The LionHeart Experience

17/03/2026

Urban Crowned Eagles - Conservation and Collaboration in KwaZulu-Natal

The journey of a crowned eagle hatched in 2023 and tagged by Crowned Eagle Research with the unique code AKL, highlights the critical challenges these birds face in our urban environments. AKL recently faced a human-wildlife conflict situation and in a truly admirable effort demonstrating the value of passionate conservation, the owner of Creatures and Critters stepped in, understanding the immense conservation implications for this bird, and managed to protect the bird from potential harm.

Then came the value and the beauty of collaborative efforts in conservation. Crowned Eagle Research, headed up by Shane McPherson, was able to coordinate AKL being transferred to the African Raptor Centre, run by Ben Hoffman. The bird was checked and deemed in suitable health to be released back into the wild.

After a recent and very sad incident, (shared on FB by FreeMe Wildlife, another organisation also doing epic work) where two crowned eagles sadly lost their lives in Cowie's Hill, a tracking unit from the adult female was then available.

The collaboration continued, and Brent Coverdale from KZN Wildlife, Ben Hoffman and The LionHeart Experience, fitted AKL with the tracking unit and the bird was released at Downs Estate. Cotswold Downs plays a significant role in conservation by protecting natural habitat and conserving biodiversity, supported by a management team deeply committed to stewarding the natural ecosystem under their care. The resident male from this region sadly lost his life toward the end of last year due to a window collision, and since AKL had visited this region in December, it was determined to be a suitable site to release him, in the hope that he might remain and hopefully pair up with the resident female.

Tracking data shows the bird remained in the estate for a short time, with the resident female nearby, sparking hope for a 'crowned eagle romance'. This successful effort is a testament to the vital collaboration driving conservation in South Africa and is also a positive story amidst the multitude of sad endings.

We will be watching these eagles closely, and as the next breeding season approaches, waiting with much anticipation for success for them.

Expertly filmed and edited by the creative media team.

02/03/2026

Ntsikeni: Where Rare Birds and Wild Orchids Meet

A life-long wait for an encounter with one of the world’s most enigmatic bird species. Finally, finally, we have now seen a striped flufftail!!

This is a bird I have wanted to see for far too long. In 2004, I got within a few metres of this bird, calling in wetland on Table Mountain, but I did not get to lay eyes on it. Fast forward 22 years, and we were asked to join on a weekend at Ntsikeni, and we heard that these birds were active and there was a chance…
You give the LionHearts a chance to see a rare bird, and a chance to get into pristine grasslands and wetlands, and they shift into overdrive!
Ntsikeni has long been on our list to visit, but we had no idea how much we were actually missing. The grasslands are utterly breathtaking and because of this, and being at a high altitude, the birdlife, and biodiversity are truly phenomenal. On arrival we started seeing some of the more common species of orchids, and this got the excitement going. Soon into the drive we started seeing incredible birds, like black harrier, black-rumped buttonquail, and wattled crane. We were welcome by the legend that is Dalu (more to come on this gem of a human soon), and the discussions started, and the excitement started bubbling. When I was getting ready to sleep, I heard a striped flufftail calling across the wetland, and I knew this could be our time!

The next morning, Dalu took us to his sites. This man knows this place so intimately and likely knows this species better than most people on the planet. We were treated to three individuals on one morning! We could not believe our eyes! And one of them, a feisty, mini bantam chicken, came and did his best aggression display, which (he would be utterly devastated to know) was hilarious, and he heard what no man would ever want to hear ‘you are cute when you are angry’.

Watching and listening to flufftails, while an adult and juvenile bearded vulture glide elegantly overhead, with scenes of pure glory, is something you can only experience to fully appreciate.

We got to explore the grasslands, and found many species of orchids, the absolute star of the flower show, is the endangered Disa scullyi, which was absolutely gorgeous, as were the Satyrium haackeii!! This place is a total wonderland. The oribis, cranes all over, malachite sunbirds, yellow-breasted pipits, red-chested and striped flufftails, multiple sightings of black-rumped buttonquails, mountain buzzards, and more, were just some of the other highlights of an incredible weekend.

