Marievale, Rondebult and Johannesberg Botanic Gardens, Johannesburg, South Africa, March 2014

If I had managed to get out of bed just 5 minutes earlier, the day would have had a completely different complexion and the South African Traffic Police would have remained, in my opinion, a group of stalwarts working for the public well-being. Ah well!

Note to self; when driving in South Africa, carry licence AND passport.

Note to self; do not follow a South African Traffic Police patrol car away from a roadblock and lose touch with an in-charge officer.

Note to self; an on the spot fine does not involve emptying your wallet to a patrolman by the side of the road.

Of course if I hadn’t been stopped, I would not be able to impart this important experience to you. So all in all, you are getting great value for money here.

Anyway, on to Marievale. The journey took three and a half hours after being stopped and having to return to the hotel to fetch my passport. I was pretty grumpy by the time I reached the wetland, but an African Rail skittered into the reeds as I pulled up at Otter Hide (Google Earth ref; 26 21 32.83S 28 30 27.15E) and put a smile back on my face. The Pied Kingfishers seemed determined to cheer me up too as they were fishing in the middle of the road. From the hide, Red-knobbed Coots, Eurasian Moorhens and a Black Crake made a nice foursome of Rallids.

A White-throated Swallow rested on the structure in front of the hide and a Squacco Heron flushed from the reeds.

Three Pied Kingfishers fished as the overflowing wetland forded the road. There is a small bridge to the side of the road which allowed me to press further on, but at the junction, I met a couple in a large 4x4 that had turned back, unable to get into the reserve.

The road was inundated just beyond the junction and that was as far as I was able to get. Still, the birds seemed as if they were sympathetic to my mood and a Black Heron posed at the water’s edge, right by the road. Truth be told, the high water was probably pushing rails and herons closer to the edge, but I was cheering up a little.

Small islands on the north side of the road appeared to be sprouting roots and Grey-hooded Gulls roosted here along with a Ruff and another wader that escaped me. There was not much area to explore here today, so I moved on. Engineers’ Road on the way in and out is always worth a look. Ironically what is usually a wet patch when all around is dry, held no water today, but the spot on the south side of the road (Google Earth ref; 26 20 37.73S 28 28 11.80E) still held some appeal for Spur-winged Goose and Glossy Ibis.

Birds seen;

Spur-winged Goose 3, Yellow-billed Duck 2, Little Grebe 3, Long-tailed Cormorant 4, Squacco Heron 1, Black-headed Heron 1, Black Heron 1, Glossy Ibis 1, African Rail 1, Eurasian Moorhen 6, Red-knobbed Coot 3, Blacksmith Plover 2, Ruff 1, Grey-hooded Gull 35, White-winged Tern, Laughing Dove 2, Pied Kingfisher 3, White-throated Swallow 8, Stonechat1, Red Bishop 4, Yellow-crowned Bishop 1,Long-tailed Widowbird 1.

I moved on to Rondebult Bird Sanctuary (Google Earth ref; 26 17 43.52S 28 12 39.48E ) and was disappointed by its sad neglect. The sentry at the gate was upset to be disturbed and reluctantly let me through. She was unhelpful in the extreme when I asked for the keys to the hides. The area near the car park has been over-run by feral geese and paths have become overgrown. The walkway out to the hide nearest to the car park, has almost completely fallen apart. What is left is mostly rotted through and unsafe. The tower hide was inaccessible.

I stayed for a short while and saw the birds below, but found myself recalling the first time that I visited here and left feeling very sad.

Birds seen;

Egyptian Goose 14, Spur-winged Goose 3, Red-billed Duck 2, Hottentot Teal 2, Little Grebe 6, Long-tailed Cormorant 1, Black Heron 1, Glossy Ibis 5, Hadada Ibis 2, Eurasian Moorhen 6, Red-knobbed Coot 12, African Palm Swift 3, Barn Swallow 4, Karoo Thrush 3, Southern Masked-weaver 5, Red Bishop 8.

So I pushed on again; this time to a new site at Johannesburg Botanic Gardens (Google Earth ref; 26 9 7.44S 28 00 09.66E). This was a much more pleasant way to spend the afternoon. By now, time had almost run out and I was only able to make a very cursory exploration of the gardens. It was Sunday afternoon and the good citizens of Emmerentia were cycling, picnicking and generally enjoying their facility.

A popular pastime amongst parents with kids was to feed the many Egyptian Geese on the dam. At the shallow end of the lake, Great Cormorant, Long-tailed Cormorant and African Darter (one of each) dried their wings on a dead branch.

In the weedy, reedy area beyond, a White-browed Coucal popped his head up to see who was pishing and a pair of Tawny-flanked Prinias came out from the long grass to shoo me away. 

The gardens, as one might expect contained lawns, plantings and formal gardens. The dam was fed by a sluggish stream that in turn flowed from a lake further on. Though I was tempted, I simply didn’t have the time to investigate “Bird Island” on the far lake. Instead, I made my way back through the upper lawns and added Grey go-away-bird, Crested Barbet and Common Fiscal to my list. The last bird of the trip was a grand Rameron Pigeon seen as I left the gardens.

Though I was not able to do justice to the gardens today, it has an eBird Hotspot list of 56 birds. I am sure that this can be improved upon with a few extra visits.

Birds seen;

Egyptian Goose 200, Great Cormorant 1, Long-tailed Cormorant 1, African Darter 1, Black-headed Heron 1, Hadada Ibis 2, Eurasian Moorhen 2, Red-knobbed Coot 2, Rameron Pigeon 2, Red-eyed Dove 1, Ring-necked Dove 8, Laughing Dove 3, Grey Go-away bird 1, White-browed Coucal 1, African Palm-swift 3, Eurasian Hoopoe 1, Crested Barbet 1, Common Fiscal 1, Pied Crow 2, Tawny-flanked Prinia 3, Karoo Thrush 2, Common Myna 15, Southern Masked-weaver 6.

There is a gate, but no entrance fee for the gardens, so I cannot say how secure it might be during the week when the area is likely to be quieter. Docents assisted with parking on a Sunday afternoon, but I cannot say if they would be present when the visitor numbers are lower.

Visit the dedicated African page for more posts from Johannesburg, including; Dullstroom Grasslands and Mount Sheba. You will also find previous posts from Marievale and Rondebult.

