In a patch of forest near the town of Bulwer we spent a few hours searching for our remaining eastern forest targets. Here we enjoyed views of the critically endangered Cape Parrot, brilliant Knysna Turaco, Grey Cuckooshrike and brief Bush Blackcap for some participants. We then headed towards the foothills of the Drakensberg range, our base for the next 2 nights, where a large flock of Grey Crowned Crane welcomed us.
As is always the case, a highlight of the tour was our day trip up the Sani Pass, although the road conditions always make it a fairly tough and tiring day. We managed to find almost all of the targets we had set ourselves, adding a good number of endemics and other specials to the list, while simultaneously enjoying the spectacular scenery along the way. We started off very well with Brown-backed Honeybird and Bush Blackcap in some thickets near the base of this great road. A little later Fan-tailed Grassbird, Cape Grassbird, Malachite Sunbird, Streaky-headed Seedeater and Brimstone Canary were seen well on the roadside. Other birds we found at or near the South African border post included the very vocal Barratt’s Warbler in stunted streamside vegetation, and great views of the interesting Ground Woodpecker.
Nearing the top of the pass, as the corners became ever tighter, we found another two of the day’s main targets: the Drakensberg Rockjumper and Drakensberg Siskin – both named after this magnificent mountain range. After entering the country of Lesotho, we headed over a large plateau and a little higher to find the rest of the day’s targets. These included some rather tough species, although having some great weather conditions and good fortune allowed us to find almost all of them. Some of the better species included Fairy Flycatcher, Layard’s Warbler, Grey Tit, Yellow Canary, Mountain Pipit, Large-billed Lark and Sickle-winged Chat in the Karoo-like scrub at almost 3000m altitude. Overhead we also had some great views of Bearded and Cape Vultures, Jackal Buzzard and Peregrine Falcon. All in all a very successful day was enjoyed in this incredible part of the world, despite the very dry conditions that meant there were no proteas flowering.
