Tag Archives: wildlife

Spring on Lake Saint Lucia’s Eastern Shores

While visiting the town of St. Lucia and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park at the end of October and into early November, my brother and I set aside three days for visiting Cape Vidal and the Eastern Shores section of the Park – an area that absolutely overflows with natural beauty!

A very easy-driving tar road leads directly from the Bhangazi Gate on the outskirts of town to Cape Vidal and offers wonderful opportunities for close encounters with a wide variety of wildlife.

White Rhinoceros

Spotted Hyena

Yellow-billed Kite

Green Malkoha

White Rhinoceros (photo by Niel de Wet)

Common Reedbuck

Small Buffalo herd in the rain

Rufous-winged Cisticola

Bushbuck

Common Reedbuck

Buffalo bull

Crested Guineafowl

The last stretch of the road into Cape Vidal

Grey Duiker (photograph by Niel de Wet)

Side-striped Jackal

Hippo on land

Buffalo bull

Spotted Hyena sneaking up on a bushbuck (photo by Niel de Wet)

Water Thick-knee

Water Thick-knee (Water Dikkop) close-up (photo by Niel de Wet)

Don’t miss the turnoffs for the Pan Loop and then the Vlei Loop shortly after entering!

Kudu cows

Malachite Kingfisher (photo by Niel de Wet)

Painted Lady Butterfly

kuMbhukwana Pan

Little Bee-eater

Southern Banded Snake Eagle (photo by Niel de Wet)

Spur-winged Geese (photo by Niel de Wet)

The short cul-de-sac leading to the iZindondo Pan always has something interesting on offer

Southern Banded Snake Eagle

African Pygmy Geese (photo by Niel de Wet)

White-backed Duck

Small herd of Elephants at iZindondo Pan

Cape Vidal’s lovely setting in the dune forest is always enchanting…

Green Twinspot

Arriving at Cape Vidal

Samango Monkey

Red Duiker

Samango Monkey

Ashy Flycatcher

Black-bellied Starling

Banded Groundling dragonfly

and I am yet to be convinced that there is a beach more beautiful in all of South Africa!

White-fronted Plover

Grey-headed Gull

Lesser Crested Tern in low-level flight

Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal

Cape Vidal has the most interesting rocks and intertidal pools

Grey-headed Gull

The beautiful beach at Cape Vidal

Grey-headed Gull

Lesser Crested Tern

Flock of Sanderlings

Lesser Crested Terns

Common Whimbrel feeding on a ghost crab

Common Whimbrel flying away with a ghost crab

The dunes at Cape Vidal are among the highest vegetated sand dunes in the world

Mole Crab

Ghost Crabs on the beach at Cape Vidal

Ghost Crab in the surf at Cape Vidal

Ghost Crabs in the surf at Cape Vidal

Finding a Sub-Antarctic Fur Seal on the beach at Cape Vidal was an enormous surprise – more about that in the next installment of DeWetsWild!

Male Sub-Antarctic Fur Seal on the shore at Cape Vidal after a heavy storm

The Grassland Loop is an excellent alternative to a large stretch of the main road when heading south again towards Saint Lucia town

Elephant Bull walking away near Cape Vidal

The start of the Grassland Loop meanders through an excellent example of swamp forest

Banded Mongoose

Crested Guineafowl

eMfabeni Swamp

Green-banded Swallowtail

I wasn’t exactly thrilled to come across a Common Myna – an alien invader – on the Grassland Loop

Baby Nile Crocodile

Waterbuck herd in the eMfabeni Swamp

Buffalo in the eMfabeni swamp

Secretary Bird

eMfabeni Swamp

Fan-tailed Widowbird

Red-breasted Swallow taking off with mud in its mouth

Samango Monkey (photo by Niel de Wet)

Don’t think that taking the short Forest Loop leading to the hides at kuMfazana Pan is going to be a quick detour – the butterflies alone will keep you entertained for a long time!

Novice Butterfly

Water Thick-knee (or Dikkop) with two chicks

Reed Cormorant

Large Striped Swordtail

Large Vagrant

Green-banded Swallowtail

Tailor Ant nest

Yellow-bellied Greenbul (photo by Niel de Wet)

Candy-striped Crinum flowers

I sincerely hope this quick overview gives you a sense of all that the Eastern Shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park has to offer! If you are interested in visiting St. Lucia and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, remember that De WetsWild can assist you with reservations in the Eden Park and Sugarloaf Campsites in town or at wonderful Cape Vidal set on the Indian Ocean in the Eastern Shores section of the Park.

