Tag Archives: outdoors

Sombre Greenbul

8 Replies

Andropadus importunus

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.

Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul in Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul at Jack’s Picnic Spot
Sombre Greenbul looking even more glum in the rain…
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul
Sombre Greenbul

 

Greater Striped Swallow

19 Replies

Cecropis cucullata

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.

Greater Striped Swallow bringing mud to build its nest on the veranda of Thendele’s unit 27
Greater Striped Swallows bringing mud to build their nest on the veranda of Thendele’s unit 27
Greater Striped Swallow bringing mud to build its nest on the veranda of Thendele’s unit 27
Greater Striped Swallow bringing mud to build its nest on the veranda of Thendele’s unit 27
Greater Striped Swallow nest
Proud builder
Departing to get some more building material
Greater Striped Swallow
Greater Striped Swallow
Greater Striped Swallow
Greater Striped Swallows
Greater Striped Swallows swooping over the lawns of the camp (photo by Joubert)
Greater Striped Swallow
Greater Striped Swallow
Greater Striped Swallow sitting on the patio furniture at Doornkop
Greater Striped Swallow

 

Arrow-marked Babbler

23 Replies

Turdoides jardineii

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.

Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked babbler at Nkuhlu
Feathered friends visiting our cottage at Shingwedzi: Arrow-marked babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler (photo by Joubert)
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler (photo by Joubert)
Arrow-marked babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler

Umbrella Thorn

27 Replies

Vachellia (Acacia) tortilis

The Umbrella Thorn is one of the most characteristic large trees of our dry savanna regions, and occurs from South Africa through eastern Africa into northern Africa and Arabia. It is a hardy species and can grow to a height of 21m, with a classic umbrella-shaped canopy, though in very arid areas it seldom grows beyond a small scrub. The Afrikaans name, Haak-en-Steek, literally translates as Hook-and-Prick and is an excellent description of the arrangement of the Umbrella Thorn’s spikes. Umbrella Thorns flower in summer, producing dense masses of white flowers.

Umbrella Thorn wood can be used for making furniture, tools and fence posts, the leaves and pods are excellent fodder for game and livestock, and several parts of the plant is used in traditional medicines.

Umbrella Thorn thorns
Umbrella Thorn
Umbrella Thorn
Umbrella Thorn
Umbrella Thorn
Umbrella Thorn pods
Black wildebeest and umbrella thorn

European Roller

38 Replies

Coracias garrulus

The European Roller is a summer visitor to much of South Africa as well as most of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, migrating to this part of the world from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North Africa. They arrive here from October and depart again from March. Although they migrate in large flocks numbering into the hundreds, European Rollers are usually seen singly or in loose aggregations during our austral summer, inhabiting grasslands, savannas and open woodlands and to an increasing extent coastal heathland in the extreme south. They feed mainly on invertebrates and small vertebrates like chicks, lizards and frogs.

European Rollers breed in the mid-summer in their northern hemisphere abodes, using holes in trees or cliffs as nests in which clutches of 1-7 eggs are incubated by the female for just short of 3 weeks. The chicks start flying when they’re about a month old and remain dependent on their parents for at least another month more. Adults measure around 30cm in length and weigh approximately 120g.

European populations of this Roller has undergone considerable declines in recent years, due to hunting, poisoning and a loss of breeding habitat, though the IUCN still considers it to be of least concern.

European Roller
European Roller
European Roller
European Roller
European roller
European roller
European Roller
European Roller
European Roller
European Roller
European Roller (photo by Joubert)
European Roller (photo by Joubert)
European Roller (photo by Joubert)
European Roller
European Roller (photo by Joubert)
European Roller
European Roller
European Roller (photo by Joubert)
European Roller (photo by Joubert)
European Roller
European Roller
European Roller
European Roller

African Mourning Dove

14 Replies

Streptopelia decipiens

African Mourning Doves inhabit tall riverine woodlands, feeding predominantly on grasses, seeds and small fruits, and occasionally termites, found by foraging on the ground. They are quite large doves, adults weighing around 160g and measuring about 30cm in length. This dove is usually seen singly or in monogamous pairs, only rarely congregating in larger groups, but often associates with other kinds of doves. They appear to breed throughout the year, using flimsy stick platform-nests built in trees. Typically, clutches contain 2 eggs.

