It was Easter but there no chocolate eggs

Well back into civilisation in Durban from an absolutely brilliant Easter weekend with my wife Clare, an avid raptor and Owl fan of note. We did a concentrated atlasing (SABAP2) run across the Elephant Coast or Southern Maputaland region, spanning the iSmangaliso Wetland Park (historically known as St.Lucia) covering areas that have not been atlased or surveyed ornithilogically. Although many keen bird watchers and naturalists have spent many years popping in and out of the region. As you can see on the left our farm is marked by the yellow placeholder right on the edge of the Fasle Bay and Hluhluwe River area, historically known as teh Bushlands District. A mix of eucalyptus forestry, sugar cane, slash & burn agriculture, pineapple farming and ecotourism and conservation operations. A real example of mixed land use. Not necessarily sustainable but a very tangible interface of both modern and historical land use in action.

The regions key stone species or major 'ticks' in bird watching parlance are the Lemon-breasted Canary, Pink-throated Twinspot, Woodwards Batis, Rudds Apalis and Neergards Sunbird. With our early morning forays into the area and its highly diverse habitats we saw all the top species plus a few other regional rarities like Red-headed Quelea, Black Coucal, African Crake plus Rosy-throated Longclaw. The regions major ecological dynamics are driven by the riverine systems interlocking with the estuarine and marine environments as well as being the geological end-point of the Great Rift Valley system which literally ends with the foot hills of Ubombo Mountains at Phinda Game Reserve. Factoring mountains, plus the ocean as well as two major biomes (Forest & Savanna) with the estuary provides the basis for incredible bird watching as well as game viewing for the keen naturalist. We had plenty. We are blessed to own a farm, called Marula Ridge that neighbours the world renown Bonamanzi Game Reserve, which has well conserved portions of estuarine grassland, riverine woodland, wetland marshes, Ilala Palm Savanna, Broad-leafed Woodland and the highly endangered Sand Forest habitat. This lovely birder and family friendly reserve caters to all price ranges as well as tourist types from backpackers through to self-catered chalets and camping sites. The staff are incredibly friendly and welcoming. For a birder this reserve offers a real opportunity to see the regions specials plus more and to also find some time to just unwind.

We spent several hours bird watching and atlassing in this wonderful reserve, where one can watch Red Duiker foraging alongside Terrestrial Brownbuls with elusive Eastern Nicators dashing in to snatch a exposed insect on the forest floor. Pictures will follow shortly with further detail for you all.

From an atlassing perspective, we spent time covering at least four new pentads. STarting from the rarely explored Lower Mkuzi papyrus swamps through to the Manzimbomvu trail in the wilderness area. This avian, plant and ecosystem rich jewel is only accessible by 4 x 4 and it is highly recommended that you travel with at least two vehicles and make usre you have a kinectic rope and highlift jack for the sandy patches and wet areas. It can be great fun, but very daunting so come prepared.

Our top pentad count took us to 197 in 10 hours which was a mammoth count but in a region which tops over 300 bird species it is quite possible. Though I am citing bird numbers my focus is really the conservation status and robustness of such a vast protected area that is the main source of survival for many indigenous Zulu communities that fish, harvest, hunt and live off this amazing land. Climate change is certianly being felt here with extended rains which were still falling this weekend.

Well there were no chocolate Easter eggs but we certainly had a beautiful weekend and we did manage to down some of Woolworths organic dark chocolate with organe pieces as a major consolation prize. Enjoy the rest of the week everyone.