We visited Marievale in early spring knowing full well that the warmer weather would bring more birdlife and low water levels in the wetland would attract certain species. The Marievale Bird Sanctuary is situated in the southern half of the Blesbokspruit RAMSAR site, an area that is also a designated Important Bird Area (IBA SA021) in South Africa. Marievale Bird Sanctuary is about five kilometres east of Nigel, a small town a drive of about 45 minutes south from Johannesburg in South Africa.

It was a couple of weeks since our previous visit to Marievale but were interested to see the change in birdlife activity with the warmer weather. We normally get to Marievale around 06h00 when it is light but before the sun has risen.

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” ~ J. B. Priestley

Just after we had entered the bird sanctuary we found a pair of Black-winged kites. The female was perched on a dead reed and had a small feather stuck to her beak, the remnants of some prey she must have recently fed on. Her primary wing feathers are black and she has grey upper parts and a white neck, chest and belly which are diagnostic as is her ruby red eye.

It was not long before she moved and was joined by a male and they proceeded to mate. It was certainly a brief unbalanced affair.

A Grey heron foraging along the transition between the reeds and the water’s edge.

We stopped at the Hadeda hide to see what we could find and to our delight we saw an African rail following the small remaining stream of water flowing in front of the hide.  Its plumage is brown on its back, its head and chest are dark gray, it has a dark grey belly with white barring, red eyes, and a red beak and legs. This rail is elusive so this was a fortunate sighting.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” ~ Anonymous

The long red beak is ideal for probing the mud and shallow waters. During its short visit in front of the hide it remained in the mud along the stream and did not venture into the vegetation. This rail forages for food by sight and looks for insects, crabs and other small aquatic animals.

A White-throated swallow stretching its wing just before taking off. This swallow was perched on a stick directly in front of the Hadeda hide. It has glossy dark blue upperparts and a bright chestnut fore crown. A dark blue-black breast band separate the white throat from the greyish white underparts and underwing coverts. The White-throated swallow looks similar to the barn swallow but has white throat not the chestnut coloured throat of the barn swallow.

“Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it.” – Mary Pickford

A Levaillant’s cisticola foraging in the greenery next to the stream in front of the Hadeda hide.

This little Levaillant’s cisticola was drying out after foraging in the dew laden vegetation.

A male Stonechat with its rufous chest puffed out because it was cold. This chat was foraging for insects in the dried out section of the stream bed in front of the hide.

Our time in the Hadeda hide proved to be very productive with a pair of Hottentot teals moving up the stream, but some distance behind the African rail. This Hottentot teal was using its bill to scoop up grass seeds, though it is omnivorous so will also eat crustaceans like ostracods, molluscs, water insects such as beetles and their larvae if it can find them.

A Hottentot teal foraging in its ideal environment in front of the Hadeda hide.

A Three-banded plover foraging in the wet mud section in front of the hadeda hide. Its beak dictates that it is only able to probe shallowly in the mud. It forages mainly along the water’s edge of open lakes, rivers and streams. It uses a “run-stop-search’ technique for finding its prey. This little plover focuses on insects and their larvae, small crustaceans, molluscs and worms.

A Malachite kingfisher perched on an angle iron protruding from the water next to the Otter hide. There are plenty of small fish for this diminutive hunter.

This wetland sanctuary attracts Hadeda, Glossy and Sacred ibises. The next image is of a Sacred ibis foraging among the rocks next to the elevated access road leading to the main picnic area. This section of road can be highly productive when the water levels are low.

A Marsh sandpiper caught an aquatic insect after wading relatively deeply into the water. This is a small sandpiper that does not have long legs so you can get an idea of how shallow the water was in this pool.

“Much learning does not teach understanding. ” ~ Heraclitus

The water levels around the Otter hide had all but disappeared leaving mud flats which were ideal for this Little Stint to forage in. Again the small beak only allows a shallow probing action.

One of the first species of the migratory waders to arrive in Marievale was the Ruff. This female was very busy probing the mud flats for flies, frogs, beetles, snails, spiders, and worms. These birds are omnivores, and will feed on both invertebrates, seeds or berries.

