Birds in the Areas
Nestled within the breathtaking Ukhahlamba / Maloti Drakensberg Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Champagne Castle Hotel offers guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in the natural beauty of the Drakensberg mountains. Among the park’s many treasures is its incredible birdlife, with species ranging from common residents to rare migratory visitors.
Below is an extensive list of bird species, identified by their English common names, that have been spotted in the area. While many sightings are well-documented, some remain unconfirmed by recognised ornithological institutes, adding an element of excitement to bird-watching in this remarkable region.
A
African Black Duck
African Black Swift
African Crowned Eagle
African Cuckoo Hawk
African Darter
African Dusky Flycatcher
African Firefinch
African Fish-Eagle
African Goshawk
African Grass-Owl
African Harrier-Hawk
African Hoopoe
African Jacana
African Marsh-Harrier
African Olive-Pigeon
African Palm-Swift
African Paradise-Flycatcher
African Pied Wagtail
African Pipit
African Purple Swamphen
African Quailfinch
African Rail
African Reed-Warbler
African Rock Pipit
African Sacred Ibis
African Scops-Owl
African Snipe
African Spoonbill
African Stonechat
African Wattled Lapwing
African Wood-Owl
Alpine Swift
Amethyst Sunbird
Amur Falcon
Anteating Chat
Arrow-marked Babbler
B
Banded Martin
Bar-throated Apalis
Barn Owl
Barn Swallow
Barratt’s Warbler
Bearded Vulture
Black Crake
Black Cuckoo
Black Cuckooshrike
Black Harrier
Black Kite
Black Saw-wing
Black Sparrowhawk
Black Stork
Black-backed Puffback
Black-bellied Bustard
Black-collared Barbet
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Black-headed Canary
Black-headed Heron
Black-headed Oriole
Black-shouldered Kite
Black-throated Canary
Black-winged Stilt
Blacksmith Lapwing
Blue Crane
Blue Korhaan
Blue Waxbill
Bokmakierie
Booted Eagle
Brimstone Canary
Broad-tailed Warbler
Bronze Mannikin
Brown-backed Honeybird
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Brown-throated Martin
Brubru
Buff-spotted Flufftail
Buff-streaked Chat
Buffy Pipit
Burchell’s Coucal
Bush Blackcap
C
Cape Batis
Cape Bunting
Cape Canary
Cape Crow
Cape Eagle-Owl
Cape Glossy Starling
Cape Grassbird
Cape Long-billed Lark
Cape Longclaw
Cape Robin-Chat
Cape Rock-Thrush
Cape Shoveler
Cape Sparrow
Cape Teal
Cape Turtle-Dove
Cape Vulture
Cape Wagtail
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cardinal Woodpecker
Cattle Egret
Chorister Robin-Chat
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
Cloud Cisticola
Common Cuckoo
Common Fiscal
Common Greenshank
Common House-Martin
Common Moorhen
Common Myna
Common Quail
Common Ringed Plover
Common Sandpiper
Common Starling
Common Swift
Common Waxbill
Coqui Francolin
Corn Crake
Cuckoo Finch
Curlew Sandpiper
D
Dark-capped Bulbul
Dark-capped Yellow Warbler
Denham’s Bustard
Desert Cisticola
Diderick Cuckoo
Drakensberg Rock-jumper
Drakensberg Siskin
Dusky Indigobird
E
Egyptian Goose
Eurasian Hobby
European Nightjar
European Roller
F
Fairy Flycatcher
Familiar Chat
Fan-tailed Widowbird
Fiery-necked Nightjar
Fiscal Flycatcher
Forest Buzzard
Forest Canary
Fork-tailed Drongo
Freckled Nightjar
G
Garden Warbler
Giant Kingfisher
Glossy Ibis
Golden-breasted Bunting
Goliath Heron
Great Egret
Great Reed-Warbler
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Greater Honeyguide
Greater Painted-snipe
Greater Striped Swallow
Green Wood-Hoopoe
Green-backed Camaroptera
Green-winged Pytilia
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Cuckooshrike
