerge from their burrows until total darkness falls well after sunset. They forage near their burrows to enable a quick escape, and feed mainly on grass (roots, stems and blades), bulbs and herbs. Springhares are often considered a pest in farmlands where they can do considerable damage to crops.

The Southern African Springhare (P. capensis) is found in portions of all South Africa’s provinces with the exception of Kwazulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Beyond our borders their distribution extends northwards to the southern DRC. The East African Springhare (P. surdaster) from Kenya and Tanzania was recognized as a closely related but distinct species in the 1990’s. The IUCN considers both species of Springhare to be of least concern.

Continuing our Marakele Game Drive

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So far we’ve seen a leopard, beautiful birds, elephants, rhinos and buffaloes, creepy crawlies of all description, and inspiring scenery. Let’s see what else we might encounter as we continue our explorations of Marakele National Park.

Several groups of Banded Mongooses are to be seen in the Kwaggasvlakte section of the Park

Giraffe portrait (photo by Joubert)

Kudu cow

All ears! Kudu calf (photo by Joubert)

Kudu cow

Kudu bull (photo by Joubert)

Kudu bull

Coy Baboon (photo by Joubert)

Impala Ram

Rock Hyraxes are usually to be seen up top at Lenong Viewpoint

Warthog youngster with a mouth full of food

Warthog

Black-backed Jackal

Plains Zebras on the aptly named Kwaggasvlakte (photo by Joubert)

Plains Zebra

Plains Zebra on a hillside

Mountain Reedbuck

Klipspringer pair

Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with a reservation and planning if you’re interested in visiting Marakele National Park and making the most of your visit.

Marakele’s Magic

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The Marakele National Park, and the Waterberg Mountains it protects, is a beautiful place.

Marakele scenery

Plectranthus hereroensis – the Herero Spur Flower

Stand of Plectranthus hereroensis – the Herero Spur Flower

Plectranthus hereroensis – the Herero Spur Flower – thrives on the rocky slopes of the Waterberg at Marakele’s Lenong Viewpoint

I suspect this is the blooms of a type of Senecio

Traveling on the plains below the Waterberg reveals a very different community of plants

Marakele’s Magic!

Towering cliffs of the Waterberg

Looking down into the valley from atop the Waterberg

Beautiful woodland lining a road through Marakele National Park

A small river running through Marakele

Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with a reservation and planning if you’re interested in visiting Marakele National Park and making the most of your visit.

A more demure Marakele

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We jump from one side of the size scale to the other, as in today’s post we’re taking a closer look at some of the more diminutive inhabitants of the Marakele National Park that crossed our path when we visited last week.

Where there’s big herbivores, like those we featured yesterday, roaming free you’re sure to find Dung Beetles going about their important work.

Dung Beetle

Just because they’re a lot smaller doesn’t mean that the predators featured in the next few paragraphs are any less fierce! Watching this Solifuge inspect every nook and cranny of a zebra dung pile for an unwary prey was every bit as exciting as watching a lioness stalk her prey.

Solifuge on the hunt

This Yellow-and-Black Kite Spider is a lot more laid back with her hunting technique!

This Yellow-and-Black Kite Spider was hanging around in Bontle Camp

And this Puff Adder might be slow to cross the road, but that’s just because it is so confident of its own notoriety.

Puff Adder crossing a road in Marakele National Park (photo by Joubert)

Lizards and chameleons put in regular appearances as we traveled through the Park

Flap-necked Chameleon

Speckled Rock Skink inside a tree stump

At night, Red Toads hunt around the ablution blocks and other artificial lights spread around the camping area.

Red Toads hunt around the ablution blocks at night

With so many dangerous creatures around it’s no wonder this millipede decided to go underground!

A particularly interesting sighting in Bontle Camp was a multitude of butterflies, flies, moths and beetles congregating at and around a fallen-over Marula tree stump oozing sap.

Guinea-fowl Butterfly

Foxy Emperor butterfly

Demon Emperor Butterfly

Pearl-spotted Emperor

Foxy Emperor butterflies

Foxy Emperor butterfly

Bushveld Emperor butterfly

A very nondescript moth blending very well with the dying wood

Marbled Fruit Chafer beetle jostling for position with a trio of flies at the saphole

Yellow Pansy

Foxy Emperor butterfly

Pearl-spotted Emperor

Foxy Emperor butterfly trying to chase off a Demon Emperor butterfly

Guinea-fowl Butterfly

Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with a reservation and planning if you’re interested in visiting Marakele National Park and making the most of your visit.

