Birding Zululand- A Bhejane Tale

The rain drops falling to earth, with each collision a noise which many a person relates to relaxation, calm and serenity, the sound of rain being a world wide symbol for peace and tranquility. But then there comes the grumble of thunder, rolling across the earths surface, almost as if one is experiencing a mild earth tremor interspersed with sudden streaks of bright white light, dancing across the sky as if it were an intricate technique passed down from generation to generation. The scene of an African thunderstorm is a scene like no other. Nowhere else in the world can you find and witness such a spectacle, a Burchalls Coucal agreeing as he sings for further rain.  

Ingwe, Bhejane, Udube, Mfezi....all of these Zulu words embedded with a fond memory from my recent stay down at Ethlatini Bush Camp, the home of Bhejane Nature Training. A place of learning, relaxation, fun and most importantly a second home to the students which attend any one of Bhejane's courses. It is a place of like minded people, people who are young and eager to learn about nature and all it's glory, people who will do anything in their power to preserve and conserve what they love. It was here where I found myself for just over a month, cumulatively, last year after receiving a message from Bhejane owners, Dylan and Christa Panos inviting me down for a stay in order to help me out with my Birding Big Year and my quest to see 800 species of Southern African bird in a calender year. Thus it was with great eagerness that I accepted and in a matter of weeks I found myself tackling the six hour journey down to Ethlatini Bush Camp, a mere 18km's from Hluhluwe town, Kwazulu Natal.

Throughout the journey my excitement grew and grew with every kilometer driven, the scenery slowly changing from the sky scrapers and office blocks of Johannesburg to the informal settlements of Phongola and then to the vast, open, acacia dominated reserves which all help contribute to the 'power' behind the world Zululand, a power which causes many a wildlife lovers heart to quicken in pace. White-backed Vultures shared the skies with Yellow-billed Kites and Bateleur's, thermals taking them to heights we as humans can only dream of reaching.

The signboards for Hluhluwe started to appear with each kilometer gained and before I knew it I was navigating my way through the bustling town, joining up onto the road to Sodwana Bay. I couldn't help but continue to admire the amazing scenery, bringing back memories of my previous visit to Zululand almost five years ago, however as amazing of a distraction the scenery proved to be, the pineapple fields surrounding the Ethlatini property proved to be even more fascinating, with Woolly-necked Storks walking a stern line behind any tractor that so happened to be working the fields.

The next three weeks at Bhejane went by far too quickly, but it is now where I shall take the time to refer to the age old saying "time flies when one is having fun" and it was only on my road back home when I realized the full effect of those words. Time did truly fly and it was because I was having fun, in fact the time spent at

Myself and Ruvan Grobler at Muzi Pan
(Copyright J.Crickmay)

Bhejane was undoubtedly one of my fondest memories from my Birding Big Year and those memories made will last me a lifetime! Those three weeks were filled with back to back trips and time spent in camp with the camps students and staff, sharing my love and passion for all things wild and learning a lesson or two in humility, because the knowledge these folks possess is second to none and outshone any previous knowledge I had managed to parrot study from a book. This knowledge was different, it was knowledge learnt from experience and taken from role models in the guiding industry, personal experiences and observations, all driven by a deeper understanding and appreciation for the bush, something you cannot learn from any book.

Sometimes a break from birding to catch
a few waves was very much enjoyed
(Copyright J.Crickmay)

A trip to Kosi Bay with the FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa) Level 1 Marine students was first up with the main target for the trip being Palm-nut Vulture. I can gladly report back that on our final day at Kosi Bay we managed to stumble across a sub-adult, casually sitting atop a waterberry tree. Kosi Bay was truly fantastic birding wise with species along the likes of Swamp Nightjar, Woodwards Batis, Narina Trogon, Black-throated Wattle Eye and Livingstones Turaco all being seen.

Birding a road on the border of False Bay with Caylin
and Dalene
(Copyright J.Crickmay)

Kosi Bay was then followed by time spent back at Bhejane headquarters and birding took place in and around False Bay Park where species along the likes of Neergards Sunbird, Rudds Apalis, Pink-throated Twinspot, Broad-billed Roller, African Broadbill, Gorgeous Bushshrike, Green Malkoha, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped and Red-fronted Tinkerbirds and many, many more gorgeous forest species! My list slowly but surely started to climb with each day spent in camp, and the momentum just didn't seem to stop.....I most certainly wasn't complaining!

A shock to my system came not in the form of new additions to my list, but instead the enthusiasm that the students showed toward birds and birding in general. Almost as if it were apart of their uniform, 99% of all the students would carry their binoculars with them on any walk or guided activity with a bird book in close proximity. Along with this initial shock, the 'aftershock' if you may came one day when I took the entire camp out, with close friend and Bhejane student Josh Crickmay, to try our luck at connecting with African Broadbill on the perimeter of False Bay Park. We divided the group into two, each of us taking a half, and took an educated guess as to where the Broadbill's would be after hearing them display on a recce trip the day prior. We headed off into a patch of sand forest and the two groups ended up bumping into one another. After 'joining forces', a quick signal to the group to stop and sit down was quickly echoed and after a few moments of silence, I played the Broadbill's 'call' twice, and then stopped, and we sat and waited. Anxious moments passed when all of a sudden the distinctive display call of an African Broadbill burst forth a mere 50m away from us. It is not the Broadbill's display I will forever remember or cherish but the look of almost fifty students's face's as each and everyone lit up with pure joy and excitement. It was in that moment where the Broadbill's call became but a background noise in my ears as I sat there, welcoming a new wave of appreciation and understanding of what birding was all about as it washed over me like a cool breeze. Truly an incredible experience!  

It was with a heavy heart that I left Bhejane after my three week stay but in the back of my mind I was praying that some weird and wonderful bird decides to pop up somewhere near the camps headquarters, so that I would be able to make my way back down to the place so many called 'home', and clearly somebody listened to my prayers because after a two week spin around Mozambique and Zimbabwe a group of Caspian Plovers decided to arrive at Mpempe Pan, a few kilometers up the road from Ethlatini....It was back for round two and some more "X-treme birding"!

The entire Bhejane Camp out on the border of False Bay doing what should be done...Birding!
(Copyright J.Crickmay)