Savanna Bird Course - part 2

It's Wednesday night again and the lecture begins with the ins-and-outs of getting your Savanna Specialist Bird Guiding qualification through FGASA.

After listening to the various elements involved, it seems pretty daunting...and I think we all have a newfound respect for our ANT lecturer, who obtained the qualification earlier this year. 

Evening lectures are held at Henley Business School

Southern Red Bishop male

 

Purple Heron

Malachite Kingfisher

Claire watches as Kagiso finds her target
 

Was it a bird...was it a plane...?

It was exciting to watch a pair of Cape Rock Thrush on the rocks

Saturday morning was another early start at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort. Gerald Draper, Chairperson of the Black Eagle Project (and one of our students), gave us some insight into the project.

The infamous Verreaux's Eagle pair, Thulane and Emoyeni, have successfully raised a chick this year - named Jono - who had his maiden flight on the 10th September.

 

Apparently there is some concern about the constant fighting between father and son over the territory. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the birds in flight, but we did get a look at the family perched on a rock face in the distance, being harassed by the resident pair of Peregrine Falcons.

Male Cape Weaver

We wandered around the garden, then on to the Sasol Bird Hide, along the stream and ended at the spectacular waterfall.

A number of specials were seen: Verreaux’s Eagle (of course) and Peregrine Falcon top the list, followed closely by Striped Pipit (with its pleading chick!), Bokmakierie and a magnificent Purple Heron. After a thoroughly enjoyable morning of birding, we all met at the coffee shop for some well-deserved refreshments.

A total of 72 species were observed by the three groups.

Another first, although flightless, was the Koppie Foam Grasshopper (Dictyophorus spumans). This grasshopper extracts and stores the toxins from the plant on which it feeds (mainly Milkweed) and exudes them as foam when attacked! Its aposematic colouring certainly screams danger!


Koppie Foam Grasshopper

Birding in an urban setting: Bishop Bird Park

Searching for the elusive Cuckoo

On Sunday morning we had a leisurely and most welcome later start.

We spent a few hours wandering around Bishop Bird Park in Centurion, a lovely little nature reserve in the heart of suburbia.

The overcast weather made sightings difficult, but we still reached a total of 42 species...among which was 'the one that got away' and which looked suspiciously like a Great Spotted Cuckoo!

Once again there was more to keep our interest than birds. After the recent rains some bulbs of the Amaryllis Family had emerged giving us a beautiful display of bright pink.

A splash of colour, fondly referred to as 'Vlei Lilies'

 

The ANT Blog
(with grateful thanks to Jenny Bell for the text and images)



Fiscal Flycatcher or Common Fiscal...you decide...

 

The ubiquitous Helmeted Guineafowl

The FGASA level one course is more than half way!

Hi there everyone!

A lot has happened yet again since our last update on the FGASA level one course. Spectacular memories have been made and the 'once in a lifetime' sightings continue to prevail...

Every single week unexpectedly out-competes the previous one. We spend all our nights around the fire discussing how incredible each day has been and how unbelievable it is to learn and experience countless incredible things in the bush every single day. To wake up with that hunger for the day to begin and the utter excitement to see what nature has in store for us is truly amazing.

The yawn of a cheetah...

We had our very first cheetah sighting! It was a beautiful male cheetah resting in the heat of the day. We spent quite a bit of time observing the rare cat as he elegantly posed and yawned for us. We also had another stunning lion sighting. Three gorgeous males doing what they do best... resting!

We have had countless majestic elephant sightings, even in camp which is always absolutely incredible. Our wild dog sightings have also improved as we had the privilege of seeing these gorgeous animals around the reserve. All this and a blood-curdling three metre long black mamba! A highlight for many on the course. We have been so incredibly lucky!

A large female leopard with a Nyala kill

The lucky leopard sightings haven't been scarce either! We have had many unique and unforgettable sightings of these magnificent cats... One in particular was when a female leopard and her cub sat in a tree and protected their meal (and themselves!) from an impressive female spotted hyena lurking below waiting for any scraps to fall to the ground. To see a leopard cub is wonderful enough... but to see this whole interaction was priceless!

