Tag Archives: outdoors

Jameson’s Firefinch

Lagonosticta rhodopareia

The tiny (11cm, 9g) Jameson’s Firefinch is a bird of dry woodland and savanna, usually with a dense grass component and near water courses (they need ready access to surface water from a reliable source). They feed mainly on grass seeds supplemented with soft-bodied insects, being especially fond of termites.

Usually encountered in pairs or small groups, often in association with other small seed-eating birds, Jameson’s Firefinches are monogamous and may breed throughout the year. Their nests are oval-shaped, with a side-entrance, and built of grass by both partners, usually close to the ground in a dense shrub or grass tuft. The pair take turns at the incubation of the clutch of 2-7 eggs over a 2 week period. The hatchlings leave the nest when they’re almost 3 weeks old and then become independent of their parents within 2 weeks thereafter.

Jameson’s Firefinch is found in the northern provinces of South Africa and beyond our borders to Angola, the Congos, South Sudan and Ethiopia. The IUCN lists it as being of least concern.

Jameson’s Firefinch

Jameson’s Firefinch (photo by Joubert)

Jameson’s Firefinch

Forest Leopard Butterfly

20 Replies

Phalanta eurytis

In South Africa, the Forest Leopard Butterfly is found over most of Kwazulu-Natal and along the escarpment in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, where it inhabits dense woodland and forests (coastal, riverine and montane). Beyond our borders their distribution stretches through tropical Africa to Sudan and Ethiopia. Adults have a wingspan of about 45mm and are on the wing year round. They’re attracted to flowers and wet mud.

Forest Leopard butterfly

False Dotted Border

8 Replies

Belenois thysa

In South Africa the False Dotted Border occurs in and on the edges of coastal and riverine forest habitat in Kwazulu-Natal and the extreme eastern parts of the Eastern Cape. Adults fly slowly and settle often and are on the wing throughout the year. They have a wingspan of around 55mm. Larvae feed on plants from the genus Boscia, Capparis and Maerua.

False Dotted Border

False Dotted Border butterfly

Celebrating 90 years since the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park was proclaimed

16 Replies

Wedged into a remote corner of South Africa’s Northern Cape, between Namibia and Botswana, lies a very special piece of the Kalahari Desert. Here a wilderness of dunes, pans and dry, sandy river beds is a safe refuge to a rich variety of natural life, and one of the last fully functional ecosystems remaining on earth. The beds of the Auob and Nossob Rivers very rarely boast flowing water – the Auob perhaps once in ten years, the Nossob only once or twice in a century.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Rooikop waterhole near Nossob is a great place to wait for wildlife to come and drink

Gemsbok herd on the move

Gemsbok in the Auob River

On this side of the marker you are in the Republic of South Africa

On this side of the marker you are in the Republic of Botswana

When the First World War broke out over a 100 years ago, the British Colonial government of the Union of South Africa and British Bechuanaland considered the beds of the Auob and Nossob Rivers a strategic access into German South West Africa and started sinking boreholes in the rivers to supply advancing troops. After the war, the area was divided into farms by a Scotsman, Roger Jackson, explaining how many of the waterholes today carry very Scottish-sounding names. The newly settled farmers however found it tough going – the fascinating museum at Auchterlonie providing a glimpse into this hard life – and had to turn their rifles on the herds of game moving through the area in order to make a living.

Auchterlonie Museum

Auchterlonie waterhole with the museum in the background

With the game population falling drastically, and shortly after South Africa’s first national park was proclaimed (the Kruger in the then Transvaal) two influential men from the region invited then Minister of Lands, Piet Grobler, on a “hunting trip” in the Kalahari and deliberately took him to an area denuded of wildlife. So disturbed was the minister by the lack of game that he immediately set about the process of proclaiming the area between the Auob and Nossob Rivers South Africa’s next national park – the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park coming into official existence on 31 July 1931. Soon more land to the southwest of the Auob and its confluence with the Nossob were added, bringing the size of the Park to 9,600km². Then, in 1938 the government in neighbouring Bechuanaland (today Botswana) proclaimed an even bigger piece of land on the other side of the Nossob (the unfenced international boundary between the two countries) the Gemsbok National Park. Informally the two conservation areas were managed as a single unit ever since, but it wasn’t until 1999 when the leaders of the two countries signed a treaty to formalise the arrangement. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, covering over 34,500km², was officially opened on 12 May 2000 and is one of the biggest, and most unspoiled, conservation areas on the planet.

