Strange title for my blog today but it was a strange weekend. I've tried to make the most of the December holidays and get as much birding in as possible. As I type this almost three weeks after Christmas, my tree and decorations are still up. Not enough time for the small stuff I suppose. This is a story of a great Saturday morning, great birds, great people and a great venue.
The regular Friday evening call with Elouise on 11th of January to discuss our birding activities for the weekend took place as scheduled. After a bit of debate, we decided to join up with the BLNG outing the next morning at Buffelsdrift. Elouise would be at my place by 5am and we would charge north up the N1 to get to Rob and Co by 6am. It does take a lot of dedication to bird with BLNG as most of the outings are north of Pretoria and that means getting up an extra hour earlier than everyone else to travel through from Joburg. Birders must however go where the party is and the party was at Buffelsdrift.
We arrive slightly after 6am at Rob's place and it is packed with people. Rob's place is famous and so is Rob. Any opportunity to bird with Rob is usually seized with both hands and this time the outing numbers weren't limited. It was going to be a whopper of a walk. The ringers were also there under the trees and they had already drained their flasks after being up from 3am. There were about 15 ringers furiously busy with almost 30 birders milling about. Rob's place truly is popular.
No sooner had we exited the bakkie and joined the group when one of the ringers came bounding up to us with a couple of small bags dangling from a hook on his waistcoat. "Wait till you see when I've got" Johan grins broadly, in Afrikaans actually. First bag unhooked and a careful hand dips in. Its like a lucky packet, but especially for birders. All thirty of us crowd a little closer. Johan's hand comes out and a bedraggled, feathered ball emerges. Legs are secured and for the first time we get to gaze upon the beauty that is.. unknown... A quick stretch, a shake of the feathers and a small warbler is revealed. That's where the recognition stops for me. The chattering starts among the birders, each wondering what it could be and shooting questions at Johan and Rob who quietly smiled at us. Grrrr. Finally Johan took pity on us and introduced us to a Garden Warbler.
What? A Garden Warbler? But that's a lifer for me. Before I've even had time to shake out own my feathers, I am looking at one of my bogey birds. This warbler has defied me by staying silent and hidden during my warbler-hunting expeditions. Here he is calmly perched in Johan's not-so-delicate fingers. Johan takes us through the key identification points. Rob nods encouragingly while we all look on in wonder. This is not just a lifer for me but a lifer for many. Cameras click furiously and everyone seems to talk wildly at the same time. Books are produced, carefully referenced and notes made. What a start to the outing.
But wait there's more. Another bag, another Cracker Jack surprise. This time the second warbler got a calmer reception. Tiny and buffy, not white. The difficulty of identifying a bird in the hand, away from his habitat, not calling and not displaying normal behaviour, is hard to describe. Of course the ringers can do it better than everyone and they have the best reference material available. A new debate had kicked off. In one corner the Marsh Warbler group. The other corner was taken up by a few who took a chance on a Eurasian Reed Warbler. It was a lonely corner (check the distribution map of the EMW if you aren't sure why). Apart from feather counting, primaries measured and the inside of the bill's colour viewed a most interesting diagnostic feature was revealed. Something none of us had considered. Something you never get to experience in the field. Something only the secret ringing society would know to look for. Turn the bird over and check out the colour under his toes. Huh?
Yep, Johan flips the bird over and fairly bright yellow toes are reveled. It is startling how yellow the yellow actually is. It looks as if our Marsh Warbler has been flitting from flower to flower like a bee, picking up bright yellow pollen along the way. What a thrill to experience something so special. Its something I will never forget and just to make sure, it's marked in my field guide now.
We have to get on with the outing and eventually split up into two groups. Elouise and I choose the Afrikaans group and turn right out of Rob's driveway, while most of the group go left with Rob. What a great walk. For those of us atlasing, we type and write furiously as bird after bird reveal themselves through displays, calls and fly-bys. We got down to the end of the pentad where the road narrowed. We stopped to try and get a better view of a kingfisher that had shot past us. We were all looking right and Elouise looked left. She saw something big but very shy as it was hiding away in the depths of an acacia. It took all ten of us to peer at it from all angles before a beautiful Great Spotted Cuckoo was revealed. What a great addition to the pentad. What a great addition to a few people's life lists too.
We continued down the road and turned off for a lovely walk along the canal. There really are many special places in Buffelsdrift. They also have the friendliest mountain bikers all of whom greeted us in passing and some even stopping to ask about the birds we'd seen. We had great views of White-throated Swallows whizzing past just a metre or so from our faces. They really are special birds as we are able to see them up close. Walking along we found a bit of water in a small quarry. Looking across the water, we spotted mist nets belonging to the ringers. Carefully crossing the water and avoiding a couple of birds already trapped in the net, we walked along the path back towards Rob's house. My phone rang and Rod told me to get the group back to the house as soon as possible.The ringers had netted a River Warbler. Yes, you read correctly, a River Warbler.
If you know anything about a River Warbler, it is one of the most sought-after birds in the region. Finding one and then actually spotting it long enough for an id is virtually impossible for your average birder. It is extra secretive and skulks only in the thickest of tickets. Probably one of the rarest birds for me and definitely one glaringly lacking off my life list. I quickly turned around, shouted the good news to everyone and we were off. We carefully followed the path and the nets to the promised land where all the ringers were camped out. We feverishly looked for Rob and saw him along with the rest of the group, all crowded at Chris's table. We dashed to join the huddle.
It was time for Cracker Jack prize number two for the day. Finally glad we'd arrived, Chris reached into his lucky packet. Out came this perfect specimen of a River Warbler. Size and shape of the head were perfectly described in the field guides. Chris turned around with the bird and we got a glimpse of the breast. I had never seen more beautiful streaking on a breast before. He proudly held his head skyward for us all to admire those streaks. Cameras were on overdrive as he posed for us, as if he knew what we were appreciating.
The excitement of the morning died down almost suddenly while everyone took in the prize. Smaller groups of birders mingled over a field guide or two while others checked out the photos they had shot off. I couldn't wait to get my smudgy cellphone photo onto the BLNG Facebook page to let everyone know what we had seen. The group split up. Some looked for breakfast, some went for another walk, others got their chairs and sat pensively in the shade of the ringing trees. There was a delightful calmness about the group.
Thinking back now on the outing it really is one of the best outings I have ever been on with the club. The group might have been big but they made up for it with their enthusiasm. We had a great mix of brand new and experienced birders which helped to keep everyone's spirits up. One thing about our club that I absolutely love is the interaction and friendliness between everyone whether it be on an outing, a camp or even an evening meeting. This day typified that for me with the relaxed atmosphere of Rob's place, the interaction between the A ringers and their learners and of course all of us. A huge thanks must go to Rob and Gerrie for a great day. Something I will also have to remember is the next time I pass a Marsh Warbler, I'll be sure to ask it to wave.
