Chapter 86 in Birding Gauteng explores the Waterberg area with special focus on Marakele National Park near Thabazimbi.

Trip 1 - July 2010
On Saturday morning the 10th of July my family left Joburg at 4:30am heading for Thabazimbi and then on another 15 kilometers to the Marakele National Park. I had previously visited the park but not as a birder. The park is covered in Birding Gauteng, chapter 86 and it sounded like an excellent prospect for a day's birding! While it is only 230 kilometers from Joburg to the park it is certainly not a 2 hour trip given the bad condition of road around Brits and that the fact that it is single lane traffic most of the way. There is a route via Warmbaths which would be idea if you live in Pretoria. We chose to travel on the R511 via Beestekraal.

We enjoyed the sight of Owls along the way - seeing the first on just near the 14th Avenue offramp on the N1 - probably one of the Northcliff hill owls. The light was too low to be sure about it's id, but it looked like a Spotted Eagle Owl. We saw at least one diminutive owl, guess that it was Pearl-spotted Owlet, and another two in flight along the way that we just enjoyed visually!

We were wanting to get to the park as close to 7:30 as possible (not a great opening time for birders!!!) but we kept stopping along the way - firstly, about 38 kilometers before Thabazimbi on the R511 we spotted a White Stork on a pole and saw a dam right next to the road (the place is signposted Enjante' Wild Life Ranch) - we were amazed to count around 15 Grey Heron, 20 White-breasted Cormorant, 2 Hamerkop, 2 Pied Kingfishers, a Malachite Kingfisher and a Cattle Egret. An amazing spot in the "middle of nowhere":

We pushed on needing to make us some lost time, but suddenly a little raptor on a pole changed all that (time means nothing when a Lifer appears). Turns out that it was a Rock Kestrel and I managed to get some pics from the car and a few from a walk that I took up close:

We continued and HAD to pull off at the T-Junction (10kms from Thabazimbi) because of a African Fish-Eagle sitting in a tree overlooking a river in the valley. By the time we pulled into the park at 7:50 we had already seen 31 bird species including Shikra, the four Owls, Rock Kestrel, Three-banded Plover, Quelea, Southern Pied Babbler, Crested Francolin and Magpie Shrike.

We registered our presence at reception and were waved through without paying thanks to the magic of Wildcard. We started by exploring the Ndlopfu Drive, the Tsessebe Loop and also the Nyala Loop. We recorded Yellow-billed Hornbill, Arrow-marked Babbler, Helmeted Guineafowl, Crested Francolin, Blue Waxbill, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Lourie, Black-headed Tchagra, Black-headed Oriole, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Emerald Spotted Wood-Dove, Lesser Masked Weaver, Levaillant's Cisticola, Fork-tailed Drongo, Golden-breasted Bunting, Grey Tit-Flycatcher, White-Browed Scrub-Robin, Cape White-eye, Blacksmith Lapwing, Common Waxbill and Southern Pied Babbler. Here are some pics that I took on these roads:

We ended this section with a cup of coffee at a little dam that we discovered close to the eastern boundary of the park along a 4x4 track - it does not seem to be marked on any maps.

We then travelled towards the Bird Hide, our next stop, on the Tshungulu Drive, more of the Ndlopfu Drive and the Kgokongo Loop to Bollonoto Dam. Along this route we saw: Southern Pied Babbler, Common Ostrich, Red-billed Hornbill, Yellow-billed Hornbill, Southern White-crowned Shrike, Magpie Shrike, Southern Black Tit, Cape Turtle Dove, White-crested Helmet-Shrike, Bushveld Pipit (this id was confirmed by Faansie Peacock - a Lifer for me!) and Black-backed Puffback (one day I would love to see one displaying!). We also saw dozens of warthog, white rhino (we were so focussed on watching the Helmet-Shrike that we did not notice the 5 rhino within 20 metres of our car!), Zebra, Tsessebe and Black-backed Jackal. Here are some bird pics that I snapped in this area (I will post some animal pics later in the report):