Gemsbok statue at Twee Rivieren’s reception, symbolic of the two “Gemsbok” parks joining together to form the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

On the South African side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park guests have a choice of three “traditional” rest camps offering basic amenities like accommodation, camping, a shop, fuel station, swimming pools, and guided walks and drives. Twee Rivieren is the main entrance, biggest camp and administrative centre of the Park (it also has a restaurant and border control) and offered the first tourist accommodation in the Park in 1940, while Mata Mata (on the Auob River, opened 1955) and Nossob (on the Nossob River, opened 1966) lie deeper into the Park, about 120m and 160km away from Twee Rivieren respectively. Union’s End marks the point where the borders of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia meet and is one of 6 rustic picnic sites available on the South African side of the Park. Six smaller Wilderness Camps are also spread throughout the Park – these offer only accommodation to overnight visitors. Between Twee Rivieren and Mata Mata lie the Kalahari Tent Camp, Urikaruus and Kieliekrankie, between Nossob and Mata Mata is located Bitterpan while Gharagab and Grootkolk is located north of Nossob on the way to Union’s End. While there’s around 500km of prepared roads (very sandy and corrugated in places, not recommended for sedans) to explore the Park in relative comfort, there is also a selection of guided and self-guided 4×4 trails available.

Kalahari Tented Camp

Grootkolk Wilderness Camp

Picnic Site at Kamqua

View from the units at Kieliekrankie

A luxury riverview unit at Mata Mata

Welcome to Nossob

Cottage 1 at Mata Mata, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, June 2018

Cottage 8 at Nossob, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, June 2018

Cottage 25 at Twee Rivieren, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, June 2018

Urikaruus Wilderness Camp

The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park must be one of South Africa’s most out-of-the-way tourist attractions, lying about 1060km from Pretoria and 1040km from Cape Town. The nearest major airport with daily flights is at Upington, about 250km away from Twee Rivieren.

Relative locations of Twee Rivieren, Mata-Mata, Nossob and Union’s End in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

The location of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

For such an arid area – average rainfall measures around 200mm per annum – the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is home to an astonishing variety of wildlife. Apart from a wide variety of desert-adapted plants and invertebrates, the Park’s lists boast 62 kinds of mammals, 274 species of bird (of which 78 are resident throughout the year), 48 sorts of reptiles (including 17 snake species) and seven kinds of frogs.

Giraffes

Gemsbok

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Southern White-faced Owl seen in Mata Mata

Springbok showing off

Lanner Falcon with prey

Pearl-spotted Owlet seen in Nossob

Lion close-up

Red Hartebeest

Lion on a dune in the Kgalagadi

Springbok herd

Meerkat Family (Suricates)

Camel Thorn tree

Gabar Goshawk

Black-backed Jackal

Kalahari lioness

Large concentration of blue wildebeest at Langklaas waterhole

Springbok Rams

Red-headed Finch pair

Chestnut-vented Warbler

15 Replies

Sylvia subcoerulea

With an unfortunate English name drawing even more attention to its most noticeable characteristic, the Chestnut-vented Warbler (or Chestnut-vented Tit-babbler) would probably prefer to go by its Afrikaans name “Bosveldtjeriktik” which imitates the first notes of its cheerful song.

Chestnut-vented Warblers are found in dry savannas, woodlands and thickets along drainage lines and hillsides and will also venture into gardens in small towns. They are very active when foraging, looking for insects, fruits, seeds and nectar amongst the foliage and flowers of trees and shrubs. Chestnut-vented Warblers are common and confident little birds usually seen singly or in pairs.

