The iSimangaliso Wetland Park is one of the jewels of South Africa's coastline, with a unique mosaic of ecosystems - swamps, lakes, beaches, coral reefs, wetlands, woodlands, coastal forests and grasslands - supporting an astounding diversity of animal, bird and marine life.
Formerly known as the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, the Park was renamed on 1 November 2007 to better reflect its unique African identity - and to avoid confusion with the Caribbean island country St Lucia.
iSimangaliso's wide variety of ecosystems and natural habitats provides for an astounding diversity of species in the area. With its lakes, lagoons, freshwater swamps and grasslands, iSimangaliso supports more species of animal than the better-known and much larger Kruger National Park and Okavango Delta - from the country's largest population of hippos and crocodiles to Giant Leatherback turtles, black rhino, leopards, and a vast array of bird and marine life.
According to Living Lakes, more than 530 species of birds use the wetland and other areas of the Lake St Lucia region. "These waters also are graced by 20 000 greater flamingos, 40 000 lesser flamingoes, as well as thousands of ducks. With 36 species, this area has the highest diversity of amphibians in South Africa.
"... Here, and nowhere else in the world, can one find hippopotamuses, crocodiles and sharks sharing the same waters."
In proclaiming the iSimangaliso Wetland Park a World Heritage Site in 1999, Unesco said: "The interplay of the park's environmental heterogeneity with major floods and coastal storms, and a transitional geographic location between sub-tropical and tropical Africa, has resulted in exceptional species diversity and ongoing speciation.
Source : http://www.southafrica.info/about/animals/stlucia.htm
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Article Below by Duncan McKenzie
St Lucia offers birders some of Zululand's best bird-watching. With over 520 Species recorded in the area, one can be assured of some great birding in one of South Africa's most bio-diverse areas. One of the great things about birding around St Lucia is the series of self-guided trails and hides. Birding on foot with waterbuck and reedbuck grazing in the background and hippos snorting from the pans makes for an extra special birding experience. The greater St Lucia Wetlands Reserve is a recently proclaimed World Heritage Site and one of South Africa's oldest reserves established back in 1895. It includes the conservation areas of the Eastern Shores, Cape Vidal, Sodwana Bay, Charters Creek, Fanies Island, False Bay, Phinda Resource Centre and Mkhuze Game Reserve (dealt with separately). The lake itself covers an area of about 38 000ha and is one of South Africa's most important waterbird breeding areas.
The Habitats are extremely varied from the Estuary and its Floodplains and Pans to Dune Forest, Sand Forest, Coastal thickets, Mangroves and Grassland (with flooded areas in the summer). There is also a group of excellent local guides based in St Lucia town, which if used will make finding all those specials and great trails that much easier !
WETLAND BIRDING TIPS
Zululand is blessed with an abundance of various wetland types containing many sought-after specials. From high up in the catchment areas of the main rivers around Vryheid to the coastal pans, lakes and estuaries of St. Lucia, Richards Bay and Kosi Bay, the whole array of wetland types are on display. Birding is relatively straightforward; with the aid of a spotting scope even distant birds on mudflats can be observed.
Waterbirds are among the easiest birds to see as they occur in open habitat, forage throughout the day and are often conspicuously coloured. The one obvious exception is the rallids, a group of shy, skulking species that frustrate the living daylights out of birders!
The hardest group of waterbirds to identify are the waders. Here in Zululand, the migrant waders display their drab winter plumages and can be difficult to separate. The main points to look for include:
Relative size. Compare the size of the observed bird to a common one you already know, e.g.. Common Sandpiper, Whimbrel etc.
Check bill shape, relative size and length.
Observe habits; feeding behavior, group size and stance.
Listen for its call. Some waders have very distinctive calls.
Look at plumage characteristics; amount of streaking, buff parts, areas of white, patterns on wings and tail.
Always use a reliable field-guide, and try to get as close to the bird as possible.
Back to rallids. The best methods to observe flufftails, crakes, rails, gallinules and moorhen is to sit quietly either in a hide or in a vehicle next to or in a wetland. Rallids often dart out into the open to catch food or to traverse between reed clumps. Early morning is the best time to observe this behavior. African Rail often sits on top of reeds or rank vegetation early during winter mornings to warm up. Try to learn at least some calls before venturing out looking for rallids; this is the easiest way of identification. Wading into wetlands to flush rails is also a good way of observing them, but is not recommended in Zululand due to the presence of crocodiles and hippos that would not understand the human intrusion!
