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SIMPLY BIRDING
Birding Made Simple |
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Venda 4x4 Birding Trip (20 – 24 September 2007)
| Description: |
Aim The aim of the expedition is to explore the remoter areas of Venda and record birds found there. Very little of this area has been birded and yet much of the vegetation is still in a pristine condition. Thus there is great potential for some interesting sightings both in term of presence of species as well as distribution of species. Birding We will be traversing through different vegetation types. Time will be spent birding in Afro-temperate forests, Soutpansberg Arid Mountain Bushveld, Lowland riverine Forest, Mixed Bushveld, Brachystegia Woodland and high lying Afromontain Grasslands. Birds that we hope to pick up in these areas are African Broadbill, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Mountain Wagtail, Crowned Hornbill, Blue-spotted Dove, and Pink-throated Twinspot. A rarer species that has been recorded here in the past is Red-throated Twinspot. Conditions Most of the travelling will be done on gravel roads. In wet weather these roads get very muddy and slippery. At certain places along the route we will be driving on rocky, steep terrain, such as over mountain passes. Parts of the route follow infrequently used tracks. The route itself will not be managed in a two wheel drive vehicle and thus 4x4 is obligatory. Only six vehicles will be allowed on this trip. Cost The trip will cost R750 per person. All funds collected will be used for the running of the Soutpansberg-Limpopo Birding Route. Each person must come completely self sufficient with water, food etc. Bookings Sue Anderson BirdLife SA Travel Tel: 035 7535 644 / Cell: 082 7777 202 Email: travel@birdlife.org.za Website: www.birdlife.org.za Meeting Place We are convening at the Kliphuis on Entabeni Plantation at 5 pm on the 20th September. The Kliphuis is about 45 min drives from Makhado (Louis Trichardt) so allow enough time to get there. Directions: About 35 km out of Makhado on the R524 take the road marked Entabeni. Go through the boom and then follow the signs to the ‘Kliphuis’. It should take about 20 min to reach the Kliphuis from the boom gate. SOUTPANSBERG-LIMPOPO Birding ROUTE P.O. Box 203 Louis Trichardt 0920 Tel: 015 517 7040 Fax: 015 517 7034 Cell: 082 374 9534 contactus@limpopobirding.com • www.limpopobirding.com Meals Dinners will be included. I will also cover the costs of the meal on the 24th. For all other meals you are responsible for yourself. During the day we will stop for lunch and breakfast while on the move. There is clean drinkable water at all the campsites, so take along water bottles for during the day. What to bring You are expected to be completely self-sufficient. Thus bring along your own tents, sleeping paraphernalia, cooking equipment, water bottles, food for all your meals except dinners and lunch on 24th. All your vehicle needs, walking clothes and shoes. Binoculars, field guides etc. Itinerary 20 September 2007 Meet at Kliphuis Entabeni at 17:00 for debriefing session. Dinner supplied. Kliphuis Entabeni This is a beautiful spot high up in the Soutpansberg Mountains. The Kliphuis is surrounded by indigenous forests and afro-montain grasslands. There is place for 8 people to sleep in the building and the rest of the party will camp on the lawns. We will convene at 5 pm at the Kliphuis where we will have dinner provided by the Birding Route. 21 September 2007 Early departure for Thathe Vondo Sacred Forest. We will spend a couple of hours birding in the forest before going onto Lake Funduzi where we will have lunch. The rest of the afternoon we will travel through the high grasslands heading towards Gundani. Dinner supplied Thathe Vondo Sacred Forest Thathe Vondo is an indigenous forest managed by the Department of Water Affairs & Forestry. It is also a sacred forest because it is the site of the Royal Venda graves. Birding in the forest should produce typical afromontain forest species such as Chorister Robin, Starred Robin, Knysna Turaco and if we are lucky Orange Thrush. We will also look out for Samango Monkeys. Soutpansberg Mountain Tops and Lake Funduzi We will drop down to Lake Funduzi This magical place is steeped in Venda mythology and legend. It is difficult to predict what condition the lake will be in, but it is always well worth the visit from a cultural perspective. From Lake Funduzi we will be driving along the very top of the Soutpansberg. The vegetation consists of afro-montain grasslands which are interspersed with small patches of Mixed Afro-temperate Forest. Again, very little birding has been done here and it will be interesting to see what we will find. 22 September 2007 We will spend the morning birding in the Brachystegia Woodland. In the afternoon we will go to the Sagole Big Tree where we will wait till night fall to see the spinetails come in to roost. Then head back to Gundani. Dinner supplied Gundani Brachystegia Woodland This is the only place in South Africa where Brachystegia trees are found. This site has attracted the attention of Botanists and Birders alike. Birding that has been done in this area before has produced some great species such as Southern Hyliota, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Blue-spotted Dove and Pink-throated and Red-throated Twinspot. We will also be looking for Mountain Wagtail, Bearded Robin, Cuckoo Hawk, Narina Trogon and Crowned Hornbill. Sagole Big Tree This is not only the biggest Baobab tree in the world, but also one of the only three known roosting sites for Mottled Spinetail in South Africa. We plan to be at the tree at dusk so that we can witness the Mottled Spinetails coming into roost. 23 September 2007 We will do some more birding in the Brachystegia Woodland. We will then pack up camp and drive over to Golwe. At Golwe we will bird around the campsite and do the Waterfall Walk. Dinner supplied Golwe Camping Site The local community have established a picnic site at Golwe for local people and tourists. The SLBR managed to secure funding from the Jensen Charity Foundation to upgrade the picnic site to a campsite with an ablution facility. At the heart of the site is a natural spring of water that has never dried up in living memory and thus the community have protected it. The area has large riverine trees in the picnic site and the surrounding mountains are covered in pristine examples of Soutpansberg Arid Mountain Bushveld. We will be spending the afternoon birding here and walking up into the mountains. In the previous expedition to the area we found African Broadbill in the campsite. 24 September 2007 Early morning birding doing the Golwe Forest Trail from the camp. Mid-morning departure for the Mphapuli Cycad Reserve and then head on back to Makhado and lunch at the Inn Tea Garden. Mphapuli Cycad Reserve The reserve is situated on the southern slopes of the Soutpansberg Mountains east of Thoyohandou. This is the only protected Afro-temperate forest in this area of Venda. The forest itself is about 600 ha in size, but due to extensive slash and burn practises on these slopes it has become an island. Thus it is going to be important to record what birds occur in this area, as it has become a refuge for afro-temperate forest species. Inn Tea Garden The Inn Tea Garden is situated on the N1 7 km from Makhado (Louis Trichardt). This will be our final stop where we will have lunch before everybody disperses back home. |
| Date: | Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
| Repeat Type: | Thursday, September 20, 2007 - Monday, September 24, 2007 (every Day) |
| Priority: | Medium |
| Created by: | Default Administrator |
| Updated: | Thursday, July 5, 2007 22:07 |
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