Chestnut-vented Warblers may breed at anytime of year, though there is a distinct peak in spring. Their nests are thin-walled cups of dry grass and twigs built in a tree or shrub. The parents take turns to incubate the clutch of 2-4 eggs and feeding the hatchlings until they fledge, both stages taking around 14 days. Fully grown they measure around 15cm in length and weigh 16g.

The Chestnut-vented Warbler occurs throughout South Africa and also in Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and marginally in Lesotho. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern.

Chestnut-vented Warbler

Chestnut-vented Warbler on nest

Chestnut-vented Warbler

Chestnut-vented Warbler (photo by Joubert)

Suni

37 Replies

Nesotragus moschatus

One of the smallest antelope occurring in South Africa, the Suni weighs only around 5kg and stands a measly 35cm tall at the shoulder. Only the ram carries the short horns, while the ewes are slightly more heavily built.

Sunis are very particular about their habitat, preferring dense, dry thickets in deciduous woodland and riverine forests, often on sandy soils. They are browsers, feeding selectively on nutrient-rich leaves, fruit, shoots, mushrooms and herbs.

Usually encountered singly and more infrequently in pairs or small groups, Sunis are most active from dusk to dawn and have favoured spots where they rest during the heat of the day. Rams mark their territories with their prominent pre-orbital scent glands and dung middens, and both sexes are inclined to use well-trodden paths through their home range, making them especially prone to predation and poaching.

Suni ewes give birth to single lambs, usually during the rainy season. The lambs are hidden for the first few weeks of life, with the ewe returning to them regularly through the day to nurse. The lambs are weaned when they’re 2-3 months old and sexually mature by the time they’re a year old. Their natural lifespan is estimated at 9 years maximum and usually much shorter.

While overall the IUCN lists the Suni as being of “least concern” with an estimated population of 365,000 individuals distributed along Africa’s eastern coast and adjacent interior from Kenya to South Africa, these diminutive antelope are considered to be endangered in South Africa, where they are found only in northern Kwazulu-Natal and the Pafuri and Punda Maria areas of the Kruger National Park (their numbers in Kruger were supplemented by several introductions from KZN, but confirmed sightings remain few and far between). The total population in Kwazulu-Natal is estimated at around 1,500, with the biggest single populations being the estimated 750 protected in the Tembe Elephant Park and around 360 in the uMkhuze Game Reserve. Poaching and loss of habitat are considered the major reasons for their decline in South Africa. Interestingly, burgeoning populations of elephant, nyala and large predators in conservation areas have a severely negative effect on the Suni, as they suffer heavily from predation and the larger herbivores denude the lower shrub layer so crucial to the Suni’s survival. Thankfully Sunis breed well in captivity and this offers hope for their reintroduction into areas from which they’ve disappeared locally.

A pair of suni in the sand forest

Suni

Suni (captive)

Suni breeding pair at the Wildlife Centre at the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve

Suni (photo by Joubert)

Suni

Suni ewe

Suni

Suni (photo by Joubert)

Suni (Photo by Joubert)

Suni

Suni (photo by Joubert)

Suni

Black-throated Canary

11 Replies

Crithagra atrogularis

The Black-throated Canary is a timid and inconspicuous seed-eating bird inhabiting open and dry grasslands and savannas, usually near a reliable source of water. They forage mainly on the ground and, in addition to seeds, will also feed on flowers, nectar and soft-bodied insects.

Black-throated Canaries may breed throughout the year, but there’s a definite peak in the summer months. While they form flocks numbering up to five few dozen when not breeding , when nesting pairs are monogamous, solitary and territorial. Their nests are cup-shaped and built of grass and fine twigs in a fork on a tree branch or at the base of a palm frond. The female takes sole responsibility for the incubation of the clutch of 2-4 eggs over a 2 week period. Both parents feed the chicks, which are able to leave the nest when they’re between 2 and 3 weeks old. They are small birds; adults measure around 11cm in length and weigh only about 12g.