BirdLife South Africa are doing a great job in trying to fight to protect this sensitive and highly critical wetland. Dalu, the local guide, is exactly what South African conservation needs. A man who is from the area, is passionate about conservation and birds, understands birders and their passions, and is wanting to work hard to provide for his family whilst doing an essential job. This was the message I shared on a whatsapp group with some of South Africa’s most well-known, respected birders and naturalists and pretty much is all that needs to be said about the place:

‘Ntsikeni is an ABSOLUTE MUST!
The biodiversity is NEXT level...
And Dalu is incredible. It would be a total waste to not use his wealth of knowledge and expertise. So if you get a chance, do it! ‘

I want to encourage birders to visit this place and to use Dalu. Not just once, but on every visit. It is one of many ways birders can actively contribute towards the protection of the birds they love.
Get… to… this… place!

24/01/2026

Paradise Lost - Blue Swallows in Trouble!

This bird is utterly gorgeous!! Laying eyes on them was truly special, but also emotional, and extremely concerning....
We recently visited a very small patch of grassland in the midlands, which is one the last refuges for this beautiful creature, the blue swallow. There were only three birds in this whole area... a pair, that were actively working on a nest, and a single male.

My photos definitely did not do justice to this incredible bird, so please pop over to The Flacks Photography post at: https://theflacks.co.za/news/saving-the-blue-swallows/
to see how beautiful the bird really is. Here is the scary news...

This bird requires pristine grassland. This has been decimated in South Africa. It also nests in aardvark burrows, and this species has also decreased in the regions where this bird visits in the summer months, meaning that nesting sites have largely disappeared.

Here is the even scarier news... It is possible that this summer, less than 20 birds are here in South Africa. There are only a few pairs in KZN, and for the first time in a long while, three birds have been seen in Mpumalanga again.

I am deeply concerned for this species' future in South Africa. This is why we at The LionHeart Experience have moved our work significantly into habitat restoration where we can, for all biodiversity. For those who own farms, and large portions of land, perhaps it is time to consider restoring some sections for biodiversity where possible. Our wildlife really needs it... or we are going to start saying goodbye one by one to these beauties!

16/01/2026

The Ghost of Table Mountain!! ... in the jaws of a snake!!! The biggest, flashiest orchid, (a whole lot more crazy orchids), a rare bird, a cute bird facing extinction, and basically just the Cape going off its rocker!!! 🔥🔥🔥😎

A bucket list creature for me, was the Table Mountain Ghost Frog (Heleophryne rosei), and the LionHearts hiked up table mountain, and this was the target. The hike is around 8km... but at the top my garmin showed that I had covered over 15km, whilst others on the same walk with me said theirs was showing 8 -9km. See the screenshots at the end to understand why 🙈😂😂😂😂

I was dedicated. This was my chance!! I wasn't going to go half measures. Well, the first 3 hours didn't produce and I had worked so hard already. A herpetologist friend had sent me a good area to search, water levels were low, and I had no luck. It was hotter, later, and the crew was moving on, so I went ahead to the best sites to try not fall behind as I searched. After zigzagging in the steep ravines like a hooligan, and doing maneuvers that I wasn't aware I could still do,and whilst crawling into a watery cave, I saw movement.... a snake.... and its got something!! A frog! I had so SO many Cape River Frogs on the way to this spot that I assumed it would be one, but lo and behold, there was a Table Mountain Ghost Frog, and in the jaws of a brown water snake, and fighting for its life!! This is definitely NOT how I expected to see one, but what an incredible sighting and record! I have finally seen one, and I am so happy. Fortunately I don't give up easily and I wanted to find a live one, so the zigzagging mayhem continues. After scaling an 8m ravine, straddled with hands and legs apart (the way a kid climbs a doorpost), I found a mossy section and spotted two more, and I was elated. This was a real treat. I lost the whole crew and most of the rest of the climb to the top was playing catch up but I had enough joy and excitement to not hold anyone up and caught them before the top. But.. on the way was one more treat, an orchid Mrs LionHeart and I have tried for a few times but have missed due to just missing the flowering, there was a few SPECTACULAR Disa uniflora just showing off. What a day. My sunglasses that went flying off a cliff whilst looking for the frog was a small price to pay for all this goodness.

