Marloth Nature Reserve is situated above Swellendam and mostly consists of slopes and mountainous terrain covered with moist and dense fynbos as well as Afromontane forest patches. Most birders who know this nature reserve, never expect much from a visit and sometimes the best bird seen is an Olive Woodpecker or an Orange-breasted Sunbird.
Completely staying secret for many years in the reserve, I discovered resident pairs of the Striped Flufftail (will be discussed in detail later). Fortunate to be able to stay in the reserve (Bushbuck Cottage), we did plenty of birding and exploring. Early the first morning there, I hiked up the steep slopes to 12-uur kop, hoping to at least snatch a glimpse of the infrequently seen Red-winged Francolin. All along the way there were several pairs of Victorin's Warblers vocalizing. This kept me busy some part of the hike while I tried to get a decent photo of the opportunity I had. The odds were in my favor and as I hiked to higher altitudes, the fynbos became shorter, and the birds tend to stay on top of the shrub. Completely caught by surprise, the Victorin's Warbler was sitting completely open in front next to the trail!
I was unable to see the Red-winged Francolin, but the Victorin's Warbler sightings were still awesome. Other fynbos specials seen during our stay include the Orange-breasted Sunbird, Cape Sugarbird, Protea Canary and on the higher and rockier areas the Ground Woodpecker (heard only). The few forest patches were quiet in birds, but at the end hosted Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Knysna Woodpecker and a pair of Lemon Doves. On a rainy morning Strawberry Rain Frogs were heard.
The Striped Flufftail was one of the top birds on my list for South Africa and I recognized the area around the Bushbuck Cottage as good habitat for this species. Being mostly low, moist fynbos with tangles and grass patches as well as a clear floor for foraging. With sunrise, I walked to the area and played the call of the flufftail. I waited some time and started to realize it was a rather hopeless attempt of such a rare bird and walked back. Completely amazed, I heard the aggressive "kwek-kwe-kwek" call of the flufftail! It reminded me of the Little Grebe. I speed walked to the direction of where the bird was calling. Behind me another one responded to the call but was further away and I was focused on the first bird. I came to a standstill when the bird was calling very close from where I was. There were open patches in the dense fynbos where I kept my eyes focused on. It then called again, and my eyes shifted into the direction and as lucky as a birder could be, it ran through an open part for a few seconds. I stayed there again to hope for another glimpse but no visual.
After I posted the sighting on the General Bird Chat on Telegram, a few birders were interested in finding the Striped Flufftail the following morning. While waiting for the bird while it was still dark and hoping to snatch an identifiable photo, two twitchers arrived. Adrius Rabie and Ross Soller. Adrius lives in Robertson and was able to be there early as well as Ross who lives in Swellendam. We both waited for about an hour with no luck of a sighting. We only heard the bird from where we positioned ourselves. Quite frustrating was the fact that the bird was calling in front of me and then directly behind me. Which means the bird must've moved around me! Adrius then recommended that we should use playback of the bird with a mirror on a trail. The mirror creates an illusion, the bird then thinks that there is another bird in his territory (its own reflection on the mirror). It may then stay a bit longer and investigate instead of running over in an instant.
Al thanks to Adrius whose plan worked perfectly. The bird's attention was grabbed by the playback and shortly moved over the trail! This happened 3 times, although the trail was about 50 centimeters wide, the bird only darted through the gap and in one instance "hopped" over! Luckily, I was prepared for this and when we saw the moving of grass stems, I kept my camera ready and burst photos when a visual was visible. This ended up creating the above shot. We were scared that too much playback might have an effect on the bird and everyone from thereon went home (including us), knowing we saw a Striped Flufftail at Marloth Nature Reserve!
Please feel free to contact me on further details on my trip.
Written and designed by Ruven Schoeman