Birding MBOMBELA

The heart of the Lowveld

- LEON MARAIS

WITH A FLASH of scarlet underwing, a Purple-crested Turaco flies across the road, its staccato alarm call unexpectedly loud. White-fronted Bee-eaters are far more relaxed about being exposed and hawk insects from bare branches. A White-browed Robin-chat is of similar mind-set to the turaco, calling boldly from a concealed position in a dense thicket, happy to be heard but not necessarily seen. A flowering coral tree is abuzz with sunbirds, Yellow-fronted Canaries, a Black-headed Oriole and a flock of Village Weavers, while African Green Pigeons squawk and flutter in a nearby fig tree. A Red-faced Cisticola pipes loudly from the overgrown stream bed and a curious clicking sound draws your eyes skywards to search for an African Goshawk in display flight.

With all this going on you may think that you’re in the Kruger National Park or some other wild reserve, but you’re actually taking a morning stroll through the suburbs of Mbombela (formerly known as Nelspruit) in Mpumalanga. Indeed, this small city (which feels more like a big town) is home to an enviable array of bird species – roughly 350 species have been recorded since the late 1970s. It also boasts some lovely birding venues, making it worthy of being more than simply a last-minute shopping stop on the way to Kruger.

Lowveld National Botanical Garden

The botanical garden is the first destination for some classic Mbombela birding. If you are Kruger-bound and leave Joburg early enough, you can even pop in for a few hours en route, as it is conveniently situated just off the R40 to White River and beyond, and makes for a great lunch venue.