In search of the Scotopelia peli and other Phantoms*

[Duke]

[Lisbeth]

Finfoot?

[Toko]

I don't see anything, but it looks like African Pygmy Goose

[Duke]

So we have a finfoot and a pygmy goose

Any more takers?

[nan]

Kingfisher fishing

[Duke]

So we running in the mud and none of us went slip sliding and we get round the bend. Our guide had told us that the boat will probabnly disturb a finfoot which will then head for the island on the river.

We get there and two finfoots .















and then a third one appeared

[Duke]

What else did we see at Umlalazi. Very "tame" Zebras, we walked right pass them and could have pet them



Pied Kingfishers


The crabs were everywhere but hurried into their burrows if you got too close




Plenty Wooly Necked Storks that breed in the area


White Eared Barbet


Also the grey sunbird and we heard the Purple Banded and Olive Sunbirds

Next we move to the Ongeye Forest

[Duke]

The Ongeye Forest

The almost velvet-like grassy hills appear intermittently amongst the dense forest, occupied by tall trees that achieve 30 metres in height, and all 3903 hectares of the reserve lie on a ridge of hills overlooking the Indian Ocean. So it is good for forest and grassland birds.







You can access the one entrance by sedan but will have a long walk to the forest. We entered via the 4WD route



To find the green barbet you have to walk in that forest in the background and it is rough uneven terrain and you will get pricked by the bushes


Sharifa with Shakamuzi Mhlongo, a birding guide par excellence



Ongoye is regarded as one of the 'gems' along the Zululand Birding Route for its rather impressive 605 bird species, particularly the rare Woodward's barbet or green barbet, which is reputedly only found in one place in the world – Ongoye Forest. The Ongeye subspecies of the red bush squirrel, a green butterfly species and the Woody Cycad are also unique to Ongeye.

We did see the squirrel but could not get a photo. The Woody Cycad is extinct in the wild. This is what it looks like. The specimen below was selling for
R400 000.



Bird specials for Ongeye are green barbet, olive woodpecker, eastern bronze naped pigeon,spotted groud thrush, yellow sreaked greenbul, green malkoha, and the striped pipit and broad tailed warbler in the grasslands

[nan]

this forest seems to be very dense

Sharifa

[Duke]

The thing with the green barbet is that you have to hear it call and locate it by sound. We now know its call. The guides mimic the call and the barbet replies, You then get close to it but there is still no guarantee you will see it. We tracked one for half an hour in the dense forest and were right below it but could not see it.

Watch Shakamuzi and other guides at work in this VIDEO Pay attention to Dlinza forest too, we going to the Aerial Board Walk next

We move on to another part of the forest and meet another guide who has a couple from England also wanting to see the green barbet. Yep, we find the golden barbet as described by Bongeseni Mtembu in the video.

There were two but they kept moving from branch to branch and tree to tree but we get one shot


We also see white eared barbet, black bellied starlings, Terrestial Brownbulbul, Yellow Streaked Greenbul, Purple Crested Turaco, Red Backed Mannikin, Bronze Mannikin, Yellow Rumped Timkerbird, Red Fronted Tinkerbird, Broad Tailed Warbler, Striped Pipit and Nedikky. We managed to get photos of some of them

Red Backed Mannikin


Striped Pipit


Yellow Rumped Tinkerbird


White Eared Barbet