During our Cape trip, we also paid a visit to Boulders to see the African Penguin, which is potentially facing extinction due to overfishing, we shot off to see if we could see the rare Baird's sandpiper, which we got!! And we paid two visits to Silvermine, and managed to see 6 new incredible species of orchid for us... 3 of which are in this post, the enigmatic vlei disa, (Disa racemosa) which was in stunning numbers thanks to recent fires, then Disa bivalvata and the amazing Disa atricapilla, which Mrs LionHeart REALLY wanted to see.

The Cape really knows how to show off!! Wow....The almost unparalelled floral diversity and some very special creatures really make the Cape a special place.

(Although the 11 degree surf I had at Noordhoek gave the warm KZN a slight competitive advantage on that front!)

09/01/2026

2025 was a total blur!! It came and went in a flash... and 2026 is FULL STEAM ahead already!

We only managed a total of about 8 posts on our page through the whole year.... but what an incredible year it was...

It was a wild combination of some leopards, lots of incredible orchids, endangered species conservation, great times in the wild with many other incredible conservationists, some big wins for wildlife, encouraging work on eco estates with some wonderful habitat restoration and ToPS projects, and a lot of firsts for us, including new species, new research and new ventures!

We wish you all an incredibly blessed 2026!

19/10/2025

A Kwa-Zulu Natal Orchid EXPLOSION!

For many many years we have been hoping to head to a very special place on the South Coast of KZN to search for some of the rarer orchids. For our anniversary, (even though we were exhausted from a very busy season of work) we decided to drive down on a Sunday to finally give this site a go. Well.... the photos will hopefully show you how worth it it was for us!! We are like two kids in a candystore when we are on an orchid quest and on this day (like many others) we lost our minds in excitement and added five new orchid species to our life list, four of these are quite rarely seen!

These grasslands are so few and far between, sadly. Most have been lost to development and agriculture, so when we do spend time in them, we feel totally privileged, but equally saddened by how threatened they are, and we feel so protective, hoping that this will last through the rapid onslaught against natural land.

Some of these rare orchids, like Disa tripetaloides and Disa similis, were growing in a beautiful marshy section of grassland next to a stream, and this niche habitat is so small. What was encouraging, was that some of the species of orchids we found were in good number, and the Disa stachyoides were possibly even in the hundreds!! Check the one photo showing this pink beauty all over. What an absolute TREAT of a day with my beloved.

A massive thanks to an equally obsessed orchid loving friend for assistance on finding these!

07/10/2025

BARTHOLINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally!!!

And A Floral Explosion in the Western Cape!

And Blood Moons, And Electric waves, And toads.

After many many years, I finally got to lay eyes on my most wanted orchid in South Africa: Bartholina burmanniana - The Spider Orchid.

It was every bit as beautiful as I had hoped, and a massive thanks to two friends (and equally orchid obsessed fanatics), as we got to enjoy this, and many other amazing species. I put a few facts on this amazing orchid on the images.

On top of this, the weekend produced a blood moon and total eclipse, as well as bioluminescence that had locals gathering from far and wide to scream with ooohs and aaahs at every breaking wave. The floral diversity in the WC is bucket list stuff, and this year is particularly good. Most of the species in this post are endemic to South Africa and some even endangered. We also got our first Western Leopard Toad... and this ON Mrs LionHeart's birthday. You know you have married well when, after dinner on her birthday, her next request is a road cruise for a toad! 😂👌🏼🐸

South Africa is such a biodiverse and incredible country. We are up there with the world's very best! What a privilege, and a massive responsibility, which is why we are so passionate about conservation at The LionHeart Experience. Nature needs our help!! And it is up to all of us to see where we can reduce impact, and save wildlife and natural habitat. Else this beauty will fast fade away. But, for now, we have all of this to appreciate, so feast your eyes on this beauty!

31/08/2025

The eagle and the goslings!

Our beloved pair of crowned eagles, in Zimbali Estate, that we have been monitoring for over a decade have, yet again, amazed us with the latest remarkable situation. A month ago, three eggs appeared and we thought this was a first ever, a crowned eagle laying three eggs!! (they usually lay 2).

