It was late August and I was taking clients from the UK on a safari/tour to the Hluhluwe & Imfolozi Game Reserves. We planned to spend our last night at Emdoneni Lodge, in the Hluhluwe area, followed by a boat cruise on the nearby Lake St Lucia the next day.
The trip had been arranged under the banner of Umzinyathi Safaris, and the clients' main interests were in the 'big-game' and wildlife that we hoped to encounter.... and they were not disappointed, for we saw aplenty, many from close quarters.
Sightings over the four day trip included a herd of over 180 elephant, 4 lion, about 30 white rhino, african buffalo by the score, and much other wild-game including hippo, crocodile, giraffe, zebra, and many species of antelope.
We were experiencing an "early spring" on the Elephant Coast, KZN, the weather was sunny and mild, and the sounds and sights of the vocal resident bird-life were compelling. I found myself keeping a mental record of the different number of bird species we encountered over the 4 day tour, and I was quite pleased to note afterwards that this total exceeded 100 .... and the tour was neither intended nor structured as a birding excursion !
This figure merely serves as an indicator to underscore the rich quality of birding in KZN, and even more so in this particular region of our lovely country.
Worthy of particular mention must be our over-night visit on the last evening to Emdoneni Lodge, which includes the cheetah & serval projects. We arrived just in time to view the feeding of these animals between 16:30 and 17:30.
As a keen birder I could not help but notice with some interest and curiosity that several large birds were flying very low over the cheetah enclosures (which we had entered with Amanda, the Emdoneni Lodge resident 'specialist guide'). These birds - 2 Pied Crows, 2 Yellow-billed Kites, and a large African Fish Eagle - were circling only 3 to 5 meters above ground level. A Hamerkop and a pair of Woolly-necked Storks were also observed 'patrolling' in the close vicinity.
The reason for the aerial displays and the heightened 'avian activity' so close to dusk soon became apparent.
At feeding time, Amanda commenced throwing raw poultry (chicken) to the cheetah: the animals swiftly ran up to pounce and seize upon the dead birds, and then sped away to devour them at a 'respectable comfort-zone distance' from us.... but as the cheetahs moved on they left behind a small 'offering' of chicken bones & entrails. Suddenly one of the crows swooped down and seized the entrails, but as he struggled to gain height with his prize, he was "dive-bombed" in turn by each of the kites, and then the fish eagle... this "aerial dog-fight" carried on for quite a while as the crow hung-on determinedly to his 'spoils of victory'... eventually all of the combatants moved further away from us and out-of-sight below the level of a nearby grove of trees, so it was impossible to determine the eventual outcome of this fascinating battle.....
...... and later that evening, reflecting upon the day, I reminded myself that the environment of Emdoneni Lodge is an ideal base for birding tours, and that I needed to return here again very soon...
Anyone wishing to view the full bird checklist for the trip, please write to mike@bushveld-birders.co.za
Mike Johnston
Bushveld Birders
Reference web-sites: www.umzinyathi-safaris.co.za.
www.bushveld-birders.co.za