Harry's Tales: Looking Good
…The snake was in view for about two minutes moving silently and slowly through the clearing… Harry Wroth pays another visit to Kruger Park.
My wife and I had joined another couple on a bird viewing trip to the Kruger Park. We traveled in their Combi. A few days into the trip, over an evening braai, I mentioned to my friend that in the previous three visits to Kruger, in specifically looking for waxbills, I had only seen the Blue waxbills and Common Rooibekkies. He said, "I'll show you all of them tomorrow.’’
Late morning found us on gravel loop road north west of Letaba camp near the Letaba river. It was early September and sunny.
He stopped at a small clearing on the left-hand side of the road. The clearing was about fifteen metres in diameter, surrounded by bushes of different varieties and on the ground were scattered clusters of dry weeds. It was very, very dry. He said, "Open the sliding door and just keep looking at the patch.’’
We all sat in silence, just looking.
After about five minutes, I said to my friend, "There's nothing here,’’ He replied, "Just keep looking.’’
Another five minutes elapsed and then it happened!
One of us had noticed a movement in the low sparse weeds and as we focused in on the movement, there before ones eyes, some five metres away, was a whole flock of waxbills, feeding. There were about two dozen of them. They must have been there all the time but we had not noticed. There were Cut Throats, Violet Ears, Zebras, Blue and Common Rooibekkies all together in a Waxbill Wonder.
We subsequently found many groups of waxbills in similar clearings further along the roads near the Letaba river.
At one of the later sightings, looking through the open sliding door, suddenly below my feet, from under the vehicle, lazily appeared a Rufous Beaked Snake about one and a half metres long. The snake was in view for about two minutes moving silently and slowly through the clearing.
Some years later on visiting the Park, after unusually early heavy rains, the we saw a feast of flowers. Near the Letaba river the ground was covered with vast sheets of a short, small, white daisy-like flowers. I suspect that it was the seeds of these "daisies" that attracted the waxbills to the Letaba area.