An adult Black-winged stilt picking small insects off the surface of the water. This stilt is aptly named because of its exceptionally long legs. It is a black and white wader with long stilt-like pink-red legs and a straight black bill. It has black plumes on its back and a white underparts, head and neck and has a red iris.

“The hidden harmony is better than the obvious.” ~ Heraclitus

A Pied Avocet resting in the open water on one leg. The still water early in the morning provided a near perfect reflection.

A Glossy ibis caught an aquatic insect. Glossy Ibises look uniformly dark, but a close look in good light reveals stunning colours with deep brown-maroon upper and under parts with an iridescent emerald, bronze, and violet gloss on its wings.

A Speckled pigeon walking on a fallen tree stump in front of Duiker hide. There are many Speckled pigeons in Marievale probably because of the abundant grass seed and a farmer’s lands adjacent to the sanctuary.

An Orange-throated longclaw. This is a large ground-dwelling pipit-like bird. Its upperparts are brown and cryptic, but the underparts are particularly colourful. It has a yellow supercilium and yellow chest and belly. Its neck is a red-orange enclosed by a black band which runs from its beak down to the lower part of its throat and back up to the other side of the beak enclosing the orange-red throat plumage.

This Orange-throated longclaw was very busy foraging on insects in a dried out section of the normally waterlogged section of the wetland.

“What people call serendipity sometimes is just having your eyes open.” ~ Jose Manual Barroso

I was sitting in the Duiker hide watching a Goliath heron hunting in the deeper waters on the other side of the pool from the hide. This section of the wetland has water all year round and as such has some large carp living in it. We watched several carp jumping out of the water. The main reason carp jump is to clear debris from their gills. When foraging for food, carp gulp sediment from the bottom and filter out the edible bits. During this process, some particles get lodged in their gills as they are expelled. A jump clears the gills of these particles (Source: Improvedcarpangling.com). I had to smile, this Goliath heron was not even looking in the direction of the airborne carp.

The Goliath heron is extremely patient which can be frustrating when you are trying to capture it spear its prey. Patience paid off and it managed to capture a small fish while we were watching it.

A Long-tailed widowbird coloured in its transition plumage. In winter, the male loses his black plumage and long tail feathers. In summer, the male Long-tailed widowbird has black plumage with orange-red and white shoulder (lesser and median) coverts.

The access roads through the wetland are elevated embankments with water on each side. The main access road to the picnic site can be very productive. On this occasion we saw a lone Great crested grebe fishing in the open water.

“If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.” ~Heraclitus

The grebe’s long, slim neck and pointed bill are used for catching fish underwater in a similar way to a Reed cormorant or Darter. Grebes dive underwater to search for prey. It can remain underwater for up to 30 seconds and can dive up to five metres, depending on the depth of the water. Like a heron, this grebe rotates the caught fish to swallow head-first to ensure the spiky dorsal and pectoral fins will flatten against the body so it will go down smoothly.

The images shown represent just a few of the birds and their behaviour that we saw during one morning visit to Marievale Bird Sanctuary. Some birds we only saw fleetingly, and others were not easily photographed. A visit to this bird sanctuary is a great way to brush up on your bird recognition and photographic skills.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this wetland sanctuary is that the water level has a major influence on what birds you are likely to see and how frequently you are likely to see them. In early spring, it is ideal for the small waders as they can probe the open mud flats. There are still large stretches of water which attract coots and moorhens. The Red-billed and Hottentot teal are resident as are the Cape shovellers and Yellow-billed ducks. Most of the migrants have yet to arrive but the large flocks of Spurwing geese and the flamingoes are sensitive to the level of water in the open stretches. If the water is shallow you may see the flamingoes, but if it the water is too deep you will not see a single flamingo.

“Go to a bird sanctuary frequently. Be quiet and present, and the more you will notice its subtleties. The weather, the light, the water levels yield different birds in different numbers. These subtleties alter their behaviour which will give you a quite different experience.” ~ Mike Haworth

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike