Makalolo Zimbabwe

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World Watch Advisory™ Zimbabwe's national parks "are safe to visit, as they are far from the cities where the instability exists. Game lodges are desperate for occupants, so prices are extremely competitive. And low lodge occupancy means you'll have thousands of hectares of pristine game country virtually all to yourself."

Linkwasha Safari Field Report June 2004

Makalolo in the rainy season is a magical place for birders. Not only are there more than 400 species present, but the area offers the rare opportunity to see arid-country specials such as Red-billed Francolin and Bradfield's Hornbill together with woodland specials such as Pygmy Kingfisher, Broad-billed and Racket-tailed rollers and Green-capped Eremomela.

Makalolo, which is located on a concession in the undevel-oped south-eastern section of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, spans the transition between dry Kalahari sands and moist savanna woodland and as a result there is an overlap of bird species from both ecotypes. This provides one with a rich variety of birds - for example, both Black-chested and Tawny-flanked prinias are present; the Red-eyed Bulbul gives way to the Black-eyed Bulbul (both these species can be seen, especially during the drier months); and here too the Crimson-breasted Shrike of drier western climes rubs shoulders with the Tropical Boubou, a species from the north-east.

In 1996 the Zimbabwe Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management granted the Makalolo Plains and surrounding concession to Alexis Chiyasa who, in partnership with Wilderness Safaris, constructed the two luxury tented camps, Makalolo Plains and Little Makalolo, and will operate them for a period of 10 years. The concession, which forms a part of Hwange (formerly Wankie) National Park, covers 14 651 square kilometres (compared to the 19 485 square kilometres of the Kruger National Park). The area is known as the Linkwasha Wilderness area - 'linkwasha' being the name given to a vlei or marshland, one of the many habitat types there.

Hwange has a rich diversity of habitats. The northern half of the park is broken and hilly with granitic outcrops and the basaltic soil in these areas is heavily wooded with mopane forests. Several rivers, such as the Deka and Lukosi, flow north from this area to the Zambezi River. The southern half, by contrast, is Kalahari sand and the vegetation present is dictated by the soil types. Basaltic sands have as their dominant tree species red bushwillow, silver cluster-leaf, and the occasional weeping wattle. Sandy clay soils with calcrete tend to support the camelthorn and the leadwood, while the Kalahari sand areas are covered with forests of Zimbabwean teak and false mopane, interspersed with red seringa and ordeal trees. In addition there are grasslands, palm-fringed plains and numerous open pans. Drainage from this southern area is southwards into the wastes of Botswana's Makgadikgadi saltpans.

Such a generous diversity of habitats sets the stage for a wide variety of plants and animals to co-exist and flourish, and it is after the summer rains that this profusion is most dramatically manifested. The rainy season occurs from about November to February and it has a profound effect. The plains are converted to flooded pans - depressions everywhere fill with water and along the roads every flooded wheel rut seems to hold a resident terrapin or two. The grasses grow, producing seeds for the seed-eating birds such as Red-billed Quelea, Violet-eared, Common and Blue waxbills, Yellow-eyed Canary and Grey-headed Sparrow. The grass also provides nesting sites for the Coqui Francolin, Harlequin Quail and Kurrichane Buttonquail. Fruits and flowers become abundant in the rainy season, providing sustenance for Crested Barbet, Grey Lourie, Meyer's Parrot and Scarlet-chested, White-bellied and Marico sunbirds.

However, the most spectacular effect of the rainy season is that which the increase of vegetation has on the arthropod fauna. It explodes! For humans it means fending off horse flies during the day, and guarding your red wine or port from thirsty hawk moths by night, but for the birds it is a bonanza. For them it is time to attend to the business of breeding so that their chicks can benefit from the abundant food supply.
Intra-African migrants such as the Paradise Whydah, Red-breasted Swallow and Pygmy, Grey-hooded and Woodland kingfishers arrive to participate in the pickings. Large groups of brilliantly coloured Carmine Bee-eaters perch on assorted vantage points, ever vigilant for large flying insects such as dragonflies and grasshoppers. Quick and agile European Swallows in their droves scythe paths between herds of zebra, acrobatically picking off flies attracted by the herd as well as other insects disturbed by their grazing. Other birds come from further afield - migrants such as the Red-backed Shrike, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and some European Bee-eaters journey all the way from various parts of the Palaearctic.

Possibly the best example one can have of birds utilising this abundance of insect prey is to witness the raptors at work during the occurrence of alate irruptions. These occur mainly at the start of the rainy season but can also be seen throughout the summer. After rain on warm evenings, flying termites emerge in their thousands and fly a few hundred metres to a new location where, after shedding their wings, a male and female can start a new colony as king and queen. These emerging termite alates attract Eastern and Western red-footed kestrels, Yellow-billed Kites, Steppe Eagles, Lesser Spotted Eagles and Hobby Falcons; literally hundreds can be seen criss-crossing these irruption sites while feeding on the wing. The fluency with which these birds of prey seize the termites in their talons and then transfer the morsels to their beaks in a 'two-taloned' fashion is a joy to watch. The cessation of the feeding frenzy is not always the capacity of the birds of prey but often the arrival of dusk, which offers the remaining termites better odds of going undetected as they attempt to establish new colonies.

But birds are not the only group of animals to directly benefit at this time of plenty. Bat-eared foxes, abundant in the area, also make maximum use of these opportunities, rushing back and forth, gorging themselves on the insect bounty. Frogs, which also utilise the insects as a food resource, abound during this time: after the rains the white nests of the foam-nest frog can be seen on most branches overhanging water, and a night drive on the Makalolo Plains can turn into a deafening experience from the chorus of the bubbling kassinas. The frogs themselves form part of the food chain - they are preyed upon by large birds such as the White Storks which descend on the plains and marshlands in their hundreds during the rainy season, and the regal Crowned Cranes which are quite common in the area after the rains.

Ground Hornbills also include frogs as a major portion of their diet. In the marshlands and grasslands adjoining the woodlands, one can encounter groups of adult and immature Ground Hornbills. These residents are mainly confined to large reserves and national parks where they are being seen less and less regularly, although at Makalolo they are locally common. The deep, booming territorial duetting of these turkey-like birds can often be heard in the dawn chorus.

The waterbodies tell a similar story of abundant birdlife. Knob-billed Ducks are a common sight along the fringes of pans and other aquatic areas, where they feed mainly on grass seeds and insects. The males of these shy birds develop large, slaty grey knobs (caruncles) above their bills in the breeding season. Both sexes show a striking purple iridescence in their wings when in flight. Waders start arriving at Makalolo as early as September and October: Common and Wood sandpipers, Greenshank, Caspian Plover, Black-winged Stilt and many others are present. The most elegant and striking of this group, however, is the Whiskered Tern. At this time of the year the terns have adopted their breeding plumage - a lead-grey coloration, black head and conspicuous white cheek or whisker stripe. They can be seen actively constructing their nests of floating pads of plant material on the many pans that dot the plains.

The story goes on, and so does the wealth of birds. It is difficult to do justice to the magnitude and variety of birdlife to be seen in this wonderful part of southern Africa - suffice it to say that Makalolo in the rainy season is an exceptional experience.

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