Tag Archives: wildlife

Southern Boubou

Laniarius ferrugineus

The shy Southern Boubou is heard far more often than it is seen and engages in a melodious duet that is often quite unique to the pair in note-combinations and pitch. They inhabit forests, thickets, dense coastal shrublands and riverine vegetation where they forage in the tangled undergrowth for insects, worms, snails, lizards, eggs, fruits, nectar and seeds. They have also adapted to well-planted gardens in some towns and cities. Adults grow to 22cm in length and weigh around 60g.

Southern Boubous are usually seen singly or in monogamous pairs that claim a small, lifelong territory for themselves. The females are responsible for building the shallow cup-shaped nest (using grass, twigs and roots) in a densely-leaved plant, but both parents take turns to incubate the clutch of 2 or 3 eggs for a little over two weeks and feeding the newly hatched chicks, which fledge at about 2 weeks old and stay with their parents for up to 3 months longer. Their breeding season spans spring and summer.

Apart from South Africa (where it is found from the Western Cape coast and adjacent interior, through the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal to Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West Province) the Southern Boubou occurs only in southern Mozambique, Swaziland and a small portion of Botswana and Zimbabwe along the course of the Limpopo River. It is considered to be of least concern by the IUCN.

Southern Boubou

Deadly battle between a Southern Boubou and a Boomslang

Southern Boubou

Cape Wagtail

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Motacilla capensis

One of South Africa’s most familiar garden birds, the Cape Wagtail is usually seen in pairs of small family groups, and named for the family’s characteristic “pumping” of the tail while sitting or walking. They occupy any natural habitat that offers open ground near or adjacent to even the smallest water source (they love to bath) and have adapted superbly to farms, parks and gardens. Cape Wagtails feed primarily on insects and other invertebrates, as well as human scraps in urban settings. Adults are about 20cm long and weigh around 21g.

While there is a distinct peak in breeding attempts during spring and early summer, Cape Wagtails have been recorded as breeding throughout the year. Their nests are built in trees, bushes or earthen walls, and even in man-made structures, using a wide range of plant and other materials, Monogamous pairs stay together through several successive breeding seasons, raising clutches of 1-5 chicks that hatch after an incubation period of two weeks. The chicks leave the nest at around two weeks old but only become independent of their parents about 6 weeks later.

Cape Wagtails are patchily distributed from Kenya and Uganda to southern Africa. It occurs virtually all over South Africa and is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN, having recovered from a population decline following the introduction of domestic insecticides in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Cape Wagtails

Cape Wagtail

Cape wagtail

Cape Wagtail

Cape Wagtail nest

Cape Wagtail

Cape Wagtail welcoming us to our chalet (photo by Joubert)

Cape Wagtail

Cape Wagtails

Cape Wagtail

Mokala Scenery

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We’ve already shown you so many of the animals and birds that call Mokala home that you must by now be convinced of the fact that this National Park is one of South Africa’s conservation gems. That sensational faunal diversity however would not have existed had it not been for the wide range of vegetation, habitats and landscapes that Mokala comprises, and now in this final post about our April 2018 visit it is fitting that we showcase that aspect.

Umbrella Thorn

Camel Thorn tree with sociable weaver nest

Shepherd’s Tree

Red hartebeest in the wide open spaces

Riet River overlooked by the accommodation units at Lilydale

Stofdam

Rugged hills dot the plains in Mokala

Mokala sunset

Mokala sunrise

Gemsbok on Mokala’s open plains

Mokala’s clear, unpolluted skies make for wonderful photos of the nightsky

Hardy beauty

Vleitulp

Scenery at Mokala National Park, April 2018

Springbok and eland at Mokala National Park, April 2018

Scenery at Mokala National Park, April 2018

One of our highlights from this trip was having a front row seat to one of the most awe-inspiring experiences one could hope to have in Africa: a powerful thunderstorm rolling over the parched plains, smelling the red dust rise into the air as big drops of cool rainwater smacks into the dry soil. Soul stirring stuff.

Thunderstorm rolling over Mokala

Clearing skies after the storm

Looming thunderstorm rolling over Mokala

And finally a few shots of our favourite place to stay while visiting Mokala: the rustic Haak-en-Steek Cottage.

Signpost for Haak-en-Steek

8 Years old: April 2018. Opening the gate at Haak-en-Steek Cottage in Mokala National Park

Haak-en-Steek Cottage, Mokala NP, April 2018

Haak-en-Steek Cottage

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

A rich assortment of animals at Mokala

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Just as with the birds we showed you 2 days ago, Mokala National Park has an incredible variety of four and six legged creatures on show.

The large mammals are the easiest to see and photograph. During our 4 day visit in April 2018 we recorded over 750 different sightings of 30 different kinds of mammals!

