Download PDF: Pilanesberg Bird List
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Birding in Pilanesberg Game Reserve
Birding in Pilanesberg Game Reserve
We have a checklist for birds
Download PDF: Pilanesberg Bird List
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Download PDF: Pilanesberg Bird List
To download from scribd, you have to get an account on Scribd. Instructions how to get an account for download here. If you want to log in with our AW account PM me and you will get the user name and password
Re: Birding in Pilanesberg Game Reserve
Birding
Bird watching in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is excellent with some 350 bird species being recorded.
Birding habitats of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve include rocky ridges, hill slopes, grasslands, woodlands, dams with connecting streams, and a vlei adjoining one of the dams.
The hill slopes have Pied Babbler, Sabota Lark, Rufous-naped Lark, Little Bee-eater and White-fronted Bee-eater,
The grasslands and savannas support Lilac-breasted Roller, Purple Roller, Ostrich, Secretarybird, Pale Chanting Goshawk and Longtailed Shrike. Kori Bustard, White-winged Korhaan and Redcrested Korhaan are common.
The woodland thickets have Red-billed Hornbill, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Grey Hornbill, Greenspotted Dove, Marico Flycatcher, Golden-breasted Bunting, Violeteared Waxbill and Blue Waxbill. Many west-east species pairs occur at Pilanesberg, e.g. Whitebacked Mousebird and Speckled Mousebird, Ashy Tit and Southern Black Tit, Pied Babbler and Arrow-marked Babbler, Redeyed Bulbul and Dark-cappedBulbul, Kalahari Scrub-Robin and White-browed Scrub-Robin, and Shaft-tailed Whydah and Pin-tailed Whydah.
In the rocky areas one may see Black Eagle, Rock Kestrel, Jackal Buzzard, Rock Pigeon, Rameron Pigeon, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Rock Martin and Rock Bunting. Other raptors include Black-chested Snake-Eagle, African Hawk-Eagle, and several true eagles (Tawny Eagle, Wahlberg's Eagle, Martial Eagle). Pearl-spotted Owl and Spotted Eagle-Owl are common.
There are many small dams in the reserve in addition to the large central Mankwe Dam. These have African Fish-Eagle, Hamerkop, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, African Spoonbill and terns. A large vlei at the eastern end of Mankwe Dam attracts African Crake, Redchested Flufftail, and Grass Owl. Osprey is a vagrant but has often been recorded at Mankwe Dam during the rainy season.
A vulture restaurant near reserves Manyane Gate (on the eastern side of the Pilanesberg National Park) attracts 30-40 Cape Vultures, and occasionally Whitebacked Vulture and Lappetfaced Vulture, and Marabou Stork.
Pilanesberg Birding Specials include African Crake, Red-chested Flufftail, Grass Owl, Osprey, raptors, Cape Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, Green Sandpiper, African Cuckoo, Red-billed Oxpecker and typical bushveld species.
Bird watching in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve is excellent with some 350 bird species being recorded.
Birding habitats of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve include rocky ridges, hill slopes, grasslands, woodlands, dams with connecting streams, and a vlei adjoining one of the dams.
The hill slopes have Pied Babbler, Sabota Lark, Rufous-naped Lark, Little Bee-eater and White-fronted Bee-eater,
The grasslands and savannas support Lilac-breasted Roller, Purple Roller, Ostrich, Secretarybird, Pale Chanting Goshawk and Longtailed Shrike. Kori Bustard, White-winged Korhaan and Redcrested Korhaan are common.
The woodland thickets have Red-billed Hornbill, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Grey Hornbill, Greenspotted Dove, Marico Flycatcher, Golden-breasted Bunting, Violeteared Waxbill and Blue Waxbill. Many west-east species pairs occur at Pilanesberg, e.g. Whitebacked Mousebird and Speckled Mousebird, Ashy Tit and Southern Black Tit, Pied Babbler and Arrow-marked Babbler, Redeyed Bulbul and Dark-cappedBulbul, Kalahari Scrub-Robin and White-browed Scrub-Robin, and Shaft-tailed Whydah and Pin-tailed Whydah.
In the rocky areas one may see Black Eagle, Rock Kestrel, Jackal Buzzard, Rock Pigeon, Rameron Pigeon, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Rock Martin and Rock Bunting. Other raptors include Black-chested Snake-Eagle, African Hawk-Eagle, and several true eagles (Tawny Eagle, Wahlberg's Eagle, Martial Eagle). Pearl-spotted Owl and Spotted Eagle-Owl are common.
