Tag Archives: outdoors

Scaly-feathered Finch

Sporopipes squamifrons

The tiny (10g) Scaly-feathered Finch inhabits dry, open savanna and thickets along drainage lines in arid scrubland, feeding predominantly on grass seeds and, to a lesser extent, insects. They are independent of drinking water.

Scaly-feathered Finches move around in small flocks, often in association with other small seed-eaters. They may breed throughout the year, but there is a distinct peak in the summer months. Nests are small balls, weaved of grass in a thorny bush, with a tiny tunnel opening to the nesting chamber inside. Clutches of up to 7 eggs are incubated for just short of 2 weeks, with the chicks leaving the nest before they are 3 weeks old.

The IUCN considers the Scaly-feathered Finch to be of least concern. In South Africa they can be found on the highveld of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, in Gauteng, the North West, Free State and Eastern, Western and Northern Cape. Outside of our borders they also occur in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, extending marginally into Angola and Zambia.

Scaly-feathered Finch

Scale-feathered Finch

Scaly-feathered Finch

Scaly-feathered Finch (photo by Joubert)

Scaly-feathered Finch

Scaly-feather Finch

Scaly-feathered Finch

African Red-eyed Bulbul

4 Replies

Pycnonotus nigricans

The African Red-eyed Bulbul naturally inhabits a variety of arid and semi-arid habitats, such as scrublands and thorny savannas, but has also become a familiar garden bird across its range and is usually found within easy reach of reliable water sources – in fact, the provision of man-made waterholes in farming areas have probably aided an increase in their population and an expansion of their range. They feed mainly on fruit, but will also include flowers, nectar, seeds and invertebrates in their diet. Adults grow to a length of about 19cm and weigh approximately 30g.

Red-eyed Bulbuls are mostly encountered in monogamous, territorial pairs, though small flocks are not entirely uncommon. Building the untidy nest, hidden in the fork of a tree or shrub, is mostly the female’s responsibility. Their breeding season spans spring and summer, when clutches of 2 or 3 eggs are incubated by the female for around 2 weeks. Both parents care for the hatchlings, which fledge at about 3 weeks old. The chicks sometimes leave the nest before they are fully able to fly.

The IUCN notes a growing population for the African Red-eyed Bulbul and classifies it as being of least concern. They are to be found in south-west Angola, Namibia, Botswana, extreme western Zimbabawe, Lesotho and South Africa (Eastern, Western and Northern Cape, Free State, North West, Gauteng and western Limpopo).

Where their ranges overlap, the Red-eyed Bulbul will readily crossbreed with both the Cape and Dark-capped Bulbuls.

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Red-eyed bulbul

African Red-eyed Bulbul fledgling

Red-eyed bulbul

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Red-eyed Bulbul

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Red-eyed Bulbul

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Red-eyed Bulbul

Eastern Nicator

21 Replies

Nicator gularis

The Eastern Nicator has a patchy distribution along the Indian Ocean coast and adjacent interior from Kenya southwards to South Africa (where they can be found in parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwazulu-Natal), inhabiting forests and woodlands with dense undergrowth. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. Adults measure about 23cm in length and weigh around 47g.

Eastern Nicators feed primarily on insects, though they have been recorded preying on small reptiles and plucking ticks and other ectoparasites from the hides of large mammalian herbivores, often following them around to catch invertebrates disturbed under hoof. Their nests are untidy platforms built of sticks and stalks, placed surprisingly near to the ground in dense vegetation. Pairs are monogamous and nest in summer.

Eastern Nicators are usually very shy and seldomly seen, often only giving away their presence by their characteristic call.

Eastern Nicator

Birthday celebrations at Rietvlei

44 Replies

Yesterday we celebrated Joubert’s ninth birthday at our local Rietvlei Nature Reserve, just a few kilometers from home. Combining family and friends, wildlife, photography, a picnic and birthday cake just seems like the best way to celebrate the special day, don’t you agree?

African Reed Warbler

Black-backed Jackal

Black Wildebeest

Blesbok

Buffalo

Buffalo bull

Buffalo attraction

Buffalo horn

Buffalo with an itch

Capped Wheatear

Common Moorhens

Crowned Lapwing

Little Grebe

Eland Herd

Eland Bull

Fiscal Shrike

Grey-headed Sparrow

Groundscraper Thrush

Hadeda

9 Years old: August 2018. Celebrating his 9th birthday at Rietvlei Nature Reserve!

The Birthday Boy!

