Bona final

On my way to St Lucia on a laundry run, I was stunned to see this massive black monkey thorn Senegalia burkei smothered in blossom which had transformed it virtually overnight.

My usual routine while waiting the two hours required to complete the wash, dry and fold was to walk in the forest on the edge of the village.  Unfortunately there wasn't much happening apart from this dear little yellow-rumped tinkerbird belting out his four syllable song...............

....................and the September bells Rothmannia globosa in glorious profusion. The Latin or Greek names are not meant to be patronizing by the way, but rather a brain exercise to try and retain my all too tenuous grasp of them.

Decided to return via the  Mfolozi/Hluhluwe game reserve which turned out to be an error of note as the road from Mtubatuba to the gate is being rebuilt and the stop/go sections were an absolute nightmare.  The blood pressure level returned to normal on finding this majestic beast taking the waters to cool off.

A nearby stump is obviously just the right height for some serious scratching!

The road up to hilltop camp was awash with common wild pears Dobeya rotundifolia with prodigious masses of bloom that were just starting to die off and, in the valley, the Hluhluwe river was flowing fairly strongly.

Back at Bonamanzi the woolly caper bush Capparis tomentosa was scenting it's surroundings with one of the most gorgeous aromas I've ever sampled.  Quite why no-one has thought of bottling the stuff is beyond me. 

Here is another example of the joys of bird photography.  This is an African firefinch, an amazingly pretty little fellow that spends a lot of time hopping around on the ground looking for seeds.  Problem is it it's hyperactivity which never ceases ..........except when it's parked right behind a fence.

Have featured Burchell's coucal before but never one indulging in this behaviour, raising the feathers on it's rump to a) warm up and b) to dry off.  They spend their mornings foraging down low in thick undergrowth and often get soaked by dew.

Also in flower at present are the wild gardenias of which there are a number including this savannah gardenia Gardenia volkensii whose flowers are scented but not as powerfully as the nursery variety.

The longitudinally ridged fruit feature raised white spots which give the appearance of a very bad case of acne.  Many locals will leave trees growing close to their homes as they are believed to ward off lightning.

Another glorious sunset at Dinizulu Dam.

Driving back from reception one morning I crossed paths with raptor which I struggled to identify as it wasn't being terribly cooperative and this was the best picture I could manage.  The next day I heard the unique ticky-to-you call of a cuckoo hawk but only caught a glimpse of it as it flew off and a penny dropped.  Closer inspection of this photo proved it conclusively even though the boldly barred breast was invisible.

Later the same day driving through thornveld, a pair of yellow-breasted apalis were flitting about in a leafless tree and the male stopped long enough for my best ever portrait of these pretty, cute creatures.

While pondering the reasons for the lack of sand ivory saplings, I speculated that they might be heavily browsed and to test the theory I collected a few branches and offered them to one of the camp nyala.  He showed immediate interest when I dropped them on the ground and wandered over from 20 m away and polished off the lot - end of speculation!

On yet another early walk I noticed this kurrichane thrush trying his best to woo the ladies......

...................and this little grey tit-flycatcher was busily going after breakfast.  Unfortunately the best picture left it without a tip to it's beak - will have to keep trying.

A few nights later the new moon was seen chasing Jupiter. 

On another visit to St Lucia, I took a stroll along the beach to see what was happening at the tern roost and there I woke whimbrel that was snoozing on one leg............

................found a grey plover not quite out of breeding plumage............

.....................and a sleepy greenshank, not sure what these guys got up to last night.........

..................and masses of great crested and Caspian terns.  Only found out recently that what I knew as a swift tern with it's bright yellow beak, is now a great crested - just to keep me confused!

Next to the board walk to the beach are masses of lagoon hibiscus H. tiliaceus which sported leaves that Eve would have been proud of.

An additional surprise greeted me when I tried to log yellow weaver onto an atlas card as it is now known as an eastern golden weaver, will it ever stop?  Interestingly both males and females (below) were feasting on the fleshy parts of the seeds of what I assumed to be a Natal cycad Encephalartos natalensis.

Near the staff quarters at Bonamanzi is a mighty sausage tree Kigelia africana, though the name is misleading and polony tree would be more apt.  Everything about the tree is out-sized including the wondrous scarlet flowers, which are very popular with the antelope when they drop.

The roof of the ablution block is home to a colony of bats who make a lot of noise shuffling about just before they emerge in the evening.  This African goshawk was present many times when a bed-time snack was required and the first time I noticed it, I mistook it for a bat hawk.  Seen here perched on a branch right above the exit, it proved to be very adept at snaffling bats in flight, not surprising as it is a forest species and specializes in catching birds on the wing while dodging branches and trees.

It was inevitable that I would eventually meet some of the bigger residents while out walking and I was making my way back to the bakkie looking at trees, when I happened to glanced up the road.  I snapped off this very hasty shot before turning tail and heading in the other direction and it doesn't show that there were two of them in line astern! While trying to work out the next move I decided to turn and see if they were catching up, whereupon they both slammed on brakes and one went left and the other right and just melted into the forest.  As the bakkie was past where I'd last seen them, it was a very quite, cautious and nervous walk back to it.

This spectacular fever tree forest was a favourite place for a stroll and the was always something to be found.

A yellow-bellied greenbul in the riverine vegetation...................

