A Mother's Day Special at Loskop Dam*

[Sharifa]

Duke surprised me with a weekend trip to Loskop Dam for Mothers Day. I was disappointed not getting the half collared kingfisher on our KZN so here I had another opportunity. I believe the one hide at this reserve is excellent for all the kingfishers (except mangrove, and woody and pygmy, only in summer) and these days I enjoy just sitting in a hide and taking photos

We, well he booked, into the Loskop Forever Resort and this is the accommodation











We got there early, 8.30am but find out there are no hides at the resort So we ask which Forever resort has the hide. Try the Forever Isiyala Resort which is 15 km away towards Middleburg

So we head there, enter and now we on a dirt road heading towards the lodge. It is beautiful and the grass is long on both sides of the dirt track. Suddenly Duke says Mamba and there is a huge snake reared up on his side. We stop, he closes his window and reverses but keeps towards my side. We hear a load bang and realise we are in a ditch

We see the mamba slither away and get out to see what damage done. Both wheels on the passenger side are off the ground and a large rock under the car

Going forward is not an option and reversing may cause damage to the undercarriage. Mothers Day in the bush

The driver reverses, no traction, we stuck

The driver says nothing, just assesses the situation. He digs up behind the back wheel on driver side and places a rock. He pulls out the grass from underneath the back passenger side wheel and places some rocks here to. He engages low gear and we out - sigh of relief, no damage to car.

We get to the Isiyala Lodge. What bird hide they ask us The receptionist makes a call and then tells us none of the Forever Resorts (there are 4 in the area) have bird hides but we can try the Loskop Nature Reserve which is 5 km north of the one we staying at.

We get there, we are now in the right place

[Duke]

The Loskop Dam Nature Reserve is the place you want to be at:

Loskop Dam Nature Reserve is home to over 70 mammal species, including 3 of the Big Five (Buffalo, White Rhino and Leopard). In addition, there is hippo, warthog, giraffe, and plenty of antelope species. There is abundant birdlife, and the Reaserve is a favorite amongst 'twitchers'. A key feature of the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve is the boat-based game watching - a service provided by most of the lodges and reserts on the banks of the Dam.

My Bold. Link

[Sharifa]

We in the right place at last and we head for the Lily Pond Hide which is the one that has been recommended to us. It is 10.20am. It is a beautiful setting and photography friendly

It is quiet though, wrong time of the day There are two white breasted cormorants and a few little grebes that keep s busy













We decide to go check the other hide, called the Lick Hide, out.

On the way to the Lick Hide we get one of those once in a lifetime sightings

[Sharifa]

The road is just as quiet as the hide when suddenly Duke says Mambas.

Oh no, not again I think . Not another Ditch

On the road I see this and take a photo through the windscreen


Duke parks the car across the road about 25 meters from the snakes. They are so engrossed in each other that we may just as well not have been there

Male Black Mambas in Combat, they are huge


Definitely males in combat and not mating - look here and quote from the link:

Robert Meidinger says:
2013-04-23 at 09:15

I am the snake expert :) and owner of “The World of Snakes”, one of the biggest snake breeding facilities on the planet where we work with about 80 different species. The way these two are coiled around each other is typical for a male fight, not for mating. Yes, Christian, (in this species) it´s a “gentle” fight, they don´t try to hurt each other, they only try to find out which is stronger and the dominant one. They coil around each other, raise the front part of their bodies and try to push down their opponent to the ground in a wrestling style. That goes on and on, as long as one of the two accepts his defeat and leaves the area. In a mating procedure they would behave differently, not coiling around this way and not raising their bodies, rather the female would elevate her tail and the male would try to get his tail with the cloaca area under the females tail to complete the copulation. Instead of wrestling you would rather observe the male rubbing and shrugging on the female in an intent to stimulate her. Dominance fights between males can be observed in several species.

From Wikipedia

The males fight over females.This involves wrestling matches in which opponents attempt to pin each other's head repeatedly to the ground. Fights normally last a few minutes, but can extend to over an hour.

[Toko]

Mambas fighting for mating rights on Mother's Day is truly special. And they don't bite eachother, just a sportive fight I hope there was a female lurking somewhere and enjoying the spectacle

[Sharifa]

The wrestling continues. This is such a memorable sighting

[Sharifa]

The snakes are evenly matched and neither one lets up.



















We saw them for 12 minutes before they disappeared in the bush, still at it.

[Sharifa]

The mambas eventually disappear from sight. We carry on towards the Lick Hide, still trying to figure out why it is called the Lick Hide

This hide is at canopy level and you will get forest birds. It was quiet. We got an African Olive Pigeon


and a grey hornbill


We return to the Lily Pond Hide and get a Nyala and Waterbucks




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The little grebes are still here


and a hammerkop appears


no kingfishers we wait patiently for the kingfishers

[Sharifa]

So here we are debating whether we return to our accommodation at the Forever Resort or wait a little while. We still had the next day for the kingfishers. Duke was getting ready to pack up when I alert him to our visitor

No idea where he caught his supper or where he came from but there he was putting on a show for us















Just a little itch in the throat to take care off





There we go, ready for the next meal



It turned out to be a great day

[Sharifa]

We were up early the next morning although I did get breakfast in bed for Mother's Day . We headed for the Lily pond hide, it was cold.

A lot more activity this morning

We could see a few brown hooded kingfishers




Green wood hoopoe




Arrow marked babbler


Our little grebe had caught a BIG frog








Nyala


White breasted Cormorant


We settled down expectantly