Most people in the southern hemisphere welcome spring on the 1st of September, otherwise known as Spring Day. In actual fact, according to nature’s calendar the beginning of spring is right towards the end of September on the 22nd.
Regardless, this time of the year in the bush is exciting and beautiful for a few reasons.
Golden Hour
The cold winter has started to pass, signified especially by a distinct lack of warm clothing needed in the mornings. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy a cold winter’s morning and the sunbathing squirrels that come with it, but there comes a time when you are ready to leave your multiple jackets at home.
As it starts to warm up, animals become more active around sunset and sunrise when the temperatures are not too hot just yet, but not restrictive from temperatures hovering just above freezing. The length of the golden hour, despite what the name implies, varies throughout the year and as the days become longer so does this period of time. This means you have more opportunities to capitalise when the sun casts the most beautiful glow on whatever subject you are looking at. Whether you have your camera in hand photographing a leopard or a Gin and Tonic in hand watching the sun go down over the Drakensberg mountains there is something particularly magical about this time of day in the bush.
The Senegal Bush male pauses to listens at the end of a day.
The colours in the sky continue to change from golden to purple hues for quite some time after the sun disappears behind the mountains. A perfect accompaniment to a sundowner in the bush during spring.
The Return of the Migrants
Whether you are an avid birdwatcher or not, a trip to the bush would not be the same without birds. The range of colour that they add to the already beautiful landscape is one thing and the melodious (well, most of them anyway) chirping and song that they produce is another, but they also help us find a lot of great sightings through their alarm calls. This time of year we have already started to see a lot of the migratory birds returning, to make the most of abundant food sources brought on by the rains. A lot of them will breed during this time as well. All of this means we have even more colour, sound and predator spotters out there in an already vibrant reserve helping make each game drive an experience not easily forgotten.
The African Emerald Cuckoo is not often seen here but when it is, the colours of this migratory bird are quite something to witness.
One cannot miss the Woodland Kingfishers’ arrival back to the area; not because of the beautiful colours but rather their very distinctive call that can be heard all day (and often all night) throughout the bush. They tend to arrive a little bit later than most of the other migratory birds.
Flowering Trees
Spring is synonymous with flowering plants and it is no different out here. The bush already looks quite different then it did just a month ago and two trees in particular can be thanked for that. They are the Knobthorn and the Weeping Boer Bean. The flowers of the Knobthorn are yellow and are only seen during this time of the year. For me, they are the first reminder that we are headed towards the end of the year. With Knobthorns found throughout the reserve, sitting somewhere elevated and gazing out at the vistas before you is made even more beautiful with the endless yellow splashed throughout.
The beautiful yellow flowers of the Knob Thorn tree.
It’s not just me that welcomes the blooming of these flowers; giraffe love to feed on them and actually help with the pollination of the Knobthorn as the sticky flowers are passed from tree to tree as they feed.
Coupled with that is the bright red of the Weeping Boer Bean flowers. These trees are already one of my favourites even before their beautiful flowers start to bloom. They often grow out of majestic termite mounds making for some great landmarks and welcome shade when out on a bush walk. One of my favourite leopard sightings involved a Weeping Boer Bean in the far south of the reserve. The “weeping” part of the name comes from the nectar that drips from these red flowers during this time that attracts so many birds and insects which inspired the local Shangaan people t0 call it Mvhovhovho which is said to onomatopoeically represent the sound of all the wingbeats and activity around the flowers.
The bright red flowers of the Weeping Boer Bean. I’ve heard old San stories about how the shade of red determines how hot the summer is going to be. I guess time will tell if that holds up to be true.
Ranger Pete Thorpe looks up at the red flowers of the Weeping Boer Bean to see what birds and insects are feeding from the dripping nectar produced by the flowers.
One of my most memorable sightings was discovering this male leopard in a Weeping Boer Bean one morning in the far south of the reserve. This is what the tree looks like before the red flowers bloom.
After the cold and harsh winters it is time for renewal and that time has arrived. The same can be said for us here at the lodge and as we start to head towards the end of what’s been a very different and tough year, just like the beautiful signals in the bush that signify the end of a season, we are excited for some change ahead as we start to welcome guests back into our special home.
