BIRDING AT MALKOHA

Sand Forest Specials
and a Floodplain
Full of Flamingo

Sand Forest Specials and a Floodplain Full of Flamingo

Malkoha and its surrounds hold one of the highest bird diversities in South Africa. Guides here work to your target list.

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WHY BIRDERS COME HERE

Six Habitats Within an Hour of the Jetty

The lodge is named for a bird. The Green Malkoha is a secretive species of dense forest canopy, and the live bird list for this property records it here, among the sand forest, acacia veld and lake shore that make up the peninsula. For the casual birder, guided walks through forest, wetland and savannah are the easiest way in: guides here have spent years on this ground and can teach the calls as readily as the plumage, and fish eagle, flamingo, pelican and a run of colourful forest species come quickly. For the serious lister, Malkoha is a place to close gaps. Give the guides a wish list and they will work the stakeouts for your target birds. What makes the area exceptional is the number of habitats stacked within a short distance of each other. Closed-canopy sand forest, open acacia veld, lake shore, floodplain, pan systems and coastal woodland all sit within an hour or so of the jetty, and each one holds a different set of specials. Species counts The Source of Truth records over 500 species for the region; the existing Birding page records well over 400 for the area around the lodge.

At the lodge. On the property, walk from your chalet.

Numerous hiking trails run across the property through rich sand forest, acacia veld and along the lake shore. This is where the sand forest specials are: Pink-throated Twinspot, Narina Trogon, Green Malkoha, Eastern Nicator, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Rudd’s Apalis and African Broadbill. No fewer than nine sunbird species have been recorded in the area, including the rare and endemic Neergaard’s Sunbird. African Wood Owl is heard calling from the chalets in the evenings, Green Twinspot works the denser forest, and Bearded Scrub Robin, Emerald Cuckoo, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Crowned Hornbill and Crested Guineafowl are all on the cards. Guests are free to walk the trails alone or take a guide for the more elusive species. For photographers there is a small hide and several water features, which is generally the better way to get close to the unusual ones.

The floodplains. A short drive from the lodge, guided.

The floodplains are the highlight and, for most visiting birders, the reason to come. They are probably one of the best places in the world to see the Rosy-throated Longclaw. Large flocks of flamingo gather here, along with many waders, and rarities including Long-toed Lapwing, Caspian Plover and Rufous-bellied Heron are recorded annually. The forest and bush fringing the plain holds Southern-banded Snake Eagle, Croaking Cisticola, Lemon-breasted Canary and Grey Waxbill.

Muzi Pans. About half an hour by road.

One of the most famous wetland birding sites in South Africa, sitting on the Mkhuze River floodplain between uMkhuze Game Reserve and Lake St Lucia. A typical coastal plain wetland of sedge-marsh, open water, bare shore and floating vegetation, surrounded by rural villages and forest. In summer the pans become a major residence for palearctic waders and afrotropical species, and a regular birding day here can produce in excess of 120 species. Specials recorded annually: Pink-backed Pelican, Black Heron, Dwarf Bittern, Woolly-necked and Saddle-billed Stork, African Openbill, Comb Duck, White-backed and Fulvous Duck, African Pygmy-goose, African Marsh-harrier, Lesser Moorhen, Allen’s Gallinule, Lesser Jacana, Senegal Lapwing, Greater Painted-snipe, Collared Pratincole, Caspian Tern and Black Coucal.

Commoner: Goliath Heron, White-faced Duck, African Jacana, African Fish Eagle, White Pelican, with Long-toed Lapwing and Rufous-bellied Heron occasionally. Woodland around the pans: Swamp Nightjar, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Broad-billed Roller, Grey-rumped Swallow, Eastern Nicator, Bearded Scrub-robin, White-starred Robin in winter, Rudd’s Apalis, Rufous-winged and Red-faced Cisticola, Burnt-necked Eremomela, African Yellow White-eye, Gorgeous Bush-shrike, Pink-throated Twinspot and Lemon-breasted Canary.

uMkhuze Game Reserve. About 45 minutes via the D820 gate past Muzi Pans, which is much shorter than the old uMkhuze town entrance.

Proclaimed in 1912 and covering some 40,000 hectares within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, uMkhuze rates among Zululand’s top three birding spots and carries one of the highest checklists of any protected area in South Africa, with over 400 species recorded. The reason is habitat: pans, swamps, acacia thornveld, sand forest, riverine forest, open woodland, cliffs and grassland, all inside one boundary. Kumasinga hides: Pink-throated Twinspot, African Broadbill, Gorgeous Bush-Shrike, African Barred Owlet and Yellow-bellied Greenbul in the surrounding sand forest, with Red-billed Helmetshrike if you are lucky.

