Elephants!

The knobthorn tree below our deck,
next to the birdpool before the elephant.

Leopard’s View birdpool is a magnet for many species of birds and some mammals as well.  Visiting birds make use of a couple of knobthorn trees and a Y-thorn torchwood bush for perches and for cover.  On Thursday 20th, mid-way through the afternoon, two elephants appeared at the Lodge, the Reserve’s biggest bull, "Ezulwini", and a much smaller companion.  The large one proceeded to push over the big knobthorn just to the left of the birdpool, snapping the trunk completely -  no mean feat given that the diameter at that point was 40 cm, although there were signs of rot inside. 

The big bull and the felled tree

However, we were not pleased since this tree was important visually and also for the birds.

The big bull behind Kudu Hut

The two elephants then browsed on the fresh foliage (since the rain of two weeks previously) before doing a tour right round the Lodge and our house, eating fresh grasses and raisin bush leaves and stems. 

Who needs building inspectors?  "Ezulwini" checks
out work on our new septic tank for the kitchens.

They returned the following morning and at least had the decency to eat much of the remaining foliage from the knocked-down tree (elephants often push over a tree, eat a couple of mouthfuls and then move off.) 

The big bull below the decks:  waterhole in the background

The same pair reappeared on Tuesday 25^th, again doing a tour right round the camp.  The smaller bull is relatively nervous but the large one is very relaxed around buildings, fences and the people inside them, and will feed very close by without showing any signs of tension unless one makes a sudden loud noise or sharp movement. 

The young bull or "askari" that goes round
with the big one.

"Ezulwini" outside Duiker Hut

Wonderful viewing but one beautiful, mature tree less!

Hail storm

 We wouldn’t normally expect to get any serious rain here until late October or even into November. 

Mid-storm: hail, rain and run-off

Hail stones:  the wall is 24 cm wide
and the vertical post 15cm  in diameter

However, on 3^rd October we had an unusually early storm:  dark clouds gathered, thunder rolled ever nearer, and then came a noise like an approaching train as the wind came closer and hit with a vengeance.  We had torrential rain for about 30 minutes plus hail on a grand scale!  Hail is common on the highveld but is far less frequent here in the lowveld.  The noise of the hail-stones hitting the roofs and the windows was incredible.  We measured the stones afterwards and the biggest were over 5 cm in diameter so we were lucky to have only one window broken.  Trees and shrubs in leaf were shredded and there was debris everywhere:  four days later, we are still clearing it up.  As usual with heavy rain, there has been much erosion of paths and tracks. 

The river in our valley flowing more strongly than ever

While we were clearing up immediately after the storm we became aware of a rushing sound from the valley below the lodge:  our dry river was in spate, flowing fuller and faster than we have seen in our three years here.  It was the first time that this river has flowed since April-May 2010.  Many of the dams in the reserve that have been relatively empty have benefitted greatly from the run-off.

With further rain later in the day (mercifully gentle!) we had a total of 32 mm, and another couple since.  By next morning the lawns in the lodge had greened up beautifully.  The grass out in the bush is turning green too and no doubt the trees will produce leaves (again, in the case of those that lost them to the hail.)  Given the early nature of this rain, we hope that there will be more before too long and that all the new growth will not burn up in the heat if we have to wait many weeks.

Birds and bushbabies

Our waterhole is a magnet for a variety of larger birds that are often associated with water:  we see various storks, herons and Egyptian geese there on a regular basis.  During the last few weeks we have heard fish eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer) calling frequently in the vicinity but they have always been in flight.  We were therefore pleased to see one perched in a tree near the waterhole on 23^rd September and to be able to photograph it.  This one is a juvenile (as indicated by the black streaking on the chest, the poorly developed rufous belly colouration) and the lack of yellow in the cere, the coloured plate just above the beak) and we wonder whether the calls we have heard came from a breeding pair of adults.  As their name suggests, fish eagles catch and eat fish, and so are generally found along rivers or close to large dams, but they also take any other small animals and birds that they can.  .

