Birds of a feather flock together

The last year has been a stark contrast to the one before in terms of the local weather. The past summer of 2022/2023 brought a lot of rain that was topped up by the cyclones that rolled through Mozambique as late as March. This meant that there was an abundance of water throughout the year that managed to last until the rains came again in November 2023.

The 2023/2024 summer was a lot drier however and regardless of some rain falling as late as the end of April, the little surface water we had quickly dried up leaving the N’wanetsi river as only a mere trickle, and the Sweni stopped flowing altogether. This extremely wet summer followed immediately by the dry spell did mean that the bird population demographics were changed in a very short time bringing some interesting visitors to the Lowveld and surrounds including on Singita Kruger National Park and in the Sabi Sands.

Generally speaking, there are three types of migration that we associate with birds. These are typically referred to as Palearctic, Intra-African, and Altitudinal migration. All of these categories refer to birds moving seasonally from one location to another when resources like food or nesting sites become scarce in a particular area.

Palearctic migrants refer to birds migrating between breeding grounds in Europe to feeding grounds in Southern Africa during the Summer Hemisphere Summer when food becomes scarce in their breeding areas.

Intra-African migrants do the same but move from North- and Central African feeding grounds to Southern African breeding grounds for Southern Hemisphere Summers.

Altitudinal migrants tend to spend the summers high up in mountains where they breed and disperse to lower altitudes and into new habitats during the winters when temperatures plummet higher up, and resources become scarcer. All these migrants are typically insectivores, and the availability of insects is what drives the seasonal movements.

Usually, during a good and wet year, bird populations increase dramatically due to the successful breeding season during a time of abundant resources. An exceptionally dry season then means that the normal habitat of these birds become overpopulated and this, along with a scarcity of resources, causes individuals to turn elsewhere to look for suitable and habitable environments with less competition.

Most notably as the driest time of the season started in July, arid species which are usually rare in the lowveld started to become locally abundant. Species like Lark-like Buntings, Chestnut-vented Warbler and Grey-backed Sparrow larks became locally quite common in some areas of the Lowveld. Early in August, excitement spiked as a Fairy Flycatcher, the smallest bird in Southern Africa, and a South African endemic usually restricted to the interior and West Coast of the country showed up and made itself home behind Boulders Lodge for a few weeks. As far as research can tell, this was the first record for the Sabi Sands.

In August, a Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher was alongside the Fairy Flycatcher at Boulders lodge, as well as a small group of Purple-banded Sunbirds that were recorded for the first time on the property. This was quite a spectacle as all three species are to some extent altitudinal migrants, but very rarely if ever venture as far North and West, but the Fairy Flycatcher typically prefer semi-arid habitat compared to the other two which prefer dense thicket bordering on forests. A single Black-throated Wattle-Eye has settled temporarily on the Sweni River, which was also the first confirmed record for the Lebombo concession.

Several juvenile Gorgeous Bush shrikes were observed a few times across the Lebombo concession. This is a bird which is only seen here once every few years, and the sudden apparent abundance also supports a great previous breeding season resulting in further than usual dispersal.

Lebombo chimed in with some amazing raptor sightings including at least two African Cuckoo-hawks as well as an Ovambo Sparrowhawk and the concession’s first Crowned Eagle.

All the above sightings come down to the abovementioned phenomenon where birds seek out new habitats when competition drives them out of their parent territories and when resources become scarce. Birds like these often hang around in the areas where they are found for a while.

The record of the season so far has to be that of a Buff-spotted Flufftail that was seen in the staff village of Lebombo in September when it was drinking water from an air conditioner outlet at one of the rooms. This is a notoriously skulk member of the Rallied family and is usually only heard from very dense undergrowth in forests. It is confirmed to one of fewer than five ever seen in Kruger National Park. The appearance of the Flufftail boils down to the time of year for Passage Migrants. What this refers to is a bird which is on its way to its breeding or feeding ground and just so happens to pass by a particular area where it usually does not occur. Buff-spotted Flufftails are intra-African migrants and this one was probably on its way down South for the summer when it stopped off for a quick drink.

So far it has been a very exciting time for passage migrants and many new species have been observed for the Lebombo concession in particular. Sand Martins as well as Banded Martins were seen for the first time ever passing by on their way to their usual breeding grounds further to the South of the country.

The season ahead is going to be an interesting one that all is excited about. The Greater Kruger has already had first-time records of very much out-of-range Olive Bee-eaters as well as South Africa’s second ever Spur-winged Lapwing further North and who knows what will pop up next! The days are already filled with the familiar calls of the summer visitors that have arrived in full force from various destinations in the North. European Bee-eaters fly over while the Woodland Kingfishers and all the different cuckoos fill the air with their calls. Summer is here and its great!