In late winter and early spring the flowering Weeping Boer Bean pulls in Neergaard’s, Purple-banded, Collared, Eastern Olive, Grey, Scarlet-chested and White-bellied Sunbirds. The grassy verges hold Dwarf Bittern and Greater Painted Snipe through the wetter summer months. Mantuma camp: Bearded Robin at close quarters, plus Grey Tit-Flycatcher, Lesser Masked Weaver, Collared Sunbird and, in summer, Violet-backed Starling.

The Riverview Walk from opposite the camp office is good for Pink-throated Twinspot and Grey Waxbill early and late. Loop Road: open thornveld holding Burnt-necked Eremomela, Grey Penduline Tit, Bushveld Pipit, Flappet Lark, Grey Go-away Bird, Brown-headed Parrot and raptors including Tawny, Steppe and Lesser Spotted Eagles, especially prominent after heavy rain. Nsumo Pan: an extensive wetland fed by the Mkhuze and Umsunduze Rivers, and home to South Africa’s only breeding colony of Pink-backed Pelicans. Yellow-billed Stork, African Spoonbill and egrets breed in the fever trees on the southern side. Numbers depend on water level: waders in the drier early spring, big flocks of duck and geese in late summer.

Fig Forest, beside the pan: Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Narina Trogon, Broad-billed Roller, Green Malkoha, Southern-banded Snake Eagle, Blue-mantled Crested-Flycatcher, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Black-bellied Starling and Green Twinspot. Trumpeter Hornbills call constantly and Pel’s Fishing Owl is resident but rarely seen. Check access before going. The airstrip thornveld: the region’s hot spot for Olive-tree Warbler, with Senegal Lapwing, African Pipit, Icterine Warbler, Lizard Buzzard and Desert Cisticola alongside.

False Bay Park. About 30 minutes by road. 2,247 hectares.

On the western shores of the lake, within the greater iSimangaliso Wetland Park, False Bay Park is mostly sand forest and woodland with patches of open shoreline, and it holds one of South Africa’s only Pink-backed Pelican colonies. The Dugandlovu and Mpophomeni trails are the two main routes in. Lake edge: grassy lawns hold Pink-throated Longclaw; Lesser Jacana where water lilies grow; Goliath Heron, Black Egret and Little Bittern standing quietly in the edge vegetation; Painted Snipe on the mud.

Crocodiles bask along this shoreline, so keep your distance. Open woodland: scan bare treetops for Southern-banded Snake Eagle, and Broad-billed Roller in summer. Dense undergrowth holds the shy Green Coucal; forest edges hold the Maputaland endemic Pink-throated Twinspot. Flowering trees: Neergaard’s Sunbird comes to Weeping Boer-bean and coast coral tree when they flower, alongside the similar but longer-billed Purple-banded Sunbird. Closed-canopy sand forest: dominated by Lebombo wattle, Zulu podberry and black monkey thorn, with bird parties carrying Rudd’s Apalis, White Helmetshrike, Square-tailed Drongo and Yellow-bellied Bulbul, and Narina Trogon and Eastern Nicator under the canopy. African Broadbill: False Bay’s sand forest is probably one of the best places anywhere to find it. Look for closed canopy over an open understorey and search patiently, since the bird sits still and is cryptically coloured. In breeding season its far-carrying call gives it away.