The African Mourning Dove has a limited distribution in South Africa, occurring only in the Limpopo Valley and Lowveld, where the Kruger National Park‘s Letaba, Satara and Shingwedzi Camps are excellent locations to go looking for them, and enjoying their characteristic voices. They’re distributed more widely, if patchily, north of our borders, occurring through east Africa and the Sahel. The IUCN considers the African Mourning Dove to be of least concern.

African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove
Feathered friends visiting our cottage at Shingwedzi: Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove on a nest at Satara
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Doves courting
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove
African Mourning Dove (photo by Joubert)
African Mourning Dove (photo by Joubert)
African Mourning Dove (photo by Joubert)
African Mourning Dove (photo by Joubert)
African Mourning Dove

Boys Weekend in the Pilanesberg

43 Replies

Early on this past Saturday morning Joubert and I headed for the Pilanesberg National Park’s Kwa Maritane Gate. Our plan was to spend all of Saturday, most of Sunday morning and the night between in one of South Africa’s most easily accessible wildlife destinations, enjoying a bit of father-son company and shared hobbies in the beautiful surroundings far from the city’s distractions. When the Gate opened at 05:30 we set off, enjoying some thrilling encounters with the Park’s wildlife right from the start.

With the kind help of wildlife photographer Brian Pettit (http://www.naturepicturesworldwide.com/ & https://www.zambezicruisesafaris.com/our-blog/), this massive insect was identified as the bush cricket Clonia wahlbergii
Pilanesberg’s tusker Mavuso
Grey Heron
Lioness feeding from the carcass of a poached rhino
Well-hidden lion
Plains Zebra searching for fresh green shoots
African Grey Hornbill
Secretary Bird
Speckled Pigeon (photo by Joubert)
Red Hartebeest
Red-billed Oxpecker
Southern Masked Weaver
White Rhinos hiding from the sun
Pied Crow (Joubert’s photo)
Steppe Buzzard in flight (Joubert’s photo)
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Steenbok Ram
Mountain Reedbuck family
Warthog

While we were enjoying the Pilanesberg’s sights and sounds from the coolness of the photographic hide at Makorwane Dam, Joubert suggested that we head for Bakgatla Resort to go setup camp before the day got any hotter.

Arrow-marked Babbler
Spur-winged Goose
African Darter in flight
Green-winged Pytilia (female)
Kalahari Scrub Robin
Giraffe
Bushveld Pipit
Baby elephants fast asleep in the heat while the rest of the herd stand guard

With our tent pitched and our camping chairs unpacked, we could enjoy our lunch, a few glasses of cold drink and an ice-cream treat surrounded by a selection of Bakgatla’s permanent residents of the feathered variety.

Camping at Bakgatla, Pilanesberg National Park, November 2018
Orange-breasted Bushshrike (male)
Red-billed Hornbill
Black-backed Puffback
Blue Waxbill
Chestnut-vented Warbler
Black-collared Barbet

The first stop on our afternoon drive was Rathlogo Hide, just a few kilometers from Bakgatla.

Hadeda Ibisses
Elephant enjoying a cooling mudbath
Elephant at Rathlogo
Buffy Pipit
Sabota Lark
Giraffe enjoying the shade

At Tilodi Dam we laughed at the antics of a male African Black Duck that was most impressed with himself for having chased off a White-faced Whistling Duck from “his” shoreline.

White-faced Whistling Duck
White-faced Whistling Duck being chased by an African Black Duck
African Black Duck enquiring whether his lady was suitably impressed?

There was much more wildlife to be seen as we traveled through the southeastern portions of the Park.

Immature Black-chested Snake Eagle
Hippos at Nkakane
Eland on Kwalata Drive
Baboons relaxing in the shade
Protective Tsessebe cow with her calf

At Lengau Dam a group of baboon youngsters were having great fun roughhousing in a dead tree and occasionally dropping into the water below – no doubt enjoying great relief from the oppressive heat but I was surprised that they weren’t more afraid of the crocodiles!

