Tuesday 15 January 2013

Nyanga, January 2013

The first trip of 2013 - two nights in Nyanga.
It was very wet and misty for much of the time, unsurprisingly.

Mist rolling in towards Troutbeck
I was rather lucky to find a Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk on one morning, right outside the cottages! Otherwise, there were good birds around including African Black Duck, African Olive-pigeon, White-throated Swallow, Cape Robin-chat, Cape Grassbird and Bronzy Sunbird.

White-throated Swallow
Red-winged Starling
Immature Common Fiscal
There was an incredible amount of frogs on the edges of the dams, plus a bunch of African Striped Skinks in the rocky areas.

Sharp-nosed Reed Frog
Swynnerton's Reed Frog
Swynnerton's Reed Frog immature
African Striped Skink

On the way back I stopped at a place where Blue Swallows are known to occur, and found them! Also saw Malachite Sunbird and Cape Canary there.

Blue Swallow habitat
Blue Swallow

Sunday 6 January 2013

Bumi Hills

I recently got to spend three wonderful days at Bumi Hills, on Lake Kariba.

The view from Bumi Hills lodge was quite spectacular. In fact, most of the scenery around Bumi Hills was pretty excellent.


View of the bay from Bumi Hills harbour
A HDR image of the sunrise



Animal viewing was great, with elephants and hippos very close, plus plenty of other game. We even had Lion on the first afternoon!







On the same game drive as the Lion sighting, we also spotted a baby Impala wriggling on the ground. As we drove closer, it got up and ran off, and in the other direction a big python slithered away. What a sighting! Unfortunately, too dark for any reasonable photographs...


The birds were particularly good at Bumi. With all the rain, there were puddles of water all over the place, especially on the open floodplain areas.

At the lodge itself were some great birds including White-backed Vulture, Bateleur, Jacobin Cuckoo, African Barred Owlet, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, African Golden Oriole, Ashy Flycatcher, Retz's Helmet-shrike and nesting Red-winged Starling.
One night we had 100mm of rain! The next morning a very soggy bird was on the lawn outside - a Common Swift. I was amazed at the size of the bird, having never seen one in the hand.

Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Crested Barbet
Bateleur flying past Bumi Hills
Waterbirds were excellent; White-breasted and Reed Cormorants, African Darter, Black, Green-backed and Goliath Herons, African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork, Glossy Ibis, African Spoonbill, Spur-winged Goose, African Fish-eagle, Common Ringed Plover, White-crowned Lapwing, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Water Thick-knee, Grey-headed Gull and Whiskered and White-winged Terns were all seen, plus some others.

Green-backed Heron
Reed Cormorants, with White-crowned Lapwing in the background
African Darter
African Fish-eagle
Other good birds around the Bumi area included Crested Francolin, Black-bellied Bustard, Double-banded Sandgrouse, Namaqua Dove, Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark, White-throated Swallow, Eastern Nicator, Long-billed Crombec, Red- and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers, White-browed Sparrow-weaver and Green-winged Pytilia.

Southern Carmine Bee-eater
Lilac-breasted Roller
Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark, on the airstrip
A fantastic trip, and probably my last visit to the bush before I go to Australia for a while. The sort of place that will make me miss Zimbabwe!

...and how could I not miss a view like this one?