The Black-throated Canary is a common bird throughout most of South Africa and can be found in all our provinces with the exception of the Western Cape. Beyond our borders their distribution is very patchy but stretches as far as Gabon in the west and Uganda and Kenya in the east. The species is considered to be of least concern.

Black-throated Canary

Black-throated Canaries

African Grass (Sooty) Blue Butterfly

15 Replies

Zizeeria knysna

The African Grass Blue, or Sooty Blue, Butterfly, is common and widespread in every corner of South Africa. Furthermore, they’re found throughout the rest of our continent, in Arabia, Cyprus and Spain. It occurs in every habitat, from desert to forest, and is one of the most abundant butterflies on suburban lawns, having a special fondness for open grassy areas. Adults are on the wing throughout the year and have a wingspan of only about 2-2.5cm.

Sooty Blue butterfly pair

African Grass Blue

African Grass Blue butterfly

African Grass Blue

Sooty Blue butterfly

African Grass Blue butterfly

Sooty Blue

Sooty Blue / African Grass Blue butterfly

Sooty Blue

Common Sandpiper

6 Replies

Actitis hypoleucos

The Common Sandpiper is one of the world widest-ranging bird species. Their breeding range encompasses almost all of Europe and northern Asia, stretching from Spain to the Russian Far East. During the northern winter these birds then migrate to southern climes, spanning from sub-Saharan Africa to Australia and the islands of Oceania. The IUCN considers them to be of least concern and estimate a total population of at least 2.6-million adult birds. During our summer they can be found virtually anywhere in South Africa where suitable wetland habitat is found, though much more rarely in the dry north-western parts of the country than elsewhere, with the first birds arriving in July already and most departing again by the end of April.

Common Sandpipers inhabit a very wide range of water-associated habitats, from sewerage works and farm dams to pristine wetlands and estuaries. Their diet includes invertebrates and small vertebrates, like tadpoles, and occasionally fine seeds plucked from the mud and shallow water. They’ll even pluck leeches from the backs of hippos and crocodiles! While feeding they’re usually solitary or in small groups, though larger numbers congregate to roost.

Adult Common Sandpipers have a wingspan of about 40cm, measure about 20cm in length, and weigh approximately 47g.

Common sandpiper at Sunset Dam

Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper at a rock pool in the Tsitsikamma

Common Sandpiper

Black Mamba

43 Replies

Dendroaspis polylepis

Unquestionably one of the most deadly snakes on the planet, the Black Mamba is rightly feared wherever it occurs. It is found in three widely separate parts of the African continent and in South Africa it may be encountered in most of Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo and parts of the North West Province.

Named for the black inside of its mouth rather than its body colour and sporting a characteristic and ominous coffin-shaped head, a Black Mamba may lift up to 40% of its body length upright – meaning a large Black Mamba could deliver a bite to the head or torso of a fully grown man. The venom of the Black Mamba is neurotoxic and causes paralysis of the voluntary and involuntary muscular systems. It will bite readily and repeatedly if cornered or threatened, delivering 100-400mg of venom in a single bite; 10mg is sufficient to kill an adult human from respiratory paralysis in less than an hour though more usually within 7 to 15 hours without treatment with the correct type of anti-venom.

The Black Mamba inhabits savannas and forests and are territorial with specific spots in its home range where it likes to rest, sun bathe, etc. They are diurnal and very active, fast and agile hunters both in the trees and on the ground. They feed on birds and small mammals.

After mating, usually in the months of spring and summer, female Black Mambas lay around 12 eggs in termite mounds or similar hide-aways. The eggs hatch about three months later. Young Black Mambas grow rapidly and from a length of 40-60cm when they hatch may grow to 2m in length by the time they’re a year old. Even newly hatched babies are deadly venomous. Adults measure up to 4.5m long, the biggest venomous snakes in Africa, and may have a lifespan of 20 years.

The IUCN considers the Black Mamba to be of least concern.