A GROUP of 15 bird watchers celebrated Women’s month with a walk through Pigeon Valley nature reserve in Glenwood.
This was the monthly walk led by Friends of Pigeon Valley.
According to Crispin Hemson from the Friends, conditions have been remarkably dry, and visibility into the undergrowth has been very good.
“A particular feature of the winter’s birding has been the large number of birdwatchers who have been coming, even from outside KZN, to see Buff-spotted Flufftails. These birds are probably always present, but are very rarely seen. With little food available in the undergrowth, some have been moving even onto the main track. Spotted Ground-Thrushes, the endangered winter visitor, are also present in encouraging numbers. These have been unusually visible at various places in the reserve,” he said.
Other recent visitors have been two Narina Trogons, the beautiful birds that have not been present for the last two years, and a Grey-headed Bush-Shrike.
“One advantage of the dryness has been the ability to remove invasive plants that are easier than usual to access. This is a central task undertaken by the Friends,” he said.
