Our weekend started with a two-hour drive from Johannesburg to Zaagkuilsdrift in the Limpopo Province.  Just off the N1, with another 24 km of dust road to the lodge, it felt like it was raining birds.  The treat for me is that I saw many birds that are not common in Durban/KZN, so I enjoyed an absolute feast.  The first bird for the day was a Magpie Shrike and the second bird … Yes, you guessed it.  A Marsh Owl.

What a fantastic sighting to see this magnificent bird scouring the farmlands in search of breakfast.  My problem – no camera!!

Always have your camera ready

Still under pressure not to be late, we then found a Pearl Spotted Owl being bombarded by a very angry Go-Away Bird.   I just couldn’t miss another opportunity and scrambled to get my camera ready.  All the while this tiny cute owl posed patiently with his attacker viciously trying to chase him away.

Finally, I’m ready to take an award-winning shot.  As I raise the lens, the owl took off.  How do birds know when you are ready to take the photo?  They wait until the last minute and fly off probably thinking “Fooled you again”.

This happens to me far too often.

After a scrumptious brunch, we then followed the Pienaars River to a bridge in Kgomo Kgomo, to once again apply what we had learned.  Along the road we found Chestnut-vented Tit-Babblers, Scaly-feathered finches, Capped Wheatears, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, Marico Flycatchers to list a few.

Sunset over an African Waterhole – the best place to be

Sunday proved just as exciting

Once again, we were treated to several Marsh Owls and the best was another Pearl-Spotted owl.  This time, being harassed by 15 different species of birds.  Try to picture a tree alive with tiny, brave birds such as blue and violent-eared waxbills, finches, weavers, drongos as well as a Kalahari Scrub-Robin yelling and performing to get the unwanted visitor to disappear.

At least I had my camera and was able to get reasonable photos of both owls.

A good start to our early morning birdwatching – Another Marsh Owl, this time a little more obliging so that I could get a photo.

We recorded 110 different species in our Owl of a Weekend

Zaagkuilsdrift Bird Sanctuary and Lodge is a wonderful place to visit for all nature lovers.  It’s even more attractive to birdwatchers and bird photographers.  The lodge is deep in a thornveld attracting hundreds of finches, raptors (we counted nine different species), brown-hooded kingfishers, waxbills, hornbills, francolins and spurfowls and lapwings.  With the huge wetland area not far from the lodge in Kgomo Kgomo, the entire area is alive with birds.

We recorded a grand total of 110 different species and this was in winter.  Just imagine what summer is like with all the migrants visiting us.