Baboons having fun at Lengau Dam
Baboons having fun at Lengau Dam
Baboons having fun at Lengau Dam

With the sun setting it was time to head towards Bakgatla.

Waterbuck
Elephant cow
Big Elephant herd at Makorwane
Sunset over Pilanesberg (photo by Joubert)

On Sunday morning we packed up our camp and headed for the Lenong Viewpoint to enjoy our morning tea and rusks from a beautiful vantage point high on top of one of Pilanesberg’s mountains. The rest of the morning we spent visiting more of our favourite spots in the Park, until the day started getting really hot again. We enjoyed a quick lunch at Fish Eagle Picnic Spot and then headed for Kwa Maritane Gate and home…

Buffalo cow
Lenong Viewpoint in the Pilanesberg National Park
White Rhino
Veld fire started by a lightning strike
Kori Bustard searching the burnt veld for prey
Big crocodile at Batlhako Dam
Immature Fish Eagle at Batlhako Dam
Familiar Chat
Speckled Rock Skink
Diederik Cuckoo
Marsh terrapins and sharptooth catfish fighting about scraps carelessly dropped by a tourist at Ruighoek Dam. (Another of Joubert’s photos)
Ruighoek Dam
Buffalo Quartet
Crested Francolin
Impala Ram
Young Kudu bull
Capped Wheatear
Barn Owl fast asleep at Fish Eagle Picnic Spot
White-throated Robin-Chat

Pilanesberg National Park is an easy 160km drive from our home in Pretoria.

A thousand posts on de Wets Wild!

81 Replies

Today we celebrate a major milestone for us here at de Wets Wild – our 1,000th post!

A huge word of thanks must go to our all our friends and followers for their support and encouragement over the course of the past 6 years! Thank you for sharing our love and passion for South Africa’s wild places and the creatures that find a home there with us – we hope you’ll continue to do so for many years to come!

Seems fitting now to have a look at some of the most popular posts and other highlights we enjoyed on this journey. (Clicking on the links provided should open the posts in a new window without closing this post).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, our “About” page (home page) is by far the most visited.

de Wets at Golden Gate Highlands National Park, July 2013
de Wet family at Ithala Game Reserve, December 2014
Wild de Wets
Giant’s Castle

But how and why the post about South African Hornbills come in second place, I have no explanation!? That they’re fascinating birds we won’t argue about.

Yellow-billed hornbill
Crowned Hornbill
Red-billed Hornbill
Trumpeter Hornbill
African Grey Hornbill
Ground Hornbill

South Africa’s vultures are getting some well-deserved attention as well.

Hooded Vulture
White-headed Vulture
White-backed Vulture
Bearded Vulture
Lappet-faced Vulture
Cape Vulture
Palm-Nut Vulture, Umlalazi Nature Reserve, March 2016

Another post about a bird that got a lot of attention is that about the black heron and its fascinating hunting technique.

Black Heron “canopy feeding”

Early into our blogging “career” we took part in a few photo challenges – the image we posted of dew droplets caught in a spider’s web was the best received of those.

The post we did on the Kruger National Park’s Selati Line, with thanks to my sister for the use of her photos, has been a perennial favourite.

Steam engine at Skukuza "station"

Steam engine at Skukuza “station”

The features we did on Pafuri Border Camp (in Kruger) and Nyathi Rest Camp (in Addo) when they opened are still very popular – people are obviously very eager to explore new destinations and we’re glad that de Wets Wild could help so many of them plan their visits!

Addo’s new Nyathi Camp
Mockford Cottage, Pafuri Border Camp

But it is not only the new destinations that people are interested in, as the posts about familiar favourites like Skukuza in the Kruger Park, Loskop Dam and Golden Gate Highlands National Park prove.

Sabie Bridge at Skukuza
Loskop scenery
Brandwag Buttress in Golden Gate

Plains Zebras seem to be the most popular mammal featured here at de Wets Wild, as a few posts about these beautiful animals feature at the top of the charts!

