Howick Activities - February to July 2010

HOWICK BIRDING GROUP - DIARY OF EVENTS TO JULY 2010

Evening meetings are held at WESSA in their Goldfields Education Centre on the 3^rd Wed of the month. Registration at 17:30. Unfortunately, we have had to increase our charges from Jan. 2010 - BirdLife Members R10 pp. Non-members R15 pp. Morning outings usually take place on the last Wed. of every month. Committee: Drummond Densham – 033-330-4039, Eve Hughes – 033-330-2723, Pam Nicol – 033-330-2947, Bob Murray – 033-239-4233 Karin Nelson – 033-330-3027 Shirley Bennett – 033-330-3234.

Wed. Feb. 24 – Morning outing to ‘Darvill’. Meet at Umgeni Valley at 07:00 to arrange transport, or at Darvill at 07:45. Bring tea. Don’t forget to Atlas! Leader – Pam Nicol.

Wed. Mar. 17 – Illustrated talk by Brent Coverdale on ‘Birds and Biodiversity.’

Wed. Mar. 24 – Not the last Wed. because of Easter. Morning outing to ‘Umgeni Valley’. Meet at the Reserve at 07:00. There is an entrance fee payable for non-WESSA members. Bring tea. Don’t forget to Atlas! Leader – Eve Hughes.

Wed. Apl. 21 – Illustrated talk with sounds by Dave Bishop on ‘Local Bird Calls.’

Wed. Apl. 28 – Morning outing to ‘Shongweni Resources Reserve’. Meet at Umgeni Valley at 07:00 to arrange transport, or at the entrance to the Reserve at 08:00. There is an entrance fee unless you have a Wild Card. Take the Shongweni/Assagay off ramp, turn left and drive for approx. 1 km, turning left again at the sign to Shongweni Dam. The entrance is about 6 km further on. Don’t forget to Atlas! Bring tea. Leader – Drummond Densham.

Wed. May 19 – Illustrated talk by Barry Taylor on ‘Rails of Africa.’.

Wed. May 26 – Morning outing to ‘Albert Falls’. Meet at Umgeni Valley at 07:00 to arrange transport, or at the entrance to the Reserve at 07:45/08:00. There is an entrance fee unless you have a Wild Card. Bring tea, and don’t forget to Atlas! Leader – Bob Murray.

Wed. June 16 – Illustrated talk by Sally and David Johnson – on a topic of their choice!

Wed. June 30 – Morning outing to the ‘Botanical Gardens’ in Pmb. Meet at 07:15 at Umgeni Valley to arrange transport, or at the entrance to the Gardens at 08:00. We will probably also visit the Indigenous Nursery there at the end of the morning. There is an entrance fee. We will Atlas! Bring Tea. Leader – Karin Nelson.

There is no evening meeting in July – too cold!

Wed. July 28 – Morning, or all day outing, to ‘Weenen Game Reserve’. Meet at Umgeni Valley at 07:00 to arrange transport, or at the Reserve Gate at about 08:30. There is an entrance fee unless you have a Wild Card. Take tea and lunch, and don’t forget to Atlas! Leader –Pam Nicol.

Midlands Events March to August 2010

Sunday 7^th March – morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 7am

Sunday 14^th March – morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 7am

Sunday 21^st March - day outing to Mbona Estate, Karkloof. Contact the leader, Eve Hughes on 033 330 2723 for meeting place and time. Bring chairs and refreshments.

Sunday 4^th April – morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 7am

Sunday 11^th April – morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 7am

Sunday 18^th April - day outing to Sani Pass. Contact the leader, Hugh Bulcock on 082 373 6569 for meeting place and time

Sunday 2^nd May – morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 7am

Saturday 8^th May – Cape Parrot Counting Day. Contact Professor Colleen Downs, 033 2605127/04 (w), 033-3962011 (h), 082-9202026 Email: downs@ukzn.ac.za

Sunday 9^th May – morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 7am

Thursday 13^th May - evening meeting at Ezemvelo Headquarters in QE Park at 7pm. Ben and Shannon Hoffman from the African Raptor Sanctuary will give a presentation on their work with raptors at the centre

Sunday 16^th May – morning outing to Bisley Valley. Leader Mike Spain 033 347 2797. Meet at Bisley Valley entrance (Canterbury Riding School) at 7am. Bring chairs and tea, and picnic lunch if you wish.

Sunday 6^th June – morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 8am

Sunday 13^th June – morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 8am

Sunday 20^th June – day outing to Satellite Dam, Cramond. Contact the leader Mike Spain on 033 347 2797 for meeting place and time.

Sunday 4^th July – morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 8am

Sunday 11^th July – morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 8am

Friday 16^th to Sunday 18^th July - weekend outing to Umdoni Park, Pennington. Accommodation at R165 pppn at the Trust Cottages has been booked, but is limited, so please contact Sally by 9^th July on 072 119 4253 or sally@wessa.co.za to book. We will ask a local guide to take us around the estate on the Sunday morning.

Sunday 1^st August - morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 7am

Sunday 8^th August - morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 7am

Thursday 12^th August – evening meeting at Ezemvelo Headquarters in QE Park at 7pm. Mark Anderson, Executive Director of BirdLife South Africa. Topic to be advised.