Species

Where

Sand forest on the property; Fig Forest at uMkhuze

When

Not stated

Where

Sand forest on the property; False Bay canopy; Fig Forest

When

Not stated

Where

Property; False Bay forest edges; Kumasinga; Riverview Walk; Muzi woodland

When

Not stated

Where

Property (one of nine sunbird species); False Bay clearings; Kumasinga

When

Late winter to early spring, on flowering Weeping Boer Bean

Where

Property; False Bay closed-canopy sand forest; Kumasinga

When

Breeding season, when the call carries

Where

The floodplains

When

Not stated

Where

The floodplains, in large flocks

When

Not stated

Where

False Bay colony; Nsumo Pan breeding colony; Muzi Pans

When

Not stated

Where

Fig Forest, uMkhuze. Resident but rarely seen

When

Not stated

Where

Heard calling from the chalets in the evenings

When

Evenings

Where

uMkhuze airstrip thornveld, the regional hot spot

When

Not stated

Where

Grassy verges at the uMkhuze hides

When

Wetter summer months

Where

False Bay open woodland; Muzi woodland

When

Summer

Where

Woodland around Muzi Pans

When

Winter

Where

Mantuma camp, uMkhuze

When

Summer

Where

The floodplains

When

Recorded annually

Species

Where

When

Green Malkoha

Sand forest on the property; Fig Forest at uMkhuze

Not stated

Narina Trogon

Sand forest on the property; False Bay canopy; Fig Forest

Not stated

Pink-throated Twinspot

Property; False Bay forest edges; Kumasinga; Riverview Walk; Muzi woodland

Not stated

Neergaard’s Sunbird

Property (one of nine sunbird species); False Bay clearings; Kumasinga

Late winter to early spring, on flowering Weeping Boer Bean

African Broadbill

Property; False Bay closed-canopy sand forest; Kumasinga

Breeding season, when the call carries

Rosy-throated Longclaw

The floodplains

Not stated

Greater Flamingo

The floodplains, in large flocks

Not stated

Pink-backed Pelican

False Bay colony; Nsumo Pan breeding colony; Muzi Pans

Not stated

Pel’s Fishing Owl

Fig Forest, uMkhuze. Resident but rarely seen

Not stated

African Wood Owl

Heard calling from the chalets in the evenings

Evenings

Olive-tree Warbler

uMkhuze airstrip thornveld, the regional hot spot

Not stated

Dwarf Bittern, Greater Painted-snipe

Grassy verges at the uMkhuze hides

Wetter summer months

Broad-billed Roller

False Bay open woodland; Muzi woodland

Summer

White-starred Robin

Woodland around Muzi Pans

Winter

Violet-backed Starling

Mantuma camp, uMkhuze

Summer

Long-toed Lapwing, Caspian Plover, Rufous-bellied Heron

The floodplains

Recorded annually

GUIDED BY KNOWLEDGE, SHAPED BY THE MOMENT

Birding Built Around Your List, Not a Route

Birding here is shaped around the individual. Whether you have been at it for decades or are noticing birds properly for the first time, each outing is guided at your pace and around your interests. Guides interpret call, movement and behaviour, so a sighting turns into something you understand as well as something you record.

Walk quietly through the sand forest as smaller species reveal themselves in the canopy, or work the lake’s edge where waterbirds gather and regroup. Early mornings bring clarity and stillness; late afternoons bring softer light and a different set of movement across the landscape. Give the guides your wish list before you arrive and they will plan around it.

What you can book

  • Guided walks, day, customised to birding, fossils, flora or fauna, on three trails
  • Guided walks, night, silent walking for owls, nightjars and bush babies
  • Flood Plain Birding Drive
  • Birding Canoeing
  • Morning and afternoon lake safaris
  • The hide and its water features
  • Self-guided access to all property trails

WHEN TO COME

What the Year Does to This Bird List

Summer:

Muzi Pans densities and diversity rise sharply; a day can produce in excess of 120 species. Palearctic waders arrive. Dwarf Bittern and Greater Painted-snipe on the uMkhuze hide verges. Broad-billed Roller at False Bay. Violet-backed Starling at Mantuma.

Late summer:

Nsumo Pan fills; large flocks of duck and geese, including Spurwing Goose and White-faced Duck.

Winter:

White-starred Robin in the woodland around Muzi Pans.

Late winter to early spring:

Weeping Boer Bean flowers at uMkhuze and pulls in seven sunbird species including Neergaard's.

Early spring:

Nsumo Pan runs fairly dry, which brings many waders in close.

Year-round:

Floodplain water levels shift with the season and change what is standing there. Rudd's Apalis is seen throughout uMkhuze.

Best months to visit:

Rainfall and temperature by month:

FAQ

The region holds over 500 recorded species and the area immediately around the lodge supports well over 400, including rare and endemic birds. The mix of sand forest, acacia veld, lake shore and floodplain within a short distance is what drives the diversity.

Pink-throated Twinspot, Narina Trogon, Green Malkoha, Eastern Nicator, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Rudd’s Apalis and African Broadbill are all recorded on the property, along with nine sunbird species including the rare endemic Neergaard’s Sunbird.

On the floodplains a short guided drive from the lodge, which rank among the best places anywhere for this bird. The same plains hold large flamingo flocks and annual records of Long-toed Lapwing, Caspian Plover and Rufous-bellied Heron.

Both work at Malkoha Lake St. Lucia. The property’s hiking trails through sand forest, acacia veld and lake shore are open to guests unaccompanied, and a guide is worth taking for the shyer forest species and the off-property sites.

Yes. Send your wish list ahead and the guides plan the trip around it. They have spent years on this ground and know the stakeouts, which is what makes Malkoha useful to a birder closing gaps on a life list.

There is a small hide on the property along with several water features, which are usually the better bet for close views of the more unusual species. The Kumasinga hides at uMkhuze, under an hour away, rate among the best in the country.

False Bay Park for African Broadbill and a Pink-backed Pelican colony, uMkhuze Game Reserve for its hides and Nsumo Pan, and Muzi Pans for wetland species. All three sit within about an hour of Malkoha Lake St. Lucia.

Yes. The Green Malkoha is a secretive bird of dense forest canopy, and it is recorded in the sand forest on the property as well as in the Fig Forest at uMkhuze.

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