Attending: Danie du Toit, Stan & Val Culley, Stanley & Asothie
Gengan, Doug & Angie Butcher, Bob & Hazel van Rooyen
Species identified: 39 Text: Hazel van Rooyen
An Umzumbe farmer invited the club to visit his property as he is thinking
of using it for birding visitors and wanted to start a bird list. A pleasant morning greeted us at Perlemoen where the gate had already been opened for us and we parked just inside. The terrain was varied but rugged and offered both forest and grassland species. The fitter ones amongst us scrambled up and down the hillside, producing quite a few species, especially towards the top where the forest opened up to the sunshine.
At the highest point a Grey-headed Bushshrike led us a merry dance flitting amongst the tree-tops whilst an Ashy Flycatcher was content to overlook his terrain.
The hills proved too much of an obstacle for the not-so-fit and they did a couple of short walks, spending the rest of the time sitting by one of the small dams underneath shady indigenous trees where we later braaied.
At the highest point a Grey-headed Bushshrike led us a merry dance flitting amongst the tree-tops whilst an Ashy Flycatcher was content to overlook his terrain.
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| Grey-headed Bushshrike (photo Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| Ashy Flycatcher (photo Doug Butcher) |
The hills proved too much of an obstacle for the not-so-fit and they did a couple of short walks, spending the rest of the time sitting by one of the small dams underneath shady indigenous trees where we later braaied.
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| African Black Duck ( photo Hazel van Rooyen) |
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| African Black Duck ( photo Hazel van Rooyen) |
A stream meandered through the low-lying forest, feeding the dams,
one of which was home to a pair of African Black Duck which were quite shy, flying
in, and immediately disappearing into a shady backwater.
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| Good company ( photo Doug Butcher) |
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| A most pleasant venue ( photo Hazel van Rooyen) |
It was a most pleasant venue and the owner said he would be happy for us to come back whenever we wanted to. We decided to plan a summer visit next time to get the migrants.
Order of sight:
Order of sight:
Sparrowhawk, Little (seen previous week on our recon visit)
Stork Woolly-necked (seen previous week on our recon visit)
Wood-hoopoe, Green
Darter, African
Starling, Black-bellied
Dove, Red-eyed
Dove, Tambourine
Sunbird, Olive
Camaroptera, Green-backed
Bulbul, Dark-capped
Boubou, Southern
Barbet, Crested
Bushshrike, Grey-headed
Flycatcher, Ashy
Flycatcher, Southern Black
Barbet, White-eared
Starling Glossy
Sunbird, Amethyst
Turaco, Knysna
Weaver, Thick-billed
Mannikin, Bronze
Kingfisher, Brown-hooded
Canary, Yellow-fronted
Barbet, Black-collaredd
Weaver, Spectacled
Tinkerbird, Yellow-rumped
Sunbird, White-bellied
Robin-Chat, Red-capped
White-eye, Cape
Turaco, Purple-crested
Sunbird, Collared
Duck, African Black
Spurfowl, Natal
Woodpecker, Cardinal
Puffback, Black-backed
Woodpecker, Golden-tailed
Drongo, Square-tailed
Weaver, Dark-backed
Drongo, Fork-tailed
Eagle, African Fish
Hoopoe, African
(All photos property of photographer)