Birding, Birdwatching, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Marievale, Johannesburg, South Africa

Marievale is much bigger than Rondebult (the reserve featured in the previous post) and the expanses of water are up to 20 or 30 times wider. This gives more scope for open water species, but there are still a few small patches that would rival Rondebult for intimacy.

It took nearly an hour to drive between the two reserves because I had to keep stopping to look at Amur Falcons and to scan the agricultural areas on the approach to Marievale (approaching from the east to Google Earth ref; 26° 21” 49’S 28° 30” 28’E). The long grass beside the road and across the fields held Long-tailed Widowbirds and the ubiquitous Red and Yellow-crowned Bishops.

There has been a lot of rain recently which has made the reserve difficult to navigate. The roads here are unmade and pass through a marsh. Deep puddles left me unsure how far to push my luck and my two wheel drive sedan, so I just kept pushing until I wished that I hadn’t. The rank grass and sedges either side of the road were flooded attracting lots of ducks and herons away from the open water. White-faced Ducks and the large Spur-winged Goose could be easily seen, but most of the others were lost in the long grass. A flock of Ruff only became apparent when they took flight. A Goliath Heron on the road stood out well enough. It tried to take off, but struggled to lift its massive bulk. At the third attempt, it managed to get airborne and dropped over the reeds and out of sight.

The Red Bishops returned to bathe in a puddle after I had passed through it, so I got out of the car and sat in the trunk for a while taking pictures. The puddle was quite big and a good close up was hard to get. The birds flew if I tried to approach them on foot, so I got back into the car. It was at this point that I realised that I had locked the keys in the trunk. I was rueing my Devil may care bravado on the flooded roads and doubting that anyone else would be stupid enough to attempt to get this far.

A first sweep of the inside did not reveal a boot release switch, but luckily I found one at the third attempt by inverting myself in the driver’s seat. Embarrassed and upside down, but relieved, I took this as a portent to move back to drier, safer ground. Even the Shelduck hide was flooded so I retreated back to the tarmac of the approach road. Whiskered Terns were feeding a couple of youngsters and I found a Black Crake at last.

 From the Otter hide, I found an African Reed Warbler. They are said to be co-operative breeders which would fit with what I saw this afternoon. On both other occasions my sightings were of multiple birds. This one was very co-operative and flitted through the rank vegetation seemingly unabashed by the clicking camera.

Despite only a small part of the reserve being accessible, quite a few birds popped their heads up to be noted. If only to see which fool had ventured this far in, a Little Bittern looked out from his reedy haunt, but his camouflage rather let him down today.

I have visited Marievale before and a more detailed accounts can be found on the dedicated Africa page; http://redgannet.blogspot.com/p/africa.html  

http://www.sabirding.co.za/ also carry a good account along with many others for the region.

Bird Species; 53

Little Grebe 2, African Darter 2, Black-headed Heron 2, Goliath Heron 1, Black Heron 3, Intermediate Egret 3, Western Cattle Egret 6, Squacco Heron 3, Little Bittern 2, Hadada Ibis 6, Glossy Ibis 8, White-faced Whistling-Duck 10, Egyptian Goose 4, Spur-winged Goose 3, Yellow-billed Duck 20, Red-billed Teal 1, Hottentot Teal 1, Black-shouldered Kite 5, Amur Falcon 30, Swainson’s Francolin 1, Helmeted Guineafowl 3, Black Crake 1, African Swamphen 2, Common Moorhen 8, Red-knobbed Coot 200, Blacksmith Lapwing 12, Three-banded Plover 3, Ruff 40, Red-eyed Dove 6, Ring-necked Dove 15, Laughing Dove 8, Little Swift 8, Red-faced Mousebird 4,Crested Barbet 1, Plain Martin 30, European Swallow 80, Greater Striped Swallow 10, Cape wagtail 3, Common Bulbul 2, Common Stonechat 12, Levaillant’s Cisticola 5, Zitting Cisticola 4, African Reed-warbler 10, Common Fiscal 4, Common Myna 4, Cape Glossy Starling 2, Mossie 4, Southern Masked-weaver 40, Red Bishop 25, Yellow-crowned Bishop 40, Long-tailed Widowbird 15, Black-throated Canary 8, Yellow-fronted Canary 1.

Zaagkuildrift Road, JNB, South Africa

Take a run up. If you stumble, it’s OK. If you can get close to the pronunciation, most Gauteng birders will know what you mean. Zaagkuildrift Road, at Pienaarsrivier, was veiled with a soft mist when I arrived at first light this morning.
Reports by G.L. from earlier in March of Lesser Moorhen, Baillon’s Crake, “…hundreds of Black-winged Pratincole” and a total of 148 birds made this a very tempting outing.
The dirt road runs east (Google Earth; 25.11.55 S / 28.17.39 E) to west for nearly 30 kilometers through prime thornveld habitat to the village of Kgomo Kgomo and a flood plain at the confluence of 3 rivers, where a raised road bridge gives a good view out onto the marsh (Google Earth; 25.09.54 S / 28.04.59 E). See http://www.sabirding.co.za/ for directions and a good site description.
The first birds were shrikes and the family was well represented today. A Lesser Grey Shrike perched on a wire fence, a Long-tailed Shrike was calling from the top of a dead tree and a Red-backed Shrike was watching for his breakfast from a snag in an acacia tree.
Acacia was very much the theme of the day with thornveld species predominating for the drive to Kgomo Kgomo. For the first kilometre or so acacia bushes dot expanses of grassland. Record rainfall this year has left the grass tall and lush, concealing all kinds of avian treasures. The bushes become larger and more concentrated as I progressed west.
A dam which I knew to be out to the left was out of view in the mist, but White-faced Whistling-ducks could be seen flying over and an African Fish-eagle called through the fog. A pair of Hamerkop flew off as another car went by.
For much of the day, I was alone on the road. It would be easy to fall into a sense of isolation and forget about traffic. Occasionally another car would hurtle past, reminding me that I was on a public highway and not to stop in the middle of the road.
I parked up and decided to bird on foot for a while. It was easier to pick out birdsong and movement in the mist which was dulling the sound as well as the light. Immediately, this approach paid dividends with a couple of Burnt-eared Eremomelas which were sharing the leafy crown of an acacia with a Long-billed Crombec and a Red-billed Hornbill. Across the road, the fluty song of the White-browed Sparrow-weaver contrasted with the coarse chatter of a small group of Southern Pied Babblers. A tuneful whistle came from a White-throated Robin-chat.
Weaver nests, hanging from the thorn trees, accessed from beneath and without an entrance tube were made by the Village or Spot-backed Weaver. One was in the process of construction by a bird that had lost his breeding plumage. The summer is almost over in Southern Africa by March. Nearby, a Diederik Cuckoo watched. The cuckoo parasitizes Spot-billed Weavers, but it was possibly a bit late in the season for it to take this bird as a serious proposition for a step-dad.
Crested Francolins ran along the verge in front of the car rather than ducking into the vegetation. Swainson’s Spurfowl preferred to fly to evade on-coming traffic.
As the bush became thicker, Crimson-breasted Shrikes would dart out into the road to catch insects from the dirt surface.
Fences that run the length of the road on both sides are unintrusive on a birders experience. The shrikes seemed especially fond of them as hawking perches. Mariqua and Spotted Flycatchers appeared to approve too. Occasionally a bigger, sturdier fence would indicate a game reserve and larger mammals such as Blesbok or Kudu might be seen.
The birdlife was certainly prolific and my list was growing with Chestnut-vented Tit-babbler, Black-crowned Tchagara and Crested Barbets among the thorn trees and Glossy and Burchell’s Starlings on higher perches.

