It’s a quiet time of year for birds. The aloes are still flowering, but the main flush is past. Gurney’s Sugarbirds were still present, but no longer jousting over prime spots. But every change sees something happening. The trees and bushes that produce small fruits do so most abundantly now. There’s a very good reason.
South Africa’s Drakensberg range – the spectacular ‘Dragon Mountains’ – are a vertical rush of towering cliffs, flat-topped peaks and high-level walking trails Words and photography by Laurence Mitchell The landscape is unexpectedly green, a folded blanket of lush slopes that extend to vertiginous cliffs in the west. Pockets of dense woodland lie in the
What has been achieved is remarkable and gives us great hope for the future. While there will always be worries and niggles, we can forget these for a short while when we do something really valuable. On Saturday we made a huge contribution and difference by taking time and ultimately investing in our children. A
It’s Aloe time, and this year the Aloe arborescens around the balcony are better than ever. This has to be the place to see Gurney’s Sugarbird in their dozens, some of them at arm’s length, and singing a lovely rippling song. Lots of aerial dogfights, one wonders why in the midst of plenty. Just as
Dear Friends April is a great month with holidays galore and then we move into marvellous May which is probably the best weather month in the whole of KZN. It is the month when the summer rains slow down (although we still need a bit more moisture before the winter) and the aloes come into
While searching for the elusive and uncommon Half-collared Kingfisher (we found not one, but two!) we flushed a little heron. As it flew determinedly past us, a greeny-grey blob with dangling legs, it was those bright orange, dangling legs and big feet that immediately identified it as a Green-backed Heron. A real WOW as this
MORE often than not when you live in Gauteng and you want to slip away for a few days, albeit just a weekend, your first thought is to head north along the N1 and park under a thorn tree in the bush. However, only an hour or two further in the other direction on the
It’s already halfway through summer in the Drakensberg. One indication is that the Red-chested Cuckoo is still calling, but the Black Cuckoo is not. The Half-collared Kingfisher has returned after at least six months away, a pair was poised in their favourite Buddleja overhanging the water. Another bird we have not seen for some time
Dear Friends We are sweltering in the berg! What a hot Spring month we have endured with temperatures regularly in the 30’s. We do look forward to a bit of moisture in October and November because the rivers are very low and the earth parched. But, this lovely hot weather does mean that our new
Miserable weather when it mattered most limited the birding somewhat. But the influx of tropical migrants has begun. They don’t all arrive at once, and as usual the Greater Striped Swallows were first. One more heavy rain is needed to provide them with the soft mud needed to start repairing old nests and building new
