Game Sightings:

Once again, game sightings were not all that productive during November. I have had very few reports of good sightings from members recently.

The first impala lambs were recorded during mid November while we were on leave. The lambing coincided with the first rains on the farm. The impala have done very well this year, one large herd to the north of the farm were recorded to have approximately thirty lambs in the herd.
There have also been a number of new zebra foals and a number of young giraffe calves.

The big male cheetah has been seen on a few occasions on the farm. He has also been seen on the eastern section of the Klaserie Nature Reserve.

Elephant sightings have declined substantially this month in comparison to previous months. A number of single bulls still frequent the farm.

The big herds of buffalo have been recorded on the farm regularly this month. Two big herds were recorded on the farm simultaneously recently, one of approximately 100 animals and the other herd in excess of 300.

Lion sightings have been very scarce this month with very few sightings being recorded on the farm.

No rhino sightings have been recorded this month but there is still a fair amount of rhino activity to the north of the farm.

The Davis family of number 20 reported a very good leopard sighting on the termite mound next to the Nyala tree on their last visit to the farm.

The woodland kingfishers arrived in mid November and it’s great to see them and have their familiar call on the farm again. Other migratory birds that have been seen farm recently are Steppe Buzzards, Steppe eagles, plum coloured starlings, Yellow-billed kites and red-backed shrikes.

(Interestingly, the red-backed shrikes are nonbreeding Palaeartic migrants and come from as far afield as Czechoslovakia and Germany)

The red headed weavers are now in full breeding plumage showing off their bright red colours and are common on the farm. They can be observed clearly outside the Ndlopfu office in the tall fever tree.

A pair of saddle-billed storks is seen on a regular basis at the natural catchment area in the river bed near the Nyala tree.