An Endemic Extravaganza!

Mpumulanga — Free State — Gauteng

This superb itinerary includes some wonderful birding spots in grassland and wetland habitats in Mpumalanga and the Free State. The ten-day itinerary starts and ends in Johannesburg, and includes a touch of Gauteng. There are 61 Southern African endemics and near-endemics in the area to be covered by this itinerary and a number of rare and endangered species. Although our primary aim is to see birds, there also will be mammals to look out for: including Blesbok, Springbok, Red Hartebeest, Eland, Grey Rhebok, Mountain Reedbuck, Oribi, Steenbuck and Grey Duiker amongst the antelope. Others include Burchell’s Zebra, Hippo, Black Wildebeest, Yellow Mongoose, Suricate (Meerkat), Blackbacked Jackal and Cape Clawless Otter, and a number of smaller mammals.

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Photos:  courtesy of Peter Lawson

We start from Johannesburg International Airport and head east into Mpumalanga Province and to the small village of Dullstroom, where we stay in a country inn for the first two nights of our tour. 

En route we pass through highveld grassland and vast tracts of agricultural land. Stops will be made for birding in some areas and there are some good marshes and seasonal pans, teaming with birds. We should pick up Golden Bishop, Longtailed Widow, the endemic Orangethroated Longclaw, Blackshouldered Kite and Blackheaded Heron in the grasslands. The marshes will provide Hottentot Teal, Red Bishop Orangebreasted Waxbill, Purple Gallinule, Redknobbed Coot, Yellowbilled Egret, the endemic Cape Shoveller, Sacred Ibis and many more waterbirds. The start of our exciting tour will be somewhat hectic with birds in all directions.

The Dullstroom area centers around stock farming and the trout fishing industry. It is at high altitude (average 2000m above sea level) and the climate is sub-Alpine. Stock farming has preserved much of the grassland, but many wetland sponges have sadly been degraded by commercial trout dams. There are still some pristine marshes, however, and it is these we will concentrate on. The habitats also include rock outcrops and stands of Protea trees plus commercial forestry.

Grassland specials we will look for include a number of endemics and near-endemics and some of these include Southern Bald Ibis, Greywing Francolin, Blue Crane, Ground Woodpecker, Eastern Longbilled Lark, Greater Striped Swallow, Sentinel Rock Thrush, Southern Anteating Chat, Grassbird, Drakensberg Prinia and Yellowbreasted Pipit.Gurney’s Sugarbird should be found in flowering Protea trees and Forest Buzzard can sometimes be seen in commercial Eucalyptus plantations. We often see the critically endangered Wattled Crane as well as the handsome Crowned Crane.

We move to another wonderful area that is not very well known in birding circles, yet Chrissiesmeer is full of birds. This area has many pristine wetlands that vary considerably, from shallow natural lakes, seasonal freshwater pans, saltpans and marshes.  We stay for two nights in a private guesthouse on a farm.  The owners are keen birders.

Birds to see include Blacknecked Grebe, Goliath Heron, Great White Egret, African Spoonbill, Greater and Lesser Flamingo, Whitebacked Duck, Hottentot Teal, Marsh Owl and Greyheaded Gull.  Smaller birds include Malachite Kingfisher, Quail Finch, Cape Reed Warbler, and the only Chestnutbanded Plovers in Mpumalanga.

This well-known birding destination is in the very southeast of Mpumalanga. There are extensive grasslands with rolling hills and steep forested valleys and some excellent marshes. We stay in a private guesthouse for two nights.

There are a number of sought-after endemics to be found in the Wakkerstroom area and some of these are rare and localized. The list includes a number of endemic larks and two rarities worth searching for are Botha’s and Rudd’s Lark. Others are Pinkbilled, Eastern Longbilled and Spikeheeled Lark. Yellowbreasted and Rock Pipits are also endemic mega-ticks and other good endemics to see include Sentinel Rock Thrush, Ground Woodpecker, Blue Korhaan and Palecrowned CisticolaCrowned Cranes are relatively common and the endemic Blue Crane is often seen.

We have a short drive through a corner of Kwazulu-Natal to the small town of Memel in the northeast Free State.  We stay in a private guesthouse for three nights. There is so much to see in this area that we will need the extra time, and it is a wonderful place to relax at the end of a good tour.

The area has breathtaking scenic beauty and the total bird list for the region is an incredible 270 species. The Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve just outside the town is an incredible 3 000 hectares and includes extensive wetlands and wonderful grassland.  A full day will be spent in the reserve. Birds to see could include some we may have missed elsewhere such as Black Egret, South African Shelduck, Squacco Heron, Cape Teal, Clapper Lark and Whitebellied Korhaan.

The second day will be spent exploring the high plateau and an early start will be made to get to a good stake-out for the endemic Rock Pipit, which can be located by its call at sunrise. Eastern Longbilled Larks are plentiful in this area as well.  The route we take will pass through good areas for Stanley’s Bustard, Cape Vulture, Yellowbreasted Pipit, Rudd’s and Botha’s Larks.  We have permission to walk on private farms to search for some of these, which are difficult to find from the road.

We return to Johannesburg today, but make an early start, as we want to spend some time in the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve in Gauteng.  We will take a picnic brunch with us.

The reserve is in the Heidelberg Hills and is a much drier locality than the destinations we have visited. The reserve includes extensive sweetveld grassland, rocky ridges and dry woodland.  The location is a transitional zone where eastern and western species mix and there are endemics and specials we would not have encountered elsewhere on this trip. These include Yellow Canary, Kalahari Robin, Fiscal Flycatcher, Ashy Tit, Northern Black Korhaan, Orange River Francolin, Redeyed Bulbul and Blackchested Prinia.

We will arrive back at Johannesburg International Airport mid-afternoon, in time for your return flight to the United States.

E-mail African Treks to request the complete list of birds on this trip!

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