After checking into Punda Maria Rest Camp we ventured out to look at the border area and the Limpopo River, Stephen was hoping to cross the border into Mozambique or Zimbabwe but there did not seem to be any open crossing points so we abandoned that idea. We found Crooks Corner where the three countries meet, this was once a refuge for all kinds of crooks, from gun runners to ivory hunters who dodged the law by hopping into different jurisdictions while on the run.
Limpopo River, Zimbabwe beyond
Now Crooks Corner it is an interesting point of geography, good to visit but we could go no further, so we made our way back along the Limpopo River towards Pafuri.
At Crooks Corner, S Africa/Zimbabwe/Mozambique meet here
We found the very pleasant Pafuri Picnic Site, located by the river and in the shade of some very large acacia and other deciduous trees.. We met Frank Mabasa who runs the site and is also known as an excellent bird guide, so we booked him for the following morning, then made our way back to Punda Maria.
Baboons in early morning
Next day, after a quick cup of tea and a light breakfast we exited Punda Maria at the gate opening time of 6 am and picked Frank up half an hour later. The road to the picnic site at dawn was lovely, with various animals out enjoying the early rays of sunshine, including a family of Baboons and a very large family group of Banded Mongoose. It was fun watching the youngsters in the difuse light, playing and frolicking around under the watchful eye of the adults.
Banded Mongoose
The usual verge-birds were out including this attractive Natal Spurfowl...
...and a nice green Sahel Chameleon crossed the road ahead of us with very haltering and deliberate steps. It was quite robotic.
Sahel Chameleon - chamaeleo africanus
Red-backed Shrike - lanius collurio
Red-backed Shrikes and Lesser Grey Shrikes were quite numerous along the dirt roadside....
Lesser Grey Shrike - lanus minor
..........and a nice Lappet-faced Vulture gave us good views while perched in a dead tree.
Lappet-faced Vulture - torgos tracheliotos
I picked up more good shots of the very beautiful White-fronted Bee-eater at fairly close proximity.
White-fronted Bee-eater - merops bullockoides
At the Picnic Site Frank introduced us to a few of the birds in the trees here before we set off on bird safari. This Orange-breasted Bushshrike was one of the best.
Orange-breasted Bushshrike - clorophoneus sulfureopectus
....and we finally saw our first Woodpecker of the trip, a Golden-tailed Woodpecker. We had been speculating on why we had not seen any woodpeckers at all when this chap showed up. I was beginning to wonder if there actually were any woodpeckers in the Park at all until now. We set off in our car with Frank pointing out various birds along the way.
Golden Tailed Woodpecker - campethera abingoni At one point Frank became quite animated. Looking into the sky at all the hirundines and swifts swirling around he had spotted a Bohm's Spinetail. Otherwise known as the Bat-like Spinetail this is quite a rare and highly unusual species of swift. It has no tail except for a couple of needle-like projections, is tiny, about half the size of a house sparrow, and is quite easily identified in flight as it flies with a fluttering, erratic manner just like a bat. I managed to get a poor shot but as usual Stephen captured a superb image with his 7D Mk.11.
Bohm's Spinetail - neaphrapus bohmi
We spent some time searching in vain for the Racket-tailed Roller which is often seen along the river here, but no luck unfortunately. However the Lemon-breasted Canary is a fairly rare species and we did see a flock of them.
Lemon-breasted Canary - crithagra citrinipectus
The Red-billed Firefinch is supposed to be common but this was the only one I saw on the entire trip and fortunately did manage to catch a quick shot through some quite dense thicket. I think it had spotted me too.
Red-billed Firefinch - lagonostica senegala
The raptor below is a very pale morph Wahlberg's Eagle one of Africa's most common eagles, although they are usually dark brown. This one is almost white.
Wahlberg's Eagle - hieraaetus wahlbergi
In fact we found a roosting pair of the more common dark morph Wahlberg's Eagle as we crossed a bridge over a small river. The contrast between the light and dark morphs is quite dramatic, a similar phenomena to the Booted Eagles we get in Spain.
Wahlberg's Eagle - hieraaetus wahlbergi
After this we passed another local guide with a group from the nearby private safari lodge who informed us that he had spotted an Arnot's Chat. This is quite a rarity in these parts so we scanned carefully the trees alongside the road until Frank found it. It's always nice to see a new bird to add to ones life list and this was a good one.
Arnott's Chat - myrmecocichla arnotti
The next one was also a lifer, the Golden-breasted Bunting gave us brief views but enough to capture a recognizable image. And here it is.
Golden-breasted Bunting - emberiza capensis
The Green-winged Pytillia is a colourful little bird that we had seen before. it's quite a common species in sub-Saharan Africa but this was my first opportunity to get a half decent photograph, for which I was thankful.
Green-winged Pytilia - pytilia melba
Eventually we left Frank back at Pafuri Picnic site, and knowing now that there was nowhere to stay up here on the border except the private Safari Lodge, which was very expensive. So we decided to head back Punda Maria for the night.
Next day we had a decent breakfast & considered our options. We could exit the Park and try another region such as the Drakensberg Mountains, but that was such a long journey so we decided to make our way back South within the Park to explore some of the areas we had missed on our way up here.
