Ngwenya Lodge

26 August 2023 - Ngwenya Lodge and Crocodile Bridge; Day 2

I had a 3-hour walk around all of the Lodge grounds whilst the family enjoyed sleeping in. 

Just outside our Unit, I heard a commotion in the trees and when following up found a Grey-headed Bushshrike making a dash with an egg in it's beak - I suspect it may have been a Spectacled Weaver, as that was the only bird in attendance making a racket. The light was still low, so I was unable to get an image with the egg in the beak as it hopped through the undergrowth. The harassment caused the Shrike to drop the egg, so I was able to get a few images as it dropped down to eat the contents before disappearing back into the bush

Grey-headed Bushshrike (Malaconotus blanchoti)

Further along, I had a Black-headed Oriole foraging low down

Black-headed Oriole (Oriolus larvatus)

And then a relatively obliging Red-faced Cisticola away from the river - so this was a real treat

Red-faced Cisticola (Cisticola erythrops)

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird's were calling and I managed to track one down singing from the top of a tree

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus bilineatus)

On the banks of the Crocodile, I found a colony of Village Weavers

Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus)

Walking back to reception/restaurant area, more species were encountered - a male Scarlet-chested Sunbird

Male Scarlet-chested Sunbird (Chalcomitra senegalensis)

Another colony of Weaver's, this time Lesser Masked at one of the small dams where nest building was in full swing

Male Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus intermedius)

I found this hunting Striated Heron by chance on the banks of another dam - it was crouched and stretched out as it caught a number of small fish on the fringes

Striated Heron (Butorides striata)

A Lesser Honeyguide at  the bird bath was unexpected

Lesser Honeyguide (Indicator minor)

A few more Village Weaver's enjoying the few flowering Aloes that are left on the access road

Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus)

I noted a Southern Tree Agama on the roof of one of the river Units

Southern Tree Agama (Acanthocercus atricollis)

Back at our Unit, Natal Spurfowl were feeding on the banks of the river

Natal Spurfowl (Pternistis natalensis)

Whilst a Holub's Golden Weaver peeked out from a dense bush - they are not as confiding as the other resident Weaver's

Holub's Golden Weaver (Ploceus xanthops)

I had African Mourning Dove walking around on our balcony, so up close and personal. I was now up to 80 species for the Lodge, a good start

African Mourning Dove (Streptopelia decipiens)

Of course, I always look out for invertebrates and recorded a few Butterflies that I still need to ID

One of the White's

One of the Brown's

One of the Blue's

After lunch, we drove into Komatiepoort to deflate the tyres a little and fill-up, before heading to Crocodile Bridge to join our good friend Eric and Kari for a late afternoon braai at their chalet. It was hot, so these two young Bushbuck took refuge in the shade of a chalet under the AC.

Cape Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus)

Prior to coming to Ngwenya, I had been in contact with a well-known local birder for some gen and had also arranged to meet him on Wednesday afternoon, as he had access to a hide on a local farmers farm for a few good species, including Pink-throated Twinspot which I was really keen to photograph - so was looking forward to that outing.