One of the smaller birds we see and hear often is the long-billed crombec (Sylvietta rufescens).  They are insect eaters and feed by searching for prey along the branches of trees and amongst the leaves, darting about and making themselves difficult to photograph.  One pair recently spent some time in the tree outside the office and provided good photo opportunities.  The distinctive feature of the crombecs is the very short tail.

By way of a progress report, the bushbabies that spend their days in the office veranda roof are still there, five in all, and have provided some excellent viewing for us and for guests.

Acacias in bloom



Knobthorn blossom

 One of the annual signs that spring is here and summer on its way is the flowering of the acacias, especially the knobthorns (Acacia nigrescens).  These produce a mass of white blossom with a smell not unlike that of orange blossom.  The flowers attract many insects and so the trees buzz, while giraffes also enjoy browsing on the blooms.  Other acacias such as the blue-thorn (Acacia erubescens) flower at this time too.  Last year the display across the bush was phenomenal:  this year it looks as though it is going to be rather more restrained.

Giraffe browing on knobthorn flowers

Blue-thorn acacia in bloom in the lodge gardens

New collar for favourite elephant

Soshangane with new satellite tracking collar visible

There are two elephant bulls that we regularly see together in our section of Balule Nature Reserve:  they are very relaxed close to habitation and vehicles. One, known as “Ezulwini”, has targeted the marula trees close to our house this winter.  The other, “Soshangane”, is the oldest bull in the area and the only one so far to have completed his musth cycle here since the fences came down between Balule and Kruger Park.  Soshangane has a satellite tracking collar but for the last couple of years the device has not been working.  On the 30^th August, all the necessary logistics and admin requirements came together and he was darted and a new collar fitted.  The hope is that his data will now be available along with data from other collared elephants in Greater Kruger Park. 

Ezulwini - destroyer of trees!

 These two bulls often team up with other younger ones, the older two acting as mentors.  The groups come together and then go their separate ways as time goes by.  This winter some seven or eight other bulls have accompanied Ezulwini and Soshangane and have been seen often, most recently as a group of nine coming past our house on the morning of 6^th September.  This was the first time we had seen Soshangane since the re-collaring exercise and he seemed none the worse for his experience.  His buddy Ezulwini insisted on taking a branch off a now almost denuded marula tree and would not be coaxed into moving on until he had the branch and could walk off with it, eating it some 30 m away:  just a like a naughty dog with some tit-bit from the table!

One of the younger bulls in Soshangane's group, 6.9.2011

Office Bushbabies Back

The Leopard's View bushbabies provide us with our own wildlife soap opera.  For a long time we had two groups of bushbabies in residence, one in the roof of the viewing tower and one in the roof of the office veranda.  Then the tower group disappeared and we did not see them for ages:  however, we were pleased when they reappeared a few months ago.  Next the office group vanished and we neither saw nor heard them for at least the last 10 weeks, that is until a couple of days ago.  Initially we heard noises from their den and then on Wednesday 24th August saw one and heard at least one more we could not see.  The next day we saw them again and as I write, they can be heard getting ready to leave at dusk.  This new office group (or the same ones back again?) are relatively accepting of our presence and when they emerge in the evening they always sit in the adjacent acacia giving anyone watching an excellent view.  After a few minutes they head off into the bush in one direction or another.

Birds – old & new

Black-headed oriole

Recent weeks have seen a great deal of bird activity around the lodge, including many birding parties.  Most of the visitors have been ones that we have seen here before.  The white-bellied sunbirds continue to feed on nectar from the aloes, although the flowers are now beginning to die back.  Blue waxbills have been plentiful, along with arrow-marked babblers, white-crested helmet-shrikes, Burchell’s starlings, red-billed queleas, green-winged pytilias, firefinches, various hornbills and black-headed orioles, which, like the sunbirds, also feed on the aloes.

African spoonbill at our waterhole

On the 7^th of August, and much to our surprise, an African spoonbill spent the morning at our waterhole.  They frequent shallow rivers with pools, pans, lakes and estuaries but our waterhole is smaller than the norm for a spoonbill. It was the first time we have seen this particular wading bird at the lodge and it takes our tally of birds seen and identified here to 114.  There are also two owl species (African scops owl and the White-faced scops owl) that we have heard but not seen here, although have done so elsewhere in the past.