Photos and text by Hazel van Rooyen
Attendees: Val
Culley, Stanley & Asothie Gengan, Doug & Angie Butcher, Alastair
Warman, Bob & Hazel van Rooyen
Ellingham Estate is a huge,
well-tended sugar cane farm, mingled with pockets of riverine forest, bush,
dams and picturesque streams. Upon arrival at the entrance to the Estate, we encountered
a padlocked gate but Val, in her usual efficient manner, contacted Sandy who found
out about a different way of access, which we used instead. Time was not wasted however and 10 species
were identified even before we entered, plus an eagle was sighted but was too
distant for identification. A Klaas’s Cuckoo was calling continually
and Alastair cleverly located it a short way down a dirt road.
 |
| Klaas’s Cuckoo |
By this time the sun was up and
we enjoyed the usual route down to the first dam, (very little water), along
the forest edge of tall indigenous trees and through the end part of the
forest, and as we made our way back, a flock of African Sacred Ibis flew overhead in their V-formation.
 |
| African Sacred Ibis flew overhead in V-formation |
A pretty butterfly caught Val’s eye and
Lepimap identified it for me as the Painted
Lady, this is the most cosmopolitan butterfly in the world and common all
over South Africa but this is the first time I had seen it close up.
 |
| Painted Lady |
Breakfast
followed with Crowned Hornbills flying past to check out our fare. After this we drove down to the two small
dams on the right (again, very little water) but there was no activity on this
occasion. In the reeds of the larger dam
opposite a pair of Grey-crowned Cranes
were wading but sauntered casually away when they realised they were the object
of our attention.
 |
| Grey-crowned Cranes |
We also disturbed a Purple Heron which fancied this wetland
area and kept flying away from us, eventually ending up in the short reeds, trying
to imitate a dead reed.
 |
| Purple Heron |
Several
Trumpeter Hornbills flew into the canopy of tall trees in the distance. Angie’s eye was attracted to a charming
flower and this I identified from Elsa Pooley’s book as the Butterfly Gladiolus (Gladiolus
pipilio). This has been cultivated in
the UK since 1866 and here it is growing wild in our neck of the woods the way
it originally existed.
 |
| Butterfly Gladiolus (Gladiolus pipilio) |
We climbed back in our vehicles
and drove further into the estate, twisting our way through winding roads lined
with sugar cane. Eventually we alighted
and took a circular route, on one side tall sugar cane and on the other gurgling
streams skirted by riverine forest. A Black-headed Oriole was calling and
seemed – could it possibly be - following us? Eventually we located it in a
tall fig.
 |
| Black-headed Oriole |
In the meantime an African Hoopoe kept diving busily into
the soil of a freshly turned cane field and took not the slightest notice of
us.
 |
| African Hoopoe |
In a gully filled with the delicate
fragrance of flowering Forest Toad Trees (Tabernae montana) we could hear a lovely robin-like song and
although the tune wasn’t exactly the same as the Roberts we were fairly sure it
was a Brown Scrub-Robin.
 |
| Forest Toad Trees (Tabernae montana) |
A very vocal family of Black-bellied Starlings were taking
nesting material into an old woodpecker or barbet nesthole. They would disappear inside and as I waited
with camera glued on the hole to catch one flying out, after a while I realised
they were exiting from another hole further along the branch.
 |
| Black-bellied Starling |
After this it was time for lunch and aided by
the strong wind, our braai-master Stanley had the fire ready in super quick
time and we were able to tuck in. Thanks
to everyone for another delightful morning!
Full list of birds, in
approximate order of sighting (45 species)
At entrance
Bulbul, Dark-capped
Canary,
Yellow-fronted
Tinkerbird,
Yellow-rumped
Turaco,
Purple-crested
Cuckoo,
Klaas’s
Goose,
Egyptian
Sunbird,
Amethyst
Ibis, Hadedah
Barbet,
Black-collared
Heron, Grey
From parking, past dam, through forest and back
Cameroptera,
Green-backed
Greenbul,
Sombre
Flycatcher,
Southern Black
Drongo,
Fork-tailed
Kite,
Yellow-billed
Spurfowl,
Natal
Prinia,
Tawny-flanked
Goose,
Spurwing
Bee-eater,
Little
Saw-wing,
Black
Swallow, Barn
Barbet,
White-eared
Widowbird,
Fan-tailed
Weaver,
Spectacled
King-fisher,
Brown-hooded
Weaver,
Thick-billed
Dove, Tambourine
Robin-Chat,
Cape
Bulbul,
Terrestrial
Ibis, African
Sacred
 |
| White-eared Barbet |
From parking to dams
Olive Sunbird
Hornbill,
Crowned
Woodhoopoe,
Green
Hornbill,
Trumpeter
Heron, Purple
Crane, Grey-crowned
Weaver,
Village
Jacana,
African
Whydah,
Pin-tailed
White-eye,
Cape
Further into the estate
Hoopoe. African
Widowbird,
Red-collared
Scrub-Robin,
Brown?
Oriole,
Black-headed
Robin-Chat,
Red-capped
Starling,
Black-bellied
Dove, Red-eyed
Harrier-Hawk,
African
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