The best venues to observe rallids are the Klipfontein Bird Sanctuary, Blood River Vlei, Mkhuze Swamps and Mkhuze Game Reserve.
Another group of wetland species that deserve more attention are the warblers. Call is once again the best identification method, but size, colouration and time of year should be checked.
TIPS FOR GRASSLAND BIRDING
Home to many of the local endemics, grassland birding presents its own challenges and excitement. Birds are more conspicuous as the vegetation is far more open, and many species are large enough to spot from a fair distance, making observations easier than in thick
bush. Many birds form large flocks, and are often dressed in fine summer plumages.
The core grassland areas in Zululand are the western parts of southern and north-western Zululand (the area around Vryheid, Babanango, Louwsburg and Melmoth) and parts of the coastal plain (Eastern Shores of St. Lucia).
Grasslands are often neglected by birders because of the super-abundance of LBJ's (Little Brown Jobs). Larks, cisticolas, pipits, warblers and widows/bishops are among the most common of the grassland species, and their identification can present problems for birders. Identifying these little birds takes patience, a good field guide and often, a wonderful imagination!
The trick is to be able to separate birds into their families; once you are sure of this, the process becomes much easier. For example, if viewing a bird and you can positively classify it as a lark, there will be only so many larks in the area to choose from. The elimination process become easiest when one uses the bird list on the website, together with the specific habitat it is in, as well as any field characteristics such as bill length, call, outer tail feather colours and size.
Here follows a brief aid for each difficult family:
Cisticolas
Often infuriatingly difficult, Zululand hosts 13 species of these drab but interesting birds. Here, size, call, distribution and habitat are important aspects to look at. Differentiate between longer-tailed and shorter-tailed species first. Then, look at the habitat and compare it to that described in the fieldguide. Calls are probably the best way to identify cisticolas, as each species has its own unique song. In the table below, each species is summarized and compared:
SPECIES | TAIL LENGTH | HABITAT | CALL | INFO |
Cloud Cisticola | Very short | Very short grassland | Soo-soo-soo-see-see-see-chick-chick-chick | High display flight |
Wing-snapping Cisticola | Very short | Short grassland | Soo-see-see-see | High display flight |
Zitting Cisticola | Very short | Medium to tall grassland | Zit – zit – zit – zit – zit | Medium high display height |
Pale-crowned Cisticola | Very short | Moist, short grassland | Seeee–seeee–seeee–seeee–churry–;churry–churry | Medium high display height |
Desert Cisticola | Short | Dry grassland | Zink-zink-chit-chit (no particular order, but uttered fast) | Medium high display height |
Red-faced Cisticola | Medium | Riverine bush | Wee-cheep-cheep-cheep decending in pitch | Usually detected by loud call from riverine reeds |
Levaillant’s Cisticola | Long | Tall, moist grass and sedges | Chip-churrup-cheep (musical) | Common species in upland wetlands |
Rufous-winged Cisticola | Long | Coastal moist grass and sugarcane | Chzzzzp–chzzzzzp | Only found near coast |
Wailing Cisticola | Long | Hillsides in upland grassland | Drawn out musical wheee-preep-preep-preep | Conspicuous and noisy |
Croaking Cisticola | Long | Medium to tall grassland | Loud, frog-like croaking | Large size and loud call |
Rattling Cisticola | Medium | Bushveld | Chick–like chew–chew–chew followed by chee–purrr–purrr–purrr | Very common in thorn and bushveld |
Neddicky | Medium | Open woodland | Monotonous weeep (rusty bicycle pump) | Plain–coloured and reddish cap |
Lazy Cisticola | Very long | Rocky grassland slopes | Prinia–like cheee–cheee | Looks like Prinia with red cap |
Pipits
Pipits are slightly harder as they do not call as often as cisticolas do, but there are fewer look-alike species. Here, a combination of habitat, markings and distribution are important aspects.
