Master Blaster
African Birdlife|September - October 2020
48 hours in the Vumba
Morgan Trimble
Master Blaster
‘Stripe-cheeked Greenbul, Roberts's Warbler, Chirinda Apalis…’ Buluwesi Murambiwa reeled off names for the birdsong chorus before we even left camp in the Vumba Mountains, part of Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands. Over the next four hours, the renowned guide led us up, down and around the forested mountainsides and gardens of the Seldomseen Cottages property. Buluwesi alternated between identifying calls, whistling conversations with the birds and exclaiming, ‘Look, look, look! On the branch! Now on the vine! Did you get it?’

Usually the answer was yes for both my partner and me. It’s a good morning indeed when Swynnerton’s and Whitestarred robins and Orange Ground Thrush, all lifers, comprise your first three ticks. Buluwesi showed us each of these sought-after species within a hundred metres of our tent on a trail winding through the towering mist-belt forests for which the Vumba is known.

Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands is a 260-kilometre stretch of mountainous terrain hugging the border with Mozambique. The Highlands comprise three ranges: the Nyanga to the north, the Chimanimani to the south and the Vumba (also spelled Bvumba) in the middle, with its mix of evergreen forests, woodlands and grasslands.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September - October 2020 من African Birdlife.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September - October 2020 من African Birdlife.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من AFRICAN BIRDLIFE مشاهدة الكل
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
African Birdlife

EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS

Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.

time-read
5 mins  |
May/June 2024
footloose IN FYNBOS
African Birdlife

footloose IN FYNBOS

The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.

time-read
6 mins  |
May/June 2024
Living forwards
African Birdlife

Living forwards

How photographing birds helps me face adversity

time-read
10 mins  |
May/June 2024
CAPE crusade
African Birdlife

CAPE crusade

The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge

time-read
5 mins  |
May/June 2024
water & WINGS
African Birdlife

water & WINGS

WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.

time-read
1 min  |
May/June 2024
winter wanderer
African Birdlife

winter wanderer

as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.

time-read
1 min  |
May/June 2024
when perfect isn't enough
African Birdlife

when perfect isn't enough

Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race

time-read
5 mins  |
May/June 2024
Southern SIGHTINGS
African Birdlife

Southern SIGHTINGS

The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.

time-read
4 mins  |
May/June 2024
flood impact on wetland birds
African Birdlife

flood impact on wetland birds

One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.

time-read
5 mins  |
May/June 2024
a star is born
African Birdlife

a star is born

It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.

time-read
2 mins  |
May/June 2024