Newcomers to the Samara Avian List April Update with ATS

Newcomers to the Samara Avian List

One of our guests spotted 5 new bird species not on our list this past month.  The total is now 225 species that we find in our area.

Ranger Jan recounts:
“Friends fly in to Samara for several reasons: When I picked up my last set of guests at the airstrip, and they started taking out their bird-books and bino’s while getting on the vehicle… I knew they flew in to maximize their time at Samara. By the time we had stopped for several little birds before leaving the airstrip… I knew exactly what we were going to do for the next five days.  After enquiring about a specific bird that they had seen, and both the gentleman and his wife started explaining exactly how many times they’ve seen the bird and the circumstances for each sighting… I knew I was going to be up all night studying!

An absolutely fabulous five days scanning every little corner of Samara for, you guessed it, BIRD LIFE!!! During our time we saw at least five bird species that are not on Samara’s spp. list, including: Greater collared sunbird; Wryneck; Large billed lark, White faced duck and amazingly a Night Heron.

When you are with guests that have a species list twice as long as your own, humility is the order of the day, and I had the greatest time learning as we went. I want to thank Mike and Coralyn Griffith for an amazing time, their passion and love for birds, animals and whatever biome they find these in; as well as their patience with me fumbling through my book, resulted in a most enjoyable and memorable experience.”

Amazing Game Viewing.

What a great month of amazing game viewing opportunities. The cheetah did not disappoint as we had such incredible sightings. The dry northern part of the reserve has forced the female cheetah to move to the southern side due to the increase of the antelope activities. The female cheetah has been patrolling around the  Paardekraal area. The male cheetah has been around Kondoa mountain and Mark’s Pass valley.

General game continues to enthrall and many of the giraffes, herds of eland, zebra and oryx are now residing on the southern side due to the availability of water and food. The night life was once again amazing and we had great sightings of aardvark, porcupine, genets and bat eared fox.

A few buffaloes have been moving through Karoo lodge and staff cottages. The old boys are still coming to the lodge most of the evenings. These boys are spending most of their time around milk river enjoying mud as this brings welcome relief against the hot African sun.

We had wonderful hot days and some spectacular sunsets.

Don’t forget – we have special rates from May to September, and we are malaria-free. So leave technology behind, embrace the outdoors and explore one of South Africa’s most underrated regions.

For more information, or to make a booking please contact Mel on info@africantravelsolutions.com

Warm Wishes
Sarah Tompkins and The Samara Team