As migrants arrive with you, they are leaving us in Switzerland and autumn approaches. Fewer barn swallows this week – by next week, they’ll be gone.
Spring must be my favourite season. It feel like a fresh start after winter. Love all the flowering trees. The great photos in the golden hour. Waiting for the first rain to fall. The warmer days. Love it.
What a wonderful photo of the Emerald Cuckoo!
And yes, I am really looking forward to you starting to welcome guests back. Can’t wait!
Hi James
hope you are both OK !
Enjoy the bush for us as well !
Hi Dina and Guido, we are both doing very thanks! I am sure you can’t wait for your next safari!
we will have to wait !
If we are still alive May next year : Zambia 🙁
How wonderful blooming trees look! Birds are striking and the Senegal Bush male is a real Leopard King.
It would be nice to be a migratory bird and wing my way back to Londolozi! Soon, I hope!
That’s a lovely blog, James. I always feel wistful when you talk about having sundowners as they’re just not the same in our back garden. Tell me, are you guys drinking all the gin the guests would normally have?
Hi Suzanne, we have to keep practicing so we don’t lose our touch when all of our guests come back!
James, I loved all the photos, especially the leopard in the tree
I love spring and all the newness that comes with it. I’m also really looking forward to the first rains.
It will be so nice to share spring 🥀with you …it is one my favorite times of year… and even more so as we are going into our fall🍂which is another favorite time of year…
What a superb collection of photos, especially the rainbow … took my breath away. What was the bird/animal on the rock on the left?
The flowers and bird photos are so upbeat with the colours and I love the giraffe reaching up to where no other animal can get to, apart from birds.
Thank you for sharing the excitement of Spring.
PS: I see it’s not a bird on the rock – four legs! Klipspringer?
Well spotted! You’re absolutely right it is a Klipspringer!
Beautiful shots that capture the wonder of it all!
Love the warmer months in the bush! Woodlands Kingfisher is the sound of the bush to me LOL. Going into autumn rather quickly in Canada. Great news about welcoming guests, and I hope to be there again one day soon.
Spring ushers in a rejuvenation of the ecosystem and most interestingly nature remodels & decorates the savanna in its own personalised way. nature always best teacher & artist
Beauty personified by the sweet image.incredible how nature moults itself to beautify the wilderness
powerful insight into migratory birds. while researching more on migration behaviour l uncovered how birds over feed to acquire excess fat reserves which act as fuel for the long haul flights.Birds have inbuilt compasses on their nostrils that serve to aid or sync/align their navigation which includes celestial compass aids too.birds can even afford to sleep while in flight because their brains have literally two hemispheres making them switch off one partially without harming the trip itinerary.Cuckoo also classic examples of brood parasitism.
promising signs of life depicted by the bright hope embodied by new vibrant colors
beatiful giraffe image feeding on knob thorn tree.animal boosting pollination exhibited
What a wonderful time to be visiting Londolozi. I love that short period of spring when it’s not too hot, the light is just perfect and one awaits the arrival of your summer visitors. We are watching the last of the bee eaters leave now, the Marsh harriers, cranes and flamingos. We welcome the rains and the cooler air but the silence is deafening.
loving the flexibility exhibited by the giraffe.posture to some extent aids sexual dimophism.male and female exhibit contrasting resource partition feeding adaptations.head posture influence
incredible insight on golden hour prevalence.
Great write up today James! Any word on when guests can return yet?
Dear James. Such an interesting and beautifully photographed article! Also enjoyed the Emerald Cuckoo! Lovely. Thank you very much. Wendy M
Lovely essay and wonderful pictures in this dispatch James! Thank you!!
what really triggers the migratory instinct in birds.What is the proper name for the inbuilt compass like adaptation on birds nostrils? l would like to believe that it enables birds to auto sync with celestial compass🧭.
Also how far true is it that birds brains are seemingly broken down to 2 main hemispheres which enable birds to sleep while in migratory flight as a means of energy conservation means as REM sleep is activated?
James, Well done! These are some of the very best bird images we have seen! Thank you!