The third route that I travelled on a long birding outing (from Zaagkuildrift to Kgomo-Kgomo to Borakalalo to Assen to Vaalkop) in August 2010 was from Borakalalo to Vaalkop Dam via the village of Ga-Rasai and Assen. Here are some pics of the scenery along the way:
A Purple Roller briefly delayed me and then I took about 50 pics of a Lilac-breasted Roller snacking on a massive grasshopper - here is the last in the sequence after he had done the whole smash-it-on-the-ground-until-it-is-soft routine.
A fascinating bird grabbed my attention as it foraged for insects on the ground for some time. It is strongly streaked and has very little supercilium and a really long beak - after considering everything in the Lark and Pipit section I'm left wondering if it might be a Tree Pipit. I have put pics out on the forum to get help with its id. Any ideas? [Update: This bird has been identified as a Bushveld Pipit - here is what Faansie Peacock has to say: This is a Bushveld Pipit - they are pretty common in that area, though very easily overlooked if their calls are not intimately familiar. They tend to move around somewhat, but can be picked up high overhead by their flight calls. As you mentioned, the lack of distinct supercilium is distinctive, as is the conspicuous pale eye-ring. Kind regards, Faansie Peacock]
Right by the "Pipit" I managed to snap these close up shots of Crested Barbet and Fork-tailed Drongo:
I was particularly on the lookout for the Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver which nest in the trees in the area. I snapped this pic which is 14 kilometers from Bora as per Birding Gauteng and asked folk in the village but no-one seemed to know when they were last seen. Next time?
During my driving around the village looking for the Buffalo-Weavers I did spot Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Blue Waxbill, Crowned Lapwing, Magpie Shrike, African Hoopoe, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Black-crowned Tchagra and Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler (and that was just in the space of about 10 minutes).
I then headed off towards the bridge over the Moretele river that runs from Borakalalo National Park where I got to see more Red-breasted Swallows, African Fish-Eagle, Southern Masked Weaver and Egyptian Goose.
On the road just past the village towards Assen I spotted Southern Pied Babbler, African Grey Hornbill, Lourie, Red-winged Starling, Common Ostrich, Helmeted Guineafowl, Groundscraper Thrush, Namaqua Dove, Pied Crow, Black-throated Canary and Red-billed Quelea. Oh and some of the worst corrugated dirt road that tossed my car around like it was made out of polystyrene.
I briefly stopped off at the bridge over the Moretele River but apart from a few Swallows and a White-breasted Cormorant did not seem much else.