A flash of blue and black was a Woodland Kingfisher. It was perched above a tiny puddle which was far too small to contain fish. The Woodland Kingfisher though, does not plunge-dive like many of it’s family, it more commonly prefers insects, small reptiles and amphibians. Occasionally it will take fish and even small birds. It sat for a picture before flying off into the woodland. Before I could set off again small birds started arriving at the puddle to drink and bathe. Perhaps they had been holding back from the potential threat of the kingfisher. First came Red-billed Firefinches and Blue Waxbills, then Violet-eared and Common Waxbills. A male and a female Jameson’s Firefinch were followed by

Mr and Mrs Melba Finch and finally a small flock of weavers. In their non-breeding plumage, but with their large bills, I suspect that they were Spot-backed Weavers.
Shortly before the village, the acacias thinned out allowing the grass to take hold again. A small pool held Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper and a couple of Hamerkop. A spotted Flycatcher watched for insects on a gate close by. Beyond this was the village and a wide area of shorter grass. This is where I was expecting to find “…hundreds of Black-winged Pratincole.” Sadly there were none. I stopped regularly, scanning the whole area on both sides of the road, but all I could see were Crowned Plover.

There were “hundreds” of them, but I must give G.L. more credit than that.
The fences in the village were productive with Red-headed and Scale-feathered Finch.
I turned left on to the tarmac road and parked on the verge on top of the bridge. In The UK, this would be deemed poor roadsmanship. Here however, it seemed accepted by the limited traffic.
Before me was the marsh remaining from the contracted floodplain. It should have been the scene for a sighting of the Lesser Moorhen and Baillon’s Crake. Again though, I had been “gripped” by G.L., as I found neither. But sitting patiently waiting brought it’s own rewards. From my vantage point on the bridge, I was able to look down on a tangle of reeds and lilies in the marsh. There were Common Moorhens and Blacksmith Plovers feeding here and larger wetland birds in the distance. Yellow-billed Storks shared the marsh with herons and egrets. Most notably a good number of Black Egrets.
Back in the foreground, a skulking presence in the edge of the reeds caught my eye. As I watched, an African Rail crossed an open patch into the reeds on the other side. Just above it resting on a reed stem were 2 Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters. They were a little distant, but just about worth a shot.
As a logistical operation, it may have been worth me getting to the marsh much earlier to give myself a good chance of the moorhen and crake. The vantage point from the bridge looks directly in to the rising sun however, so I would probably still prefer to bird the road with the light behind me in the morning.
Retracing my steps in the afternoon put the sun over my shoulder again as I returned to the eastern end of Zaagkuildrift Road.

A double-banded Sandgrouse was hunkered down in the roadside grass, Shortly before I reached the end of the road, a small bird of prey caught my attention from the top of an acacia. It was completely dark with the only apparent colour being a red cere on a small beak and long red legs. Red-footed Falcon occurred to me but the long legs ruled this out. My best guess was a melanistic Gabar Goshawk.
The biggest spectacle of the day came as I was driving back to the hotel. Just north of Pretoria, on the N1 driving south, was a big flock of Amur Falcons (I was driving, not the falcons). A short way beyond was another flock and then another. A bloom of insects had attracted them to this spot and they were catching them and feeding in mid-air. Again my roadsmanship was called into question as I stopped on the side of the motorway to watch. At a guess, I would say that as many as 600 falcons were feeding within a distance of 400meters.
I didn’t get close to G.L.’S 148, but a great day was had just the same.

Bird species; 98

Long-tailed Cormorant 10, Grey Heron 2, Black-headed Heron 5, Great Egret 3, Black Egret 12, Intermediate Egret 6, Cattle Egret 4, Squacco Heron 3, Striated Heron 1, Hamerkop 8, Yellow-billed Stork 20, Sacred Ibis 8, Hadeda Ibis 1, White-faced Whistling-duck 200, Egyptian Goose 12, Spurwing Goose 15, Comb Duck 4, Red-billed Duck 8, African Fish-eagle (heard) 1, Black-shouldered Kite 15, Gabar Goshawk 1, Shikra 1, Steppe Buzzard 1, Amur (Eastern Red-footed) Falcon 600, Crested Francolin 30, Swainson’s Spurfowl 15, Helmeted Guineafowl 8, African Rail 2, Black Crake 1, Common Moorhen 3, African Jacana 7, Blacksmith Lapwing 35, Crowned Lapwing 180, Wattled Lapwing 4, 3-banded Plover 1, African Snipe 1, Common Greenshank 3, Wood Sandpiper 10, Curlew Sandpiper 1, Double-banded Sandgrouse 1, Speckled Pigeon 3, Red-eyed Dove 20. Ring-necked Dove 10, Laughing Dove 4, Namaqua Dove 2, Grey-go-away bird 20, Diederik Cuckoo 1, Burchell’s Coucal 2, Little Swift 4, Speckled Mousebird 15, Red-faced Mousebird 40, Woodland Kingfisher 2, Malachite Kingfisher 3, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater 8, Southern Red-billed Hornbill 15, Crested Barbet 3, European Swallow 2, Grassveld Pipit 1, Cape Wagtail 1, White-throated Robin-chat 1, Rattling Cisticola 2, Levaillant’s Cisticola 2, Tawny-flanked Prinia 2, Black-chested Prinia 2, Lesser Swamp Warbler 3, Icterine Warbler 1, Burnt-necked Eremomela 3, Cape Crombec 2, Rufous-vented Warbler 1, Mariqua Flycatcher 12, Spotted Flycatcher 8, Southern Pied Babbler 7, Arrow-marked Babbler 35, Red-backed Shrike 20, Lesser Grey Shrike 4, Common Fiscal 2, Magpie Shrike 60, Black-crowned Tchagara 1, Crimson-breasted Gonolek 4, Fork-tailed Drongo 30, Pied Crow 6, Common Myna 6, Cape Glossy-starling 15, Burchell’s Glossy-starling 18, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow 1, Red-billed Buffalo-weaver 8, Scaly Weaver 30, White-browed Sparrow-weaver 12, Southern Masked Weaver 60, Spot-backed Weaver 80, Green-winged Pytilia (Melba Finch) 3, Red-billed Firefinch 40, Jameson’s Firefinch 2, Blue-breasted Cordonbleu 50, Violet-eared Waxbill 2, Common Waxbill 2, Red-headed Finch 2, Pin-tailed Whydah 1.

