Our birding walk at Gwahumbe on Saturday 18 July was a fabulous success. We enjoyed absolutely perfect weather, a wonderful group of fun and enthusiastic guests, delicious brunch and superb birding. This included recording 100 species for the day and a new species for the reserve, Purple-banded Sunbird, now the eighth species of Sunbird recorded in the reserve. This sunbird in normally more coastal and seen from the Durban area northwards into Zululand where it is more common. So you can imagine our excitement in seeing one of these stunning birds, which is a little out of range. In winter due to the scarcity of food, the resident bird species tend to wander further afield and so this is what probably prompted the sunbird to move inland. It just shows that we should always be on the lookout for the unexpected. The bird tally for Gwahumbe now stands at an impressive 227 species ! Some of the other highlights during the day included fantastic scope views of the very tricky Southern Tchagra, Striped Pipit, scope views of Holub’s Golden Weaver which is quite rare in KZN and amongst 7 species of weavers we observed, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Little Rush Warbler, splendid Knysna Turaco, Grey and Black Cuckooshrike, Red-capped Robin-Chat, Lanner Falcon, Little Bee-eater, Trumpeter Hornbill, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Lesser Honeyguide, Red-throated Wryneck, Olive Woodpecker, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, African Yellow Warbler and Fiscal Flycatcher. A truly memorable day ! – David Hoddinott, July 2020
“We had a wonderful mornings birding at Gwahumbe on Saturday. Some of the highlights included great views of Knysna Turaco, a pair of African Black Duck, elusive Common Buttonquail, Tambourine Dove, a family of Green Wood Hoopoe, a pair of Trumpeter Hornbill sunning themselves, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, striking Dark-backed Weaver and scarce Fan-tailed Grassbird, amongst many others. We ended our walk at the waterfall and, whilst enjoying some delicious refreshments, we were treated to a huge Crowned Eagle soaring above the cliffs. I can’t wait for our next visit.” – David Hoddinott, April 2021
I enjoyed a wonderful morning at Gwahumbe with highlights being good views of Common Quail and Fiscal Flycatcher as well as Red-billed Oxpecker on the Zebra near the office and finally a New species for the reserve, African Reed Warbler. This brings the reserve total to 240 species! Spring is here and I’d highly recommend a visit to this fabulous reserve! –
-David Hoddinott, August 2021