PROFILE
Two dark birds fly with heavy wing flaps from the almost waist-high grass. “There go two of them. There!” Hugh Chittenden says, dropping his binoculars and pointing to where the birds have now alighted in a small tree.
It’s a muggy, overcast morning in February and we’re in a marshy grassland in uMlalazi Nature Reserve adjacent to the town of Mtunzini. The birds are black coucals. They might be widespread in wetlands in other African countries, but they’re one of the rarest birds to see in South Africa thanks to their specialised habitat needs. This piece of otherwise nondescript veld is one of their strongholds, and Hugh has observed them here for many seasons.
Once I’ve carefully stalked nearer to get a close-up photo, we slowly make our way back to Hugh’s white Hilux double-cab. The bakkie is rigged for birding: Through the middle of the cabin, from Hugh’s left elbow towards the back rest of the rear seat, he has installed a home-made camera holder made from blue
