Barberspan Nature Reserve
This RAMSAR wetland in the North West Province is known for the large number of water birds that can be found here in spring, when numbers may be over 40,000 at times. The habitat is a semi-saline lake, mudflats and grassland with scattered trees. Birds to look for here include Osprey, Pink-backed Pelican, South African Shelduck, African Grass-Owl, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater and Rufous-eared Warbler. Lanner Falcon may be seen on the utility poles and look for Plain-backed and Buffy Pipits in the shorter grass on hillsides and Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark in the grassland. Barberspan is just off the N14 on the main road from Johannesburg to Vryburg and 20km west of Sannieshof.
Ben Lavin Nature Reserve.
13 km south of Makhado (Loius Trichardt) this reserve is a useful stop-over for travelers to Zimbabwe or the northern Kruger Park. Good for mixed acacia and riverine woodland birds, the first birding place here should be the rest camp where Black Cuckoo, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Brubru, Yellow-breasted and Bar-throated Apalis, White-browed and Bearded Robin, Black, Steel-blue and Purple Widowfinch can all be found. The trees around the camp are also good for small raptors and Lizzard Buzzard, African and Little Banded Goshawk and Little Sparrowhawk can often be seen here. Walk one of the trails to the floodplain. The Fountain trail takes you through grassland where kingfishers, cisticolas, bishops can be seen. Alternatively the Tabajwane Trail leads you through thicker bush where Grey-headed, Gorgeous and Orange-breasted Bush Shrike, Yellow-bellied Bulbul and Kurrichane Buttonquail can be found. There is a good network of roads in the reserve, and many of the waterholes have hides. Over 230 bird species have been recorded here. To access the reserve, take the N1 north and turn off at the Ben Lavin Nature Reserve sign, 10km before Makhado. The entrance gate is 3km from the main road.
Hangklip Forest.
Situated just off the N1 close to Makhado (Louis Trichardt), Hangklip is an excellent example of the forests to be found in the Soutpansberg region, and provides ideal habitat for many forest ‘specials’. This is an excellent place to see Yellow-streaked Bulbul, which are common here. Cinnamon Dove, Olive Woodpecker, Olive Bush Shrike can all be seen here. In winter watch for Forest Buzzard. To access Hangklip Forest approaching Makhado along the N1 from Polokwane, turn left at the third four-way stop into Stubbs Street. Go to the second four-way stop and turn right into Forestry Drive. Follow this road to the picnic area and from there the road up the mountain is clearly signed.
Moletzie Nature Reserve.
This small reserve about 30km from Polokwane, (Pietersburg) was proclaimed to protect the nesting Cape Vulture colony. Bald Ibis, Verreaux’s, Black-breasted Snake and Booted Eagle, (summer) can also be seen here. This is a good spot for cuckoos in summer, with Jacobin, Red-chested, Klaas’s, and Diedrick’s Cuckoo all commonly seen. In the acacia woodlands, look for Cape, White-throated, White-browed and Kalahari Robin, Ashy, Southern Black and Cape Penduline Tit, Mocking Chat, Black-cheeked Waxbill and Yellow, Yellow-eyed, Streaky-headed and Black-throated Canary. To get to the reserve from Polokwane, take the R521 north and turn left at the Seshego turn-off. Continue to Seshego where you then take the Steilloopbrug / Gilead road. The turn off to the reserve is signed.
Nylsvley Nature Reserve.
A little more than an hour north of Pretoria, this prime birding area is a few miles north east of Modimolle, just off the N1. It is a floodplain with grassland and Acacia savanna and attracts a wide and diverse range of birds. Over 100 species of waterbird have been recorded here and target birds would be Black Egret, Little and Dwarf Bittern, Lesser Gallinule, Lesser Moorhen, White-faced, Fulvous and White-backed Ducks. Rarities do occur fairly frequently. The surrounding bushveld attracts a number of raptors, including Black–breasted Snake Eagle, Gymnogene and Black Sparrowhawk. Burnt-necked, Yellowbellied and Green-capped Eremomelas, Marico Sunbird, Southern Black and Ashy Tit and Yellow-fronted Tinker Barbet are a few of the birds found in the Acacia thickets. Kingfishers, Nightjars, Woodpeckers and Hornbills are all frequently seen. Nearly 400 species have been recorded here, so allow plenty of time at this location.
Pilansburg National Park
This large park next to Sun City in the North West Province offers both good bird watching and game viewing. Some of the best birding can be found in the acacia thornveld around the camps, and here one should find Acacia Pied, Black-collared and Crested Barbet, Southern Pied Babbler, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler, Barred Wren-Babbler, Amethyst, White-bellied and Marico Sunbirds and Golden-breasted Bunting. The wooded areas have Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Marico and Pale Flycatchers, Chinspot Batis and Grey-headed and Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike. Check the open areas for Northern Black and Red-crested Bustard, larks and cisticolas. Raptors can be seen almost anywhere and are fairly common here. To get to the Pilansburg National Park from Johannesburg, take the R512 towards Brits, then the R27 to Rustenburg. In Rustenburg take the R510 to the Manyane Gate entrance to the park.
Rust de Winter Nature Reserve.
80km north of Pretoria, this reserve is a good site to find a range of the common thornveld and broadleaved woodland and water birds that occur in the area. Start your birding as you turn off the tarred road to go to the reserve entrance, as Red-crested Korhaan, Double-banded Sandgrouse, Purple, European and Lilac-breasted Roller, Wattled and Birchell’s Starling, Pied Babbler, Crimson-breasted and Long-tailed Shrike, Scaly-feathered Finch, Ashy and Cape Penduline Tit and White-throated Robin can all be seen here. If you arrive early in the morning in summer, Rufous-cheeked Nightjar can be seen on the road. Yellow-eyed and Black-throated Canary are usually found at the entrance gate, and when you get to the first wooded area, look for Swainson’s, Natal, Crested and Coqui Francolin. The lake has a wide variety of ducks,
geese, egrets and herons that should all be checked. There are a typical variety of thornveld species to be seen, including Great Spotted and Striped Cuckoo, Arrow-marked Babbler, Red-billed, Southern Yellow-billed and Grey Hornbill, Jameson’s and Red-billed Firefinch, Violet-eared, Blue and Common Waxbill, and Melba and Cuckoo Finch. In total, around 400 bird species have been recorded here, and a days birding in summer could well yield 150. To access the reserve from the N1 from Pretoria, turn off at the Pienaarsrivier / Rust de Winter off-ramp. Turn right, back over the highway and continue for some 25km. The entrance to the reserve is well signed.