Outing report: Umnini Dam with Blessing Majoka - 12 January 2020

In attendance: Barrie Willis & Sue Hansbury, Hazel Nevin, Sandy Olver, Lia Steen, Stan & Val Culley, Maxine Carter, Danie du Toit, Teresa & Nick Smith, Bob & Hazel van Rooyen, Blessing Majoka (Bird Guide) (13)

Species identified: 83 (see below)

Photographs: Stan Culley, Lia Steen, Hazel van Rooyen

Booted Eagle (Stan Culley)

New territory plus a bird guide - Blessing Majoka, from Ethekwini Parks Department - provided fresh incentive to our members. It was generous of him to offer to take the club around on a Sunday. Meeting up at the Shell Ultra City last Sunday, there was an air of excitement.  Even around the garage forecourt we spotted a pair of Mocking Cliff Chats.

Umbini Dam (HvR)

Mocking Cliff Chat (Lia Steen)

African Green Pigeon (HvR)

African Green Pigeon (HvR)

Blessing started us off with a drive through urban tribal villages.  We had gone only a short way when he suddenly pulled to the side of the road and pointed out a pair of African Green Pigeons, an unusual site in a semi-urban area and a bit further along, notwithstanding a double white line on the curve of the road, we all climbed out to see what had caught his attention – a European Honey Buzzard.  This was exciting for most of us as we hadn’t seen one for some years in our area.

European Honey Buzzard (Stan Culley)

On the way to the dam area, we stopped a few times, now being on safer dirt tracks, to see various species - Fan-tailed Widowbird, Crested Barbet, Burchell’s Coucal, Rattling Cisticola to name a few.

Rattling Cisticola (Lia Steen)

Burchell's Coucal (Lia Steen)

Fan-tailed Widowbird (Lia Steen)

Following the river course (HvR)

Following the course of the river we stopped at a spot where a Gorgeous Bushshrike was calling but today he wasn’t showing himself.  A Black Sparrowhawk was seen in the far distance whilst a lone Sacred Ibis flew overhead.  Looking over the dam we spotted a Little Egret and Yellow-billed Ducks and investigating the grassland next to a little quarry a pair of Pygmy Kingfishers and Little Bee-eaters were identified.

Further down the valley we stopped for breakfast beneath some shady bushes.  In this vicinity Blessing identified an Eagle which turned out to be a Booted Eagle (a Lifer for some)!

Booted Eagle (Pale Morph) (Lia Steen)

Moving along to some settling ponds all seemed quiet but then we saw a Hamerkop and African Black Duck, Grey and Black-headed Herons, White-breasted Cormorant, Common Sandpiper, Blacksmith Lapwing and a Purple Heron, Pin-tailed Whydah, White-faced Duck and Ruff, amongst others.

African Black Duck (Lia Steen)

Black-headed Heron (HvR)

Hamerkop (HvR)

Driving back to the main road and circling around we somehow got to the other side of the dam where we parked next to Blessing’s son’s house in the process of being built.  What a fantastic outlook he has, surrounded by lush bush and a wonderful view of the dam.  Here we took a walk around the side of the water, through the riverine bush but by this time it was so hot and the birdlife had gone into hiding, only an African Firefinch, Familiar Chat, Grey Waxbill and Willow Warbler were identified with definite calls from a Garden Warbler.

Grey Waxbill (HvR)

As there wasn’t much shade around, we drove to the picnic site at the Illovo Estuary where we had a relaxing braai, adding Red-winged and Black-bellied Starlings, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Speckled Mousebird and Cape White-eye to our daily list.

Green-backed Cameroptera (Lia Steen)

Once again, many thanks to Sithembiso Blessing Majoka for his guidance and kindness and time spent in showing us around and getting us so many birds. 

The Group 

Species identified (chronological order)

Roads through the villages Chat, Mocking Cliff Weaver, Village Fiscal, Southern Dove, Cape Turtle Dove Myna, Common Dove, Red-eyed Cuckoo, Dideriks Swallow, Lesser-striped Pigeon, African Green Cisticola, Rattling Bushshrike, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Amethyst Buzzard, European Honey Bulbul, Dark-capped Widowbird, Fan-tailed Barbet, Crested Kingfisher, Brown-hooded Swallow, Barn Coucal, Burchell’s Cuckoo, Klaas’s Camaroptera, Green-backed Warbler, Little Rush Dam area Bushshrike, Gorgeous Sparrowhawk, Black Ibis, African Sacred White-eye, Cape Dove, Emerald-spotted Widowbird, Red-collared Barbet, Black-collared Neddicky Sparrow, House Egret, Little Ducks, Yellow-billed Bushshrike, Grey-headed Tchagra, Black-crowned Turaco, Purple-crested Sparrow, Grey-headed Bee-eater, Little Kingfisher, African Pygmy Greenbul, Sombre Canary, Yellow-fronted Spurfowl, Natal Goose, Spurwinged Dove, Tambourine

Weaver, Spectacled Prinia, Tawny-flanked Eagle, Booted Waxbill, Common Weaver. Thick-billed Waxbill, Grey Cisticola, Red-faced Eagle, African Fish Kite, Yellow-billed Settling ponds Hamerkop Duck, African Black Heron, Grey Heron, Black-headed Jacana, African Cormorant, White-breasted Goose, Egyptian Sandpiper, Common Lapwing, Blacksmith Plover, 3-banded Heron, Purple Whydah, Pin-tailed Ruff Swallow, White-throated Ibis, Hadedah Cisticola, Croaking Duck, White-faced Walk Chat, Familiar Firefinch, African Starling, Violet-backed Robin, White-browed Scrub- Warbler, Garden Warbler, Willow Sunbird, Olive Picnic site by Illovo River Starling, Red-winged Starling, Black-bellied Tinkerbird, Yellow-rumped Mousebird, Speckled Warbler, Lesser Swamp Tit, Southern Black