Well, two have hatched, and they happen to be Egyptian geese!!! The live stream was off during that night and a goose must have sneaked onto the nest and laid around the same time as our eagles were getting ready to lay.

We are now observing the most incredible scenes as she tries to work out what these chicks are. They behave very differently to crowned eagles, as they are precocial, meaning that they hatch ready to run! Whereas a crowned eagle chick is altricial, which means that the chicks require significant maternal care. These chicks are energetic and would normally have leaped off the nest with mom, and would be cruising around feeding. She is now incubating the third egg, which we really hope is an eagle!

The future for these goslings unfortunately is not likely to be good. They are not going to feed on meat and if they leave the nest they are going to have no protection. We are watching this remarkable scene play out, live. You can do so by clicking on the link.

(There are some really comical scenes with the goslings literally climbing on her back and cruising around, and the father eagle arriving and staring in absolute confusion and shock at what is happening in his home. Well worth checking it out!!)

https://www.youtube.com/live/dPFfOmairxM?si=ebrpF6iTdPMEZYz5

30/07/2025

Very happy that this endangered bird is getting coverage, and thanks to the birding community, we have started a really exciting journey of understanding the species better. So far, what we can already tell is how critically important these remaining forest patches are around Durban, Ballito, and along the KZN coast. These must be protected at all costs!

The Spotted Ground Thrush Project, co-ordinated by The Lionheart Experience and University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), took place July 19 to 23.

28/07/2025

The results are in!!!

A first ever attempt at a full scale census of the endangered spotted ground thrush, and a total of 208 thrush were counted! We were able to cover a significant amount of forests, all thanks to the incredible and generous contributions of passionate birders, citizen scientists, who assisted and proved that they are not just keen on seeing birds but are willing to assist in protecting them!

I would like to add great appreciation to all who assisted in this. We were blown away by the amount of participation for this and we are excited to see the growth of this project. This is just the beginning.

And well done to the team!

Jonah Gula
Bitani (couldn't tag you for some reason)
Candice Mckibbin

30/06/2025

Another Epic Conservation Safari with Cowan House and Bhejane Nature Training at Bonamanzi Game Reserve and a VERY fortunate rhino!

It is such a privilege to work with a school of this caliber, with amazing teachers and students and to have an impact together for conservation.

A great time was had by all at the beautiful Bonamanzi and HIP, with some epic birds, scorpions, lions, elephants, tracks, fossils, alien plant clearance, dehorning a rhino and an epic sighting of five cheetah hunting!!!

(Read up on the first image for how lucky our rhino was!)

The only negative was losing ANOTHER TWO camera traps to a hyena. 😭
That hurt.

Next one is going to be laced with chilli.

19/06/2025

Spotted Ground Thrush Research Project begins!!

We are so excited to have caught and ringed 13 spotted ground thrush this last week! A research project collaboration between UKZN and The LionHeart Experience aims to establish a better understanding of this endangered species. This last week we aimed to capture 14 spotted ground thrush to fit with geolocators, to get the first ever information on their migration patterns. We got SO CLOSE to hitting the target, we caught 13!

It was a lot of hard work!! (as you will see by my garmin watch). LONG days starting hours before sunrise and ending hours after. But so worth it. These ground thrush were also fitted with colour rings (which we started last year too) so please keep an eye out for these and let us know if you ever see them again!

We also caught some incredible other species. The highlights of these were:

Two wood owls! (our first ever in the nets)
Two buff-spotted flufftails! (our first ever in the nets)
Gorgeous bushshrike in Sibaya
Olive bushshrike in Zimbali
Bearded scrub-robin in Zimbali (possibly the most southerly record)
Lemon dove in Umhlanga NR
Blue mantled crested-flycatcher (loads)
African pygmy kingfishers (lots overwintering, as they usually fly north in our winter)

A big thanks to all the bird ringers who assisted:
Jonah Gula
Nasiphi Bitani
James Rawdon
Kevin Hendrikse
Pieter du Plessis
Garth Aiston & Decklan Jordaan
Kirsty Kyle
Ziphe Gula

And a big thanks to all the estates and areas that supported this work:
Zimbali Estate
Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate 2
Salta Sibaya
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Umhlanga Nature Reserve)