The white rhino is the biggest of the animals in Mokala. Here they are shy and elusive and we were very happy to see a few of these endangered creatures.

White rhino cow and calf

Rhino pair in Mokala National Park

White rhino cow with almost fully grown calf

Impressive white rhino bull

Angry white rhino cow defending her calf

Remember those mud-loving buffaloes we showed you a few days ago? Well that wasn’t our only encounter with Mokala’s growing population of African buffalo and we were very fortunate to come across several more herds and a few loners while exploring the Park.

Muddy old Dagga Boy

Big buffalo bull slaking his thirst

We’ve no clue what this buffalo cow tried to tell us.

Buffalo bull soaking in the first rays of the sun

Mokala’s giraffes are shown off to great effect in the open landscape dotted with their favourite Camel Thorn and Umbrella Thorn trees.

Giraffes in Mokala National Park

Close-up of a stately giraffe bull

Giraffe family in Mokala National Park

Giraffe in Mokala National Park

Young giraffe in Mokala National Park

Mokala is certainly one of the reserves with the greatest variety of antelope in South Africa, many of which are rare in other national parks. Amongst others we managed to see black and blue wildebeest, blesbok, eland, gemsbok, grey duiker, impala, kudu, mountain reedbuck, red hartebeest, steenbok, waterbuck, tsessebe, sable and roan antelope.

Black wildebeest

Blue wildebeest

Eland

Gemsbok

Gemsbok at Mokala National Park, April 2018

Gemsbok

Impala

Kudu

Red Hartebeest

Roan antelope

Sable antelope

Steenbok

Tsessebe

Waterbuck

Not forgetting that we’ve already shown you loads of photos of Mokala’s springbok and plains zebras.

Springbok rams contesting a territory in Mokala National Park

Pale-rumped Plains Zebra in Mokala National Park

Mokala also has a wide variety of smaller mammals that are easier to overlook; Baboons and vervet monkeys, ground squirrels, warthogs, meerkats and yellow mongooses all crossed our path from time to time.

Baboon sharing a hill with a gemsbok

Southern African Ground Squirrel

Meerkat

Vervet monkeys

Warthog

Yellow mongooses

Mokala’s insects, amphibians and reptiles make you work harder for sightings of them, but for those who go to the effort there’s an astonishing variety of less conspicuous creatures waiting to entertain and enthrall!

This immature Western Olive Toad emerged after the thunderstorm

Two-spotted Tyrant Beetle

Southern Rock Agama

Marsh Terrapins

Leopard Tortoise

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

Bird Watching at Mokala

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Mokala National Park owes its diversity of bird species both to its location at the transition between South Africa’s arid west and wetter eastern regions, as well as the diversity of habitats protected within its borders. To date, more than 200 species of birds have been recorded within this relatively new Park and we, not considering ourselves very proficient birders (yet) managed to tick a respectable 70 of those. These are just a few of the feathered friends we made at Mokala during our visit in April 2018.

Ant-eating Chat

Ashy Tit

Black-faced Waxbill

Blacksmith Lapwings protecting their eggs against two wildebeest

Black-throated Canary

Black-winged Stilts

Brown-throated Martin

Brubru

Buffy Pipit

Burchell’s Sandgrouse (male)

Cape Sparrow female

Double-banded Courser

Crowned Lapwing

Egyptian Goose chasing South African Shelduck

South African Shelduck (male)

Familiar Chat

Fiscal Flycatcher

Cape Glossy Starling

Shy Golden-tailed Woodpecker

Grey-backed Sparrow Lark (male and chick)

Helmeted Guineafowl in flight

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Marico Flycatcher

Mountain Wheatear (male)

Namaqua Dove (male)

Ostrich female

Ostrich male

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Pied Crow

Red-billed Firefinch

Red-crested Korhaan

Red-headed Finch (male)

Sabota Lark

Scaly-feathered Finch

Common Scimitarbill

Southern Masked Weaver (female)

Sociable Weaver

Sociable Weaver nest

White-browed Sparrow Weaver

Spike-heeled Lark

African Spoonbill

Three-banded Plover

Cape Wagtail

White-backed Vulture W428

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Yellow Canary (Male)

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

Mokala’s Pale Zebras

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When the last Quagga mare died in Amsterdam Zoo in 1883, it was thought that this uniquely South African species of zebra was hunted into extinction, never to be seen again. Where once thousands of Quaggas, with their striped forequarters and brown backs and buttocks roamed the Karoo their distinct “kwa-ha-ha” calls would never be heard again. Over a century later however it was realised, through DNA analysis, that the Quagga was a localised race of the still extant Plains Zebra, and the Quagga Project came into being to try and bring them back through selective breeding. With each subsequent generation showing more and more Quagga-like characteristics, one day we may again see true-to-form Quaggas roaming their native country in vast numbers.

