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 birding...

         South Africa North-west Province

 







Crimson-breasted Shrike Laniarius atrococcineus ©John Dempsey http://www.jdbirdman.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

The North-West province is one of the less known birding areas of Southern Africa. However, it does not imply that there isn’t any birding to be done. The North-West is probably one of the more accessible arid areas to bird in Southern Africa. This gives birders the unique opportunity to see many of the near-endemic species of Southern Africa.

These include: Pale Chanting Goshawk, Northern Black Korhaan, White-backed Mousebird (the family is endemic to Africa south of the Sahara), Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Acacia Pied Barbet, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, Southern Pied Babbler, Orange River White-eye, Marico Flycatcher, Black-faced Waxbill, Red-headed Finch, Shaft-tailed Whydah, Barred Wren-warbler, Black-chested Prinia and a host of larks including Eastern Clapper-, Fawn-coloured- and Spike-heeled Larks.

Much of the birding in the province is centered on the Game Reserves and Parks around the province. The best known of these parks is Pilanesberg Game Reserve. This park boasts a number of regional and national species. Southern Pied Babbler, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Secretarybird and Kalahari Scrub-Robin are a few examples of the former and Cape Vulture and White-backed Heron examples of the latter. Pilanesberg is also classified as an IBA [Important Bird Area]. Other IBA’s in the region include Kgaswane Mountain Reserve, Barberspan Nature Reserve, Sandveld Nature Reserve and Bloemhof Nature Reserve.

Pilanesberg Nature Reserve is within easy reach of Johannesburg. It is approximately two hours by car from the Johannesburg International Airport. The other reserves are also easy accessible via a good maintained road system. The going does get a little more isolated if one is chasing some of the more rare specials of the province. An excellent example of this is the Yellow-throated Sandgrouse that is found in the Northam-Thabazimbi area.

This area of Southern Africa is a worthwhile extension to any trip to Southern Africa. When visiting this exciting area, be on a special look-out for the Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Short-clawed Lark, Southern Pied Babbler, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Barred Wren-warbler, Short-toed Rock-Thrush, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, Orange River Francolin, Pink-billed Lark and Olive-tree Warbler as these make up the top 10 birds of the province.

  contributor

 

Hanno Langenhoven
Manager
(Thaba Phuti Safari Lodge)
birds@obenbosch.com
http://www.thabaphuti.com/

  useful reading

 

Fieldguides & CDs etc.

See the main South Africa page of Fatbirder...

  clubs

 

Wesvaal Bird Club

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/2022/
An interesting club site well worth a visit.

  reserves

 

Borakalalo National Park

http://www.birding.co.za/pbc/borak.htm
This large game reserve is close to Gauteng and has a wide variety of bushveld, woodland and water birds. Besides the big game (Hippo, Rhino & Buffalo) over 300 bird species have been recorded. Storks, Herons, Eagles, Kingfishers, Shrikes and Cuckoos (summer) are well represented. The reserve features the large Klipvoor Dam, the Moreleta River below and the scenic Mogoshane hills which form broken terrain, small kloofs and habitat for several rock loving species. Woodland habitats include acacia thornveld, riverine woodland and broadleaved savannah, including an area of fine tall Burkea Woodland...

Mafikeng Game Reserve

http://www.places.co.za/html/mafikeng_gr.html
The bird life is prolific, with many species of the waxbill and finch families...

Marakele National Park

http://www.sanparks.org/parks/marakele/conservation/ff/birding.php?p=Marakele
Arguably the Park`s biggest birding attraction is the largest colony of Cape Vultures in the world (around 800 breeding pairs). However the park is also appealing to birders as it falls within the transition zone between the dry western regions and the moister eastern regions of the country...

Pilanesberg National Park

http://www.southafrica-travel.net/Parks/e_pilanesberg.htm
The park offers a number of wonderful picnic spots, numerous hides for game watching, huge walk-in aviaries, safe hiking trails, safari drives at night and flights over the park in a hot-air balloon...

Tilodi Wilderness

http://www.tilodi.co.za/
This page has been prepared for birdwatchers. Print the page to your own printer and there you have your own Field List for bird watching. The next step would be to book your stay at the Tilodi Wilderness for an unforgettable bird watching experience in the Heart of the Bushveld.

  trip reports

 

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!

2000 [October] - Peter Wragg - Pilanesberg, Borakalolo and Nylsvley

http://www.icon.co.za/~wraggs/birds/nw2000.htm
I recently enjoyed 10 days of birding in the north-western areas of South Africa. My route was as follows: 3rd October: Durban to Heidelberg; 4th: Heidelberg to Pilanesberg National Park; 8th: Pilanesberg to Borakalolo National Park; 10th: Borakalolo to Nylsvley Nature Reserve; 12th: Nylsvley to Durban...

2004 [September] - Viv Stratton

http://www.birdtours.co.uk/birdseekers/feb05/South%20Africa/South-Africa-2004.htm
...We then drove to the Cape of Good Hope where on occasions we stopped to look out over the Fynbos for some of its special birds which included the ‘brilliant green’- long tailed Malachite Sunbird, some Orange-breasted Sunbird (a Cape speciality) and the more common Southern Double-collared Sunbird, as well as Helmeted Guinea-fowl, and Cape Francolin...

  local guides

 

Birding Africa

http://www.birding-africa.com
Birding Africa is run by three Capetonian birders and naturalists, Callan Cohen, Claire Spottiswoode and Peter Ryan, all based at the University of Cape Town`s Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology. Callan and Claire are postgraduate research students, and have recently published an new birding site guide to Cape Town and beyond: Essential Birding - Western South Africa. Peter is a lecturer and researcher, and the author of numerous publications, most recently a new field guide to the birds of Afrotropics.

  places to stay

 

Farmstay

http://www.farmstay.co.za/regions/frm_north_west.htm
Excellent birding opportunities on farms and in rural areas in South Africa - Click around and discover the wide variety of farmstays and activities on farms and in rural areas offering quality facilities in attractive yet unconventional surroundings and at tariffs you can afford - bed and breakfast, self-catering, game viewing, bird watching, hiking, biking, 4x4 routes, fly-fishing, horse riding, and many more...

Game Lodges and Reserves in and around the Pilanesberg Area

http://www.places.co.za/html/pilanesberg_gamel.html
A clickable list.

Thaba Phuti Safari Lodge

http://www.thabaphuti.com/
Thaba Phuti Safari Lodge provides exclusive private surroundings, situated in the North West Province, just south of the Magaliesburg Mountain Range and the town of Rustenburg. At Thaba Phuti Safari Lodge, you are ensured an experience so exclusive and personal you are sure to feel like royalty. Seven rooms with en-suite bathrooms, a restaurant, two bar areas, conference venue, boma, wine cellar, swimming pool, as well as our staff are all there to make your stay with us as pleasurable as possible.

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