Thonga: Birding with Maxwell

We mentioned in a previous post how much fun we had birding with Maxwell, but it's worth repeating. It's always nice to bird with someone who enjoys it in the same fashion. We don't just tick a bird off a list once we've seen it. Instead, we stop and enjoy it and admire it and sometimes laugh at it (which gives Mike lots of time to get abundant photos.) If a good one gets away, we try not to take it too seriously and look forward instead to what awaits us in the next field or tree. Max was just our kind of birder, he always seemed to have a smile on his face and didn't get too stressed about what we did or didn't see and just enjoyed the sport.


Purple-crested Turaco


Livingstone's Turaco


Yellow-billed Kite


Hadeda Ibis


Hammerhead


Common Waxbill


African Pippit


Yellow-fronted Canary


Collared Sunbird


Bar-throated Apalis


Dark-backed weavers


Rufous-naped Lark


Rattling Cisticola

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher


We saw Pied Kingfishers both at Lake Sibaya and Londolozi. It's a neat bird, with the size and behaviors of the belted kingfisher of the US.

Birding at Lake Sibaya: The Waterbirds.

Our guide Max took us from Thonga beach lodge to Lake Sibaya twice. There was an interesting variety of birdlife mostly centered around the lake, South Africa's largest freshwater lake.

Many of the birds are variations of the birds we find on Lake Nelson at home. The pied kingfisher below reminds us of the belted kingfishers.






The pied avocet is reminiscent of the American avocet.

Then there's the Hammerkop or Hammerhead. It has no close relatives in the US or anywhere. It is a waterbird, like a duck, but looks more like a hawk when flying. And, of course, its head looks like a hammer.

There was a variety of herons, including the purple heron, a large heron that is a bit bigger than our great blue heron.

Africa's grey heron looks a bit like the great blue heron.

There were also a variety of cormorants, including reed cormorants (left) and white breasted cormorants (right).

We also saw a water thick-knee, whose knee didn't seem unusually thick.






The Egyptian Goose is imported to the US in some zoos and parks but is wild here.







We also saw a variety of other birds near the lake, but maybe Chris will blog about that. There also are cattle that graze near the lake.

It was also great to see the hippos and crocodiles. Did you know hippos kill more people than any other animal? We found this out after getting out of the truck to watch a family with young hippos. When we mentioned this the next day to out guide he said "Of course, especially to protect their young."

Snorkeling at Thonga.

Thonga is supposed to be a good dive site, and half the guests seemed to go out diving every day. There also is snorkeling including snorkeling from the beach in a calm area protected by rocks. We brought our gear and went out one morning when the tide was right.

It was just okay. I was hoping for fish that we hadn't seen in the Caribbean, Fiji, California, or the Great Barrier Reef. No such luck, mainly the usual suspects. Here's one photo to justify getting the underwater camera.

Bulbul: Morning stretch.

There a few bulbuls in the US that were kept as captive birds and escaped. There is a cluster near Pasadena and Chris got to see them last year in the binoculars when visiting our daughter. Mike wasn't quick enough with the camera and missed them except in the distance with the naked eye. Bulbuls were all around Thonga and Mike got these photos.

Two Turacoes and a change of plans.

Chris and I went for a walk this morning hoping to find the purple crested turaco. We thought we did but when we got back, we discovered it was the Livingstone's turaco, which is even more rare. I was wearing my lucky safari vest.

So we went out this evening with Max who works at the lodge. He heard the purple crested turaco and we went to the tree where it was. It flew out and we got a good lick of where it landed, so we went to that tree and got some good looks and photos.

Our chartered flight on Friday from Thonga to Londolozi was canceled due to bad weather. Instead, we have hired a car to drive us. It's about 8 hours, but we'll get to see more of this beautiful contry.

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas

I have no idea who wrote that stupid song or what the other lyrics are. For some reason it popped into my head as we were driving to Lake Sibaya. Anyway, I’m glad we got to see a family of hippos in the water, and since this trip is a Christmas present to each other, I guess we are having a hippopotamus for Christmas. And I want a crocodile in my stocking.
Normally, I’d Google for the lyrics but the only internet is in the office and not immediately available. I’ve grown to hate smart phones that provide instant access to information but remove you from the present experiences. Now I’m thinking that Google makes it too easy and I can be happy without knowing the lyrics to this stupid song.

Can Chris relax at dinner with a venomous snake overhead?

Chris likes cute creatures, the kind they make into stuffed animals. You don’t give stuffed crabs, locusts or snakes as presents to small children. We’ve encountered all these and more, but Chris is still enjoying herself. Here’s a picture of a green mambo, a poisonous snake in a tree that was above our dinner table. They moved our table about three feet so the snake was not directly over our heads, and we enjoyed a relaxing dinner.