Mammals seen;

Slender Mongoose 1, Ground Squirrel 1, Black-faced Vervet-monkeys 8.

Another early morning found me on the predictable pilgrimage to Marievale. This post is my experience of the reserve. I refer you again to the excellent http://www.sabirding.co.za/ for a detailed write-up.
I was hoping for some gratuitously pretty pictures of Malachite Kingfishers, but ended up chasing terns instead.
As ever I started along the road which bisects the reserve from west to east and arrived at the same time as the sun poked through the low cloud.

White-winged Terns were already up and scanning the water’s surface for titbits. A couple of Black Crakes were feeding on a mat of weed watched by a grumpy African Swamphen who would chase them off if they came too close.
The left turn at the junction heads northish towards the picnic area and reserve gate. I stopped for another Black Crake but was disturbed by another car. Being a lovely Sunday morning, local birders were out and about too, so I had to pull across on the single track road to let them through. As I checked my mirror to reverse back to the crake, I saw some shapes in the shadows at the side of the road. I opened the door and looked back to see 3 Spot-throated Otters cross through a puddle and into the reeds.
The grass is high at Marievale this week. The roads have become rutted after all the rain. Driving a tiny car with very little clearance was quite a challenge in some spots.
Along the causeway, a Fiscal Shrike was feeding on a small frog that it had anchored onto a peg.
The Malachite Kingfishers were in residence, but were not posing for pictures today. In the rank grassland, weavers in their non-breeding drabness were flocking in their hundreds. A flock of Yellow-crowned Bishops looked like a swarm of huge bees. Levaillant’s and possibly other cisticolas were common here too.
I crossed the causeway and scanned the large mound of spill. Catching up-currents from the steep sides were 2 African Marsh Harriers. I had nearly reached the Shelduck Hide when I noticed a small bird in the road. It was distinctive with it’s dark plumage with striated flanks, a red bill and white goggles. These features all added up to an African Quailfinch.
At the hide some Red-eyed doves were roosting on the roof. They were joined by a Pied Kingfisher as I arrived, but he was not keen to stay as I approached. The Shelduck Hide gives out onto open water which was very quiet today. Only a few coots, cormorants and 3 Great Crested Grebes were showing. The Goliath Heron flew over but settled out of view. On the way back, I stopped at the causeway to get out and walk for a while. The terns were coming over and I wanted to get a picture. Among the White-wings was a Whiskered Tern.
A couple of local birders crossed the causeway and introduced themselves as Ernie and Rose Buric. They were full of information and bird lore. The birds, for example, had predicted the heavy rains which the weathermen had failed to forecast. This year, the weavers built their nests higher than usual and they have lost their fine breeding plumage early which is apparently a sign of a cold winter. Remember, you heard it here first! A last drop in to the duiker hide yielded a very accomodating Greater Striped Swallow. It sat for a picture then languidly took flight.

Bird species seen; 65

Little Grebe 2, Great Crested Grebe 4, White-breasted Cormorant 3, Long-tailed Cormorant 30, African Darter 8, Black-headed Heron 1, Goliath Heron 1, Purple Heron 2, Black Egret 3, Intermediate Egret 1, Cattle egret 1, Squacco Heron 2, Striated Heron 1, Sacred Ibis 1, Hadeda Ibis 2, African Spoonbill 5, White-faced Whistling-duck 20, South African Shelduck 2, Spur-winged Goose 7, Yellow-billed Duck 20, Hotentot Teal 2, Black-shouldered Kite 3, African Marsh Harrier 2, Amur (Eastern Red-footed) Falcon 35, Helmeted Guineafowl 5, Black Crake 9, African Swamphen 4, Common Moorhen 15, Red-knobbed coot 60, Blacksmith Lapwing 12, Crowned Lapwing 8, 3-banded Plover 2, Wood Sandpiper 2, Whiskered Tern 2, White-winged Tern 20,Red-eyed Dove 200, Ring-necked Dove 20, Laughing Dove 6, Grey Go-away Bird 1, African Palm Swift 6, White-rumped Swift 30, Malachite Kingfisher 6, Pied Kingfisher 1, Plain Martin 40, European Swallow 12, White-throated Swallow 3, Greater Striped Swallow 8, Cape Longclaw 1, Cape Wagtail 6, Common Stonechat 25, Levaillant’s Cisticola 25, Lesser Swamp Warbler 2, African Marsh Warbler 4, Common Fiscal 2, Common Myna 8, Southern Masked Weaver 1, Yellow-crowned (Taha) Weaver 100, Red Bishop 200, Long-tailed Widowbird 100, Common Waxbill 2, Zebra Waxbill 6, African Quailfinch 1, Pin-tailed Whydah 20, Yellow-eyed Canary 1.

Mammals species;

Spot-throated Otter 3.