Next day we had a decent breakfast & considered our options. We could exit the Park and try another region such as the Drakensberg Mountains, but that was such a long journey so we decided to make our way back South within the Park to explore some of the areas we had missed on our way up here.
Purple Roller - coracias naevius
Although we were constantly on the lookout for more and new bird species to photograph there were always opportunities for the common species, Here's another decent shot of a lovely Purple Roller, and there were always game and animal sightings to be enjoyed. Another Zebra Crossing for example.
We picked up another Weaver, this one is a Southern Masked Weaver, distinguished from the Village Weaver by the black face extending above the bill The two species are otherwise virtually identical, both with red eyes.
Southern Masked Weaver - ploceus velatus
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Earlier I posted a male Chinspot Batis but here is a female with that lovely chestnut brown breast band, a nicer looking bird than her male counterpart.
Chinspot Batis (Female) - batis molitor
We stopped for large flocks of Red-billed Queleas, also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch. This is the world's most abundant wild bird species, with an estimated adult breeding population of 1.5 billion pairs. They swarm in huge flocks across much of Africa.
Red-billed Quelea - quelea quelea
They are considered a huge pest. Intensive farming and an increase in cereal crop production throughout Africa resulted in an explosion in their numbers; according to some estimates quelea populations have increased anywhere from 10 to 100 times since the 1970s. They are sprayed, bombed, burned, netted and persecuted in every concievable way, all to no avail. They raise three broods each year. I can't help thinking "Good on'em"
Red-billed Quelea - quelea quelea
The White-browed Scrub Robin is a fairly common and unremarkable bird in sub-Saharan Africa. Well here it is for the record.
White-browed Scrub Robin - cercotrichas leucophrys
 White-browed Scrub Robin - cercotrichas leucophrys |  Burnt-necked Eremomela - eremomela usticollis The image above is of a Burnt-necked Eremomela. It is another quite unremarkable bird and this is the only shot I have, which is why I post it, for the record. |
Brubru - nilaus afer
The Brubru is an attractive little member of the Bushshrike family. It likes large trees where it hunts its insect prey. It is quite a solitary and territorial bird. The Red-backed Shrike is a true Shrike of course and I post another shot of one here because it is not a bad image.
Swainson's Spurfowl or Francolin, is a member of the pheasant family. It is very common here where hunting is not permited. In unprotected areas however it is considered a delicacy and is taken for the pot.
Swainson's Spurfowl - pternistis swainsonii
The Spectacled Weaver is a sharp looking bird. It's the only weaver in which the female helps build the nest. It is distinguished by its very sharp pointed black bill, other weavers have thicker horn coloured bills.
Spectacled Weaver - ploceus ocularis
The Speckled Mousebird below was a quick snapshot into a dense bush and I was not expecting to be able to identify whatever it was that was moving. However the image is not too bad of a bird that we didn't see anywhere else. It has a very long tail and an interesting hairstyle. If you look closely at this picture you will see it is reaching up with one leg to grab the berries that it feeds upon, must be quite dexterous to do that.
Speckled Mousebird - colius striatus
The male Village Indigobird below is quite interesting. It is a brood parasite and the eggs are laid only in the nests of the Red-billed Firefinch. The eggs are white and only slightly larger than the Firefinches. 2 to 4 eggs are added to those already laid by the Firefinch and the young do not kill or eject the hosts eggs or young.
Village Indigobird - vidua chalybeata
Next is another Stork. This is an African Openbill, named as are all openbills for the gap between the upper & lower mandibles. This one has a nice glossy metalic plumage that shines in good light.
African Openbill - anastomus lamelligerus
We took the opportunity to photograph another Namaqua Dove. It's really not like any other dove I know, it is almost like a young artists impression of a bird with a long tail and an arbitrarilly stuck-on beak.
Namaqua Dove
The Elephant below seemed like a fine specimen with substantial tusks, worth a photograph.
Tusker
The Tropic of Capricorn is clearly marked with this plaque alongside the road, so we took the opportunity to record it.
And at this stop I was lucky to record an action sequence of this adult Wattled Starling feeding its hungry and demanding fledgling.
Wattled Starlings - creatophora cinerea
The youngster's large bright-yellow open gape is like a magnet to the parent bird.....
Wattled Starling - creatophora cinerea
....and the proffered tidbit is accepted greedily. This is more than just food, it is afirmation of the parent-child bond. It satisfies more than just a hungry belly.
Wattled Starling - creatophora cinerea
The adult male Wattled Starling develops unfeathered yellow skin on the head, and black forehead and throat wattles, as seen below. The adult bird above is a female showing some of these characteristics but to a much lesser extent.
Wattled Starling male - creatophora cinerea
We continued South making good progress, stopping occasionally to capture anything of interest. This is not a great shot of a Hyena, but it's the best I could do. We did not see many of them.
Hyaena
The little bird below is just one of many Larks we saw. This one is a Rufous-naped Lark I think.
Eventually we made it to Satara Rest Camp with not much time to spare. The gates close at 6 pm and no-one is supposed to be outside the camps at night without authorisation. However we had made a lot of progress and were ready for another day tomorrow when we would look at an area we had not covered previously.
