Berg-en-Dal is the southernmost camp within the Kruger Nationwide Park. Each the area across the camp and the camp itself are wonderful for birds, and I’ve seen a number of species right here that I’ve solely seen very occasionally in southern Africa as a complete. Of all of the camps in Kruger, Berg-en-Dal was the one my household visited most usually, due to the superb game-watching alternatives and relative proximity to our house in Pretoria.
Informal strolling across the camp was significantly rewarding due to the great variety of species current which might be largely restricted to the subtropical jap low-lying areas of South Africa. The spotlight of those was in all probability an Japanese Nicator, which sang in some thickets subsequent to the automotive park. This was the one time I had unobstructed views of this phantom, which on this case was not shy in any respect however hopped round within the thickets, to busy with singing to care about my presence.
The Purple-crested Turaco was additionally round, and afforded common views (featured picture). In reality, this species is sort of frequent in lots of camps and parks in jap South Africa, a lot that it has turn into a slightly regular species that I generally don’t give a re-assessment regardless of being really spectacular in colouration, significantly in good mild and through flight. Satirically, the comparatively bland Natal Spurfowl might be the definition of a ubiquitous species in most Kruger camps, however in some way I at all times loved watching their household teams calmy roamy the campsites, interspersed sometimes when some frantic pecking and scratching of the soil revealed that that they had detected one thing edible underground.
One other nice chook was the Bearded Scrub-Robin. I discover all of the scrub-robins to be very engaging birds, however this species ranks highest in my view. The birds had been hopping alongside the bottom and sorting meticulously via the leaf litter within the denser areas of the camp.
The habitats exterior the camp additionally at all times produced nice birds, with numerous goodies starting from Widespread Buttonquail and Knob-billed Duck to Yellow-throated Longclaw and Gray Tit-Flycatcher.
Berg-en-dal can be the world the place we noticed most leopards in Kruger Nationwide Park (though I don’t suppose that that is one of the best space per se, as we’ve additionally seen them in lots of different areas and simply occurred to go to this a part of the park most usually). One particular person had hauled the carcass of a younger zebra right into a tree only a few hundred metres from the camp entrance, affording unbeatable views because it moved across the just lately burned and thus very open space across the tree.
As a result of we’ve spent a lot time right here, I’ve had the possibility to totally discover Berg-en-Dal’s birdlife. Nevertheless, even for a one-time, transient go to this space has so much on provide, each by way of birds and different animal teams.