I popped out quickly on the first evening to case the joint at Northern Farm. As a visit, I did not have the time to do it any justice and it does not warrant a separate post, but for the sake of completeness, I include a brief list. And a trip total of 132

Species seen; 32

Long-tailed Cormorant 6, Cattle-Egret 3, Sacred Ibis 1, Hadeda Ibis 1, Egyptian Goose 1, Comb Duck 2, Black-shouldered Kite 1, Steppe Buzzard 1, Lesser Kestrel 1, Helmeted Guineafowl 8, Common Moorhen 8, Red-knobbed Coot 2, Blacksmith Lapwing 8, Crowned Lapwing 1, Wattled Lapwing 2, 3-banded Plover 4, Red-eyed Dove 6, Red-faced Mousebird 7, European Bee-eater 6, White-throated Swallow 2, Common Stonechat 10, Tawny-flanked Prinia 2, Black-chested Prinia 2, African Marsh Warbler 3, Common Fiscal 2, Pied Crow 6, Common Myna 10, Mossie 2, Red Bishop 200, Red-collared Widowbird 200, Pin-tailed Whydah 60, Black-throated Canary 8.

The more time I have, the faster it goes.

My nemesis, Time, has been stalking me again this week. Whether it was the wrong sort of time, unfortunate timing, or simply, not enough time, our week has been dogged by clock-watching, speeding and incidents of, “you’ve just missed it”. This picture of a Wood Sandpiper for example, is brought to you instead of the Leopard that we would have seen if we hadn’t stopped.
My buddy, Martin, joined me for a trip to Johannesburg in South Africa. Martin is my lucky talisman when it comes to finding big cats. For example, he has a 100% record of finding lions, 75% for Cheetah and Leopard, and 100% for wild Tigers too! It was a long trip and we saw lots of stuff, so, if you are sitting comfortably, I shall begin.
I had planned the trip too tightly and almost immediately it became clear that we would have to drop a couple of sites. We started at Marievale, a superb wetland sanctuary southwest of JNB International Airport. Then on day two, we travelled to the Kruger National Park by way of Dullstroom’s grasslands and the montane forest at Mount Sheba. The whole of day three was spent in Kruger and we returned back to catch the flight home on day four after an early morning drive out of the National Park. All these sites are described in detail on the excellent website http://www.birdingsa.co.za/

Day 1;
Martin’s suitcase didn’t arrive and we wasted a couple of hours waiting and filling forms before we were able to collect the car and start for Marievale. South Africa is preparing their infrastructure for the World Cup next year which involves lots of road works and thus, traffic. We didn’t arrive at Marievale until gone midday.
We stopped along the agricultural approach roads and our list was already mounting. Long-tailed Widows were very obvious with their exuberant breeding plumage easily identified from distance. One sat close to the road for our first pictures. A wet area beside the road held Ruff, Three-banded Plover, Cape Wagtail and Levaillant’s Cisticola. Dry areas where the vegetation had been allowed to go to seed were full of Southern Masked Weaver, Red Bishop and Red-billed Quelea.
When we reached Marievale our first stop was at Otter Hide. To my great delight and as if to prove that the naming of hides is not just on a whim, Martin spotted an otter. It was a Spot-throated Otter that was certainly aware of our presence, but seemed cautiously accepting. The birds seen from the hide were Reed Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Red-knobbed Coot and a reed warbler that started a disagreement that is not yet resolved.Southern Masked Weaver

One of the constants of a trip with Martin is that at least one bird will cause an identification argument between us that will continue through the whole itinerary. Despite numerous views we simply could not decide what we were looking at. The reed warbler looked like being our issue of the week.
There is a good deal of reed-bed and water to explore before the entrance gate is reached and we worked our way along the road stopping for Goliath Heron, African Spoonbill, Red-billed Teal, Hotentot Teal, Yellow-billed Duck, Cape Shoveller and Southern Pochard.
A Red Bishop male who was just coming in to his breeding plumage looked like the Prince of Darkness out of the depths of HadesInside the sanctuary, we stopped at the Duiker Hide. White-throated Swallows sat on the cormorant posts with an African Darter. Out on the water a pair of Great Crested Grebes was courting and some White-breasted Cormorants and Black-winged Stilts were hauled up on a far off, raised mud-bank. A causeway crosses the water and leads to the Shelduck Hide on the far bank. The causeway has always been a very productive area and today, gave us our second otter. It could have been the same one. It acted in a very similar manner, cautious, but curious. It was very active not staying on the surface for more than a couple of seconds before diving and resurfacing a few meters away. Yet it made no attempt to escape our attentions.Reed warbler calls and songs re-ignited our discussions and 2 warblers of different sizes only served to confuse us further.
At the Shelduck Hide, Martin had his moment of the day. A Black Heron, though quite distant, was fishing in it’s own unique way. The heron pulled it’s wings over it’s head to shade the water and enable it to see it’s prey below. At this, Martin let out an emotional sigh and admitted that he had been waiting to see that for a very long time. Our fieldguides disagreed as to whether the bird was a heron or an egret, but this would not detract from Martin’s satisfaction.
Returning towards the causeway to start our way home, we had a good crop of chats including Mountain Chat, Stonechat, Cape Robin Chat and Capped Wheatear.
A pair of Blacksmith Plover was excitedly dive-bombing a Yellow Mongoose and chased it off. Possibly it had been trying to raid their nest, or had just unluckily wandered too close.
Beyond the causeway, something caught my eye and a look through my binoculars showed a short-muzzled fox-like canid. It appeared to be looking at us over the rim of a den, nervously peeking out, then, ducking back below the mounds of loose soil. We were able to take photos and look up in our mammal book to find that it was a Cape Fox. So that was 2 new mammals today that were not squirrels.

