March | 2016 | Mostly Birding

Leafloves?

As I mentioned in my previous post about twitching (https://mostlybirding.com/2016/02/23/a-twitch-or-two/), I hardly consider myself to fall into the category of keen twitchers, those hardy, sometimes mildly bonkers birders who let nothing stand in the way of seeing rare birds that turn up in Southern Africa.

Such was the case when a pair of Yellow-throated Leafloves (interesting name!) turned up and started nesting at a riverside lodge near Katima Mulilo in Namibia, some 200 kms south of their normal distribution in Zambia and northwards. Suddenly the Southern African region had a brand new bird added to the regional list!

The reports started coming through in mid February 2016 of this unexpected pair of birds in the gardens of the Caprivi Houseboat Safari Lodge near Katima Mulilo and there was soon a gold-rush like invasion of keen twitchers heading to this remote part of Southern Africa via plane and car from various places in South Africa and Namibia.

The Twitch

I watched with interest the messages coming through from Trevor Hardaker and the SA Rare Bird Facebook page, knowing that I would be going to Kasane in northern Botswana for a project I am involved in, during the 1st week in March. I also had a look at the map and realized that Katima Mulilo fell nicely within my “twitch limit” of around 2 hours drive, being about 120 kms from Kasane with a border crossing from Botswana to Namibia to negotiate along the way. So, if the Leafloves hung around until then, I planned to “pop over” the border for a quick visit and hopefully a new tick on my life list for Southern Africa.

Tuesday 1st March

Come Tuesday, I caught the daily flight from Joburg to Kasane – a day early for my site visit so that I could spend a night in Katima Mulilo (KM) and be back in time for the project commitments the following day. I had arranged for a bakkie (pickup) to be available and shortly after landing I set off for KM via Ngoma border post. The border formalities went smoothly, perhaps because I was the only customer in an hour or two.

From Kasane to Ngoma the public road (tarred) bisects the northernmost section of Chobe Game Reserve and the landscape is pristine woodland all the way.

Once into the Caprivi in Namibia, the scenery changes to more open, patchy woodland interspersed with small settlements and small-scale agriculture.

I arrived at the lodge by 4.30 pm and settled into the rustic accommodation on the river in unit No 5, which is right alongside the tree where the Leafloves were nesting.

The rustic cabin at Caprivi Houseboat Lodge

I immediately saw one of the young chicks peering over the edge of the nest and within minutes the parents were in the vicinity and at the nest, bringing morsels and calling in a Babbler-like manner although less harsh.

The rest of the afternoon was spent re-visiting the nest site in the hope of getting better views / photos and exploring the small property with its jungle-like gardens and river views.

It proved to be really challenging trying to get the Leafloves in my camera’s viewfinder for long enough to get a decent photo, as they seemed intent on hiding in the shadiest part of the foliage at every opportunity and when they did show themselves briefly, it was in an opening high up in the trees with bright light behind them.

Other birders had arrived earlier and a few more arrived after me – we enjoyed a good evening meal together and then made our way to mosquito-netted beds in the rustic cabins, happy to be able to add the Leaflove to our life lists.

Wednesday 2nd March

In the morning the others were already gathered at the coffee and rusks and I tagged along with the small group as they set off for a birding walk along the dirt road outside the lodge, which turned out to be quite busy with early morning commuters on their way to places unknown.

White-bowed Robin-Chat and Tropical Boubou were competing for loudest call as we walked and there was no shortage of other interesting species, such as :

Paradise and Grey-tit Flycatchers
Village Indigobird on the very top of a tree
Namaqua Dove perched on overhead wires
Brubru working its way through the foliage of a large tree
Little Sparrowhawk perched on an open branch
Copper Sunbird female peering from its nest in the roadside bush
Brown-crowned Tchagra posing beautifully on a nearby branch
Greater Blue-eared Starlings
African Golden Oriole – bright yellow against the green foliage

After the walk it was breakfast time followed by some further garden birding. A Schalow’s Turaco was calling and I followed the sound to find this lifer – a pair were moving about in the dense foliage of a tall tree, making it challenging to get a decent view or a photo. Fortunately I heard them again as I was leaving and found one on an open branch, almost inviting me to photograph this handsome species.

The trip back to Kasane was uneventful, other than coming across a trio of elephants along the road traversing Chobe.

Another successful twitch and memories of a brief but busy trip that will stay with me for a long while.

What happened to “Bird of the Week” ?

I was overly optimistic when I started a series of blogs titled “Bird of the Week” – what was meant to evolve into a weekly study of a specific bird species has seen me publish just two such blogs in the past few months. No excuses other than being too busy working, birding and blogging on other subjects that I felt compelled to get down in writing.

The caption I have now adopted is more flexible and I will be producing a series of similar “Bird in the Lens” blogs from time to time (now that’s vague enough not to be accused of misleading anyone). So here goes with the next species…….

HAMERKOP

Species Names

Hamerkop (English and Afrikaans) One of just two SA species with the same name in English and Afrikaans. (The other one? Bokmakierie) Sometimes translated to the English equivalent “Hammerhead” but no one I know uses that name
uThekwane, Uqhimgqoshe (Indigenous)
Hammerkopf(German)
Ombrette d’Afrique (French) – rather nice sounding name
Hamerkop (Dutch)
Scopus Umbretta (Scientific) The beauty of scientific names is that they are common throughout the world no matter what country or the language spoken. The first part – Scopus – is the Genus which is derived from the latin for “broom of twigs” – so named for the huge nest of twigs that the Hamerkop builds, up to 1,5m across . The second part – Umbretta – is the species name which in this case means shade or shady, probably to describe its uniquely shaped crest, head and bill, which give it an umbrella-like appearance.

Where to find it

The Hamerkop is found right across Southern Africa with the exception of the very arid areas. Distribution is also widespread in the rest of Africa, but it is never common and always elicits a “hey look, there’s a Hamerkop” when seen.

My first sighting was in Kruger National Park in the late 1970’s, long before I took up birding seriously.

It is usually found near water and hunts at the water’s edge, sometimes venturing into the shallows to snatch its prey from the edge of the water. Prey is mostly toads whose distribution is very similar to the Hamerkop, suggesting that Hamerkops depend on toads for food.

The distribution map below is from SABAP2

Look …….. and Listen

There is very little chance of confusing this species with any other, although I have been misled once or twice by a Hadeda flying over at a distance. The anvil-shaped head and overall brown colouring are instantly recognisable as belonging to the Hamerkop.

This is a medium-sized bird, up to 56cm long and weighing up to 500g.

The call is not an identifier as it is mostly silent.

Photography

Not a difficult bird to photograph, once you have found one near water, as it will not move around much if engrossed in hunting for a frog or other small prey.

Photos taken from the low water bridge between Skukuza and Tshokwane in Kruger National Park :

Other Stuff

Conservation status is listed as “Not threatened”. Where many species are suffering due to habitat loss, the Hamerkop is actually benefiting from irrigation schemes in arid areas. This is a survivor amongst bird species. It also features prominently in indigenous folklore, is regarded in awe and is generally unmolested.

Lifespan is 20 years or more.

Nests are massive structures built up out of hundreds of sticks and when completed they are decorated with anything that comes to hand …….. or beak – from cattle manure to dish cloths. One of my colleagues had the nickname Hamerkop given to him by the office general assistant, apparently due to his habit of hoarding all kinds of things at his home.

References

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa

Birdlife International

Birds of Africa South of the Sahara

SABAP2 (Maps)

Latin for BIrdwatchers (Roger Lederer and Carol Burr)

Adventurous Birding, Atlasing and Travel