Our Mission and Values at GBT...
Here at GBT we hope to foster an interest in all things birding, and in so doing, also create a deep and abiding respect for our natural environment. We do so without taking ourselves too serioulsy, but we do take the state of our environment very seriously. We share our knowledge and our passion for all things birding willingly and enthusiastically.
Birding this part of the Freestate was very rewarding this time round.
I only got to do about 15 hours of intensive birding, but was rewarded with 131 species.
Of this 4 lifers - Eastern Long Billed Lark, SA Shellduck, Layards Titbabbler and Red-winged Francolin.
I added 27 new species to my species list for the area of which some of the more remarkable ones were Montagu's Harrier, European Roller, (unfortunately) Common Starling, Lanner Falcon and plenty of Common Quail, two out of range Kalahari Scrub-Robin and Red-breasted Swallow
Below is my full trip list. Bold ones are the new ones for my SE Freestate list, the number is the number of times i recorded the bird, and the place it was seen.
The area of the South Eastern Freestate that I visit is quite diverse in habitat, which makes this area so great for birding.
It is of course a very intensive farming area, but as most farmers here practice mixed farming there is a good balance between grassland for sheep and cattle as well as cultured lands for wheat, mealies and sunflower. The farmers also plant smaller crops such as soy beans, beetroot and green feed (mostly Lucerne). From about this time of the year many of the pastures are cut and baled for winter feed which provides further diversity in tall grassland and short grassland. The area is located in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains and varies from flat open land to quite high sandstone ridges. This of course provides interesting birding on the rocky slopes, adding interesting species such as Redwing Francolin and Alpine swifts.
The area is quite water rich, with many small farm dams, and some larger dams scattered all over the landscape.
The area has a beauty about it that is unique in South Africa.
Climate easily varies from one extreme to another and it is not uncommon to one day have 34C to 10 C or below if there is a wind that blows in from Lesotho. Winter time can become bitterly cold, with occasional snowfalls. Temperatures of below 0C are not uncommon, and wind chill can drop to below -10C.
Summer is frequented by thunderstorms and the rocky ridges make this a high lighting strike area, with some beautiful photo opportunities.
.gif "Africa Birds and Birding Magazine")
