Manyoni private game reserve lies in the heart of Zululand. Initially formed in 2005 as part of the WWF Black rhino range expansion project, Manyoni has become one of the premier safari destinations in Kwa-Zulu Natal with a strong focus on endangered species conservation. This work focuses on endangered and priority wildlife species, including the African Wild Dog, Cheetah, Rhino, Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Pangolin and Vulture species.

Manyoni was established in 2004 when the land owners agreed to take down their fences to create one larger reserve. The reserve extends over 23 000 hectares and hosts several safari lodges. We chose to stay at Rhino River lodge. This lodge is sited on the southern bank of the Msunduze river. This is a seasonal river which flows into the Mkuze river.

Manyoni private game reserve has over 70 mammal species and just over 450 recorded bird species. It is known as one of the best birding spots in Southern Africa.

“Photography is a love affair with life.” ~ Burk Uzzle

One of the interesting aspects of visiting different wildlife areas is that you get to see unique species such as the Southern Crested guineafowl. I had struggled to get a decent image of a Southern Crested guineafowl in Pafuri and Amakhosi. When I got to Rhino River lodge there was a group of about six just walking around on the lawn outside the main lodge.

A large-bodied, small-headed, black gamebird perfectly lined with rows of hundreds of bluish-white spots. It has a unique-looking curly crest above the naked face, which features an ivory-coloured beak and a blood-red eye. The facial skin color varies geographically. The Southern Crested guineafowl has a blue-gray face with a large white patch on the back of the neck. A broad band around the base of the neck is an unspotted black colour. It prefers forest and thickets, where it forages on the ground for berries, seeds, and other plant matter. (Source: ebird.org)

There are visual differences between the subspecies. The Eastern Crested guineafowl also has a bare skinned face and neck but its neck and nape is grey-blue and its neck and bare skin around the eyes is red. Its throat is also has a red downward stripe. The eastern species also has a black crest but it is not as curly as the Southern species.

“The beauty of the natural world lies in the details.” ~ Natalie Angier

A juvenile Black-crowned night-heron standing on one leg next to a thicket which housed its nest. This young night-heron seemed completely unfazed about the large crocodile sunning itself nearby.

A young Water Thick-knee (also called a Dikkop) resting in the shade near the Night-heron on the bank of a small dam. This species is usually found close to water but is nomadic, moving in response to changing water levels. This species of Thick-knee looks quite different to its Spotted cousin. It is distinguished by its distinct grey wing-bar which is edged with black bars. It has a beige chest with brown streaks which transitions to white towards the belly. It also has a longer and mostly black beak with yellow nostrils.

A Green-backed heron, now called the Striated Heron, is a small heron with a greenish dark grey back and iridescent green-grey wing feathers which have a yellow edge. Its long beak is bicoloured where the maxilla is black and the mandible is yellow on its underside. It has a yellow eye and a yellow ring around its eyes and across the top of its beak. Its legs are yellow to orange in colour. This species feeds on fish and it is known to use bait to catch fish. It also feeds on frogs and a range of aquatic insects.

A Brown-headed kingfisher keenly watching out for insects to prey on from its perch in a thorn tree. The Brown-headed can be mistaken with the Striped kingfisher but the key differences are that the Striped is smaller, its head its brown with white stripes and its beak is bicoloured with the maxilla which is dark brown and its mandible is a red colour. The Brown-headed species has a brown head, and a beige band which extends around from its throat to its nape. Its upper wing coverts are black and its primary and secondary wing feathers are a vivid turquoise.

At long last I managed to get a few images of a Gorgeous bushshrike. Gorgeous bush-shrikes are seldom seen despite being a commonly occurring species, as they mostly dwell in densely vegetated riverine woodlands. It is a shy bird which tends to stay hidden in the bush and will stay still and quiet in thick vegetation if approached. As with all bushshrikes, it skulks and has a distinctive call that sounds like “du-do-whit.” Similar to most bushshrikes, it feeds predominately on insects.

“The two most engaging powers of a photograph are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.” ~ William Thackeray

This species of bushshrike is stunningly coloured with an olive coloured back, a yellow eyebrow, vivid red throat, a black chest band and red under tail coverts, and black rectrices. Its belly varies in colour according to its location. In Zululand its belly transitions from its black chest band from red to yellow to olive green and back to yellow at the bird’s vent.