Grey Heron
Grey Tit
Grey-headed Bush-Shrike
Grey-headed Gull
Grey-winged Francolin
Ground Woodpecker
Groundscraper Thrush
Gurney’s Sugarbird
H
Hadeda Ibis
Half-collared Kingfisher
Hamerkop
Helmeted Guineafowl
Horus Swift
Hottentot Teal
House Sparrow
J
Jackal Buzzard
Jacobin Cuckoo
K
Karoo Prinia
Karoo Prinia
Kittlitz’s Plover
Kittlitz’s Plover
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Kurrichane Thrush
L
Lanner Falcon
Large-billed Lark
Laughing Dove
Layard’s Tit-Babbler
Lazy Cisticola
Lemon Dove
Lesser Honeyguide
Lesser Kestrel
Lesser Striped Swallow
Lesser Swamp-Warbler
Levaillant’s Cisticola
Little Bittern
Little Grebe
Little Rush-Warbler
Little Sparrowhawk
Little Stint
Little Swift
Long-billed Pipit
Long-crested Eagle
Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah
Long-tailed Widowbird
M
Maccoa Duck
Malachite Kingfisher
Malachite Sunbird
Marsh Owl
Marsh Sandpiper
Marsh Warbler
Martial Eagle
Melodious Lark
Mocking Cliff-Chat
Mountain Pipit
Mountain Wagtail
Mountain Wheatear
N
Namaqua Dove
Natal Spurfowl (Natal Francolin)
Neddicky
O
Olive Bush-Shrike
Olive Sunbird
Olive Thrush
Olive Woodpecker
Orange-breasted Waxbill
Osprey
P
Pale Flycatcher
Pallid Harrier
Peregrine Falcon
Pied Crow
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Starling
Pin-tailed Whydah
Plain-backed Pipit
Purple Heron
R
Rattling Cisticola
Red-backed Shrike
Red-billed Firefinch
Red-billed Quelea
Red-capped Lark
Red-chested Cuckoo
Red-chested Flufftail
Red-collared Widowbird
Red-eyed Dove
Red-faced Mousebird
Red-headed Finch
Red-knobbed Coot
Red-necked Spurfowl
Red-throated Wryneck
Red-winged Francolin
Red-winged Starling
Reed Cormorant
Rock Dove
Rock Kestrel
Rock Martin
Ruff
Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk
Rufous-naped Lark
S
Sand Martin
Secretarybird
Sedge Warbler
Sentinel Rock-Thrush
Shelley’s Francolin
Short-tailed Pipit
Sickle-winged Chat
South African Cliff-Swallow
South African Shelduck
Southern Bald Ibis
Southern Black Flycatcher
Southern Black Tit
Southern Boubou
Southern Double-collared Sunbird
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Southern Ground-Hornbill
Southern Masked-Weaver
Southern Pochard
Southern Red Bishop
Southern White-faced Scops-Owl
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Spectacled Weaver
Spike-heeled Lark
Spotted Eagle-Owl
Spotted Flycatcher
Spotted Thick-knee
Spur-winged Goose
Squacco Heron
Steppe Buzzard
Streaky-headed Seedeater
Striped Pipit
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Swee Waxbill
T
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Three-banded Plover
Three-banded Plover
V
Verreaux’s Eagle
Village Weaver
Violet-backed Starling
W
Wahlberg’s Eagle
Wailing Cisticola
Wattled Crane
Western Marsh-Harrier
Whiskered Tern
White Stork
White-backed Duck
White-bellied Korhaan
White-bellied Sunbird
White-breasted Cormorant
White-browed Scrub-Robin
White-faced Duck
White-necked Raven
White-rumped Swift
White-starred Robin
White-throated Canary
White-throated Swallow
White-winged Flufftail
White-winged Tern
White-winged Widowbird
Willow Warbler
Wing-snapping Cisticola
Wood Sandpiper
Y
Yellow Bishop
Yellow Canary
Yellow Wagtail
Yellow-billed Duck
Yellow-billed Stork
Yellow-breasted Pipit
Yellow-crowned Bishop
Yellow-fronted Canary
Yellow-throated Petronia
Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler
Z
Zitting Cisticola
LIVE WEATHER FEED
We have a live weather station at the Hotel. The information below describes the current weather conditions at the hotel.