Map of the eastern shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (from https://isimangaliso.com/)

Announcement! Gooderson Leisure reservations now available through DeWetsWild!

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Announcement!

We are very excited to announce that DeWetsWild can now assist you with reservations at Gooderson Leisure’s resorts!

https://dewetswild.com/about/reservation-services/gooderson-leisure-reservations/

Candy-striped Veld Lily

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Crinum stuhlmannii

(previously C. delagoense /C. forbesii)

The beautiful Candy-Striped Veld Lily occurs from our Kwazulu-Natal Province all along the Indian Ocean coastal plain to East Africa. It is a bulbous plant that grows best in sandy soil at low altitudes and out in the full sun. Its leaves grow up to 1.5m in length and a single plant can bear up to 30 of the distinctive flowers, typically during the months of spring.

Candy-striped Crinum flowers

Candy-striped Crinum flower

Candy-striped Crinum fruit

Candy-striped Crinum plants

Candy-striped Crinum flowers

Candy-striped Crinum fruit developing

Candy-striped Crinum flowers and developing fruit

Candy-striped Crinum flowers

Announcement! DeWetsWild and aha Hotels & Lodges

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Announcement!

We are delighted to announce that DeWetsWild can now assist you with reservations at the fabulous properties managed by aha Hotels & Lodges!

https://dewetswild.com/about/reservation-services/aha-hotels-lodges-reservations/

Announcement! Pilanesberg National Park with DeWetsWild & Legacy Hotels & Resorts

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Announcement!

We are very proud to announce that DeWetsWild can now assist you with reservations at the fantastic Legacy Hotels & Resorts Bush Lodges in the Pilanesberg National Park!

https://dewetswild.com/about/reservation-services/pilanesberg-national-park-reservations/

White-backed Duck

17 Replies

Thalassornis leuconotus

Another bird of which sightings come highly regarded in South Africa is the White-backed Duck and I was very excited to finally catch sight of them during my recent trip to St. Lucia in Kwazulu-Natal.

White-backed Duck

White-backed Ducks

White-backed Duck

White-backed Ducks

White-backed Duck

A nomadic diving duck that feeds mainly on submerged plant material, the White-backed Duck inhabits natural and man-made dams and pans of any size and permanence with clear water and abundant floating and emergent plants, where they are exquisitely camouflaged and easily overlooked. The white patch on their backs from which they get their name is only seen in flight. They are usually seen in pairs or family groups but occasionally form larger flocks of over a hundred. White-backed Ducks rarely venture onto dry land.

Monogamous pairs of White-backed Ducks (perhaps life-long bonds) breed year-round in dense reed beds or other thick plant material standing in the water. Clutches of up to 9 eggs are laid on a nest platform built of the surrounding plant material, and incubated by both parents for 4-5 weeks. The ducklings are able to follow their parents onto and into the water less than a day after hatching and are fully grown by the time they’re 4 months old. Adults measure about 43cm in length and weigh around 650g.

In South Africa, the White-backed Duck has a rather patchy distribution, with concentrations in the Highveld grassland areas, in Kwazulu-Natal, the Garden Route and the Cape Winelands. Beyond our borders their range stretches to Ethiopia and Madagascar, with isolated populations in the Sahel. According to the IUCN it is of least concern.

White-backed Ducks

White-backed Ducks among Blue Water Lilies

White-backed Ducks

White-backed Duck

White-backed Ducks

White-backed Duck diving

White-backed Duck

White-backed Ducks

White-backed Duck

St. Lucia’s Game Park Trails

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Just a little to the north of the town of St. Lucia, right at the Crocodile Centre and the Bhangazi Gate into the Eastern Shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, is a small game reserve where visitors are allowed to walk and cycle unguided and at own risk – hippos and leopards count among the game park’s inhabitants after all. Hikers have a choice of trails, several kilometers in extent, that lead through and along most of the important habitats that are found in the greater Park – swamps and marshes, grasslands, woodland and forests. I packed in a couple of hikes through St. Lucia’s Game Park while visiting the town at the end of October and into early November and, as you can tell from these pictures, I was not disappointed!