Marakele’s Behemoths

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There’s no denying that Africa’s mega-mammals are a great attraction for visitors to our national parks, and being in close proximity to these majestic and charismatic animals remains a thrill we cannot ever tire of, no matter how often we have the pleasure to see them up close.

The Cape, of African, Buffalo may not box in the same weight division as the rhinos and elephants that also call Marakele National Park home, but they have a well deserved fearsome reputation, especially the cantankerous lone males, of which we saw quite a few while we were exploring the Park on our short visit last week.

A lone Cape Buffalo bull sauntering along the road in Marakele National Park

An old Buffalo bull staring at us from behind a bush

With our white and black rhinos being so severely threatened by poachers it was heartening to have several good sightings of these prehistoric-looking animals at Marakele, and we realised again what a great debt of gratitude we owe the rangers who keep these animals safe on a daily basis.

White Rhino family in Marakele National Park

White Rhino family in Marakele National Park (photo by Joubert)

Enormous White Rhino bull walking straight at us (photo by Joubert)

Enormous White Rhino bull walking straight at us

Young White Rhino by its mother’s side (photo by Joubert)

White Rhino family in Marakele National Park

Big White Rhino Bull (photo by Joubert)

Big White Rhino Bull

An elephant roadblock is always a wonderful experience, but in Marakele, where the elephants are less used to having vehicles in their space, it can be downright exciting! It is important to give the grey giants lots of space and respect, so I am grateful that I can trust Joubert to get the shots while I keep the car pointing in the right direction!

Elephant claiming the right of way in Marakele National Park (photo by Joubert)

Joubert taking pictures of the elephant

Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with a reservation and planning if you’re interested in visiting Marakele National Park and making the most of your visit.

More to Marakele’s Birdlife than Hornbills

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The rich variety of habitats protected within the borders of the Marakele National Park harbours an amazing variety of bird species (besides the hornbills we showed you yesterday). These are just a few of the other species we saw and photographed in the two days we spent at Marakele last week.

Cape Vulture in flight over Marakele National Park (photo by Joubert)

Black-winged Kite

Black Stork (photo by Joubert)

Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Immature Marico Flycatcher

Immature Gabar Goshawk (photo by Joubert)

European bee-eater

Cape Turtle-Dove

Crested Barbet (photo by Joubert)

Mocking Cliff-chat (female)

Red-backed Shrike with a dung beetle in its beak

Female ostrich striding through Bontle camp (photo by Joubert)

Helmeted Guineafowl

Black Flycatcher

Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with a reservation and planning if you’re interested in visiting Marakele National Park and making the most of your visit.

Bontle’s Hornbills

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Yellow-billed Hornbill

A few days ago the image we posted of a Yellow-billed Hornbill (re-posted above) elicited quite a bit of interest. Hornbills, particularly the Yellow-billed and Red-billed varieties, are very common at the Marakele National Park’s Bontle Rest Camp, and they already came to welcome us as soon as we started pitching our tents soon after arriving. They’re used to having humans around and have very expressive faces, making for wonderful photographic opportunities. Enjoy this little gallery of other hornbill pictures taken in Bontle while we put together a few more posts about our recent short visit to Marakele and have a read here if you’d like to learn more about these charismatic creatures.

Red-billed Hornbill (photo by Joubert)

Red-billed Hornbill

Yellow-billed Hornbill (photo by Joubert)

Red-billed Hornbill

Yellow-billed Hornbill (photo by Joubert)

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Remember that DeWetsWild will gladly assist you with a reservation and planning if you’re interested in visiting Marakele National Park and making the most of your visit.

A Marakele First

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“The harder I practice, the luckier I get.”

Famous South African golfer Gary Player’s words can certainly be applied to searching for South Africa’s wild animals as well, for today, having visited Marakele National Park regularly for 20 years, we had our first encounter with one of the Park’s elusive leopards. These shots were taken by Joubert this afternoon.