The Makuleke Contractual Park forms the nothern border of the Kruger National Park.
Trip Report & Images by: Ben Fouche
I was blessed to visit the Makuleke Contractual Park from 12 to 16 February 2015 with Theuns Botha and Hubert Kingston. Theuns is a keen birder with approximately 600 birds on his personal bird list and Hubert is an outstanding bird photographer, focusing on the quality of each shot.
We were fortunate to have the services of a really excellent birding guide by the name of Godfrey Baloyi. Godfrey manages the camp for one of the 2 Safari Companies in the Makuleke Contractual Park.
During the 5 days of our visit, we managed to do one self-drive trip (entering the Pafuri) and 8 guided trips covering 8 pentads, 2220_3100, 2220_3105, 2220_3110, 2220_3115, 2225_3100, 2225_3105, 2225_3110 and 2225_3115.
Click to enlarge pentads:
Most habitat areas were covered which can be viewed on the map
We counted 179 species over this 5 day period which is not bad taking into account the time spent for on photography and the fact that we did most of the birding from the vehicle.
We recorded species such as :
| Black Cuckooshrike | Blue Waxbill | Burnt-necked Eremomella |
| Emerald-spotted Wood Dove | Yellow-billed Oxpecker | Arrow-marked Babbler |
| Dark-capped Bulbul | Red-billed Oxpecker | Paradise Flycatcher |
| Cape Turtle Dove | Mosque Swallow | Retz’s Helmet-Shrike |
| Fork-tailed Drongo | Brown-headed Parrot | African Openbill |
| Grey Hornbill | Great Egret | Spotted Flycatcher |
| Chinspot Batis | Yellow-billed Stork | Common Cuckoo |
| White-browed Scrub Robin | Green-backed Heron | Blue-cheeked Bee-eater |
| Brubru | Egyptian Goose | Black-winged Stilt |
| White-fronted Bee-eater | Spur-winged Goose | Sacred Ibis |
| Southern Carmine Bee-eater | Whiskered Tern | Malachite Kingfisher |
| Lilac-breasted Roller | Saddle-billed Stork | Knob-billed Duck |
| Green Wood-hoopoe | Hadeda Ibis | African Jacana |
| Red-billed Quelea | African Pied Wagtail | Jacobin Cuckoo |
| Rattling Cisticola | Pied Kingfisher | Red-faced Mousebird |
| Tawny-flanked Prinia | White-crowned Lapwing | Little Sparrowhawk |
| Meve’s Starling | Three-banded Plover | Pearl-spotted Owlet |
| Southern Ground-hornbill | Wood Sandpiper | Tawny Eagle |
| White-backed Vulture | Pel’s Fishing Owl | Swainson’s Spurfowl |
| Goliath Heron | Harlequin Quail | Black-crowned Tchagra |
| Woodlands Kingfisher | Rufous-cheeked Nightjar | White-crested Helmet-Shrike |
| African Fish Eagle | Square-tailed Nightjar | White-browed Scrub Robin |
| European Roller | Freckled Nightjar | Black-headed Oriole |
| Orange-breasted Bushshrike | Fiery-necked Nightjar | Golden-breasted Bunting |
| Laughing Dove | Senegal Lapwing | White-winged Widowbird |
| Tropical Boubou | African Wood Owl | Lemon-breasted Canary |
| Pintailed Whydah | African Firefinch | Wahlberg’s Eagle |
| Lappet-faced Vulture | African Hoopoe | African Darter |
| Violet-backed Starling | Common Scimitarbill | Arnot’s Chat |
| Long-crested Eagle | Brubru | Black Cuckooshrike |
| Red-eyed Dove | Long-billed Crombec | African Harrier-Hawk |
| Bearded Woodpecker | Southern Black Tit | Tambourine Dove |
| Black Cuckoo | Green-winged Pytilia | Namaqua Dove |
| Purple Indigo Bird | Yellow-fronted Canary | Sabota Lark |
| Southern Boubou | Green-capped Eremomela | Spoonbill |
| Yellow-breasted Apalis | Scaly-feathered Finch | White-fronted Plover |
| Grey-backed Camaroptera | Barn Swallow | Dwarf Bittern |
| European Bee-eater | Diederik Cuckoo | Southern White-crowned Shrike |
| Speckled Mousebird | Cut-throat Finch | Crowned Lapwing |
| Broad-billed Roller | Olive-tree Warbler | Grey Go-away-bird |
| Red-backed Shrike | Helmeted Guineafowl | Brown Snake Eagle |
| Spectacled Weaver | Common Greenshank | Grey-headed Kingfisher |
| Yellow-bellied Greenbul | Common Sandpiper | White-breasted Cormorant |
| Cinnamon-breasted Bunting | Burchell’s Coucal | Reed Cormorant |
| Southern Grey-headed Sparrow | Wire-tailed Swallow | Spotted Crake |
| Verreaux’s Eagle Owl | Red-faced Cisticola | Great Reed Warbler |
| Black-backed Puffback | Water Thick-knee | Lesser Moorhen |
| African Green Pigeon | Grey-headed Parrot | Black Crake |
| Crested Francolin | African Goshawk | Hamerkop |
| Long-tailed Paradise Whydah | Sombre Greenbul | River Warbler |
| Cardinal Woodpecker | Terrestrial Brownbul | Bohm’s Spinetail |
| Trumpeter Hornbill | Lizzard Buzzard | Black-throated Wattle-eye |
| Black-collared Barbet | White-browed Robin-chat | Little Swift |
| Willow Warbler | Lesser Striped Swallow | Lavaillant’s Cuckoo |
| Village Indigo Bird | Marico Sunbird | Great Spotted Cuckoo |
| African Cuckoo | White-bellied Sunbird | White Stork |
| Bearded Scrub Robin | Double-banded Sandgrouse | Cattle Egret |
| Martial Eagle | African Barred Owlet | Purple Roller |
| Giant Kingfisher | Brown-crowned Tchagra | Yellow-billed Kite |
| Red-crested Korhaan | Southern Black Flycatcher |
Photos
The camp