Spur-winged Geese

One of the lily-grown pans in the St. Lucia Game Park

Spectacled Skimmer Dragonfly (male)

Blue Pansy butterfly

Common Moorhen

Yellow-billed Egret

One of the lily-grown pans in the St. Lucia Game Park

White-backed Ducks

Yellow-throated Longclaw in display flight

Grassland scenery in the St. Lucia Game Park

September Bush blossoms

Candy-striped Crinum flowers

Impala Rams

Impala rams on the run

Dung Beetle

I’ve not yet identified these daisy-like blossoms

I am having difficulty identifying these blooms photographed in the grasslands of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Spotted Joker Butterfly

Plains Zebras

Red Duiker

Common Bush Brown Butterfly

Flying Handkerchief – male Mocker Swallowtail butterfly

Variable Diadem Butterfly

Spectacled Skimmer Dragonfly female

White-backed Duck

If you are interested in visiting St. Lucia and the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, remember that De WetsWild can assist you with reservations in the Eden Park and Sugarloaf Campsites in town or at wonderful Cape Vidal set on the Indian Ocean in the Eastern Shores section of the Park.

Narina Trogon

27 Replies

Apaloderma narina

An infuriatingly difficult bird to see, thanks to their habit of sitting dead still for long periods in their dense forest habitat, the beautiful Narina Trogon is a prized target for bird watchers and wildlife photographers alike. Their call is often the first, and usually only, indication of their presence but is seldom heard outside of the breeding season. It feeds on a wide variety of insects, other invertebrates and even reptiles and amphibians the size of small chameleons. They’re usually found singly or in pairs.

Narina Trogons form monogamous pairs and breed in hollows in trees. During the summer breeding season the male is fiercely territorial and will even drive away birds of other species. Clutches of 2-4 eggs are incubated by both parents for between 2 and 3 weeks. The chicks leave the nest by 4 weeks of age but remain with their parents for several months more. Fully grown, Narina Trogons measure about 32cm long and weigh in the region of 67g.

The IUCN lists the Narina Trogon as being of least concern. While it has a very wide distribution over much of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, in South Africa they’re mainly found only in a narrow stretch along the coast from the Garden Route through the Eastern Cape, into Kwazulu-Natal, and then along the forests of the escarpment into Mpumalanga and Limpopo as far as the Soutpansberg.

Narina trogon

Narina Trogon

Buff-spotted Flufftail

21 Replies

Sarothrura elegans

A very secretive and rarely seen bird, the Buff-spotted Flufftail inhabits forests and other densely vegetated patches in areas of fairly high rainfall. These days they’re found in well planted gardens within their range with increasing frequency. It is mainly insectivorous, searching for invertebrates in the leaf litter of its dense habitat. They appear to be active throughout the day and night.

Pairs of Buff-spotted Flufftails are monogamous and territorial during the breeding season, which spans the months of spring to autumn. Using a wide range of plant material the female takes about 3 days to construct a well hidden dome-shaped nest with a side entrance underneath densely growing plants. Both partners take it in turns to incubate the clutch of 3-5 eggs over a two week period. The chicks leave the nest when they’re only a day or two old, accompanying their parents on foraging excursions. They grow quickly and can fly by the time they’re about 3 weeks old. At this point their parents will kick the chicks out of their territory and start breeding again – the pair may raise up to 4 broods in a season! Fully grown Buff-spotted Flufftails are about 15cm long and weigh around 50g.

In South Africa, the Buff-spotted Flufftail has a patchy and limited distribution, stretching from the Western and Eastern Cape through most of Kwazulu-Natal on to the escarpment in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Beyond our borders they’re found over much of west, central and eastern Africa. The IUCN considers this species to be of least concern.

Male Buff-spotted Flufftail

Male Buff-spotted Flufftail crossing a path on the Igwalagwala Trail

Another breakaway to iSimangaliso

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If you thought I was a little quiet over the past week-and-a-bit, you’d be right, as I disappeared into the wonderful iSimangaliso Wetland Park again, this time along with my younger brother. We were based in the holiday town of St. Lucia from where we made excursions into the surrounding sections of the park, and had a wonderful time, collecting lots of pictures to share with you in the weeks to come – this is just a little teaser.