We arrive at the Hide that I have been keen to see and were greeted by a herd of Kudu. We did the short walk to the hide and a patient wait of around 20 minutes yielded (drum roll please....) Common Moorhen, Cape White-eye, Laughing Dove, Black Crake, Dark-capped Bulbul (not exactly spectacular sights but a great little spot!!!). Here is a pic of the hide and one of the view from the hide:

Now it was time to make our way through to the Eastern section of the National Park - there is a remote controlled electric gate that you go through into the area were the big game (including Elephant, Wild Dog and apparently Lion) are kept. Our focus on this section was to make the long journey on Lenong Drive to the top of the mountain where the radio towers are located. We saw plenty signs of elephant along the way but did not see any on the way there. Here are some pics of the journey up the mountain:

Along the way towards the mountain we saw Sabota Lark and African Grey Hornbill - it was already 12 o'clock so the bird life was rather reduced. We also saw Cape Vulture soaring above the hills:

Just before the arrived at the top after some pretty scary narrow roads on the cliff face, we saw a Neddicky and then my second ever sighting of Buff-streaked Chat - I tried to do the best I could by way of pics but was not happy and thought that might be it! Ha ha, I would be pleasantly surprised at the top of the mountain!!!

It was a beautiful day - clear blue skies and a chilly but not freezing wind so we got out of our car at the lookout point and were greeted by a great diversity of birds (rather tame to put it mildly), and both male and females of each species, including: Buff-streaked Chat, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Familiar Chat, Cape Rock-Thrush, Cape Bunting (Oh, and a pair of Dark-capped Bulbul that probably hitched a ride up the hill with one of the tourists and a female Fiscal Flycatcher). Here are some pics that I took:

I then went looking for Gurney's Sugarbird and was fortunate enough to see a long-tailed bird flying down to a Protea bush a way down the hill. So risking another bite from tics I was off like a shot and got pleasantly rewarded for my efforts:

I spent a bit of time watching the Cape Vultures, got some not so great pics with my limited range camera (300mm), and hoped to see some other raptors but did not get lucky!

On the way down the hill, near the valley, we saw Cape Robin-Chat, White-browed Scrub-Robin and the last bird before we left that I photographed was Grey-backed Camaroptera:

If we thought the the day's fun was over we were to be pleasantly surprised - the first highlight was seeing Namaqua Dove (a Lifer for me) both male and female (the bronze colour seen in the wings when these doves fly was puzzling us, until we saw two females drinking by the side of the road - the pic shows the bronze colour in the wings of the bird flying near the top left hand corner of the pic):

We then finally saw a Roller (they had been absent all day) - in fact they (Lilac-breasted Roller) were on just about every telephone line for a few kilometers:

A great highlight was getting up close to a Pearl-spotted Owlet sitting on a telephone wire next to the road:

We stopped in at the little dam next to the road for one more look and were not disappointed with the diversity of bird life at the spot. We searched fields for Storks on the way home, in vain, and only saw Burchell's Starling that was significant:

Here are the animals and small chaps we saw on the day:

An incredible day of birding, in which we saw 41 bird species on the way to and from the park, 53 bird species in the park and I recorded 3 Lifers (Rock Kestrel, Namaqua Dove and White-crested Helmet-Shrike) and will be adding some better pics to my personal photo library!

Some birds that we saw but I did not refer to in my report include: Swainson's Spurfowl, Mousebird, African Black Duck, Reed Cormorant and Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird.

Trip 2 - August 2011
On Monday the 15th August 2011 I spent my day off visiting the Marakele National Park near Thabazimbi about three hours north of Johannesburg. I arrived at 7:30 and headed to the Bontle Camping site where I spotted Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Helmeted Guineafowl, Crested Francolin, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, Egyptian Goose, Common Ostrich, Red-billed Hornbill, Lilac-breasted Roller, Cape Turtle-Dove, Blacksmith Lapwing, Arrow-marked Babbler, Crested Barbet and Bennett's Woodpecker (which was an unusually closer up encounter).

