Written by Isaiah Banda
Winter is in full swing here on the Greater Mabula Private Game Reserve, and the fresh cold mornings and spectacular sunrises are something I cherish during this season.
The vegetation has somewhat thinned out, and the brown hues of the bush lead to some spectacular sightings. The dusty roads and game paths have also provided some really great tracking opportunities.
Although most migratory birds have left, the gold hues of winter provide some amazing shades for photographing birds, and my personal favourite this time of the year is the lilac-breasted roller which stays on the reserve all year round.
The reserve is also home to almost 350 bird species and including two of the so called big six birds, being southern ground hornbill and martial eagle. Saddle-billed stork we see them ocationally, they are more visitors on the reserve. With different types of veld we have on the reserve, we have an opportunity to see different types of birds.
During summer birders are spoilt for choice as the bush is alive with the calls of so many different birds, while in winter the drier bush and sparse vegetation makes for spectacular sightings. Normally in winter we see very few birds however this winter we are spoiled with good sightings.
Birds have successfully occupied most parts of the world yet many people remain largely unaware of their diversity and overall importance to the balance of nature. As part of Safari Plains’ holistic safari experience we offer safaris that only specialize with birds, guests who loves birds can enjoy these safaris just watching birds, our guides will whet your appetite and provide you with some information on fascinating birds birds found on the reserve.
We found these guineafowls while on afternoon safari. We had been searching for cheetah coalition majority of the afternoon when finally these guineafowls erupted into frantic alarm calls next to our vehicle giving alarm call, they might have seen a predator that have move away after they heard our vehicle.
Southern ground hornbills are always special to see. We were very lucky to find this one at Charles Glass plain foraging and looking for something to eat on the dung. We are very fortunate to have ground hornbill project on the reserve. This gives us and our gueststo learn and enjoy magnificent sightings of these special birds.
Two pied kingfishers were perched on a tree at main dam, one a dead tree and one on a silver cluster leave tree. We were en route to find a spot to enjoy an evening drink to watch the sunset but got distracted for a short while by this bird. Their long bills make them ideal candidates for silhouette photographs, just giving them more of an interesting shape.
We were very lucky to see more than one. Main dam and Hunters dam are popular dams to see pied kingfishers, we often find giant kingfishers on these dams.