There are many small dams in the reserve in addition to the large central Mankwe Dam. These have African Fish-Eagle, Hamerkop, Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo, African Spoonbill and terns. A large vlei at the eastern end of Mankwe Dam attracts African Crake, Redchested Flufftail, and Grass Owl. Osprey is a vagrant but has often been recorded at Mankwe Dam during the rainy season.
A vulture restaurant near reserves Manyane Gate (on the eastern side of the Pilanesberg National Park) attracts 30-40 Cape Vultures, and occasionally Whitebacked Vulture and Lappetfaced Vulture, and Marabou Stork.
Pilanesberg Birding Specials include African Crake, Red-chested Flufftail, Grass Owl, Osprey, raptors, Cape Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture, Green Sandpiper, African Cuckoo, Red-billed Oxpecker and typical bushveld species.
Re: Birding in Pilanesberg Game Reserve
Important Bird Area Pilanesberg
SA Number: SA 023
Status: Global (Ai)
Protection: Fully Protected
Site Description
Pilanesberg National Park (called a National Park because it used to belong to the homeland of Bophuthatswana) is managed by North-west Parks Board. It lies c. 160 km northwest of Johannesburg, and is the fourth largest protected area in South Africa. The Park covers a wide range of habitats, including vleis, lakes, streams, thick bush, broadleaved and Acacia woodland, koppies, open grasslands and former farmlands. The Park encompasses the Pilanesberg Mountains, which were formed after a complex chain of events, including several cycles of volcanic eruptions, outpourings of lava, the collapse of craters, ring fracturing around the volcano, and the intrusion of magma into these fractures. The end result was several concentric rings of igneous rock of different ages around the core of a volcano. Since then, there has been a slow subsidence and erosion of the complex from a 7 000m-high volcano to a humble remnant of its former self, rising to only 700 m above the surrounding plains. Strictly speaking, the Pilanesberg is no longer an ancient volcano, but a cross-section through the magma pipes that were located at great depth beneath the volcano. The resulting structure is a ring-complex of concentric koppies composed of a unique suite of alkaline volcanic rocks, the highest being 1 669 m a.s.l., interspersed in a matrix of low-lying plains.
The Mankwe River and its five major tributaries provide most of the Park’s water. In the past, farmers constructed additional water storage dams for livestock in order to supplement non-perennial streams. The largest impoundment, Mankwe Lake, is in the centre of the Park. The area’s annual average minimum and maximum temperatures are 4°C and 32°C respectively, but extremes can range from – 6°C to 40°C. Rain falls mainly in summer, in the form of violent thunderstorms accompanied by much lightning. Rainfall is highly variable between years, but an average of 621 mm p.a. has been recorded.
Birds
Owing to the extensive range of habitats, and the fact that the Reserve is situated on the overlap zone between the dry western and wet eastern parts of the country, the Park holds over 300 species of bird. Situated midway between the Magaliesberg (IBA SA025) and Waterberg (IBA SA007) Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres colonies, this site regularly holds foraging birds. The Park also holds small numbers of White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus and occasionally Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotus. The Reserve is good for raptors and supports small numbers of Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus, Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus, Verreaux’s Eagle Aquila verreauxii, Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax, Wahlberg’s Eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi, African Hawk-Eagle Aquila spilogaster, Brown Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinereus and Black-chested Snake-Eagle Circaetus pectoralis. Rocky outcrops are known to hold breeding Cape Eagle-Owl Bubo capensis and Freckled Nightjar Caprimulgus tristigma. The Mankwe River holds small populations of African Finfoot Podica senegalensis and White-backed Night-Heron Gorsachius leuconotus. A large vlei with mixed grassland at the eastern end of Mankwe Dam provides habitat for African Grass-Owl Tyto capensis. The surrounding woodland–grassland mosaic is known to hold Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius, Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori and Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus. Black Stork Ciconia nigra occurs as an occasional visitor. Other woodland specials include Monotonous Lark Mirafra passerina, Southern Pied Babbler Turdoides bicolor, White-throated Robin-chat Cossypha humeralis, Kalahari Scrub-Robin Erythropygia paena, Burnt-necked Eremomela Eremomela usticollis, Striped Pipit Anthus lineiventris, Barred Wren-Warbler Calamonastes fasciolatus, Marico Flycatcher Bradornis mariquensis, Crimson-breasted Shrike Laniarius atrococcineus, Southern White-crowned Shrike Eurocephalus anguitimens, Great Sparrow Passer motitensis, Scaly-feathered Finch Sporopipes squamifrons, Violet-eared Waxbill Uraeginthus granatinus, Black-faced Waxbill Estrilda erythronotos and Shaft-tailed Whydah Vidua regia.
