Spring long weekend visit to Wolfhuiskraal

The Heritage Day holiday on 24th September presented the opportunity for a long weekend's get away for part of the family. Our destination Wolfhuiskraal (S 25*09,716 E 28*11,141), a 3500 ha cattle ranch situated between Pienaars River & Kgomo-Kgomo, approximately 70km north of Pretoria, in an area of natural bushveld, offering rich Acacia woodland habitats. There are also large open fields and grassland areas, with a portion of the farm fronting on the Pienaars River, and the river's floodplains are close by. The many cattle kraals present great birding opportunities, attracting various brightly coloured birds including firefinches, waxbill and pytilias.

Stuart & Alison together with Jessica & Daniella travelled through to Johannesburg from Pilanesberg for another function on Thursday 24th, and together with Hilary & myself then headed north on Friday, in great anticipation, to spend 4 days at Wolfhuiskraal for a lovely break & great atlassing opportunities.

We arrived at lunchtime, and were welcomed by ranch owner, Danie Opperman, who made us very welcome before his departure to join his family on holiday in the Cape. His parting words were: "Geniet!!! If you open a gate, close it after you. If it's open, leave it open." With that we took leave of him and headed up to our accomodation at the bushcamp, which was ours for the duration of our stay, together with thousands of hectares to explore & enjoy.

A view of the lapa & rondavel

The area boasts a potential species list of around 270, but as we were going to be there at a very dry time of the year, and before any good rains to possibly inundate the flood plains, our expectancy was quite a bit less than this.

A view of the lapa & main house


The northern portion of the farm falls into pentad 2505_2810, and no time was wasted in getting our lists underway. Initial species records included: Magpie Shrike, Rufous-naped Lark, Southern Pied Babbler, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Burchell's Starling, Violet-eared Waxbill and Brubru. The Pearl-spotted Owlets were very active, and their lovely call was heard throughout each day of our stay. Stuart is an excellant mimic of this owl's call, and he got response time & time again, from birds all around the bushcamp. A late afternoon walk along the road to the farmhouse produced among others: Green-winged Pytilia, Scaly-feathered Finch, Long-billed Crombec, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Willow Warbler, Black-chested Prinia, Burnt-necked Eremomela, Golden-breasted Bunting and African Quailfinch. Our first day came to an end with a great braai, enjoyed together with the calls of Barn Owl & Spotted Thick-knee.

The following mornings dawn chorus included among others: Crested Francolin, Crested Barbet, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, and Arrow-marked Babbler. Saturday morning also produced a 'lifer' in the Barred Wren-warbler, with its distinctive call, and we were all fortunate to have good views. Other species recorded during the day included: African Grey Hornbill, White-browed Scrub-Robin, Marico Sunbird, Marico Flycatcher, Chinspot Batis, Red-billed Oxpecker and Burchell's Coucal.

Sunday morning dawned hot and dry, and following a lazy early morning and light breakfast, we moved into pentad 2510_2810, into which the southern portion of the farm falls. It was very hot and birding was slow, but nevertheless enjoyable. Some of the additional birds recorded in this pentad included: Namaqua Dove, Black-headed Heron, Neddicky, Red-billed Hornbill, Black-shouldered Kite, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Swainson's Spurfowl, Rattling Cisticola. Southern Boubou, and a pair of Black-chested Snake-eagles, which treated us to a great display of cart-wheeling & tumbling.

Stuart relaxing in the lounge afters daughters tucked up in bed

In the heat of the day, we returned to Wolfhuiskraal, continuing to add species to our lists on a regular basis: African Fish-eagle, White-browed Sparrow-weaver, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Gabar Goshawk, White-breasted Cormorant, Yellow-fronted Canary, Chestnut-vented Titbabbler, Black-throated Canary and Brown-crowned Tchagra.

Following on our braai on Sunday evening, and having put the young girls to bed, Stuart & Alison went off in search of owls and possibly some coursers. They both had a successful outing, and recorded Barn Owl, Marsh Owl and Southern White-faced Scops-owl.

Monday morning, another hot and dry day, saw us heading off towards Kgomo-Kgomo. Along the way, passing through pentad 2510_2805, some of the species recorded included: Grey Go-away Bird, African Firefinch, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Wahlberg's Eagle, and stunning views of a Pearl-spotted Owlet, perched less than 20 metres from the car.

The area of Kgomo-Kgomo was very dry & dusty, with little water in evidence. In this pentad 2505_2805, a very nice range of species was recorded, some of these being: Lesser-striped Swallow, African Pipit, Capped Wheatear, Yellow-billed Stork, Grey Heron, Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark, White-throated Swallow, Little Swift, African Spoonbill, Sabota Lark. Not far off the road, Hilary picked up a nesting Kittlitz's Plover, which when approached for a photograph, turned her back on us, covered the eggs with debris, and moved a short way off. Also seen at the same time, and very close to the plover nest was a nesting Red-capped Lark. Stuart & Alison also picked up a Greater Kestrel in the same area.

Late afternoon saw the development of a typical highveld thunder storm, with its accompanying lightning flashes and tremendous thunder claps. We had a short sharp shower, and the whole system then moved south towards Pretoria, only to return later in the evening after we had decided to head off on another owl hunt. Despite the rain, we were able to find both the Marsh Owl and Southern White-faced Scops-owl again, before turning round and heading back to the bush camp in pouring rain.

Our stay had on Tuesday morning come to an end, and it was an early morning pack-up for Stuart and family, as they had a long drive down to San Lameer on the south coast, for a further 5 days holiday. We took leave of the family, and Hilary & I had intended to spend the morning walking around the farm before leaving at around lunchtime. This however was not to be. On their way out, Stuart found the provincial road to Pienaars River to be impassable following on the previous nights heavy rain, and the same applied to the route out through Kgomo-Kgomo. They eventually got back to Wolfhuiskraal, during which time, Hilary had packed all our stuff, and I had managed to get hold of Danie Opperman on holiday in the Cape. and elicited his help with his tractor if it came to the point that we may get bogged down. Danie suggested a possible route out of the area in the direction of Radium, which we took, and with a fair amount of slipping & sliding, managed to make it through, without having to call for the assistance of the tractor.

On reaching Radium, Stuart pushed on ahead, as they had lost valuable time in their trip down to Natal. Hilary & I took our time on the road south towards home. On passing through Pretoria, and with a full afternoon still ahead of us, we decided to call in on Rietvlei Nature Reserve (pentad 2550_2815) for a few more hours of atlassing before heading for home. A very pleasant 3 hours in the reserve gave us a fair list of 67 species.

It was a great weekend enjoyed by all, and the intention is to return early in the new year after some rains, to bird the flood plain areas again.