A male Chin-spotted batis had caught an insect in the sweet acacia. The male has a black breast band whereas the female has a clearly defined rufous chin-spot and breast band, and rufous flanks.

A Bearded scrub-robin foraging in the leaf litter in a flower bed next to the lodge. This species is identified by its white eyebrow with a black border. It has a white throat and black gular stripe. It has a pale orange breast and flanks and white belly. The Bearded scrub-robin inhabits dense woodlands, thickets and riparian forests, and is often seen flicking through the leaf litter on the ground for insects and spiders.

A male Southern black tit seen outside our room. He was very busy in the tree looking for insects. This species of tit normally forages as a pair but I did not see the female which has greyer underparts.

A female Black-headed heron breaks off sticks to build a nest in a tree overhanging a small dam. At first glance, the Black-headed heron looks similar to Grey heron but the former has a black head, ear coverts and black nape. Its beak is slaty grey as are its legs. This species seldom hunts in water and is more often seen hunting in the grass areas near water. It is a highly capable hunter taking anything from insects, to small mammals and birds.

“Wildlife photography is a matter of patience, focus and timing. If we learn these, we learn life.” ~ Unknown

A Grey heron fishing in the water of the small dam close to the Black-headed heron. The Grey heron has a broad black band which extends from its forehead to its nape and its lower mandible and legs are pinkish yellow. It has an ability to stand motionless for long periods while fishing.

A Yellow-billed stork fishing in the same small dam as the Grey heron. In bright sunshine this stork will often lift one wing to create a shady patch on the water which attracts fish. In lower light this stork fishes with its bill immersed and slightly open, whilst stirring mud with its foot. Its beak is highly tactile, and this stork reacts extremely quickly to the slightest detection of prey.

A Little egret standing still in the water while the wind blows and disturbs its hunting. This is a small egret, larger than a Cattle egret. It has a slender GISS with a long black beak and black legs with yellow feet ( golden slippers). It looks like it put its feet in a tin of yellow road marking paint. This egret’s plumage is white all over and the male grows long white plumes on the back of its head and neck during the breeding season.

A Woolly-necked stork hunting in the soft mud next to a small dam. It was a hot afternoon so looked to be trying to cool itself by flapping its wings.

Together with the Southern crested guineafowl and the Gorgeous bushshrike, a Pink-throated twinspot was another special sighting. This species of twinspot is a small rotund type of waxbill. The male has a guava-pink face and throat, and a brown crown, while the female has mostly whitish-beige underparts. It has a mauve eye ring and its belly is black. Its flanks are black with white dots. It has a blue-grey beak and legs. This particular male had lost his tail feathers.

The female lacks the guava-pink breast, neck, nape and face colouring. Both sexes have pink upper tail coverts. The distribution of this species is restricted to southern Mozambique, eastern eSwatini, north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal, and eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The name twinspot comes from its white spots on both flanks.

A lone Hooded vulture. This is a small mostly brown vulture. Its has a relatively small head where its face is bare skinned and normally white but flushes with pink when agitated. It has a long pinkish ivory coloured beak with a sharp downward hooked tip. Being small, this vulture tends to scavenge on the periphery of vulture feeding frenzy picking up scraps dropped by other vultures. This species has been in steep decline since 2000 and is now listed at “critically endangered”.

“Wildlife is something which man cannot construct. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. Man can rebuild a pyramid, but he can’t rebuild ecology, or a giraffe.” ~ Joy Adamson

By mistake we chased this Tawny eagle off its scrub hare kill. It was feeding on a game trail in the grass next to the road and we only saw it at the last moment as we were driving past.

This Tawny was looking around to see if there was anything coming to steal its prey. Our guide wisely did not stay too long otherwise the Tawny might have lost its meal to a wily jackal.

This was a small selection of birds that we saw while wandering around the Manyoni private game reserve. In the second and last post of the reserve I will show some of the mammals and scenery we were privileged to see.

“Every sunset gives me a hope to live.
It reminds me,
You have capture more with your heart.
It reminds me
you are not alone,
surrounded by a beautiful world,
always there for you.”
― Biju Karakkonam

The northern section of Kwa-Zulu Natal has an incredible variety of flora and fauna and is one of south Africa most important wildlife areas. It is our intention to do a lot more exploring in this area in future.

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

Have fun, Mike