The Birthday Boy and his proud mom

The Birthday Boy and his friends ready to go visit the lions

Lion Jarvis

Lioness Bassie

Neddicky

Cape Longclaw

Ostrich

Pied Crow

Red-billed Teal

Red Hartebeest

Reed Cormorant

Speckled Pigeon fledgling

Springbok

Waterbuck bull

White Rhino discussion

White Rhinos causing a traffic jam

Yellow-billed Ducks

Plains Zebra on the move

Rietvlei is home to a small pride of lions housed in a 150-hectare enclosure in a corner of the reserve. Normally we wouldn’t support any “reserves” in which lions are kept in confined quarters nor any that offer “cub petting” as an attraction due to the very real possibility that these establishments are involved to a greater or lesser extent in the breeding of lions for the canned hunting and bone exporting business, despite their claims of “conservation” and “education”. Rietvlei’s lions however were rescued from exactly such circumstances, cannot be introduced to the wild and will live out their lives here. It was a special birthday treat for Joubert and his friends to visit Tau, Jarvis, Bassie and Tawane at their home.

Barberton Girdled Lizard

20 Replies

Smaug barbertonensis

A shy denizen of well-shaded, bouldered hills and mountains with plentiful crags and fissures, the diurnal Barberton Girdled Lizard feeds on invertebrates, frogs and small geckos. Excluding their tails, adults can measure up to 13cm in length. Females give birth to 2-6 babies in late summer. Considered by some authorities to be a subspecies of Warren’s Girdled Lizard (S. warreni), the Barberton Girdled Lizard has a very limited distribution around the borders of South Africa’s southern Mpumalanga and northern Kwazulu-Natal Provinces with eastern Swaziland, and is considered to be of least concern by the IUCN. Ntshondwe Camp in Ithala Game Reserve is a very reliable spot to search for these attractive lizards.

Barberton Girdled Lizard

High time we went back to Ithala!

31 Replies

This past Women’s Day long weekend afforded us the opportunity to make a long overdue return visit to one of our favourite South African wild places – the Ithala Game Reserve in northern Kwazulu-Natal. We’ve been singing the praises of this little known yet exceptionally scenic reserve for as long as this blog’s been running and if you’d like to see all our posts about Ithala and learn more about it please follow this link.

While the weekend’s weather ranged from cold, wet and blustery to glorious sunshine, that didn’t curtail our explorations in the least. How could it, when the majestic scenery is so rewarding!?

Mountain stream at Ithala

Pongola River

Low hanging clouds over Ngotshe Mountain

A viewpoint in the mountains

The Pongola River flowing far below

Inclement weather over Ithala

Sunset glowing on Ngotshe

Ngubhu stream

Ngotshe in morning light

And, when the sun came out, so did the butterflies and various kinds of reptiles!

Common Dwarf Gecko

Rainforest Brown

Variable Skink

Barberton Girdled Lizard

Ithala has a rich variety of bird species and many of them are easily seen and photographed in Ntshondwe, the reserve’s main camp.

African Dusky Flycatcher

Amethyst Sunbird

African Firefinch (male)

Southern Bald Ibis

Blue Waxbill

Cape Batis (male)

Cape Glossy Starling

Cape Rock-Thrush (male)

Cape White-eye

Chinspot Batis (female)

Common Waxbill

Eastern Nicator

Familiar Chat

Fork-tailed Drongo

Mocking Cliff Chat (male)

Olive Woodpecker

African Pied Wagtail

Purple-crested Turaco

Red-billed Oxpeckers

Red-capped Robin Chat

Scarlet-chested Sunbird

Male Southern Double-collared Sunbird

Tawny-flanked Prinia

White-bellied Bustards

White-crested Helmetshrike

Yellow-billed Kite

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Yellow-throated Longclaw

Yellow-throated Bush Sparrow

And of course, what would a “game reserve” be without a rich assortment of large animals? Ithala never disappoints in its variety of mammals, and especially the giraffes (Ithala’s emblem) were out in force!

Blue Wildebeest

Rock Hyrax (Dassie)

Acrobatic Rock Hyrax (Dassie)

Rock Hyrax (Dassie)

Eland bull

A warning well worth heeding!

Elephant cresting a hill

Elephant bull

Iconic Ithala: Giraffe and Ngotshe Mountain

Giraffe calf nibbling on tender shoots

Giraffe at a gallop

Giraffe bull

Newly born Giraffe calf

Common Duiker lamb

Impala Ram with Red-billed Oxpeckers

Kudu calf

Young Kudu bull

Mountain Reedbuck pair

Mountain Reedbuck ewe hiding from the cold morning air

Nyala ewe

Nyala bull

Red Hartebeest

Southern Reedbuck

Steenbok

Thoughtful Vervet Monkey

Grooming Vervet Monkeys

Warthog on the run!

