March 2004 has been mostly cloudy and overcast with a few days of clear blue sky. Huge thunderstorms have been a common thing this month, mostly at night , and with not nearly as much lightning as in the previous few months. Our total rainfall for the month was 103 mm. Our temps for this month were max 29 deg C and min 18 deg C and overall very comfortable. Evenings and mornings are now starting to cool down as the days get shorter and we get into winter.
With the good rains there is water absoloutly everywhere! Ngamo Plains now resembles parts of the Okavanga Delta! There are still a huge number of wild flowers out and the bush is very thick making spotting difficult in parts! With all the good food in abundance the wildlife all are in very good condition.
WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS
37 Species of mammal were sighted this month in Linkwasha, Zimbabwe . Our average species sighting for the month was 15.6/day and on the best day of the month 21 species were sighted! Not bad at all considering the thick bush and the amount of surface water around. Highlights for this month was the sighting of an Aardwolf near the old camp. It was very close and right out in the open. We haven't seen one for a few months nows. There is alot of activity at Ngamo Plains as it seems the female Wildebeest are starting to come into season and as a result lots of sparing and chasing by the males over leks and the ladies! We pressume it is a little earlier than most years because of all the late rains? Huge herds of Wildebeest still roam the plains and on a few occasions the huge Lioness there has been seen on some carcasses. There is still a good number of Zebra on the plains but already some herds have started moving north west and can be seen in fairly good numbers (30-40) in and around camp. Herds of Buffalo generally seen in small numbers now, and all in great shape! Have had a huge herd of Eland 70 plus hanging around at Back Pans with plenty of new calves.
vacationtechnicians observed as the resident pack of Wilddogs tried to catch a youngster but were driven off by a very protective cow. They have been in and out of camp often this month terrorizing the Impala, Kudu and Waterbuck! We are carefully watching a new edition to the Waterbuck family, about a week old now, and hoping the dogs don't pick it up in their sights! The little Hippo calf, born last month, is fine and well. It seems that any calves born out of winter have a much better chance of survival here! The Leopard sightings have been good and all in the area around camp. The young male still walks through camp regularly at night and a mother and sub adult cub, very relaxed, has been seen on a few occasions between camp and Scotts Pan.
Lions sightings this month mostly came from Ngamo Plains and were of the big "Queen" lioness and 2 other sub adults. Six new lions, mostly males, were seen on the fringe of our concession and we hope to see more of them this month. Hyeanas been very vocal around camp and a pack of 6 , 4 young pups, have been sighted a few times from the main deck. The lone Cheetah male showed himself once this month at Back Pans eyeing out a small herd of Impala.
Our percentages for this month were Buffalo 55%, Eland 97%, Elephants 74%, Giraffe 87%, Hyena-Spotted 32%, Wilddogs 19%, Leopard 16%, Lion 29% and Sable 42%.
Zimbabwe Birds
Species total for this month was 141. Ngamo Plains with all the rain is unbelievable with Spoonbills, Crowned Cranes , Sacred Ibis , Painted Snipes , huge flocks of Knob Billed Ducks , Egrets and Herons !! Our highlight this month was the sighting of a SPURWINGED PLOVER on the 20th March at Ngamo. We have reported the sighting to various birding organisations and are eagerly awaiting for news to see if it is at all possible that this could be the first sighting in Zimbabwe!!! The observations were all made at at distance of less than 15 meters, right out in the open and we were also able to get some excellent pictures of the bird. Everything seems to be breeding, Dabchicks, Spurwinged Geese, Knob Billed Ducks, Red Billed Teals, Egyptian Geese, White Faced Ducks and also a first for most of us here in Hwange were Painted Snipe with 3 chicks! We are closely watching a few African Jacanas nests with eggs and also a Whiskered Tern on eggs near camp.
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