Rare visitors at the waterhole

The last ten days or so have seen several visits to our waterhole by rare animals of one sort or another.  Firstly on Saturday 10^th March a leopard drank there at around 8.00 p.m., and soon afterwards a hyena came by as well.  Another (or the same?) leopard spent some 10 minutes near the waterhole just after 6.00 p.m. on Monday 19^th March. 

Leopard - 19 March - hard to photograph as behind tree!

 A white rhino drank at the waterhole, also around 6.00 p.m., on Tuesday 13^th.  Although not common sightings, these are nonetheless animals that we do expect to see from time to time.  However, around midday on Wednesday 21^st a female eland with a calf appeared at the waterhole, drank for some minutes and then moved off.  There have been no sightings of eland in the Reserve for many years and we are at a loss to explain how or why this pair was there.  Our habitat is not really their normal one:  they are generally found in drier parts, and particularly in the western half of South Africa. They may have moved in from Kruger Park, where eland do occur at a low density, especially in the northern parts; or more likely they may have come from a game farm or private reserve bordering Balule.  Whatever the explanation, it is always a treat to see eland in the wild.  They are the largest of the antelope in Southern Africa and live in small family groups, generally with one mature male, several females and their offspring.

Eland female - 21 March

Hot weather, birds and animals

February was an extremely hot month here with the average daily maximum for the month being 33.5^oC: except for a few days, March has been every bit as warm.  The heat and lack of rain have led to the water that was so freely available in the bush after the January floods drying up: as a result we are seeing more and more animals visiting the lodge waterhole, notably impala herds and giraffes.  However, it is the birds that have given us some excellent sightings over the last week or two. 

Long-tailed paradise-whydah (male)

Green-winged pytitlia

A male long-tailed paradise-whydah (Vidua paradisaea) has been resident in the valley behind the waterhole:  these birds, with their bright red and yellow chest and neck, have extraordinarily long tails when in their breeding plumage.  The females are a drab brown and the species is a brood parasite of a small local bird, the green-winged pytilia (Pytilia melba). 

Keeping company with the paradise-whydah was a purple indigo bird (Vidua purpurascens); as the name suggests, it is a uniform dark colour, except for pale wing panels and under-tail, with whitish beak and legs. 

Purple indigo bird (male)

Shikra

Twice in the last week we have had a shikra, formerly known as the little banded goshawk (Accipiter badius), perching in a dead tree just outside the lodge.  This bird has a banded chest and a striking cherry-red eye that contrasts with its yellow cere (the plate at the base of the beak.)  Many other bird species have been active around the lodge as well, notably green wood-hoopoes and arrow-marked babblers.

Escarpment silhouette with setting sun behind clouds, 5th March 2012