I'm sure that everyone's first sighting of an African Broadbill is something birders will remember forever. Hearing that weird, metallic "prrrrrrr!" sound coming from somewhere in thick, tangled sand forest is just unreal! I was fortunate to be able to visit Bonamanzi Game Reserve, a renowned birding destination in northern Zululand region of Kwazulu Natal in 2022. Let me share some of the fantastic birding we did in the reserve including in-detail information and advice on these mysterious broadbills!
During our trip through Zululand we camped two nights at Bonamanzi where me and my brother (Evan) did nothing but birding! We've just came from an excellent birding experience in the Isimangaliso Wetland Park on the coast and were pumped with enthusiasm and an urge to explore the woodland and forest in the inland parts of Zululand. After we've set out camp, we watched how winter bird parties patrolled the mid- and upper levels of the woodland. These birds included Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Black-backed Puffback, Ashy Flycatcher, Common Scimitarbill, Chinspot Batis, Rudd's Apalis, Purple-banded Sunbird, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Bearded- and Golden-tailed Woodpeckers as well as numerous others. The warbler-like Grey-tit Flycatcher chose to move about on it's own also within vicinity of the campsite. The woodland floor was home to Bearded- and White-browed Scrub Robins, Eastern Nicator, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Kurrichane Thrush, Terrestrial Brownbul, Golden-breasted Bunting, White-browed Robin Chat, Gorgeous Bushshrike, Natal Spurfowl, and others.
We had a large list of target birds we wanted to see in the in the reserve. All of which we found with relative ease. While strolling along a sandy road bordered by tall, mature woodland and forest, Pink Twinspots announced their presence from nearby! These bright pink little birds lurked through the low, dense vegetation making sweet trill contact calls which proved to be our only way of locating the moving group. Because visitors are able to walk freely throughout the reserve, Bonamanzi has become a famous spot for photographing many Zululand specials including these twinspots. We followed the group for atleast 15 minutes when our attention switched to a flash of grey and red, which led to our second lifer! This was a group of Grey Waxbills and they weren't much less shy than the twinspots. It was really something to be able to hear these birds in real life after practicing their calls before the trip. The understory seemed relatively open and was easy to walk through. Other birds that were around include Greater Honeyguide, Purple-banded- and Marico Sunbirds, Crowned Hornbill and Rudds Apalis.
As the nocturnal creatures of the bushveld came to life, we heard the dramatic and strange call of the Green Malkoha only about a 100 meters from our campsite. Me and I my brother didn't think twice and we ran after the call until we were close to where the bird was calling from. We looked up in a dense bush where we could make out a coucal-like bird perched deep within the it. After a while, it moved higher up into to a tree and we could now see the the head and body. The banana-like bill of this bird was prominent even in the low evening light.
The next morning, we set out to explore a larger part of the reserve by car. New birds included Black-crowned Tcharga and African Green Pigeon. After some time driving through woodland with pieces of sand forest, we came to open grass fields with some flooded areas alongside a river where we found two of the other targets for the trip:
Grey-rumped Swallow and Senegal Lapwing. The swallows were gliding among Banded- and Barn Swallows, but the grey rump and head was characteristic despite the cloudy weather. Among them sat 2 Senegal Lapwings whos colours came out beautifully as the sun broke through the clouds. We continued on the road into more open woodland. Suddenly, a Cuckoo Hawk flushed from next to the road! We watched this unique raptor for another 10 minutes as it went to sit motionless in an acacia tree with its back facing towards us. That night, the Green Malkoha once again announced its presence from near our campsite!
On our last morning at Bonamanzi, we spoke to one of the game rangers named Fredd, asking where we can search for African Broadbills. He replied: "Well, they're super difficult in winter but maybe walk along these 2 routes". He indicated two trails leading from one of the main roads on the map as he leaned over the safari equipped land cruiser. We navigated our way to what seemed like an abandoned track leading through thick, tangled sand forest which was barely impenetrable. Here, we walked up and down the trail for 30 minutes without any success while we used playback of the broadbill with hopes of getting the silent birds to respond. Time crept closer for us to head back to our campsite and begin packing up camp. We were on our way back when a broadbill replied. In that instant, me, my brother and my dads eyes opened with excitement while we looked at each other with chuckles. I was the first to dart into the direction of where the broabill announced its presence. My brother and my dad followed behind me as we manoeuvred into the vegetation guided by the interspersed call of the now vocal broadbill. After about 25 meters off the track, I saw some rapid, circular movement about 1 meter up. This moment felt truly unreal.
Displaying African Broadbills are one of the South Africa's bird wonders. My dad and brother soon also laid their eyes on this enigmatic bird. We moved a few meters to the left to get a better view. The bird was smaller than we thought and wasn't bigger than a batis, although was more dumpy and had a more rounded figure. We could make out some streaks on the belly. What grabbed our attention, other than the display, was the thick bill which appeared enormous compared to the size of the body. We snapped a few shots of the bird when it perched still. Suddenly, it darted off to another perch from which it continued to display. We struggled to locate the bird again, as it flew into even thicker vegetation. After being already late for departure, we turned back with smiles on our faces of this undescribable moment.