Discover Dullstroom as a Birding Destination!!
Dullstroom is a small town situated on the edge of the 2nd Escarpment of Mpumalanga.
An easy 2,5-hour drive on the N4 East from Gauteng it’s a perfect spot to get back to nature and in the big outdoors that the Escarpment has to offer.
With the average altitude of the area at around 2000 meters above sea level, Dullstroom is the highest town in South Africa. The Dutch Settlers who settled here in 1883 called the area “the place of eternal mist”
With the altitude, the Dullstroom area is classified as a Subtropical Highland Climate and this makes, it an ideal place to look for some of the elusive high altitude grassland bird species of Southern Africa.
With the diverse habitats in the area and the moderate summer temperatures and icy cold winters, the area lends itself to some spectacular birding.
Dullstroom will be 127 years old in 2020 and the old part of town has some tremendous old trees that create an almost microhabitat that abound with bird species.
In the area around Dullstroom, we are blessed with numerous habitat changes such as grassland, rocky ridges, wetlands, streams, and open water (mostly trout dams).
Within a 25km radius of the town, the high altitude gives away to spectacular valleys and cliffs that again create a totally different habitat.
Each of the above-mentioned habitats is home to a variety of resident bird species but also during the summer months, it becomes home to a huge influx of summer migratory bird species.

Magdali at Bird of Prey Centre
It is not strange during the months of November to February to see 75-95 different species of birds in the area. Many that are o the area.
A bonus with the summer months birding is that the grasslands, rocky ridges, and wetlands provide a festival for the eye with some of the most beautiful flowers.
Bird species to expect in the area.
With the abovementioned description of habitats found in the area let’s look at some of the specials we have in the area. (Please bear with me as I enjoy birding so even a common species still counts as special to me. )

Bokmakierie
In town, itself:
With the abundant trees and scrubs in town that creates a source of food and shelter for birds one often see the following:
Cape Canary
Cape Robin-Chat
Red-winged Starling
Cape White-eye
Diederik Cuckoo
Southern Boubou
Dark-capped Bulbul
African Olive Pigeon
Olive Thrush
Red-eyed Dove
Cape Turtle Dove
Speckled Mousebird
Cape Weaver
Hadeda Ibis
Natal Spurfowl
African Sacred Ibis

Malachite Sunbird
On the grass veld around town one often find the following:
Western Cattle Egret
Cape Crow
Long-tailed Widowbird
Fan-tailed Widowbird
Red-collared Widowbird
Southern Red Bishops
Levaillant’s Cisticola
Zitting Cisticola
African Pipit
Cape Longclaw
Red-billed Quelea
African Wattled Lapwing
Black-headed Heron

Cape Longclaw
In and around the rocky ridges we find many of the above-mentioned species but also the following:
Red-winged Francolin
Ant-eating Chats
Mountain Wheatear
Spotted Thick-knee
Swainson’s Spurfowl
African Stonechat

Red-winged Starling
Around the wetlands and streams one can look for the following:
Cape Wagtail
Southern Red Bishop
Yellow Bishop
Yellow-crowned Bishop
Numerous Warblers
Red-chested Flufftail
Pin-tail Whydah
Glossy Ibis
Little Egret

Yellow-crowned Bishop male in breeding colors
On and around open water (dams and wetlands)
Reed Cormorant
White-chested Cormorant
Red-knobbed Coot
Black Crake
African (Purple) Swamphen
Common Moorhen
Yellow-billed duck
Spurwing goose
Egyptian goose
Whiskered tern
Little Grebe
South African Shell Duck
Pied Kingfisher
Purple Heron

Southern Cape Weaver
Some of the special species found among the above-mentioned habitats:
Wattled Crane
Grey Crown Crane
Blue Crane
Southern Bald Ibis
Yellow-breasted Pipit
Buff-streak Chat
Gurney’s Sugarbird
Red-throated Wryneck
Black-winged Lapwing

Wattled Cranes

Black-winged Lapwing

Buff-streaked Chat
Some of the raptors regularly seen in the area:
Secretary Bird
Cape Vulture
Black-chested Snake Eagle
Brown snake eagle
Long Crested Eagle
Jackal Buzzard
Common Buzzard
Black sparrow Hawk
Black-winged Kite
Not only is Dullstroom an ideal weekend destination, a fly-fishing destination but also a birding paradise.
It’s the ideal place to come and visit, get some fresh air and vitamin D during the day but good food, wine, and company during the evenings in beautiful surroundings.
Hope to see you soon…
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