8 January 2019: Forest fever

The “Long and Winding Road” by Paul McCartney became an earworm in my head as I drove the nearly 800km from the Bavumba Highlands in Zimbabwe to Magoebaskloof in South Africa. At 11 ‘o clock that night I parked Daai Dêng (my camper) at the gate to Kurisa Moyo and slept for a few hours.

Started birding at 05:30 with David Letsoalo of Kurisa Moyo as my guide. Southern Africa has many outstanding bird guides, and David must rank as one of the foremost in this elite grouping. Within 5 minutes of stopping at the Mamabolo Grasslands David found both the Short-clawed- and Sabota’s Larks, and helpfully pointed out the differences in detail. This was just the beginning!

David Letsoalo

It was very quiet in the Magoebaskloof and we worked hard to find the forest specials. David’s finely tuned ear summond up hidden birds that he then charmed into revealing themselves. The highlight of the day was a Grey Cuckooshrike, a Southern African lifer and long-time bogey bird. I joyfully did my Mandela shuffle and David was too much of a gentleman to make any rude remarks about the performance. We had lunch at the Wheelbarrow teagarden where I ticked the Magpie Mannikin.

The earworm started humming again as I drove another 150km to tick a Taita Falcon in the Abel Erasmus Pass, the only place in Africa where this rarity can be seen with some certainty. The Taita became the second Southern African lifer for the day. I think that I am starting to nail the Mandela shuffle!