Attendees: Stan & Val Culley, Rob Eccles & Hanli Kloppers, Stanley & Asothie Gengan, Eric Kok, Hazel Nevin, Sandy Olver, Bob & Hazel van Rooyen, Ron Whitham,
Lennart Eriksson & Evelyn Heunis
Total bird count: 55 species (see end)
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| Sandy Olver with the Seabean (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
Meeting up at our usual summer start time of 06.30 at Pennington Park, we decided to try a different trail from our usual route – through the forest on the boundary to the Environment Centre. It was a lovely sunny morning with a nice breeze. Stan started us off by spotting a Grey Waxbill, quickly followed by Red-wing and Black-bellied Starlings and a White-eared Barbet. Olive Sunbirds, Southen Boubous and Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds sang whilst a Natal Spurfowl ran off screeching as they are want to do when flushed. Red-capped Robin-Chats flashed their orange tails and a Brown Scrub-Robin trilled its sweet song. Strolling further along, several Bar-throated Apalises flitted in the bushes. Green-backed Cameropterer and Yellow-bellied Greenbul called repeatedly from the thickets and a Collared Sunbird flashed by. Spurwing and Egyptian Geese and a Pied Wagtail enjoyed the peaceful pond belonging to the old-age home on the neighbouring property. Yellow and Spectacled Weavers also decided it was a good place for home and a few nests hung close by. |
| Grey Waxbill (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Bar-throated Apalis (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Knysna Turaco (Photo: Stan Culley) |
Back at the Environment Centre we were made welcome by Ian, the new manager of the estate. While we were having some breakfast a Knysna Turacopreened in the tree canopy and Green Twinspots foraged by the bird-bath. A curious little Blue Duiker known as an Impithi came quite close up to see what the chatter was about and another friendly Brown Scrub-Robin sang from a low branch hoping for some tidbits. |
| Brown Scrub-Robin (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Enjoying coffee at Umdoni Park Environmental Centre |
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| Green Twinspot (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
After coffee we proceeded to Nkomba, where we were greeted by Mary MacKenzie, Chairperson of Pennington Conservancy, Carolyn Schwegman and Paul Johnston who are doing great work to preserve this conservancy and create a peaceful oasis. A fascinating vine, modelled here by our very own Sandy Olver, called a Seabean (Entada rheedii) has pods which grow up to 2 metres long.  |
| Sandy and the Seabean (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Seabean (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
The river takes the 60mm diameter seeds out to sea which are then washed up on the beaches and used traditionally as good luck charms. Another pretty tree in flower is the Barringtonia, a mangrove-type tree which is at home in the salt water of estuaries. Our visit was badly timed and we were too late in the day to spot many birds in the reeds from their delightful new bird hide. Birds seen at Nkomba were Black-backed Puff-back, Cape White-Eye and Yellow-billed Kites soared above the tree-line.The trails there are very pretty with sturdy bridges over the wetland areas and after a satisfying braai, we vowed the next time we visited we would arrive earlier in the day. |
| Where does it start and end? |
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| Barringtonia (Photo: Hazel van Rooyen) |
| Common name |
| Apalis Bar-throated |
| Barbet Black-collared |
| Barbet White-eared |
| Bee-eater Little |
| Boubou Southern |
| Brownbul Terrestrial |
| Bulbul Dark-capped |
| Bush-shrike Gorgeous |
| Bush-shrike Orange-breasted |
| Camaroptera Green-backed |
| Coucal Burchell's |
| Dove Red-eyed |
| Dove Tambourine |
| Drongo Fork-tailed |
| Drongo Square-tailed |
| Fish-eagle African |
| Flycatcher Ashy |
| Goose Egyptian |
| Goose Spur-winged |
| Greenbul Sombre |
| Greenbul Yellow-bellied |
| Heron Purple |
| Honeyguide Lesser |
| Ibis Hadeda |
| Kite Yellow-billed |
| Mannikin Bronze |
| Prinia Tawny-flanked |
| Puffback Black-backed |
| Robin-chat Red-capped |
| Rush-warbler Little |
| Scrub-robin Brown |
| Sparrow House |
| Spurfowl Natal |
| Starling Black-bellied |
| Starling Red-winged |
| Stork Woolly-necked |
| Sunbird Amethyst |
| Sunbird Collared |
| Sunbird Olive |
| Swallow Barn |
| Swallow Lesser Striped |
| Thrush Olive |
| Tinkerbird Red-fronted |
| Tinkerbird Yellow-rumped |
| Turaco Knysna |
| Turaco Purple-crested |
| Twinspot Green |
| Wagtail African Pied |
| Waxbill Grey |
| Weaver Dark-backed |
| Weaver Spectacled |
| Weaver Thick-billed |
| Weaver Yellow |
| White-eye Cape |
| Woodpecker Golden-tailed |
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