Migrating birds return
The onset of spring heralds the return of the region’s migratory birds. Rather than in droves, they slip in one by one, species by species. The Yellow-billed Kite is normally the first to arrive. He’s initially seen gliding over the R40 just outside Phalaborwa in search of road kill, easy pickings after a long flight from central Africa and above. Later, with more fellow arrivals, the Yellow-billed Kite becomes fairly abundant and can be seen at most localities in the Lowveld.
The first African Paradise Flycatcher of the season was spotted in Phalaborwa suburbia a couple of weeks ago; a single female perched in a leadwood tree in search of insects and possibly a nesting site. The beguiling male of the species sports a glorious tail two or three times the length of his body. They fly in from localities further north in Africa to breed, and successful parents will raise a clutch of chicks all pressed together in a small, neat cup-shaped nest.
And then come the cuckoos… One of five groups of brood parasites that occur in southern Africa, cuckoos lay their eggs in a wide range of host species’ nests thereby expending less energy on breeding and improving their own chances of survival. They are also able to produce many broods in a single season, a near impossible task for parenting birds. There is no more bizarre a sight than watching an over-sized immature Levaillant’s Cuckoo follow a sweep of Arrow-marked Babblers while they forage, begging by calling just like a member of its adoptive species. Chaos and mayhem ensue at a weaver colony when there are Diederik Cuckoos about. The chasing weavers and dodging cuckoos scrap at close range in a noisy feathered dogfight as the subversive cuckoo searches for an unattended nest.
Mid-November sees the arrival of a birder’s favourite: the Woodland Kingfisher. He announces his entrance in a striking flash of iridescent blue, bright red and pitch black and looks the avian rock star with his ridiculously good looks and would-be Oakley Eye Jackets. He effortlessly usurps in presence the smaller and scruffier Brown-hooded Kingfisher, much like your hip and handsome cousin does when flying in from abroad for the Christmas holidays! His loud trilling call will be the ubiquitous sound for the next five months or so until the cooling temperatures of next autumn send him north again.
Lest we forget the bee-eaters, brown eagles, swallows, shrikes, waders. With over 500 recorded bird species, the Kruger National Park is a twitcher’s paradise. What’s more, Bushveld Terrace – Hotel on Kruger, with it’s own bird list of 100-plus confirmed IDs (not including the resident peacock across the road!), is the perfect base from which to add to your life list.
