Bird watching walk at Likweti Bushveld Farm Estate led by international bird guide, Marc Cronje: 5 February 2025
This is such a fantastic time of year to get out and enjoy the vibrant summer birds as they wrap up their breeding season. With their beautiful breeding plumage, the birds are lively and displaying, making it the perfect opportunity to experience the wonder of the Lowveld bushveld.
Our morning began on a delightful note with the call of European Bee-eaters soaring overhead, a sure sign that summer is in full swing. Adding to the bushveld’s seasonal chorus, the familiar “Piet-my-vrou” call of the Red-chested Cuckoo was soon joined by the melodious sounds of Violet-backed Starlings.
The Red-chested Cuckoo, an intra-African migrant, arrives in South Africa to breed. As a brood parasite, it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving the host species to raise its chicks. In our region, Robin-chats and White-browed Scrub Robins are the primary hosts. The female Red-chested Cuckoo will often remove and consume a host’s egg before laying her own in its place.
A group of six enthusiastic birders joined me for a fantastic morning of birding at Likweti Bushveld Farm Estate. At the estate’s entrance, we were treated to some exciting sightings, including a displaying and calling Croaking Cisticola, a stunning flyover by a Purple-crested Turaco, and the vibrant presence of an African Green Pigeon. Other highlights included Violet-backed Starlings, a Yellow-throated Longclaw, a Woodland Kingfisher, Neddicky, Cape White-eye, and a Willow Warbler, a Palearctic migrant that breeds from Ireland across Europe to Russia and Ukraine. We also spotted a White-breasted Cormorant soaring overhead.
One of the most spectacular moments of the morning was witnessing flocks of European Bee-eaters in flight. These incredible birds embark on a remarkable migration from South Africa to Europe. Interestingly, two different populations visit us: the northeastern group consists of non-breeding birds from Europe, while the southwestern group breeds here before migrating to Central Africa.
As we made our way through the grassland and mixed Acacia, our bird list continued to grow, featuring some remarkable species. Highlights included Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Barn Swallows, Cardinal Woodpecker, Black Cuckooshrike, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, and a fantastic open view of a Lesser Honeyguide. We also spotted Yellow-fronted Canary, Groundscraper Thrush, a striking female Long-crested Eagle with her distinctive white legs, Spectacled Weaver, White-fronted Bee-eaters, Red-throated Wryneck, Acacia Pied Barbet, Fan-tailed and Red-collared Widowbirds, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Green-backed Camaroptera, Holub’s Golden Weaver, and White-bellied Sunbird.
The Acacia Pied Barbet is an uncommon sight in this area. These birds play a crucial role in spreading mistletoe plants, using their short tongues and strong bills to handle fruit. In contrast, their woodpecker relatives have chisel-like bills and remarkably long tongues designed for extracting insects from bark, along with stiff tail feathers that help prop them up while feeding. For a fascinating read on this, check out this article.
A standout moment towards the end of our walk was spotting a Western Osprey circling over one of the farm dams, a rare sight in the Lowveld. The bird we observed was an adult, likely a Palearctic migrant that spends the summer in South Africa. Most of these birds arrive between October and December, departing between March and May. While records show that some individuals overwinter, these are usually immature or sub-adult birds, though adults can also remain.
In total, the group spotted 69 species during the morning walk on the estate.