Another unbelievable scene took place as we watched a different female leopard rip a Nyala to pieces as she fed on her well-deserved meal. We watched her in awe as she enjoyed her meal in the safety of a Marula tree with her cub lying in the shade of a small shrub on the ground below. No one can describe the adrenaline rush after witnessing something like this! Our most recent leopard sighting was when we were out on drive scanning the area for grasses to identify when all of a sudden we spotted a leopard right next to the road on a termite mound. We enjoyed the sighting before speculating which grass the leopard was lying on :)

A curious female buffalo approaching a pack of wild dogs!

We approached an enormous herd of buffalo which we saw in the distance when suddenly we got a huge surprise and found the wild dogs... again! They spent the heat of the day lying down under a couple of Magic Guarris until the buffalo started grazing in their direction. Both parties were completely unaware of each other and we couldn't wait to see how their unexpected meeting would unfold... A curious female buffalo was the first to break the ice as she approached the pack and gave a short burst of a chase to intimidate the scurrying dogs. Absolutely unforgettable!

The class of September 2014

The lodge placements were a massive success as all of our students learnt how a five-star lodge operates...inside and out! They had the opportunity to learn first hand from experienced field guides how to conduct the ultimate guided experience. They worked in the kitchen learning how the food is prepared and the procedures that take place to make sure everything runs smoothly. They learnt how to change tyres on the game viewer as well as how to do a basic service on the vehicle and to make sure that is is spotless and polished at all times. They were involved in habitat management as they had the opportunity to implement a number of conservation management practices. Laundry was another department where they learnt what goes on behind the scenes to ensure the guests' rooms are immaculate. The students had the opportunity to see some of the fully furnished rooms and what has to happen on a daily basis to maintain the highest standard. All in all it was priceless experience!

Sand River males

We recently saw the most beautiful lion brothers. The bond between the two was truly incredible to see. They are in a coalition with one other male and seem to be the dominant male lions in the area at the moment. It has been an amazing couple of weeks in terms of experience and knowledge gained as well as unforgettable sightings. 

The ANT Blog



Another amazing bush walk

The stare of a buffalo bull

What an incredible sight!



More of the wonderful wild dog...



ANT's FGASA level 1 students - September to November 2014

Savanna Bird Course

The Savanna Bird Course has started and, if the first weekend’s sightings are a sign of things to come then we are in for a real treat!

After an entertaining lecture by Ulrich Oberprieler entitled “Birds: Our Fascinating Friends” we were all set for the weekend’s birding.

 We had learnt about the characteristics of birds, the basics on migration, bird communication and what characteristics to look for when identifying birds.
 

Saturday morning arrived and, after a very early alarm call, we met at Marievale Bird Sanctuary (near Nigel) for a 5:30 start.

 It was a chilly 12˚C as we enjoyed the spectacular sunrise waiting for the gates to open.

Some of us don't get to see a sunrise very often...

 
We soon forgot about the early wake-up call as we started to identify the specials the wetland area has to offer. A total of 90 species were identified by the various groups.
 
Specials included the African Snipe, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Black Heron, African Marsh Harrier and Ruff (with the non breeding male white morph causing much debate).

It was amazing how many species we saw in a short space of time!

On Sunday morning we headed to Rietvlei Nature Reserve and, with the rain still falling, we started our birding at the Bird hide at Marais Dam. 

The rain eventually stopped and the weather started to clear but, unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the sun.

We ticked off some nice waterbirds and a variety of grassland species. A total of 88 species were identified. 

Specials included the Anteating Chat, Cape Grassbird, Malachite Kingfisher, Cape Longclaw, Fan-tailed and Long-tailed Widowbirds.

Despite the gloomy weather, everyone turned up!

The day’s outing ended for most with a nice warm cup of coffee or hot chocolate at the Rietvlei Coffee shop whilst we watched three white rhinos enjoying their breakfast. 

The ANT Blog
(with grateful thanks to Rod and Jenny Bell for the text and images)

The Black Heron has special significance to us :-)

Pied Avocet with an amazing recurved bill

African Snipe next to a male Ruff in non-breeding plumage



There were plenty of Red-knobbed Coots



Levaillant's Cisticola - a wetland favourite!

Cape Longclaw, displaying a beautiful orange throat

Magnificent male Long-tailed Widowbird in his breeding plumage!