Sunday 15^th August – day outing to Cumberland Nature Reserve. Meet at the campsite at 7am. The campsite has been booked for Saturday night for those who would like to spend the weekend at Cumberland, and if you would like to stay longer please contact Stella Behn direct on 082 376 5600. Contact Sally by 6^th August on 072 119 4253 or sally@wessa.co.za if you wish to camp (R50pppn, plusday entry R10pp). Leader: David Crampton 082 771 7274

Hilton Quarry's Spotted Eagle-Owl Chick

Kenneth Dahlgren at Jeffeares and Green at Hilton Quarry took a photo of this Spotted Eagle-Owl chick in the Hilton Quarry on the 9th of November. Thanks to Sally for forwarding this to me to put onto the blog.

There have also been reports of a Pink-backed Pelican at the old 'Bird Sanctuary' [now Motor City] at Chatterton Road.

Darvill Resource Reserve 4/10/2009

The usual first Sunday-of-the-month Darvill outing, dawned cool misty. Instead of the usual 6am summer start, we had a 6.30am start. A fair number of us, led by Gordon Bennett, braved what looked to be slightly wet weather, but turned out to be just morning mist.

A fairly standard morning's birding was on offer [the SABAP2 list reached 75], with fewer than expected swallows. There were some White-throated Swallows and Black Saw-wings about, and very many Brown-throated Martins.

A Purple Gallinule [or rather African Purple Swamphen] showed very well for some time. The ducks were also fairly well represented. No fish eagle about, but a Long-crested put in a little display.

Should anyone want a list of what was seen, drop me an email [or leave a comment] and I will send one along.

Nature's Hideaway Outing on 20/09/2009

Eleven KZNMBC members enjoyed an outing to Nature's Valley on Sunday 20/9/09.

Neville Durow of the Lower Mpushini Conservancy met us at Pandora Long's property and guided us on a very interesting walk through both his and Pandora's property. The trail was well kept and clear.

Birding was perhaps a little slow as the weather was cool with a wind blowing. [We had a slightly late start thanks to the blog's author taking a wrong turn and leading the convoy halfway to Campbell's Drift, but I must stress that venue is extremely easy to find].

One suggestion was for future groups to perhaps be split into more manageable sizes, as much of the area is fairly thick woodland, with the inevitable stringing out of the group. This never the less allowed for some spirited discussion on Black-crowned and Southern Tchagra dialects.

The final tally for the moring was 56 species, the highlight being a Narina Trogon at the picnic site. This bird apparently showed well, but was unfortunately was not seen by the last three people to arrive back after the walk, not for lack of trying, I might add.

This is ceratinly a good birding venue with lots of potential, and is open to the public. Simply contact Neville to let him know when you would like to visit. Please contact me should you need directions and Neville's contact details, or if you would like a copy of the bird list for the day [this courtesy of Malcolm Robinson who completed the atlas card for the outing].

Karkloof Birding and Botanical Weekend

19th to 22nd November 2009 Organised by the KARKLOOF CONSERVANCY and THE HOWICK BIRDING GROUP Phone the Karkloof Conservation Centre on 033 330 2992 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings or email karkloofcentre@telkomsa.net for your entry form and further information

Oct-09 to Jan-10 Club Calendar

Sunday 4^th October – morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 6am

Sunday 11^th October – morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 6am

Sunday 18^th October – day outing to Karkloof Conservancy and to Karkloof Canopy Tours forest. Meet at the Conservancy at 6.30am. Please note there is an entrance fee to both venues. Contact the leader, Eve Hughes on 033 330 2723 for directions.

Sunday 1^st November - morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 6am

Sunday 8^th November - morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 6am

Thursday 12^th November - evening meeting at Ezemvelo Headquarters in QE Park at 7pm. Stuart Mclean will give a presentation on Sani Pass.

13^th to 15^th November – weekend outing to Wakkerstroom. The dormitories and campsite at the BirdLife Centre (self-catering) have been booked. Cost per night: members R95, non-members R120, camping members R35, camping non-members R45. We will also use a local guide at a cost of R350 per morning or afternoon session – cost to be shared between all people on the outing. Contact Sally (phone 072 119 4253 or sally@wessa.co.za). Numbers are limited, so it’s first come, first served!

Sunday 6^th December - End-of-year braai at Benvie. Meet for a walk at 6.30am. Braai fires will be lit at 11am. Bring braai food and chairs, as well as family and friends. Please note there is an entrance fee of R20 per person.

Sunday 10^th January – morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 6am

Sunday 17^th January - morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 6am

Saturday 23^rd January – BirdLife KZN Midlands AGM, with Ian Sinclair as guest speaker. Details to follow.

Sunday 7^th February - morning outing to Darvill; Leader Gordon Bennett 033 386 5555; Time: 6am

Sunday 14^th February - morning outing to Queen Elizabeth Park; Leader: Mike Spain 033 347 2797; Time: 6am

Sunday 21^ST February – afternoon/evening outing to Durban Botanical Gardens and Mount Moreland. Meet at the Gardens for picnic lunch followed by birding, and then move on to the barn swallow roosting site at Mount Moreland. Phone the leader Adrian Ogilvie 033 347 1685 to arrange times and meeting point.