.......................a southern black tit pecking a seed pods looking for larvae, they must be able to hear them moving as they always appear to be successful......................

......................a dark backed weaver whose Afrikaans name is "bush musician" for the lovely melodies they produce..................

....................and a group of little bee-eaters, which is their name not a description.  Think the fellow on the right is saying: " You're both wrong, he went that way".

Still there.

Shortly after discovering a specimen of Sand Ivory (Berchemia sp nov) right on my door step, I sent Titus the drone aloft to check a particularly thick patch of forest and on his return took this shot of the camp.  Soon after landing I had just about got back to the caravan when there was a mighty crack and down came a massive branch from a dead tree. Miraculously it lodged in a smaller tree right above the Beast or it would have done some serious damage.  So there it was suspended like the sword of Damocles while I frantically dropped the awning and moved the Beast out of the way. With the assistance of a couple staff members, we managed to dislodge it and clear up the prickly mess after it had crashed to earth.

One of my favourite spots was at Bundu Camp with it's superb view over False Bay and once again Titus was co-opted to get a panoramic vista.

While enjoying a sundowner, a flock of great white pelicans soared overhead looking like a squadron of war era Short Sunderlands.

Another evening was spent having a braai in the company of Dave and Gill, a couple of fellow campers.  We chose the rustic campsite at Dinizulu Dam as it was a weeknight and the place was deserted.......

.......apart from Paws, their very realistic toy leopard who is an astonishingly effective monkey deterrent and.....................

...................a fair sized pair of these fellows.

Now this is an amazing co-incidence, as I'm sitting here in the Turner's garden writing this screed, one of these is calling in the tree right above me! It is of course the enviably beautiful Narina trogon  whose picture I captured in Bonamanzi about 5 weeks ago along with.......

............... a water thick-knee whose enormous eyes assist tremendously in finding prey at night when it is out foraging.  Daylight is spent drowsing in the shade of a tree until some impertinent photographer pitches up

An early perambulation near the camp resulted in an encounter with the three little pigs.....plus one.

A call that sounds like three blind mice heralded the arrival of a tiny, male chin-spot batis......

..............and after endless attempts, finally a reasonable picture of a gorgeous bush-shrike and is it ever?

Even though they are extremely vocal, this is the sort of dense habitat that they choose to produce their distinctive kong kong koweet call.  I guess if you are sporting kaleidoscopic colours it's probably wise to keep a low profile.

Of the many acacia species in the area one of the most attractive has to be the fever tree Vachellia xanathophloea and particularly so when it's greenish-yellow bark is highlighted by the evening sun.  It's name arose from the mistaken belief that it's sickly looking, flaky, yellow outer bark caused malaria. It was only centuries later when the real culprit was identified, mosquitoes are prevalent in the swampy areas that are the trees preferred habitat.

Might have mentioned this before but the behaviour is so unlike any other antelope as to border on the bizarre.  When a pair of horny nyala males decide to have it out they never resort to vulgar battering but take a much more refined approach.  Raising the white mane and fluffing their tail they perform a ritualistic, exaggeratedly stately walk-by, like a pair of dandies trying to outdo each other at a ball.  Most amusing to watch.

A lunch with another couple, who had been at Bonamanzi for a month then moved to Cape Vidal, allowed a postprandial drive around the adjacent Lake Bangazi.......

................where hippos lay strewn carelessly on sandbanks left and right....................

..............and it provided a most welcome sighting in the form of a collared pratincole, an uncommon intra-African migrant that breeds locally if conditions are favourable - which, judging their numbers, were.

Back at the main gate to Bonamanzi the extravagant green of the Splendid Thorn Vachellia robusta indicated that spring had indeed sprung.

It's unfortunate that this picture doesn't really do justice to this wildly colourful purple-crested turaco (lourie for us oldtimers!)

I was crashing through the forest in search of illusive berchemias when I heard the insect-like burping of an African broadbill. Though slightly smaller than a sparrow and not exactly exotic, he performs a display that instantly endears him to anyone fortunate enough to see it.  It involves flying from his perch in a flat circle while emitting an amazing ratcheting buzz and he lands back where he took off, looking extremely pleased with himself.

And when he turns to check if he might have impressed a lady, you can see where the name comes from.

Another afternoon visit to Dinizulu and another glorious sunset...................

.............with a female broad-billed weaver showing the vice-like beak used to crack the most resistant seeds....

........and a little egret searching for supper.

The drive home featured a very brief encounter with a small herd who then silently disappeared into the forest.

More evidence of spring in the form of a Natal plane Ochna natalita in profuse bloom...........

..........a tiny long-billed crombec whose tail is so short as to appear non-existent - apologies for the photo but the blighter was hyperactive........

..............and a magnificent crowned hornbill positively glowing in the sunlight.

As I've mentioned a couple of times a lot of my time here has been spent in search of these rare berchemias, which are very unique and easily identified. This is B4, the first one that I found on a previous visit and it clearly shows the unusual bark that starts out smooth, then becomes deeply creased and light grey as it ages and finally sloughs off from the base to reveal a much darker flaky bark below.  

The leaves are a bright yellowy green with distinct herring-bone venation, indented above and raised below.

When I found B21, the youngest yet, a couple of fellow campers wanted to see it hence.....