Kyalami Estates March Round-up

31 March 2025 - Kyalami Estates

March birding with 48 species recorded was average compared to previous years - not the lowest and 11 species off the highest I have recorded since 2021.

I did manage a few images from my garden this month, mostly of the usual suspects - Grey Go-away-bird. The third image regurgitating and spitting out a fruit pellet

Grey Go-away-bird (Crinifer concolor)

Black-collared Barbet

Black-collared Barbet (Lybius torquatus)

African Olive Pigeon in the canopy of the 'Umbrella' Thorn

African Olive Pigeon (Columba arquatrix)

Karoo Thrush waiting on the boundary wall waiting to use the bird bath

Karoo Thrush (Turdus smithii)

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer diffusus)

The raucous Rose-ringed Parakeets that arrived in numbers a few days during the month

Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)

And a juvenile African Harrier-Hawk that put up all the Rock Doves on the neighbour's roof

African Harrier-Hawk (Polyboroides typus)

On walks around the main park, Fiscal Flycatcher

Fiscal Flycatcher (Sigelus silens)

and the resident Wattled Lapwing's - love the first image framed by the trees behind

African Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus senegallus)

I also had a Lesser Honeyguide harassing the Thick-billed Weavers

Lesser Honeyguide (Indicator minor)

I watched with interest a female Red Bishop feeding her youngster and noted that she regurgitated seeds frequently whilst perched on the same reed and deposited them into the youngsters open mouth

Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)

Down at St Ledger, I connected with one of the pair of Malachite Kingfishers

Malachite Kingfisher (Corythornis cristata)

And some recently fledged Thick-billed Weaver's that were clambering up and down the reeds, outside of their nest - both ugly and cute together

Juvenile Thick-billed Weaver (Amblyospiza albifrons)

Southern Red Bishops sharing the same reedbed as the Thick-billed

Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)

One of my birding friends had heard Swainson's Spurfowl calling and early one morning, I was able to track it down - a pretty cool record for our Estate

Swainson's Spurfowl (Pternistis swainsonii)

Of course, there were a few butterflies about as summer was ending off - African Blue Pansy enjoying my freshly planted flowers

African Blue Pansy (Junonia o. madagascariensis)

One of the Grass Yellow's - always difficult with their wings closed

African Angled Grass Yellow (Eurema d. regularis)

We had quite a few of the striking Garden Inspector's make an appearance

Male Garden Inspector (Precis a. archesia)

Playing hide-and-seek with this Damselfly

Damselfly sp.

Some sort of Bee with distinctive eyes

Bee sp.

An interesting Fungi growing on the side of a Willow Tree

Fungi sp.

Early morning tranquility with the reeds on the dam at St Ledger

Early morning stillness

A pampered morning in Magaliesberg

23 March 2025 - Cradle Health Spa, Magaliesberg

We treated ourselves to a pamper day in Magaliesberg, so a massage at Cradle Health Spa followed by a chilled breakfast at Green Leaves.

I opted for a 30-minute treatment, whilst my wife went for the 60-minute. After my shower, I had a walk around the Spa completely relaxed looking for invertebrates, as there weren't too many birds to be had in the garden. If you walk slowly and look carefully, it is actually quite remarkable at what you can find, almost all of which I could not identify.

I thought Dragons and Damsels were tough, but Moths are pretty much on the same level. I did manage to find one Damselfly peering over a leaf and quite like the shadow of the body behind the leaf

Damselfly sp.

A couple of Dragon's - I think this is a Epaulet Skimmer

Possible Epaulet Skimmer (Orthetrum chrysostigma)

And these two, possibly male and female Red-veined Dropwing

Possible Red-veined Dropwing (Trithemis arteriosa)

This I presume is a male and female Grasshopper species

Grasshopper sp.

I managed to flush quite a few different Moth species, if anyone knows their ID's, do let me know - first up

Moth sp.

This yellow Moth, had interesting wing shape

Moth sp.

Not sure of this one either

Moth sp.

This distinctive Moth is a 'Pink' Vestal

Vestal (Rhodometra sacraria)

Only one butterfly which I did ID as Plain Black Eye

Plain Black Eye (Leptomyrina h. henningi)

And lastly a Skink of some sort with a dodgy leg

Skink sp.

By now my wife had showered and it was time for a great breakfast on the outside patio at Green Leaves looking up to the Skeerpoort Cape Vulture Colony above Leopard Lodge - life is good!