In preparation for my return trip to Zakouma in Chad in late March, my wife, Helen, and I decided to visit Magoebaskloof Birders Cottages in Magoebaskloof Valley . The intention was to explore a new part of the country and get photographic practice ahead of my big trip to just below the Sahara. The Birders Cottages are located in the Magoebaskloof valley between Polokwane and Tzaneen. Magoebaskloof is situated at the north-eastern tip of the Drakensberg mountain range and the Wolkberg in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The birders cottages are located on Dragonwyck Farm which is midway down the Drakensberg escarpment.

“Nothing develops intelligence like travel.” ~ Emile Zola

In the past, the Magoebaskloof Valley comprised mainly of grassland and there have always been patches of mist-belt forest in ravines and along river lines. Today, most of these forest patches remain but the grasslands have been repurposed with avocado, macadamia and bluegums, though the bluegum plantations are being progressively replaced with avocado and macadamia orchards.

“Patience removes frustration: Practice restores confidence: Perseverance makes it happen.” ― Charles F. Glassman

Black and White mannikins visited us each day in front of the Narina Trogon cottage, one of the three cottages on Dragonwyck farm.

Magoebaskloof Birders Cottages are located midway down the escarpment in Magoebaskloof valley which is thickly forested. From these cottages we could easily access the grass valleys around Haenertsburg, the Woodbush Forest Reserve, sub tropical areas around Tzaneen and the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve, all of which are excellent birding areas.

“Practice creates more connections among the neurons, which push you a little further towards perfection.”
― Abhijit Naskar

The birding in Dragonwyck farm is excellent. A total of 107 bird species have been directly recorded on Dragonwyck Farm itself, while the surrounding Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 (SABAP2) pentad area (pentad 2350_3000) lists 226 recorded species. A few of the specials we were hoping to see and photograph were the Black-fronted Bush-Shrike, Narina Trogon, Orange Ground-Thrush, Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler, Green Twinspot, White-starred Robin-Chat, Chorister Robin-Chat, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Cape Parrot and Crowned Eagle.

We put millet on the rocks in front of the cottage to attract small seed-eating birds such as firefinches and mannikins. The African firefinches look very similar to Jameson’s firefinches but the former have a grey-brown neck and black rump.

We spent four days at the Magoebaskloof Birders Cottages in February. Two of the days we spent looking for birds ourselves. The other two days we spent with well-known bird guide, David Letsaolo. We had two hot sunny days and two days of intermittent rain.

Each cottage is surrounded by indigenous plants providing the ideal habitat for many birds, and animals such as Bushbuck and Samango monkeys. There are walks on the farm some which follow the streams and others provide access to escarpment forest.

By putting millet out for the birds we attracted a family of Striped mice which were daily visitors. They were very skittish probably because everything in the bush wants to eat them.

Helen and I spent hours looking for birds on Dragonwyck farm. We heard Narina Trogons and Cape parrots but never saw either species. We saw Crowned eagles from a distance flying high above us. They were nesting in one of the huge bluegums further up the escarpment. Our birding endeavours were not very productive from a photographic point of view. We found the best birding photographic opportunities were around the cottage. The flowers around the cottage attracted this male Greater double-collared sunbird which was in the process of growing the full iridescent green plumage on his head and back.

The flowers also attracted this male Amethyst sunbird. The iridescent blue-green patch on the crown of his head can only be seen when the light catches it at certain angles. The iridescent amethyst feathers can be seen in his throat and rump.

On the second last day we joined well-known local bird guide David Letsoalo who is based in Polokwane but hosts bird guiding trips around Haenertsburg, Magoebaskloof, Tzaneen, and Hans Merensky Nature Reserve. His knowledge of birds, trees and plants is exceptional. Ninety percent of the birds he finds he does so by identifying the direction and distance of their calls which significantly narrows down the search for the location of the bird that is calling. One of the aspects of birding with David was that many of the birds were more than 30 metres away which even with a 1100mm telephoto lens made the photography difficult especially with branches and grasses in the way.

“Hear how the birds, on every blooming spray, With joyous music wake the dawning day.” ~ Alexander Pope

The first area we visited on the first morning with David was the grassland valleys near Haenertsburg. There we saw Fan-tailed grassbirds and Yellow bishops. Many of the birds were too far away to get a decent detailed photograph of them.

After the grasslands, we returned to Magoebaskloof and turned down Forest Drive to visit the Woodbush Forest Reserve. Woodbush is an Afromontane mist-belt forest which has a high annual rainfall. On our way along the Forest drive we saw Drakensberg prinias in the vegetation along the road.

“Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.” ~ Douglas Coupland

The Drakensberg prinia prefers the ferns, scrub and tangled grass along the forest edges.

In a similar area to the Drakensberg prinia we saw this African Yellow warbler. David located this diminutive warbler by its call.

