Flufftails are funny little, rail-like, birds who live the majority of their life running around on the ground through dense grass or thick brush. They are elusive and can take quite a bit of hard work to see well. Funny then that the first week of our trip to Africa, we were targeting three species of flufftail. There are only nine species in all of Africa, with one considered nearly impossible to see (looking at you, White-winged) so we weren’t even trying for that one. (Yes we contacted people prior to the trip to see if anything would be possible, but it is not.) It is worth mentioning that of the 9 species, we’ve already seen three of them, two in Madagascar, Slender-billed and Madagascar Flufftail, and one on our previous trip to South Africa, Red-chested Flufftail. Two of the flufftails that we were about to target in this first week, we had already tried for on that previous trip to South Africa, but we had only heard them. If you are wondering why you don’t see anything about that prior trip to ZA on our blog, it’s because the details of that trip were never uploaded. We went to South Africa in January of 2018 but when we came home we were so busy it just never happened. But to sum it up, we spent 30-days and went all over the country targeting the endemics. It wasn’t the peak time of year, but we still did quite well, finding all of the South African endemics and seeing about 560 species in total. Unfortunately two of the species we did not see were flufftails and we were back to give them another go.
Rich Lindie is an expert bird guide and South African native and despite it being late when we arrived to his house, both he and his wife Kim waited to eat with us and treated us to a proper South African braai. Ironically we had visited them at their home in South Africa almost exactly two years ago. Two years ago when we turned up at the Lindie home, we had never met before, but the birding community is a funny thing and uniting over a love of birds is normal. Two years ago Rich and Kim graciously let us sleep in their guest bedroom, and then Rich showed us all around his home area and even took us up the Sani pass into Lesotho with his trusty Land Rover. And two years later we were back at the Lindie’s house knowing that just a few weeks earlier they had Buff-spotted Flufftail running around their garden. We were happy to tick a life bird and see friends at the same time, but unfortunately the life bird part did not cooperate. The following morning we checked nearby Doreen Clarke Nature Preserve but there too the flufftails were quiet. Too bad.
Rich then took us around to a few shops because we needed to buy a few bins to store things in. Our plan was and still is, to keep this truck as organized as possible. Obviously being a birding trip we have a few extra pieces of gear that regular overlanders may not have a need for. And then along with those extra pieces of gear we also have backups. Not to mention our clothes and camping supplies. It’s just a lot of stuff and we wanted to get storage containers to keep it organized and clean which was mildly successful.
That afternoon we headed to Ntsikeni Nature Preserve to tick Striped Flufftail which previously we had only heard at this location. The preserve has since closed because the corrupt South African government stopped paying the workers, but a few dedicated individuals keep it protected and do allow visitors, so long as you contact them ahead of time to open the gate. To get to Ntsikeni one must first drive through a few very poor villages, a forest of introduced pine and then through some rolling grasslands. It was evening when we arrived but luckily nights and early mornings are best for flufftails anyway. We set up our tent and then walked out into the grass.
As we started trampling over dense thickets of grass though a marshy area, the weight of the rubber boots that we had lugged across the ocean were suddenly worth it. It’s hard walking when you step one foot up onto a big pile of grass and the other down into the mire. We walked like this through the vast openness of grass adjacent to a silhouette of a rocky hillside. Neither of us sustained any injuries despite walking in the dark in what felt like a careless motion. We would walk, play some tape, listen and repeat. It was exceptionally dark where we were standing, the only light being from our small headlamps. As we stood out in the grass searching for swampy sections, we heard a Striped Flufftail call in the distance. Thank God! That answered our question of whether they were even around or if it was too dry. We had been wandering for so long that we weren’t sure if there was even enough habitat for them, afterall, there were cows grazing through all of the Flufftail habitat. We headed in the direction of the calls and this is where a bit of knowledge of birds come in handy. We didn’t want to walk straight at the bird for fear of flushing it, so we circled around and then inched our way closer in the dark. Believe me when I tell you that the grass was thick so we knew we weren’t going to just accidentally see it without a little help from the thermal optic that Ross purchased early last year.
The Pulsar Helion registers a heat signature of pretty much everything on earth. Trees and leaves hold heat, as do rocks, as do mammals and so using this piece of equipment one can pretty much see in the dark. An animal, such as a bird in our case, would have a very high heat signature and thus stand out from the grass which would look significantly cooler in comparison. But too much grass in front and the heat from the bird would not be visible. We knew the bird was close but we couldn’t see it, even with the thermal. It was just too thick! We were patient despite the clouds rolling in and heat lightning flashing in the distance. But after an hour of the bird calling only a meter in front of us, the lightning started intensifying. One big crack of lightning and roll of thunder made us wonder if we would just get caught empty handed in the rain. With that we decided our best bet was to run into the grass and hope for the best. Obviously we ran in and the bird ran away without us ever seeing it. These things do not flush up, they are tiny, agile and easily concealed so they just run. We decided that our only option might be to make a small clearing in the grass and hope that tomorrow we can return and get the bird to cross through the small opening. As we were clearing grass Ross catches a glimpse of our target! We then got to enjoy watching a Striped Flufftail run around at our feet. Gosh, these things are adorable. Not sure how it happened but we had gotten our only target on the first night, with no help from the thermal! We then meandered back to our rooftop tent and spent our first night camping at the top of our truck. It was really windy but the skies never opened up.
That morning Ross went birding a bit earlier than I and had Bush Black Cap and Yellow-breasted Pipit and then when I joined we had a few Wattled & Grey-crowned Cranes, along with Pin-tailed Wydah, Wing-snapping Cisticola, Quailfinch, and all of the other usual grassland suspects. The grassland was perfect habitat for Long-tailed & Red-collared Widowbirds and we saw them by the dozen flying through the wind dragging their obnoxiously long tail behind. Their long tails look like they might make flying difficult, but gosh they are so neat to see. I don’t care if I’ve seen a hundred widowbirds, I’m going to enjoy every single one as if it was a little kite floating in the air. We slowly worked our way out, birding until we reached the end of the preserve. Even though we flushed about two dozen Common Quail off the road, we never did find the elusive Black-rumped Buttonquail. We did stop in the small village to give a monetary contribution even though we were told we could have stayed for free.
We then hit the road, back to the Lindie home. It was mid-afternoon and scorching hot when we arrived and the Lindie’s offered us a nice shower to cool off. We hung around a bit chatting during the heat of the day before we determined that Buff-spotted Flufftail was still calling at higher elevations where it was still earlier in the breeding season. A former student of Kim’s and acquaintance of Rich’s, happened to let them know that there’s at least one still calling at his house so we hopped in the car and drove two hours to Creighton, South Africa to Brandon’s family farm. It was nearly dusk when we arrived. We got to meet the whole family who were happy to have us observe their local Flufftail. As soon as we got to their backyard and played the tape, we heard a response. When these birds are calling, they are easy, too bad it’s only for a few weeks a year! We sat down and soon saw a small shadow run through the brush. A little patience and off camera flash and we had a photo of Buff-spotted Flufftail. Easy! It might sound funny to just drive two hours for a lifer and then drive two hours back, but that’s exactly what we did. Thankfully the bird cooperated.
And just like that we were two for two on target flufftails seen and photographed. We turned around and headed back to Rich and Kim’s where we spent another night. A quick breakfast and cup of tea later and this time we said goodbye for good. (Unless Rich is tempted enough to meet up with us somewhere else in Africa!) Now onward for the 5-hour drive back to Jo-burg where we would soon continue on to Zimbabwe for the next Flufftail, Streaky Breasted. Stay tuned.
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