We spent 15 August birding along the steep Sani Pass that runs from South Africa into the small, land-locked Kingdom of Lesotho. For this leg of the tour we were lucky to be able to make use of the services of a local guide who had a large Land Cruiser that was ideal for the challenging unmetalled road up the pass.
Our birding for the day started early as we visited the roost of a Spotted Eagle-owl on the outskirts of Underberg, which was soon followed by an African Marsh Harrier on a roadside power line.
Before we started to ascent the Sani Pass we found plenty of passerines on the sparse vegetation, rocks and remains of old buildings beside the road.
As we reached higher elevations we began to see some of our specialised target birds of the day, including Drakensberg Rockjumper, Gurney’s Sugarbird and Drakensberg Prinia.
There were also a number of common bird species at high elevations, including Cape Canary, Jackal Buzzard, Cape Sparrow, Ground Woodpecker and Cape Robin Chat. We also saw rodents in the Sani Pass and we had good views of a Sloggett’s Vlei Rat.
After a very productive drive up the steep road we arrived at the Lesotho border and customs post around noon and completed the formalities before entering the kingdom. One of the first things you see once across the border is the Highest Pub in Africa, which is at an elevation of 9,429 feet. However, we had no time to call in for a drink as there was birding to do.
The first birds we saw in Lesotho were flying over, with White-necked Raven, Jackal Vulture, Bearded Vulture and Cape Griffon passing close to us. Beside the road we saw Mountain Chat (Mountain Wheatear), Yellow Canary and Drakensberg Siskin.
The part of Lesotho we visited at the top of the pass was rather bleak and cold but we did see plenty of birds during our short visit and it was certainly a memorable experience. But by mid-afternoon we needed to drive back down into South Africa and our hotel in Underberg. However, we all kept out eyes open for birds and got further good sightings.
We finished what had been an outstanding day by photographing Wattled and Grey-crowned Cranes that we came across once we’d descended to lower levels.
