Welcome to my latest newsletter!

Thank you so much to everyone who viewed, shared and provided feedback on the blue swallow documentary. And an even bigger thank you to those who made donations toward protecting these precious birds and their habitats. If you have not had chance to watch the documentary, it is never too late.

You can find it here on YouTube: “Into the Blue – Hope on Fragile Wings”

In this newsletter I will be transporting you to northern KwaZulu-Natal and sharing a few stories and images from Ndumo Game Reserve; one of South Africa’s renowned birding destinations.

Hugging the border with Mozambique, Ndumo is a relatively small reserve; only 11,000 hectares, but has one of the highest bird species counts in our country; between 430 and 440 bird species in total. Since I started birding 17 odd years ago, it has always been considered as one of South Africa’s birding meccas.

Although the east coast of Northern KwaZulu-Natal is full of bucket list birding destinations; with some of the highlights including the notorious Mkhuze Game Reserve, Monyani Private Game Reserve, Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve, Bonamanzi Game Reserve and Phinda Private Game Reserve (and others), Ndumo still has birders coming back for more.

And a few weeks ago I was one of 20 odd campers who did exactly this. I went back for more! I had not been back to the park for over 12 years. The main reason for this is that we had an unfortunate experience on our last visit there. Two poachers entered the camp and walked around our vehicles. This led to gunfire between them and the reserve’s rangers and what we heard was a tragic end. As much as Eileen and I love adventure, we prefer the “4×4, exploring new places type of adventure” and this was a bit much for us. We also had our son; Joshua, a year later and consequently have not thought about going back.

When I got asked by good friend and avid birder; Greg Stevens, to join him (and 2 friends; Jon Cilliers and Craig Colquhoun) for 3 nights camping at Ndumo, I thought why not. We would be part of a weekend organised by Gavin Walters and the “Tembe Ndumo Honorary Officers”; specifically Dominic Singery and David Lincoln, and would have access to all the roads and special areas in the park. I was excited to spend some quality time with Greg and thought why not do it in one of South Africa’s birding hotspots.

Expectedly the park is not in a good state. Poaching has meant that very few mammals are left and the maintenance of the park is well behind schedule. Fortunately, I left with some rays of hope as the honorary officers (and others) are trying their best to find innovative ways (including this weekend) to bring income into the park and maintain and protect what they can. Local education initiatives are also ongoing with the hope that they will encourage purposeful protection of this special location. Well done to Dom, David and team for all their efforts in this regard. (If you would like to learn more, please reach out to Dominic on tembendumo.vchair@ezemveloho.com or +27 82 374 5122)

With the state of the park out of the way,  I thought to focus this newsletter on what makes Ndumo truly special and a place that birders will keep wanting to go back to. In this light, here are a few of my favourite memories as well as some of the incredible and unexpected birds you may encounter.

Pels and the Pongola

“Can you see it?”
“No,” I replied.
“Yes,” Eileen replied.

Panic set in. This was meant to be my first ever sighting of a Pels Fishing Owl. We had booked 2 walks along the Pongola river with one of Ndumo’s top bird guides; Bongani, and this was our second attempt. The Owl was right in front of me but I just couldn’t see it. What made it even worse was that it was not one Owl but two; a mother and her fledgling.

Movement, followed by a huge bird flying off, allowed me to pick up mom followed shortly by baby and a few photographs. It was a moment I will never forget! That same walk we saw African Finfoot dashing along the banks of the Pongola river and Neergaard’s Sunbird feeding on its favourite nectar rich mistletoe; both incredibly sought after species and birds that Ndumo is notorious for dishing up.

Walking along the Pongola River in search of elusive birds will remain one of my all-time birding highlights.

Excitement for the unknown

Until returning to Ndumo, I had almost forgotten the excitement of being in a birding destination where just about any bird may arrive in front of your binoculars. The Usuthu River forms the park’s northern boundary and the Pongola River flows through the reserve to its confluence with the Usuthu River creating a truly unique and diverse ecosystem. From wetland, to riverine forests, to sand forest to acacia savannah, to flooded grasslands (in summer) the reserve has it all. This diversity and uniqueness means the opportunity of finding rare and unusual birds is a common occurrence.

Striped crake was seen earlier this summer. Thick-billed Cuckoo was seen at the swimming pool and Pels Fishing Owl was spotted twice over the weekend. African Broadbill showed itself in its usual spot. And on the way home and just a few kilometres from the gate, we even saw a Great Spotted Cuckoo, a difficult bird to find in KwaZulu-Natal. The special birds and surprises did not stop there!

Spectacular Shokwe Pan

Two of the most spectacular locations in the park are Nyamithi and Shokwe Pans. If my memory serves me correctly, I saw my first Narina Trogon while walking around Shokwe pan with Eileen 13 years ago and it is indeed this pan that has captured my heart the most. Being able to walk through massive fever and fig tree forests with the chance of seeing some of South Africa’s most sought after birds is hard to grow tired of.

On our camping weekend we spent more time at the pan than anywhere else and were definitely not disappointed. On an afternoon visit we had a rare encounter with a European Honey Buzzard. And when we returned first thing the next day we flushed what we are 90 per cent sure was a Pels Fishing Owl. I say 90% because we did not get it in our binoculars, but it is unlikely to have been anything else given its size, colouration and gizz when flying.

For me, however, it was spending some quality time with a critically endangered (to South Africa) Southern Banded Snake Eagle that was the clear highlight. My camping partners; Jon, Greg and Craig, were walking back from their attempt to find the flushed Pels Fishing Owl when I heard someone say “Southern Banded Snake-eagle”. I looked up and there was the eagle perched right in front of me. I thought the group must have seen it before me. They hadn’t. It was coincidence but there it was, as if by divine appointment.

It flew down into the woodland ahead of us. We walked stealthily after it, rounded a corner and there it was perfectly framed. Contrary to previous experiences with this threatened eagle, this bird remained stationary and allowed us to get close, without showing any signs of us overstepping its comfort zone. It was a great moment and one I was blessed to share with others.

Sand forest, riverine forest and so much more

If awesome birds of prey, African Finfoot and hard to find sunbirds are not enough for you, Ndumo also has incredible tracts of sand forest, riverine forest and bushveld where you can find a number of other specials; including the already mentioned African Broadbill as well as the spectacular Pink-throated Twinspot, Rudd’s Apalis, Gorgeous Bush-shrike, Grey-penduline Tit, African Goshawk, White-throated Robin-chat, Stierling’s Wren Warbler, Woodward’s Batis, Eastern Nicator and Plain-backed Sunbird (although better seen at Tembe Elephant Park, which is next door and is accessible to Ndumo visitors).

Ndumo is also the reserve where I saw my first Retz Helmet-shrike and Striped Kingfisher.

Added to this, the park becomes a hive of activity after the summer rains. Breeding activity peeks, grasslands flood and an incredible variety of water and wetland birds flock in. Pelicans, egrets, flamingos and waders can be found in numbers and if you are fortunate you may even lay eyes on a Striped Crake, Dwarf Bittern, Greater Painted Snipe and/or Green Sandpiper.

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