Plains Zebra
Ithala fight for dominance
Plains Zebras
Pale-rumped Plains Zebra in Mokala National Park
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra trying to trip an opponent
Plains zebra
Plains zebra

But the world’s cutest bouncing baby rhino will not be outdone!

You’ll never catch me!

Of course we cannot talk about highlights and forget how your support helped us feature in the honours at the SA Blog Awards – from finishing as runners up in both the Best Travel Blog and Best Environmental Blog Categories in 2014, 2015 and 2016 to finally winning in both in 2017!

 

 

 

Slender Mongoose

16 Replies

Herpestes sanguineus

Despite its relative small size – adults weigh around 500g and grow to about 60cm in length – the Slender Mongoose is a very active diurnal carnivore, capable of overpowering prey up to the size of guineafowl and domestic chickens, but usually preying on invertebrates, eggs, reptiles (including snakes), rodents, frogs and small birds and at times a small quantity of fruits and berries as well.

Slender Mongooses are not particular about their habitat and will inhabit any area where there is sufficient cover. They mostly hunt on the ground, but are quite capable climbers, and at night hide in burrows, thickets, hollow tree trunks and similar shelters. They are solitary animals and likely any groups encountered will be consisting of a female with her latest litter of 1 or 2 (seldomly up to 4) cubs. Like most other mongooses they are very susceptible to rabies. Their life expectancy in the wild is approximately eight years.

The IUCN lists the Slender Mongoose as Least Concern. It is distributed over a wide area of sub-Saharan Africa, being absent only from the driest deserts and most densely forested areas. In South Africa they are found in all provinces except the Western and Eastern Cape, where the closely related Cape Grey Mongoose fills the same general ecological niche.

Is this how slender mongooses give a “high 5”?
Slender mongoose
Slender Mongoose atop a Sociable Weaver nest
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender mongoose at Girivana waterhole
Slender mongoose
Slender mongoose
Slender mongoose
Slender mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender mongoose
Slender Mongoose at Rathlogo Hide
Slender Mongoose at Rathlogo Hide
Slender Mongoose at Rathlogo Hide
Curious Slender Mongoose peeping from within a thornbush
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose (photo by Joubert)
Slender Mongoose (photo by Joubert)
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose (photo by Joubert)
Slender Mongoose (photo by Joubert)
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose sunning itself on a rock
Slender Mongoose sitting out in the open on a gravel road
Slender Mongoose (photo by Joubert)
Slender Mongoose
Slender Mongoose (photo by Joubert)
Slender Mongoose

African Paradise Flycatcher

31 Replies

Terpsiphone viridis

Certainly one of our prettiest small birds, the shy African Paradise Flycatcher is distributed widely over sub-Saharan Africa where they inhabit a variety of woodland habitats and well-planted gardens and parks in city suburbs, being particularly common in evergreen forests and denser woodland types such as is found along rivers and large streams. They feed mainly on tiny flying insects, or invertebrates (including spiders) gleaned from leaves and twigs, and occasionally berries.

Without their streaming tail feathers, adult males of this species measure around 17cm in length – double that if you include the tail – and weigh about 14g.

Pairs of the African Paradise Flycatchers are monogamous and they may even mate for life. They breed in summer, with both sexes working on the construction of the tiny cup-shaped nests using spider web and a variety of other fine natural materials. Clutches of 2 or 3 eggs are incubated by both parents and hatch after just two weeks. The chicks leave the nest at about two weeks of age, and the parents care for the newly fledged chicks for another week or so after that.

In South Africa, Paradise Flycatchers can be found in all our provinces with the exception of the arid Northern Cape. Here they exhibit distinct seasonal movements, trekking to the lower lying coastal areas and lowveld during the harsh winter on the higher lying areas. The IUCN considers the African Paradise Flycatcher to be of least concern.

African Paradise Flycatcher (juvenile)
African Paradise Flycatcher (male)
African Paradise Flycatcher (male on nest)
African Paradise Flycatcher (male on nest)
African Paradise Flycatcher (male)
African Paradise Flycatcher (female)
Paradise Flycatcher nest
African Paradise Flycatcher
African Paradise Flycatcher
African Paradise Flycatcher
African Paradise Flycatcher
African Paradise Flycatcher