SA Number: SA 023
Status: Global (Ai)
Protection: Fully Protected
Site Description
Pilanesberg National Park (called a National Park because it used to belong to the homeland of Bophuthatswana) is managed by North-west Parks Board. It lies c. 160 km northwest of Johannesburg, and is the fourth largest protected area in South Africa. The Park covers a wide range of habitats, including vleis, lakes, streams, thick bush, broadleaved and Acacia woodland, koppies, open grasslands and former farmlands. The Park encompasses the Pilanesberg Mountains, which were formed after a complex chain of events, including several cycles of volcanic eruptions, outpourings of lava, the collapse of craters, ring fracturing around the volcano, and the intrusion of magma into these fractures. The end result was several concentric rings of igneous rock of different ages around the core of a volcano. Since then, there has been a slow subsidence and erosion of the complex from a 7 000m-high volcano to a humble remnant of its former self, rising to only 700 m above the surrounding plains. Strictly speaking, the Pilanesberg is no longer an ancient volcano, but a cross-section through the magma pipes that were located at great depth beneath the volcano. The resulting structure is a ring-complex of concentric koppies composed of a unique suite of alkaline volcanic rocks, the highest being 1 669 m a.s.l., interspersed in a matrix of low-lying plains.
The Mankwe River and its five major tributaries provide most of the Park’s water. In the past, farmers constructed additional water storage dams for livestock in order to supplement non-perennial streams. The largest impoundment, Mankwe Lake, is in the centre of the Park. The area’s annual average minimum and maximum temperatures are 4°C and 32°C respectively, but extremes can range from – 6°C to 40°C. Rain falls mainly in summer, in the form of violent thunderstorms accompanied by much lightning. Rainfall is highly variable between years, but an average of 621 mm p.a. has been recorded.
Birds
Owing to the extensive range of habitats, and the fact that the Reserve is situated on the overlap zone between the dry western and wet eastern parts of the country, the Park holds over 300 species of bird. Situated midway between the Magaliesberg (IBA SA025) and Waterberg (IBA SA007) Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres colonies, this site regularly holds foraging birds. The Park also holds small numbers of White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus and occasionally Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotus. The Reserve is good for raptors and supports small numbers of Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus, Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus, Verreaux’s Eagle Aquila verreauxii, Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax, Wahlberg’s Eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi, African Hawk-Eagle Aquila spilogaster, Brown Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinereus and Black-chested Snake-Eagle Circaetus pectoralis. Rocky outcrops are known to hold breeding Cape Eagle-Owl Bubo capensis and Freckled Nightjar Caprimulgus tristigma. The Mankwe River holds small populations of African Finfoot Podica senegalensis and White-backed Night-Heron Gorsachius leuconotus. A large vlei with mixed grassland at the eastern end of Mankwe Dam provides habitat for African Grass-Owl Tyto capensis. The surrounding woodland–grassland mosaic is known to hold Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius, Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori and Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus. Black Stork Ciconia nigra occurs as an occasional visitor. Other woodland specials include Monotonous Lark Mirafra passerina, Southern Pied Babbler Turdoides bicolor, White-throated Robin-chat Cossypha humeralis, Kalahari Scrub-Robin Erythropygia paena, Burnt-necked Eremomela Eremomela usticollis, Striped Pipit Anthus lineiventris, Barred Wren-Warbler Calamonastes fasciolatus, Marico Flycatcher Bradornis mariquensis, Crimson-breasted Shrike Laniarius atrococcineus, Southern White-crowned Shrike Eurocephalus anguitimens, Great Sparrow Passer motitensis, Scaly-feathered Finch Sporopipes squamifrons, Violet-eared Waxbill Uraeginthus granatinus, Black-faced Waxbill Estrilda erythronotos and Shaft-tailed Whydah Vidua regia.