The summary for pipits follows:
SPECIES | OUTER TAIL FEATHER COLOUR | HABITAT | SIZE | INFO |
African Pipit | White | Grassland | Medium | Commonest pipit |
Plain-backed Pipit | Buff | Grassland | Medium | Plain back + yellow base to bill |
Buffy Pipit | Buff | Grassland | Large | Plain back, pink base to bill, walks upright and wags tail |
Long-billed Pipit | Buff | Rocky grassland | Large | Most similar to African, but larger with longer bill |
Yellow–breasted Pipit | White | Grassland | Medium | Very rare, winter visitor, heavy scaled upper parts |
Striped Pipit | White | Rocky grassland with trees | Large | Heavy streaking, yellow shoulders + musical song |
Bushveld Pipit | White | Bushveld | Small | Heavy streaking, small size, zreet call |
Short-tailed Pipit | White | Short, rolling grassland | Small | Rare, short tail with heavy streaking, habitat specific |
Larks are not well represented in Zululand, so a combination of size, colour, call, distribution and habitat should avoid confusion.
Non-breeding widows and bishops are a major headache to separate, and are best split in summer when their breeding colours separate the males easily.
Warblers are an extremely difficult group, but are rather limited in pure grassland. Its habitat, call and black tail feathers identify the Broad-tailed Warbler from potentially similar species of cisticolas.
Grassland birding is best done from the roadside in privately owned areas, just ensure that your vehicle is clearly visible and off the road. In areas where one is permitted to walk, a slow stroll through grassland will either flush birds, or take one to a congregation around a food, nesting or roosting spot.
A spotting scope is recommended to view distant birds, as well as a hat in the hot summers.
By Duncan McKenzie
Source : http://www.zbr.co.za/
The iSimangaliso Wetland Park is home to SA's largest populations of white-backed and pink-backed pelican
Photo: Hluhluwe.co.za
The north-eastern part of KwaZulu-Natal is one of the most species-rich areas of South Africa, with a tropical feel and spectacular birds to match. The rich mosaic of forests, marshes, freshwater lagoons, flooded grasslands, tidal estuaries and acacia woodland supports a fantastic array of birds.
Specials of the area include the Woodward's (green) barbet, known only from the Ngoye forest, the palmnut vulture, the African broadbill, Neergaard's sunbird, Rudd's apalis, Delegorgue's pigeon, the Knysna and Livingstone's turacos, and the southern banded snake eagle.
Birding facilities are exceptionally well developed in this region, as the Zululand Birding Route is centred on Eshowe. The Dlinza Forest in Eshowe has recently opened a forest boardwalk that takes you into the canopy, and from there you can eyeball canopy species such as Delegorgue's pigeon, the grey cuckooshrike and the crowned Eagle. You can also peer down on the secretive spotted ground thrush.
Below is an extract from a lovely birding website
Greater St Lucia Wetland ParkThe Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, a proclaimed World Heritage Site, is the most important conservation area in the province and supports the highest concentrations of breeding water birds in South Africa. The Eastern Shores section is the most accessible site in the country for coastal forest specials. Here, the world`s tallest forested sand dunes support populations of Buff-spotted Flufftail, Southern Banded Snake-Eagle, as well as African Crowned Eagle, Livingstone`s Turaco, Green Malkoha, Spotted Ground-Thrush (winter only); Brown Scrub-Robin, Rudd`s Apalis, Woodwards` Batis and Green Twinspot. The seasonally flooded wetlands are home to African Pygmy-Goose, White-backed Duck, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Red-chested Flufftail, Lesser Jacana, Swamp Nightjar, Pale-crowned Cisticola, Short-tailed Pipit (winter only) and Rosy-throated Longclaw. Forests on the western shores of the lake hold additional specials, notably African Broadbill, Neergaard`s Sunbird and Pink-throated Twinspot. Waterbirds can be seasonally abundant, and Pink-backed Pelican, Greater Flamingo (up to 30 000); African Spoonbill, African Fish Eagle (at very high densities) and a variety of herons, egrets, storks, ducks and terns can be found whilst exploring the lake, preferably by boat. African Finfoot, Pel`s Fishing Owl, Mangrove Kingfisher (winter only) and Black-throated Wattle-eye can be found in the mangroves and forests fringing the lake. Other sites with productive coastal forest and mangroves are Kosi Bay, Sodwana Bay and Umlalazi Nature Reserve.
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http://www.fatbirder.com/links_geo/africa/south_africa_kwazulu_natal.html
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