Turtles at Thonga

I’m supposed to be trying to rest a little now because we also did stay up late to watch a loggerhead turtle deposit her eggs in a nest on shore and then make her way back to the sea. We had her all to ourselves after our host, Bruce, took us to her location, and it was a great reminder of the fun we had in Australia 15 years ago with our daughters during turtle nesting season on Heron Island. Anyway, it was around 11 pm when she finally disappeared into the waves and we went to bed, and since we birders do get up at the crack of dawn (well, Mike does while I sleep a little later), midday is rest time and time to stay out of the hottest sun. I’ll quickly end this post by saying the food is also very delicious here, so we are completely happy and having a great time.

Birding at Thonga

Luckily for us, Thonga employs Maxwell, who is a self-taught, enthusiastic and fun birder.  He seems to enjoy having guests here who share in his passion for birding, and we enjoy his easygoing style of birding which is like ours.  We have been out birding twice with Maxwell.  On Tuesday evening he took us for a drive to get our first look at Lake Sibaya, stopping for any birds we wanted to see along the way.  Once at the lake, he knew right where to take us and we had a blast watching a family of hippos in the lake.  The lake is huge and so are the hippos!  Fortunately the one crocodile there was not as huge as I expected, so I didn’t mind when Mike decided (as usual) to get just a little closer for a better picture.  It’s quite funny to see the hippo tracks in the hardened sand and mud around the lake.  The hippos were a treat, but oddly both Mike and I agreed that it was still more interesting to see new birds.  Perhaps this is from seeing hippos on TV or in a zoo or whatever; we’re not sure, but there is something about the lure of the birds that keeps us on the lookout.

Just one of the bird highlights from our next morning birding adventure with Maxwell was an African Paradise Flycatcher, a very colorful and somewhat elusive bird.  Just as we were driving away, our guide Maxwell noticed it flew into view again.  I think he has eyes in the back of his head to have noticed this – and we’re lucky he did. 

Arriving at Thonga.

I think starting our trip at Thonga Beach Resort was a great idea. We chose to arrive by a private charter plane instead of a long drive. I think our pilot said it best when he said, “it’s like landing in an open shoe box.” Surprisingly, I loved the flight and the landing because we wore headsets and the pilot narrated for us and we knew just when to expect the bumps and twists, and he did an excellent job of navigating us down into what did seem like just a shoe box.

We are having a wonderful introduction to this country, the people, the animals and birds. It is so beautiful here and just the way we like things; no big crowds. We seem to have quickly adapted to the time zone, so after our first night’s sleep and somewhat of a slow and relaxed morning after that, we were up for anything.

I can't believe I showered with a millipede!

So here's the story. We went snorkeling early at low tide before breakfast. It wasn't that good so we decided not to stay at it too long and instead go up for a nice breakfast, which we missed the day before due to early extended birding. When we got up to our room, the housekeeper was just starting, so we asked if we could just take a really fast shower and we would get right out of the way. Mike was done and I was in the shower just long enough to get the sand off me, rinse our suits, and notice something dark grey in the corner of the walls of the shower. I did casually mention to Mike that I thought there was something in there that I hadn't noticed before. I didn't take the time to do a thorough investigation.

So we have our nice breakfast, go back to the room and relax a little, brush our teeth, et cetera. I'm on the commode and I hear Mike talking to someone. I have poor hearing, but I was pretty sure he wasn't talking to himself, and I'm able to make out his side of the conversation, which goes something like, "do you need to get into the toilet - oh, just the shower - that's fine." The door to the toilet is right next to the shower, so at this point I hear the woman's voice saying, "I tried to get the guy because I'm afraid of it." Then I hear some noises which I imagine to be large and copious amounts of insect killer being used. I finally make my egress and inquire with Mike about the goings on. I ask, "What was it?" He tells me it was a millipede. I ask, "Did she kill it?" "No, she just used a broom and swept it out."

So all the while I'm on the toilet I'm realizing I must have been correct earlier about my suspicion of something creepy being in the shower with me, and now I'll have all day to wonder how it got in, will it be back, and how bad I'll smell if I don't shower again before leaving this place! I decided a blog entry might help me stop saying all day, "I can't believe I showered with a millipede."

 

Thonga Beach Lodge

We made it.
Here are some photos of Thonga from the air, a flycatcher and a Vervet Monkey. It was great waking up to the sounds of the ocean and the birds. We both got the best night's sleep in years, probably because we slept so little the night before. It was great seeing the monkey from the beach before breakfast.

The internet access is slow, so we are likely not to post blog entrees again until Friday.