It’s the end of January, and the honeymoon phase of the 2026 Birding Big Year is officially over. The initial adrenaline of New Year’s Day has been replaced by the damp reality of a South African summer.
If you’ve been following the blog lately, you’ll know it’s been wet. Not just a light afternoon spritz, but the kind of persistent, grey rain that turns the Lowveld into a giant sponge. While this is great for the landscape, it’s a logistical nightmare for birding. Binoculars fog up, camera gear needs more protection than a state secret, and most birds have the good sense to hunker down in the thickest thickets they can find.
The Silver Lining (of the Clouds)
However, there is a method to this soggy madness. While the birding conditions are currently “challenging” (read: frustrating), this influx of water is exactly what we want for the long game.
Full pans and flooded drainage lines are magnets for the unusual. We’re expecting the next few weeks to trigger a surge in rare arrivals, the oddball waders and shy rail species that only show up when the mud is deep enough. In the birding world, one could say that today’s puddle is tomorrow’s mega-tick.
This one got the team quite excited in 2021! One of the very few times an African crake has been seen at Londolozi. These rare birds favour marshy areas and long grass, which makes finding them rather difficult. Given all the rain we have had one can only hope that we see a few more in the coming weeks.
The Leave Strategy
As we close out the first month, the “Current Londolozi Contingent” is starting to look a little twitchy. Living in the Sabi Sands is a privilege, but for a Big Year, it’s also a geographical cage. You can only see a Lilac-breasted Roller, or European Bee-eater, so many times before you start dreaming of something else.
A relatively common and unmistakable bird in these parts, the Lilac-breasted Roller, still never fails to catch the eye. These striking birds are predominantly insect feeders and have been feasting on the swarms of termites that often emerge after the summer rains. These plentiful times are also when they choose to do most of their breeding, seeking out mates by calling from perches like the one above.
The strategy now shifts to the “Two-Week Leave Cycle.” The team is already mapping out their rotations like a military operation. To win this, you have to leave the bushveld.
For my next leave, which is only at the end of the month (February), I’m heading down to the Western Cape. It’s a total system reset, swapping the marula trees for fynbos and the humidity for the Atlantic breeze. My goal is simple: hoover up as many endemics and pelagics as possible. If I don’t come back with a significant jump in my numbers, I’ll have some explaining to do.
The January Standings
Right, so what are the current standings looking like? The peloton is breaking away a bit. Kelsey Clark, leading the charge with well over 250 birds and a good 30 or so more than Matt Rochford. Kelsey has fortunately done a bit of travelling down from the Lowveld and ticked off a lot of coastal birds, Matt has recently returned from Kwa-Zulu Natal, around Mtuzini, where there are a large number of coastal and endemic birds. However, have they broken away too early? Will the rest of us catch them?
Something to remember, this is a year long challenge and while I guess part fo the strategy is to cover as many biomes as possible, one needs to try tick off as many of the summer migrants as possible before they begin their journey back north.
Excitement galore. Go Matt! Go Tayla! And regarding the lilac breasted roller – was privileged to see two of them actually roll. A great treat.
Thanks so much, Willa. It is a long road ahead, so we will see how the standings look in a few months time.
Good luck to all the birders ticking off their bird lists.
Very exciting and interesting.
Thanks so much, Christa.
Impressive numbers for Month 1. Reading between the lines, the pressure is on…..good luck to all!!
It is a good start to the year. Long may it last for some.
Hi Sean. Hope you and James Tyrrell can catch up quickly and when it is your two week break, that you will be able to see much more birds. I am sure it is frustrating know to go out looking for birds while the bush is wet and muddy. Not the ideal weather conditions, but I am holding thumbs for you and James, my two favorite Rangers.
We go away towards the end of Feb. So hopefully, I will be able to tick off a few more birds. Thanks so much.