Rietvlei nature reserve birding – Trip report
Rietvlei nature reserve birding. It is located in Pretoria and is about 4,000 hectares in size. Located within the reserve is the Rietvlei Dam. The roads in the reserve are well maintained and serve the public for game viewing.
As mentioned before, I prefer to visit birding sites where I can stay in my car and look for birds. My main reason for this is security. Walking alone in the bushes is looking for trouble with an expensive camera. And Rietvlei is just that. You are only allowed outside your car at designated places.
The Reserve is made up of a number of different habitats which make for some exciting bird watching. Grassland habitats make up the bulk of the habitats. The two dams on the reserve (with bird hides) provide open water and wetland habitats. Through Rietvlei Nature Reserve are clumps of indigenous trees. Exotic trees are also found throughout the reserve but these are systematically removed.
60km of well-maintained tarred and dirt roads cris-cross the Reserve and allow access to the various habitats.
LBJ’s (little brown jobs) are difficult to ID, but I managed to photograph a view LBS’s at Rietvlei such as the Levaillant’s Cisticola and Buffy Pipit.
If you like Rietvlei nature reserve for birding then you might also be interested to visit Marievale Bird Sanctuary:
https://www.wwbirds.co.za/dir/marievale-bird-sanctuary-birding/
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