Kaapschehoop is a small town on our eastern escarpment. It is situated about 30km from Nelspruit in Mpumalanga. Because of its position on the top of the escarpment it is home to a wide variety of habitats, including high altitude grasslands, one of the few places in Southern Africa where the rare BLUE SWALLOW occurs. It also has many indigenous forests, streams and plantations, making it an ideal birding location.
On our way down to the Kruger Park we decided to spend a night in Nelspruit with some family. But to get to them we had to go through Kaapschehoop so I decided to turn the trip into a birding one. I was dropped off in Kaapschehoop at half past nine and immediately set off to find some birds.
Rattling Cisticola
I made my way through one of the many plantations looking for a patch of indigenous bush. I quickly found one and the birds started popping up. African Olive-Pigeons were the first birds I saw, but a Cape Grassbird and Rattling Cisticolas were soon common sights. I also found a flock of Swee Waxbills and picked up my first lifer for the walk, a Drakensberg Prinia. It looks very much like the common Tawny-flanked Prinia but can be identified the streaks on its otherwise brown chest.
Cape Bunting
I continued on and soon came to a small gorge, but it was big enough that I had to find a way around it. I wandered along next to the gorge and river before coming back out at my starting point. And to think that I thought navigation was one of my strong points. I walked through the grassland next to the town for a while before finding another wooded gorge. This time I had some luck and managed to spot a Grey Cuckooshrike in the canopy, my second lifer.
Grey Cuckooshrike
I explored the area between the town and the escarpment for a while, coming across Buff-streaked Chats, Familiar Chats and Cape Rock-Thrushes. I also found a flock of Cape Canaries and a Wailing Cisticola, while a Cape Bunting and Fiscal Shrike awaited me on the walk back.
In the town the birding wasn’t too bad either and I managed to find the beautiful Gurney’s Sugarbird and many Pin-tailed Whydah’s. Upon leaving the town I had a lovely sighting of a Forest Buzzard. They look very similar to the migrant Steppe Buzzard, but they have a lighter chest than the summer visitors.
I wanted to explore the grasslands but as the Blue Swallows had already departed north, I had to settle for exploring the forested areas. I soon found another patch of indigenous bush north of the town and came across a pair of Chorister Robins and some Forest Canaries. The birds were calling left and right but I couldn’t locate them in the dense canopy. I did find a Bar-throated Apalis, a Cape Batis and a Red-throated Wryneck before leaving to explore the more rocky areas.
Buff-streaked Chat
Among the rocks were a few good birds including Striped and Long-billed Pipits as well as Speckled Pigeons. I also found some interesting reptiles, but they were all too quick to catch.
My day of birding soon came to an end, after having seen 47 birds in total. It was a pretty successful day and I know that I will be back for more. I still need to find the Blue Swallows, as well as the many other gems that the area has. That will require me spending a few days in the area though, so maybe a camping trip will be needed. But that’s another story.
Kaapschehoop
If you want to explore it, well, go ahead. Summer is the best time for birding but you will find good birds all year around. Accommodation in Kaapschehoop is never a problem, or you can do some birding from horseback by going with Kaapschehoop Horse Trails. The possibilities are endless, but you will always be rewarded.
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