Bird species 64
Little Grebe 4, Great Crested Grebe 3, White-breasted Cormorant 3, Long-tailed Cormorant 15, African Darter 1, Black-headed Heron 2, Goliath Heron 1, Purple Heron 5, Black Heron 1, Cattle Egret 30, Squacco Heron 10, Little Bittern 1, Sacred Ibis 25, Hadada Ibis 30, Glossy Ibis 2, African Spoonbill 1, Egyptian Goose 2,Yellow-billed Duck 30, Red-billed Duck 6, Hotentot Teal 4, Cape Shoveller 3, Southern Pochard 6, Black-shouldered Kite 3, Tufted Guineafowl 8, Black Crake 2, African Swamphen 1, Common Moorhen 5, Red-knobbed Coot 45, Blacksmith Lapwing 16, Wattled Lapwing 2, Three-banded Lapwing 2, African Snipe 3, Whiskered Tern 6, White-winged Tern 1, Red-eyed Dove 2, Ring-necked Dove 12, Laughing Dove 20, African Palm Swift 12, Little Swift 120, White-rumped Swift 30, Malachite Kingfisher 1, Pied Kingfisher 2, Plain Martin 40, White-throated Swallow 6, Greater Striped Swallow 15, Cape Longclaw 2, Cape Wagtail 8, Levaillant’s Cisticola 3, Cape Robin-chat 2, Common Stonechat 40, Mountain Wheatear 2, Capped Wheatear 2, Levaillant’s Cisticola 3, African Reed Warbler 3, Lesser Swamp Warbler 1, Common Fiscal 12, Common Myna 20, Cape Glossy Starling 1, Mossie 18, Southern Masked Weaver 40, Red-billed Quelea 4, Red Bishop 16, Long-tailed Widowbird 60, Common Waxbill 10
Mammal species 3
Cape Fox 1, Yellow Mongoose 1, Spot-throated Otter 2.

Day 2;
Today started at 03.30. Slightly bleary, we started our long drive towards the Kruger National Park. It started getting light shortly beyond Pretoria and was bright before we reached Dullstroom. There is a local dam and campsite behind the village which we looked at quickly. More water meant more reed warblers and so it started again. I have visited the grasslands beyond Dullstroom before and knew it to be a wonderful, but long drive around the suggested circuit. Time here had to be shared with Mount Sheba, so we could not do it the justice it deserved, but during a short foray into the grasslands, Martin found me a couple of lifers in a Red-winged Francolin and a small flock of Bald Ibis. His own burgeoning South Africa list was enhanced with Jackal Buzzard, Senegal Lapwing, Cape Crow, African Pied Starling, Mossie and Cape Canary.
We stopped in for breakfast by a pool in Lydenberg. Alpine Swifts and Red-breasted Swallows joined the White-throated Swallows and Greater Striped Swallows, swooping across the pond, while African Rock Martins swooped across the lawns.
Another debit on our time sheet was the fact that Martin’s bag never did arrive and he needed to do everybody a favour by getting some new underwear. This delay cut even further into our Sheba visit which ended up being less a birding visit and more like a surgical strike.

Bird species; 52
Little Grebe 1, White-breasted Cormorant 2, Long-tailed Cormorant 6, Black-hesded Heron 3, Cattle Egret 40, Squacco Heron 2, Sacred Ibis 6, Bald Ibis 4, Hadeda Ibis 12, Egyptian Goose 6, Spur-winged Goose 4, Yellow-billed Duck 4, Black-shouldered Kite 6, Yellow-billed Kite 2, African Fish Eagle 1, Steppe Buzzard 2, Jackal Buzzard 3, Red-winged Francolin 1, Swainson’s Francolin 2, Tufted Guineafowl 60, Red-knobbed Coot 3, Blacksmith Lapwing 4, Senegal Laowing 2, Crowned Lapwing 3, Wattled Lapwing 2, Grey-headed Gull 5, Speckled Pigeon 1, Red-eyed Dove 4, Ring-necked Dove 8, Laughing Dove 12, African Palm Swift 12, Alpine Swift 2, White-throated Swallow 2, African Rock Martin 2, Greater-striped Swallow 8, Cape Wagtail 2, Cape Robin-chat 2, Common Stonechat 20, Malachite Sunbird 2, Common Fiscal 20, Fork-tailed Drongo 12, Cape Crow 6, Common Myna 6, African Pied Starling 4, Red-winged Starling 2, Mossie 4, Southern Masked Weaver 20, Long-tailed Widowbird 20, Common Waxbill 6, Cape Canary 1, Yellow-fronted Canary 2.
Mammal species; 2
Blesbok 50, Yellow Mongoose 1

On the way in to Mount Sheba, we passed cisticolas which would only have started more time-consuming discussion. Potential Drakensberg Prinias were left to sing their song un-spotted. We did stop quickly a couple of times on the road down through the forest and on the rocky slopes above the resort. We picked up Cape Batis, Black-chested Prinia and Common Bulbul
We yomped quickly round the open areas of the resort accommodations, picking up White-eye, Cape Canary, Natal Francolin and Samango Monkey as we went. We had not seen the real target bird for this site which was the Knysna Turaco, so we nipped into the forest for about 5 minutes. We thought we could hear one calling, but could easily have mistaken it’s guttural croaking for a Samango Monkey. Luckily, there were two turacos in good view and we were joined by a Starred Robin as we watched. Just before we left, we noticed that an Olive Bush-shrike was feeding in a wattlebrush tree beside the car. At the time I didn’t realise that it was a lifer.

Bird list; 19
Natal Francolin 6, Tufted Guineafowl 6, Knysna Turaco 2, African Rock Martin 4, Greater Striped Swallow 6, Cape Longclaw 2, Common Bulbul 4 White-starred Robin 1, Cape Robin-chat 1, Common Stonechat 6, Black-chested Prinia 1, Cape Batis 1, Greater Double-collared Sunbird 1, Cape White-eye 15, Olive Bushshrike 1, Red-winged Starling 6, Pin-tailed Whydah 1, Cape Canary 2, Yellow-fronted Canary 2Mammal list; 3
Chacma Baboon 6, Samango Monkey 6, Grey Rhebok 2There was no time to enjoy it anyway.
There followed a mad dash down the escarpment, onto the lowveld and through the Phabeni Gate into Kruger National Park. We had reserved accommodation at Lower Sabie and would not have time to dawdle if we were to reach there before Rocter, the gate guard, closed up for the night. But it is not easy to pass up sightings of Buffalo, Elephant and White rhino, especially when the Red-billed Ox-peckers were catching the light so well. We found 3 of the “Big 5” within 20 minutes of entering the park, with 4 Elephant sightings.. If it weren’t for the Elephant on the road close to camp, we would have only been a matter of moments late, but there was no way through a herd of mothers with small calves who were walking along the tarmac with no regard for Rocter’s knocking-off time. Not wishing to come between an elephant cow and her suckling calf, we had to wait for an opportune moment to pass and suffer the wrath as Rocter had to unlock the gates for us when we eventually arrived.
Bird list for Kruger has been combined for the whole stay.