Waterbuck bull

We spent three nights at Ithala, staying in comfort in Ntshondwe’s chalet #20. Ithala’s a relaxed 6 hour drive on good tarred roads from our home in Pretoria.

Ntshondwe Chalet #20, Ithala Game Reserve, August 2018

Pretoria to Ithala
(drawn with Google Maps)

Kalahari Scrub Robin

11 Replies

Cercotrichas paena

The Kalahari Scrub Robin inhabits arid and semi-arid, open habitats with scattered trees and bushes, particularly thorn-savannas, where it hunts on the ground for insects and spiders. Adults grow to a length of about 15 cm and weigh around 20g.

The breeding season for Kalahari Scrub Robins stretch from mid-winter to the end of summer, peaking around October and November. Their untidy nests are built of plant material and hair and placed low in shrubs. Pairs are monogamous and territorial, the male defending the nesting site with the female being solely responsible for incubating the clutch of 2-4 eggs for a period of 2 weeks. The chicks leave the nest about 2 weeks after hatching.

Apart from South Africa (Northern Cape, North West, Free State and Limpopo), the Kalahari Scrub Robin is found in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and marginally into Angola. The IUCN lists it as being of least concern.

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko

17 Replies

Chondrodactylus bibronii

Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko, also known as Bibron’s Giant Gecko, is a nocturnal reptile occurring in South Africa’s Western, Eastern and Northern Cape, Free State and North West Provinces, and marginally into adjacent parts of Botswana and Namibia. Here it inhabits rocky outcrops and human habitations in Karoo and semi-desert scrublands. It feeds on a wide variety of insects, other invertebrates, and even smaller lizards, often hunting around the lights of buildings at night. They are often found in colonies but are territorial and aggressive to each other, the males especially so, and they will also readily bite to defend themselves against predators and humans. Bibron’s Gecko is one of the largest geckos in South Africa, growing to between 15 and 20cm in length (including the tail, which makes up about half their total length). Adult females typically lay two clutches of two eggs each per year, hiding them in crevices or under bark.

Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko

Bibron’s Gecko that lived behind the built-in braai (barbeque)

Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko

Burchell’s Sandgrouse

16 Replies

Pterocles burchelli

Burchell’s Sandgrouse is a denizen of arid savannas and is especially common in the sparsely vegetated, sandy Kalahari. These seed-eaters normally drink daily, usually 2-5 hours after sunrise, and is subject to localized movements to access food sources and waterholes. Adults weigh around 200g and are about 25cm long.

Burchell’s Sandgrouse move around in small flocks of up to 50, but are monogamous, solitary breeders. Their nests are simple scrapes in the ground, lined with dry plant material and usually placed next to some kind of vegetation. They nest from late autumn to early spring, usually laying 3 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs and look after the precocial chicks. The adult birds’ breast feathers are adapted to absorb water, which is then flown back to the chicks.

The IUCN considers Burchell’s Sandgrouse to be of least concern. It is distributed over parts of Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa (Northern Cape, North West and Limpopo) and has benefited from farming enterprises sinking boreholes to provide water for livestock in otherwise inaccessible areas.

Burchell’s Sandgrouse in flight

Burchell’s Sandgrouse (male)

Burchell’s Sandgrouse

Burchell’s Sandgrouse (female)

Burchell’s Sandgrouse

Female Burchell’s Sandgrouse

Burchell’s Sandgrouse in formation

Female Burchell’s Sandgrouse

Shepherd’s Tree

20 Replies

Boscia albitrunca

The Shepherd’s Tree, growing up to 7m tall, is one of the most important fodder trees where it occurs. It has a very high protein content in its evergreen leaves and both the flowers and fruits are eagerly eaten by birds and antelope. It is also incredibly valuable as a shade tree – it is said that even ground temperatures of 70°C is lowered to 21°C in the shade of a Shepherd’s Tree! In South Africa, Shepherd’s Trees grow in the savanna regions from northern Kwazulu-Natal, through Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, the North West and the Free State to the arid west of the Northern Cape. It is also found widely in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The dried, ground roots of the Shepherd’s Tree can be used to make a kind of coffee, while fresh roots can be pounded and eaten as porridge. Its bark is used to brew traditional beer and the edible fruit is an ingredient in traditional dishes.