The area in which Mokala National Park is located would have been populated by zebras that were intermediate in appearance between the Quaggas and more “traditionally” patterned Plains Zebras, and thus when the Park was proclaimed it was decided to specifically stock it with zebras that had a lesser degree of striping, especially on their backs and haunches. These pale-rumped zebras are certainly an endearing feature of the Park.

Pale-rumped Plains Zebra foal in Mokala National Park

Some plains zebras in Mokala National Park still don the more “traditional” look.

Pale-rumped Plains Zebra foal in Mokala National Park

Pale-rumped Plains Zebra in Mokala National Park

Pale-rumped Plains Zebra foal in Mokala National Park

Pale-rumped Plains Zebra in Mokala National Park

Plains Zebras at Mokala National Park, April 2018

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

How Vulture W428 is helping to conserve its species

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On arriving at Haak-en-Steek Cottage at Mokala National Park on the 27th of April 2018, we found this young White-backed Vulture waiting to welcome us. Thanks to the tag fitted conspicuously on the wing it was easy to identify him / her as “Vulture W428”, and of course we wanted to find out more about this bird.

Mokala’s Park Manager put us in contact with Angus Anthony of the EWT’s Vulture Monitoring Project, thanks to whom we learned that Vulture W428 is one of 56 chicks that were tagged on their nests on Dronfield, a farm just north of the city of Kimberley in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, in October 2017. Once they become independent, these juvenile White-backed Vultures may roam very widely – even as far afield as Angola! Obviously Vulture W428 is a little less adventurous and likes staying closer to home. This may be because there’s a vulture feeding station on Dronfield, where there’s presently a growing population of about 100 breeding pairs of White-backed Vultures.

Research projects like these are invaluable in protecting South Africa’s dwindling vulture populations. Reporting sightings of tagged birds allow researchers to follow their movement and breeding patterns, glean information about their behaviour (do they mate for life, do pairs return to the same nest annually, etc) and calculate their life expectancy. Thanks to the tags it could be established for instance that young vultures return from their explorations to breed at Dronfield when they’re 4 to 5 years old, but then the question is whether the same holds true for other breeding colonies? This is vital information, considering that the IUCN recently reclassified the White-backed Vulture as Critically Endangered due to a rapid and enormous decline in their populations.

If you are lucky to see one of these tagged vultures while travelling through South Africa (or one of our neighbouring countries), please do share that information with the EWT – what may seem like a little piece of information may be vital to their continued survival. The kind of information the researchers are hoping for include the location (gps co-ordinates would be handy), date and time of the sighting, the colour and code of the tag, comments about the bird’s behaviour at the time (feeding, roosting, nesting, flying, solitary or with other vultures, etc), if possible the species and whether it is an adult or juvenile, and of course your own contact details in case they have follow-up questions.

This is a fantastic way to contribute to the protection of our natural heritage!

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

Mokala’s multitude of Springbok

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The Springbok is by far the most commonly encountered large mammal in Mokala National Park – during our four day stay in April 2018 we had over 200 springbok sightings ranging from solitary rams to enormous herds. Thankfully they are such beautiful animals that one could never tire of them, and the sprinkling of black and copper coated individuals made for fascinating comparisons with the more standard liveried animals.

Copper Springbok

Copper and normal coloured Springbok

Copper Springbok ram

Springbok

Copper Springbok ram

Springbok ewes

Springbok showing off

Springbok herd

Springbok bachelor rams

Copper Springbok ram

Springbok ewe

Springbok rams sparring

Black Springbok

Copper Springbok ram

Springbok ram

Copper Springbok lamb

Black Springbok

Copper Springbok lamb

Our most exhilarating encounter with Mokala’s Springbok was with these two mature rams contesting for ownership of a prime territory right in the middle of the road!

Springbok rams contesting a territory in Mokala National Park

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

Muddy fun at Dries se Gat

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“Dries se Gat” is one of our favourite waterholes in Mokala National Park, not only because I share a name with it but also because there always seem to be something interesting happening there.

During our latest visit to Mokala we arrived at the waterhole just as a big herd of 100+ buffaloes were making their way to the water, and could spend quite a bit of time watching the animals interact with each other while slaking their thirst and enjoying a mud bath.

Buffalo Wallow at Dries se Gat, Mokala National Park

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

Back from another taste of Mokala Magic

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We’ve just returned home after spending a four-night weekend at beautiful Mokala National Park in the Northern Cape. We had a lovely time and of course we have lots to share with you in the coming days – Here’s just a little teaser!