I then headed off along Tshungulu Drive (and also stumbled across a 4x4 trail called Vaalbos loop I think that led through some pretty soft sand - but gave me a sighting of Rhino and birds including White-browed Scrub-Robin, Long-billed Crombec, Red-crested Korhaan, Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike, Black-backed Puffback, Black-crowned Tchagra, Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler, Golden-breasted Bunting, Grey Go-away-bird, Fork-tailed Drongo, Southern-masked Weaver, Cape Glossy Starling, Crimson-breasted Shrike, African Pipit, Neddicky and Crowned Lapwing.

I stopped off at the Bird Hide at the Bollonoto and saw a handful of species including Southern Black Flycatcher, Common Moorhen, Blue Waxbill, Black Crake, Grey Go-away-bird, Dark-capped Bulbul, Brown-hooded Kingfisher and Crested Francolin. Unfortunately none of my pics are really worth showing.

One of the spots that I had not visited before at Marakele was the Tlopi tented camp site so I headed there and spent a good hour or more birding particularly around the inlet to the dam. Here I saw Natal Spurfowl, Green-winged Pytilia, African Firefinch, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Grey Go-away-bird, Cape White-eye, African Darter, Dark-capped Bulbul, White-browed Robin-Chat, Red-billed Firefinch, African Wattled Starling, Wood Sandpiper, Emerald Spotted Wood-Dove, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Rock Martin, Egyptian Goose, Arrow-marked Babbler and Cardinal Woodpecker.

Here are some scenery pics followed by bird pics:

My next stop was the top of the mountain where the radio towers are located (along Lenong Drive). On the way towards the mountain I saw Familiar Chat, Cape Robin-Chat, Neddicky and Tawny-flanked Prinia. I arrived on the top of the mountain (honestly one of my favourite spots on planet Earth) and I had a fabulous time getting up close and personal to a great deal of special bird species including: Bar-throated Apalis, Cape Bunting, Cape Vulture, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Buff-streaked Chat, Cape Rock-Thrush, Gurney's Sugarbird, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Lazy Cisticola, Fiscal Flycatcher and Natal Spurfowl.

The highlight was getting really close to a Gurney's Sugarbird and snapping some decent shots. I spotted this bird about 50 meters away and decided to try and sneak up on it. I played it's call on my cell phone and moved forward about 3 meters at a time, pausing to take shots along the way - quite expecting it to fly away. It never did fly away and I must have spent 20 minutes in it's presence (I have about 100 shots from the experience) and finally said goodbye to it and left the spot:

On the way down the mountain I stopped to take some pics of the mountain towering above me and also saw the following birds: Rock Kestrel, Burnt-necked Eremomela, African Stonechat, Cape Robin-Chat, Rattling Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Short-toed Rock-Thrush (I actually nearly did not stop to take pics of this chap thinking it was just another Cape Rock-Thrush, but while checking the pics I spotted the grey back and realised it is Short-toed instead) and African Grey Hornbill.

As I made my way back to the Western section (through the tunnel under the tar road) I spotted three Francolins trying to sneak across the road. Do they honestly think we can't see them if they crouch down low???

I spent about another hour birding the western section before heading for the exit. Here is what I saw: Red-faced Mousebird, Chinspot Batis, Fork-tailed Drongo, Southern Black Tit, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Bennett's Woodpecker, Southern Pied Babbler, Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike, Lilac-breasted Roller, Crowned Lapwing, Red-winged Starling, Cattle Egret, Greater Striped Swallow, Groundscraper Thrush, Blacksmith Lapwing and Laughing Dove

Here are some of the pics that I took of mammals on the day:

A stunning day out in paradise in which I spotted no less than 77 bird species. So far I have seen 106 bird species at Marakele (over 2 trips - both in winter). I can't wait to visit the place in summer!