Day 3;At last we would have a chance to relax and not be pressed by the clock. An early start would ensure that we had all the time in the world to enjoy the park and to watch the wonderful birds and animals in it. If only that were true.
It was already light and we started the day with Speckled Mousebird, Black-collared Barbet and Red-capped Robin-chat. Out on the river, we could see African Jacana and Egyptian Goose.
After “emergency breakfast”, we started by visiting the Sunset lake just outside of the camp once Rocter had opened the gates at 05.30. Grey Herons were already up and fishing, as was an African Fish Eagle which went through an aerobatic display to catch it’s breakfast.
We crossed the Sabie River via the bridge to the southeast of the camp. An African Harrier Hawk was perched just upstream. During the evening, we had heard some distressing noises coming from just downstream of the camp and wondered if a buffalo had been injured. It would have attracted predators from near and far, but there were no signs to support our theory.
We turned off the tarmac onto an unmade road that would eventually lead us north towards Skukuza camp were we planned to have “proper breakfast”.
A Ratel, or Honey Badger grunted across the road just in front of us. This was my “special moment” that I had waited a long time for. The Ratel is a pugnacious animal, unafraid of other much larger animals and well equipped to defend itself against anything foolish enough to threaten it. The absence of such a character on my mammals list has long been a source of some chagrin and I was thrilled to be able to fix that omission. As it stumbled off towards the rising sun, it flustered a Bronze-winged Courser that had not seen it coming.
Low down in a bush on the left of the road was a bird which caused another identification issue and had us discussing tchagras. The small shrike was obviously from the Tchagra genus, but appeared to be Tchagra tchagra, or the Southern Tchagra. Kruger Park is just too far north for this species and it was in the wrong habitat. The checklist provided by the park does not mention it. So we were left with the realistic conclusion that we were looking at one of the others. With no markings on the back that we could see, we were flummoxed.
Further along, we saw a car pulled up by the side of the road. They happily informed us that we had just missed a cheetah which had been sitting up on an anthill. It had dropped down into the long grass just moments before and was nowhere to be seen.There was a chance that it may have been heading towards a nearby dam and since that dam had a lookout point, so did we.
There was no cheetah there, but a large herd of Zebra came down to drink while we scanned around.
A Mocking Cliff Chat came up to greet us, obviously used to handouts from visitors. The Southern Grey-headed Sparrows were also very approachable. Far off in an acacia tree sat a young Martial Eagle and a small flotilla of White-faced Ducks drifted across the open water.
One Hippo in particular stayed separate from the rest of the herd. I noticed a tiny head surface beside her and wondered if she was keeping the baby out of the rough and tumble that was likely among the press of the larger bodies of the herd.
The rest of the widely spread Zebra herd were still filtering across the road as we made our way northwards towards the promise of “proper breakfast”. Shortly after we left the Zebra, we encountered a large Elephant moving along quite swiftly in the direction that we had just come from. We surmised that he was probably heading for the dam and may make a spectacular photo opportunity, but we were not keen to retrace our steps on the chance that he would perform for us. It was a very big dam and he would approach from the opposite end, about a kilometre from the viewing point.
We stopped for a small herd of Impala, one of which was playing host to a Red-billed Ox-pecker. Further on the Lilac-breasted Roller sat for us. Martin surprised me by suggesting a few improvements that could be made. To a Lilac-breasted Roller? He thought the head too big.
As we approached Skukuza, proper breakfast was fast becoming elevenses, so we decided to stay for lunch while we were there. We had to cross back over the river to get to Skukuza and a herd of male Impala were drinking from a pool beside the bridge. The reflections were too much to resist.
The restaurant at the camp was a popular place for animals to come and watch humans feed. The Vervet Monkeys probably scrounged from the visitors and the birds found pickings on the ground around the tables. We fell among two stools on the Starlings. There were Greater Black-eared Starlings, of that we were sure, but there were also some with magenta coloured bellies which would indicate that they were the southern, lesser version. Once again the park checklist failed to mention the southern lesser and it too was a long way from home. So now we had 3 issues to discuss as soon as we had a moment.
A thatched roof provided shade for diners and a roosting place for bats. A notice in the shade informed us that these were either, Peter’s or Wahlerg’s Bats, probably both. Of course, we can count neither.
After lunch, Martin indulged me while I sought out a few dragonflies in a decorative pond in the camp. Then we visited a hide at Lake Panic. Here we heard that we had just missed a pair of lionesses that had sauntered past the hide. So instead of lions, here is a photo of a dragonfly.
The hide was jammed with people hoping that the lions would come back, but it was a beautiful place to be. Goliath Heron, Grey Heron, Openbill Stork, Pied Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Brown-hooded Kingfisher and Water Dikkop were all here in a very pretty setting. Well worth a visit if ever you are passing. As we left, vehicles were queuing up to get in.
Our route would take us back to Lower Sabie Camp at a nice moderate pace, but again we got distracted and held up and ended up having to get through some miles to avoid nasty looks from Rocter on the gate. Our distractions this time included a Steppe Eagle, a Striped Cuckoo and a very obliging Red-billed Hornbill. We also added African Hawk-eagle, Black Cuckoo-shrike, Southern Black Tit and Eastern Hooded Oriole to our list. A giraffe adopted the classic drinking pose for us at a small waterhole and a pair of White Rhinos turned back towards us by the roadside.
We stopped at the Sunset Dam just seconds from the camp. We had arrived with only 2 minutes to spare.

Day 4;
By now, it had become obvious that our calculations concerning the relationship between distance and time were ridiculously inaccurate. So we decided to head for the nearest gate to enable us to get back to Johannesberg in time for the flight home. In the worst case scenario, I wanted to be on the road by 10.00. Any later and we were in danger of staying for an extra, unscheduled night and my boss would be cross to say the least. We reckoned that we could afford a very quick look at a spot on the river just 5 kms upstream before heading towards the gate. That direction took us past Sunset Dam where Martin spotted a dead hippo covered in big crocs. We had not seen any crocs here during the previous looks and assume that they must have migrated up from the river when they heard about the hippo. Spotted Hyaenas were hoping to get in on the action too. We spent a few moments taking pictures of the crocs and then a Wood Sandpiper. I am ruing that decision now. A few hundred meters up the road, a cluster of cars had stopped to look at a leopard. Of course by the time we arrived, it had slunk into the reeds and disappeared for good. It was a slightly deflating end to the trip, but we still had to get out of the park. A Yellow-billed Hornbill sat well for us this morning at a hide on the way to Crocodile Bridge Gate. A Crested Barbet was obviously used to human contact and approached very close.
With time bearing down hard now, I was becoming reluctant to stop. But a Steenbok with eyes the size of tennis balls was irresistible and I had been hoping to get a picture of a big Kudu bull all week. Shortly before the gate, I eventually managed that.
At 10.00 exactly, we left the park, but our bird list wasn’t complete yet, we managed to add to it while travelling at speed beyond Nelspruit. A White-collared Raven was on the ground by the road and topped out 4 great days and brought our final tally to 173 bird for the trip, not forgetting 26 mammals.

