Violet-backed Starling

Polokwane Game Reserve is around 3 500 hectares in area and hovers at the edge of the city of the same name in northern South Africa.  We duly collected all the reserve information from the office and were a little surprised to discover that the place does not appear to have a bird list!  Nevertheless, we checked in and set off across the wide expanse of bushveld and grassland to see what we might find.  We were in for a treat.

Despite it being around midday and very hot (around 30 deg Celcius), the birds were undeterred.  The bushveld was fairly dense after recent and much-needed rains had fallen in the area the previous week; we nevertheless found a plethora of birdlife.  Our final tally was just over 60 species – not bad for less than 24 hours of birding!  First up were Red-billed Queleas, which feed by stripping wild grass stems of their seeds.  When they get into croplands, they become pests and this leads to endless conflict between the birds and crop farmers.  At the reserve no such problems exist and flocks of these avians were everywhere.  We were interested to see that the white-headed variation is present at Polokwane.  Shortly after that, we saw the incredible Marico Sunbird with its irridescent emerald and sapphire plumage and the game was on.

We then found a few pheasant-type birds, which often skulk in long grass which they use as cover.  Helemeted Guineafowl are always popular and we spotted several groups of these, as well as both Swainsons and Crested Francolin.  Among a group of guineafowl, we were delighted to find an unexpected Red-crested Korhaan, a bustard-type bird.  e also discovered a Secretary Bird striking out across a swathe of grassland.

In the same area, we came across two cuckoo species.  All of South Africa’s cuckoos are migratory, hailing from Europe, and overwinter here, where they often breed using various thrush, chat and starling species as hosts.  The striking emerald-and-white plumage of the Didericks Cuckoo together with its familiar call (di-di-diderick) identifies and pinpoints it from miles away; we also saw the similar Klaas’s Cuckoo, which has a white breast with no stripes and an emerald green back.

Several smaller birds were seen in the thorn trees and grasses: Cape, Brimstone and Yellow-breasted Canary, Sabota, Rufous-naped and Long-billed Larks, Grassveld Pipit, White-browed Sparrow Weaver, African Hoepoe, Red-backed and Fiscal Shrike – and the amazing Burchells Starling, together with numerous others.  Near dams, we spotted the White-faced Duck, Blacksmith Lapwing and Malachite Kingfisher.  We also watched a Hamerkop building its vast and rather ungainly nest, bringing all manner of sticks and skeins of long grass to add to its construction.

We always seem to find congregations of birds at campsites, picnic areas and day visitors centres.  Polokwane Game Reserve was no exception – fruiting mulberry trees were filled with a plethora of birds, which spilled over into surrounding vegetation.  here we saw the lovely black-and-white Jacobin Cuckoo as well as a pair of Didericks Cuckoos and the fabulous Violet-backed Starling (the female is a brown-and-white bird in contrast to her brilliantly coloured mate).  The trees also revealed Crested Barbet, Acacia Pied Barbet, African Hoepoe, Greater Scimitarbill, Speckled Mousebird, Yellow White-eye, Dark-capped Bulbul, Fiscal Flycatcher, Marico Flycatcher, Streaky-headed Seed-eater, White-bellied Sunbird, Magpie Shrike…  we just kept adding and adding to our list. 

Eventually, time caught up with us and we had to tear ourselves away to head out to the next part of our journey.