A perfect puddle

It’s certainly a warmer day down here in Durban than expected. This past weekend, I popped up to our farm in the Bushlands district, south of the town of Hluhluwe. Our farm Marual Ridge lies in that dubious border realm between the Eucalyptus plantations and the Sand Forest patches and woodland savanna of Bonamanzi and Bushlands Game Reserve. The journey northwards along the N2 was one of extreme variation. Some rivers like the Nyoni and Matikulu were in full flood above the riverbanks and others like the Hluhluwe were bare trickles in the riverine vegetation. Many youngsters were out and about guiding their cattle on meandering paths seeking decent pasture and grazing. This late winter seems a little more desperate and dry up and around Hluhluwe with a large number of foraging cattle herds in and around areas where I have not traditionally noted them before. I think the pressure for good grazing and perhaps the local economic conditions have made pastoralism even more important than usual. On arriving at home, I noted that the frogs and toads were beginning to vocalise, albeit in a muted fashion, not their usual competitive cacophony of croaking and bubbling calls.

With the welcome rains stifling the dust on the back roads, the birds were far more exuberant and engaging than usual, with road-side puddles and mico-pans filled with bathing Dark-capped bulbuls, sharing a bath seat with Brown-hooded Kingfishers, Yellow Weavers, Village Weavers and even one rather tame Eastern Nicator. Unlike the normal bird parties that one experiences feeding together, this was a pool party, minus the ‘G-n-T’ and the various Tropical Cocktails. Instead of focusing on my varied habitat driven route of birding, I undertook to find puddles and view them from a distance. Sounds a bit tedious and boring, but there were no g-strings or topless bathers in the true sense of the word.

You might find the following interesting when it came to puddle viewing:

1. Dark-capped Bulbuls shared the number one spot with the Red-eyed Mousebirds and Yellow-fronted Canarys’ with an average of 5 birds per puddle.
2. Red-eyed Mousebirds jointly shared number one spot with the Dark-capped Bulbuls.
3. Yellow-fronted Canary’s jointly shared number one spot with the Bulbuls and Mousebirds.
4. Village Weavers were the second most numerous with 4 birds per puddle.
5. Red-eyed Doves came in at approximately 3 birds per puddle.
6. Southern Black Flycatchers came in at a pair of birds per puddle.
7. Brown-hooded Kingfishers came in at 1 bird on average per puddle.

Other interesting species included the aforementioned Nicator, Bearded Scrub-robin and Pale Flycatcher (which became rather less pale after a dip and exfoliation). The score of the day was a single Black Coucal in Bonamanzi off their Southern Fence line that popped in for a bath and snuck off back into the long grass.

Puddle quality also seemed to have a large influence on the birds, with puddles on the fossil dune sand cleaner and attracting a far larger volume of birds, versus puddles found on clay-based substrates which were naturally dirtier. Interesting behaviour was demonstrated by a single Hamerkop who was feeding in association with the bathing birds. Catching small frogs that were being disturbed by the vigorous shakes and twists of bathing Bulbuls. The Hamerkop caught several amphibians and small insects in this fashion, but eventually was driven off by a Black-headed Heron which proceeded to do the same.

Trying new activities or approaches in birding always excites me and I must say that spending an hour or two in the vicinity of an innocuous looking puddle in a Sand Forest patch or adjoining section of flooded savannah can be very productive. It was a true test of patience for me. It is a really worthwhile activity though on a quiet stretch of road or track. I recommend using a scope and setting up at a comfortable distance and allow the birds natural space to feel comfortable to bathe and socialise without any displacement behaviour or unwanted impact. This has been a really nice approach to use in my birding methods.

To the atlassers out there I hope you are all having a great time out there.

Condolences to Lisa and Ben's Family

This year has been a hard one for birding and bird conservation in South Africa. Ben De Boer a really great birder and the pioneer in setting up the Limpopo Bird Routes passed away yesterday after a protracted bout of probable meningitis. It unfortunately led to a stroke after his operation to treat a bad aneurysm as result of the meningitis. Ben's passing will leave a gap for bird conservation and bird-watching tourism in South Africa. His work in training bird guides and assisting local rural communities was exemplary. A teacher by profession, but a conservationist and humanist at heart and a friend to all things wild and free. Ben you are already missed. To Lisa and his family and friends, my thoughts are with you all over this difficult time.