Birding update for St Lucia: July '25

Collared pratincole on the Eastern shores of Isimangaliso Wetlands Park

It has been an uncharacteristically wet month for July with close to 200mm of rain falling during the course of the month. This has kept the wetlands topped up and the estuary mouth wide and deep. It has also once again flooded some sections of road on the Eastern shores of Isimangaliso Wetlands Park. Winter has arrived properly this month with regular (and stronger) cold fronts hitting us and very cold (for Zululand) temperatures.  The elephant herd spent the early part of the month  on the Eastern shores of Isimangaliso Wetland park, causing regular road blocks. 

Elephant roadblock on the Eastern shores

Birding has been fantastic in all habitats. Starting in the forest we have continued to enjoy regular sightings of Spotted ground thrush during the course of the month- always a real treat considering how few of these birds there are! Other ground-dwellers seen during the month included Brown scrub-robin, White-starred robin, Red-capped robin-chat and Lemon dove.

Spotted ground-thrush in St Lucia.

The Buff-spotted flufftail have been very active with many great sightings during the course of the month. This could also be due to the sparser Winter undergrowth making them easier to see. 

We have enjoyed great sightings of Buff-spotted flufftail during the course of the month. Photo credit: Marna Buys

Bird parties in the forest have included an impressive variety of birds, typically holding Dark-backed weaver, Rudd's apalis, Black-backed puffback, Green malkoha, Olive bush-shrike, Yellow-rumped tinkerbird, Terrestrial brownbul, Blue-mantled crested flycatcher, Square-tailed drongo, Woodward's batis, Yellow-breasted apalis and Collared sunbird.

Rudd's apalis are regular members of mixed-species bird parties. Photo credit: Marna Buys

Fruiting Natal and Large-leafed figs continue to attract large flocks of Trumpeter hornbill, Black-bellied starling, White-eared barbet, African green pigeon, Livingstone's turaco, Yellow-bellied greenbul and Sombre greenbul. The Coral trees and Cape honeysuckle have all come into flower attracting a nice variety of sunbirds including: Eastern olive, Grey, Collared, Scarlet-chested and Purple-banded along with Eastern golden weavers. 

Purple-banded sunbird in St Lucia. Photo credit: Marna Buys

Areas with seeding Casuarina trees are attracting seedeaters such as Green twinspot, Yellow-fronted canary, Red-backed mannikin, Grey waxbill and the odd Pink-throated twinspot .

Pink-throated twinspot feeding on the seeds of Casuarina trees

The Eastern shores of Isimangaliso Wetlands Park has produced some great birds during the month. The Rufous-bellied heron has continued to show nicely in the wetlands as well as occasional sightings of Little bittern.

Rufous-bellied heron on the Eastern shores.

Other special sightings on the Eastern shores during the month have included Collared pratincole, Harlequin quail and Yellow-billed oxpecker.

Yellow-billed oxpecker on Zebra

The estuary mouth has also produced some great birds during the month, the highlight being a Chestnut-banded plover- a rare bird for Kwazulu-Natal. The Chestnut-banded plover has been in the company of Kittliz's, White-fronted and Three-banded plovers on exposed muddy sections of the beach. 

Chestnut-banded plover at the Lake St Lucia estuary mouth

The tern roost has consisted predominantly of Greater crested, Sandwich, Caspian, Common and Little tern with a couple of reports of Antarctic tern too. The terns are usually accompanied by an assortment of other shorebirds including Eurasian whimbrel, African oystercatcher, Grey-headed gull, Kelp gull and Sanderling. We also enjoyed a few sightings of Greater flamingo at the mouth during the month. 

Greater flamingo at the Estuary mouth

As is typical during the Winter months there have been plenty Cape Gannet flying beyond the waves at the mouth as well as the odd White-chinned petrel.  At the estuary edges, the Mangrove kingfisher has treated us to some fantastic sightings during the month again.

Mangrove kingfisher at the estuary edges

Nocturnal birding has produced regular sightings of Swamp nightjar, Fiery-necked nightjar and African wood-owl as well as a few sightings of White-backed night-heron during rainy spells.