This African yellow warbler looked a little bedraggled because it had been raining. We were looking for Yellow-throated woodland warbler as we entered the forest but never saw one.

A Rattling cisticola in the hedgerow next to the Forest Drive road leading to the Woodbush forest above Magoebaskloof valley. Again we found this cisticola after hearing and locating its call.

Ginger lilies (genus Hedychium) thrive in the Afromontane Woodbush forest but they are a significant ecological concern. While beautiful and heavily fragrant, they are highly aggressive alien invasive plants that threaten the native biodiversity of this pristine ecosystem.

Once we got into the Woodbush Forest it was very humid, hot and very slippery underfoot with lots of moss on the tree roots and fallen logs. Again we were filled with expectation about getting a decent image of a Narina Trogon. We heard them but never got a good visual on one as they usually had their back to us and were high up in the forest canopy. One of the birds we wanted to see was the Black-fronted bush-shrike which is endemic to these afromontane forests.

“A heart without dreams is like a bird without feathers.” ~ Suzy Kassem

The Black-fronted bush-shrike is a small bush shrike that looks similar to an Orange breasted bushshrike but has a black band that covers it ears, eyes and the front of its forehead above the beak. This species is also highly location specific.

On the last day of our Magoebaskloof stay, David took me down to the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve and to several birding hotspots around Tzaneen. The Hans Merensky Nature Reserve, also known as the Hans Merensky Wilderness, is a 5 268-hectare protected area in the Lowveld of Limpopo Province, South Africa. This nature reserve is located about 70 km northeast of Tzaneen along the southern bank of the Letaba River near the Kruger National Park. It offers a flat bushveld landscape characterised by mopane and combretum trees We walked around a section of the reserve which followed the Letaba river. We saw two flocks of Retz’s helmet-shrikes. They were easy to identify by their chattering as the small flock made its way through the trees.

The Retz’s helmetshrike has striking colouration. Its underparts are black except its rump which is white and its upper parts are brown. It has red legs, a red beak with a yellow tip and a frilled red eye wattle around its yellow eye.

On our walk along a narrow path in the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve we were looking up into the trees for birds when David happened so see some movement next to path on front of him and looked down. There was an African Rock python in ambush under a large tuft of grass at the edge of the path about a metre from us. It was coiled up ready to strike.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” ~ Anonymous

If David had not seen the python it would have been close enough to strike at one of us and deliver a nasty bite. With all drama avoided we were able to have a closer look at its stunning markings.

After a long very hot walk through the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve we returned to Tzaneen to look for Blue spotted wood doves which we saw in two of the suburbs in Tzaneen but I was not able to take a decent photograph of them. We also made our way to a small farm adjacent to the derelict Tzaneen railway station to look for Magpie mannikins but could not get close enough to get a good visual. While we were looking for the mannikins we saw a juvenile Crowned eagle perched in the gumtrees along the river course.

We heard the juvenile calling and I slowly walked across an open field to get closer. It watched me intently but did not allow me to get too close. I was really hoping to the adult Crowned eagle. It is a huge magnificently plumed eagle, affectionately nicknamed the flying leopard. Unfortunately I never got to see an adult.

I have long known that birding and photographing birds are very different endeavours. This birding trip reinforced that view. Both endeavours are driven by their passion and interest in birds. There is a massive difference between birding and bird photography defined by the equipment required, methodology and proximity, and the outcomes. The primary difference is that birding is an observational and data-driven activity focused on finding, identifying, and listing species, while bird photography is an artistic practice focused on capturing visual representations of a bird’s behaviour and form.

I have had a lifelong interest in birds but over the last 20 years have been passionately involved in bird photography where my goal has been to create a compelling, high-quality image. Success is measured by sharpness, lighting, framing, and capturing a dramatic or unique moment (like a bird in flight or feeding) rather than just checking a species off a list.

“To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.” ~Henri Cartier-Bresson

Bird photography focuses on capturing light and detail at a distance. Usually photographers use heavy telephoto or super-telephoto lenses, high-speed camera bodies, tripods, and memory cards to shoot in continuous burst modes. Photographers usually need to get much closer or stay stationary in a hide/blind for hours. Getting a clean, detailed portrait requires closing the physical gap, creating a higher ethical responsibility to avoid stressing the bird or damaging its habitat.

Obviously there are many commonalities between birding and bird photography. Both need to understand bird behaviour, understand which are migratory species, adhere to ethical respectful behaviour and mostly importantly recognise the bird calls. I have found that my interest and understanding about birds has grown significantly through my photography mainly because I see more detail, shape and colours when reviewing the photographs. The wonderful aspect about bird photography it that each photographer’s style and vision comes from what they look for, how they visually see, which is invariably different to anyone else’s.

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

Whether through a lens or through binoculars, appreciation starts with stillness and internal connection to nature rather than just gear.”~ Rachel Carson Council

Have fun, Mike