Bird list; 118
Long-tailed Cormorant 6, Grey Heron 3, Black-headed Heron 1, Goliath Heron 5, Great Egret 1, Little Egret 1, Cattle Egret 8,Hamerkop 1, Yellow-billed Stork 3, Saddle-billed Stork 2, African Openbill 1, Marabou Stork 1, Hadeda Ibis 4, Glossy Ibis 1, African Spoonbill 1, White-faced Whistling Duck12, Egyptian Goose 12, Yellow-billed Duck 6, Yellow-billed Kite 2,African Fish Eagle 2, Hooded Vulture 4, African White-backed Vulture 20, White-headed Vulture 3, Brown Snake Eagle 6, Bateleur 10, African Harrier Hawk 1, Tawny Eagle 2, Steppe Eagle 1, African Hawk-eagle 1 Martial Eagle 2, Crested Francolin 20, Swainson’s Francolin 4, Natal Francolin 8, Stilt 4,Tufted Guineafowl 100, Black Crake 1, African Jacana 3, Black-winged Stilt 4, Water Thick-knee 8, Bronze-winged Courser 1,Blacksmith Lapwing 12, Three-banded Plover 2, Wood Sandpiper 1, Common Sandpiper 2, Ruff 2, Red-eyed Dove 6, Ring-necked Dove 40, Laughing Dove 40, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove 6, Brown-headed Parrot 1, Grey Go-away Bird 24, Levaillant’s Cuckoo 1,Burchell’s Coucal 1, African Palm Swift 12, Little Swift 120, White-rumped Swift 20, Speckled Mousebird 6, Grey-headed Kingfisher 1, Brown-hooded Kingfisher 3, Striped Kingfisher 1, Malachite Kingfisher 1, Giant Kingfisher 3, Pied Kingfisher 4, White-fronted Bee-eater 8, Rufous-crowned Roller 1, Lilac-breasted Roller 8, African Hoopoe 2, Green Woodhoopoe 20, Southern Ground Hornbill 3, Grey Hornbill 6, Southern Red-billed Hornbill 15, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill 20, Crested Barbet 2, Black-collared Barbet 2, Cardinal Woodpecker 1 European Swallow 8, White-throated Swallow 4, Wire-tailed Swallow 8, Greater Striped Swallow 20, African Pied Wagtail 2, African Pied Wagtail 2, Cape Wagtail 6, Black Cuckoo-shrike 2, Common Bulbul 20, Olive Thrush 3, Cliff Mocking Chat 3, Cape Robin-chat 4, Rufous-capped Robin-chat 1, Tawny-flanked Prinia 6 Cape Crombec 4, Southern Black Flycatcher 6, Arrow-marked Babbler 40, Southern Black-tit 3, Eastern Black-headed Oriole 2, Common Fiscal 12, Magpie Shrike 20, White-crowned Shrike 2, Brubru 2, Black-backed Puffback 4, Black-crowned Tchagra 3, Curly-crested Helmetshrike8, Fork-tailed Drongo 20, White-necked Raven 1, Common Myna 20, Cape Glossy Starling 30, Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling12, Meve’s Glossy Starling, 2 Burchell’s Glossy Starling 8, African Pied Starling 6, Red-billed Ox-pecker 25, House Sparrow 6, Mossie 8, Red-billed Buffalo-weaver 6, Southern Masked Weaver 20, een-winged Pytilla 3, Jameson’s Firefinch 1, Red-breasted Cordonbleu 8, Cape Canary 2, Yellow-fronted Canary 1.
Mammal list; 20
African Elephant 24, White Rhinoceros 7, Cape Buffalo 12, Kudu 35, Brindled Wildebeest 200, Burchell’s Zebra 400, Impala 800, Banded Mongoose 3, Ratel 1, Giraffe 40, Bushbuck 4, Steenbuck 3, Hipopotamus 60, Hyaena 4, Vervet Monkey 16, Chacma Babboon 8, Warthog 12, Grey Duiker 1, Bushbuck 5, Common Reedbuck 2

For other Pilanesberg posts on Redgannet try the following;


For more posts from Johannesburg,try these links;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/08/moreletakloof-johannesburg-jnb.html (Moraletakloof)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/08/tswaing-crater-johannesburg-jnb-south.html (Tswaing Crater)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/03/zaagkuildrift-road-jnb-south-africa.html (Zaggkuildrift Road)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/08/do-elephants-grieve.html
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/06/delicious-dilemma.html (Marievale, Pilanesberg NP and Rietvlei Nature Reserve)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/pilanesberg-johannesberg-jnb-south.html (Pilanesberg)

There are other posts from South Africa here;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/01/cape-town-specials.html (Cape Town, Heldeberg, Paarl, Sir Lowry's Pass and Betty's Bay)

Other posts from the great continent of Africa;
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/07/back-to-where-it-all-began.html (Nairobi NP, Kenya)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/04/to-pish-or-not-to-pish-dire-warnings.html (Lekki Conservation centre, Lagos, Nigeria)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/sheraton-hotel-lagos.html (Lagos, Nigeria)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/05/millenium-park-abuja-nigeria.html (Millenium Park, Abuja, Nigeria)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-trip-this-weekend-is-scheduled-to-be.html (Nigeria)
http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/01/even-bad-days-are-good.html (Achimota Forest, Labadi Beach, and Aburi Botanical Gardens, Accra, Ghana)

Dragonfly posts are available at;
http://redgannetsdragonflies.blogspot.com/2010/01/cape-town-south-africa.html (Cape Town)
http://redgannetsdragonflies.blogspot.com/2010/01/i-have-been-languishing-in-temperate.html (Accra, Ghana)