An interesting week with a good mixture of birds and beasts out and about A colourful shot of the iconic Woodland Kingfisher The African Pygmy-Kingfisher who is now a regular visitor to the waterhole. Since taking this image I was lucky enough to see two of these birds together leading me to believe there is a breeding pair present Brown-hooded Kingfisher. This mainly insectivorous hunter catches a wide range of prey including geckos, small chameleons, skinks, young birds, snakes, fish, crabs, and rodents as well as frogs as is the case here A Red-billed Oxpecker whispering gently into her ear A couple of the now numerous Impala lambs that are to be seen A juvenile Yellow-billed Kite, which leads me to believe that they may have bred here One of the magnificent Kudu Bulls of the resident coalition of three bulls that I regularly encounter A particularly pleasing B.I.F. image of the very common Laughing Dove A Purple Indigobird A portrait of a male Warthog complete with a fine set of warts and tusks One of the now many comical Warthog piglets to be seen dashing around all over the place A lovely image of a large Leopard Tortoise having a drink
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The eagerly awaited re-stocking programme has begun on Leadwood. The first phase is the introduction of a female Cheetah which is then to be followed by two males. The boma has been built and the female was delivered a few days ago. She will be fed in the enclosure as she adapts to her new environment. Once she has settled she will be released onto the wider property in time for her to acquaint herself before the arrival of the males. Shortly thereafter Lion are going to be introduced and later next year Elephant will be arriving My first sighting of our new female Cheetah through the boma fence Note the radio transmitter collar and box attached around her neck. This will be used to keep track of her whereabouts when she is initially released onto the wider property to ensure she settles in without incident I was tasked with delivering this Impala ram to the boma for the Cheetah to feed on The Impala Ram was placed in the shade of a tree out of sight of the ever present Vultures. It was later reported that the Cheetah had fed well on the carcase
The Kite lands at the waters edge It has several gulps of water It takes off and alights in a nearby tree with a view over the pan Later it catches and ingests a Raucous Toad. These toads are particularly vocal at the moment Post meal talon maintenance All good to go once again
Over the last few days we have had some very welcoming and much needed rain. It has coincided with increased raptor activity. Here are a collection of what I have seen and managed to photograph Lesser Spotted Eagle. An uncommon and localised Palearctic migrant that feeds mainly on termite alates that have emerged after the rains Steppe Buzzard. A common Palearctic migrant Dark Chanting Goshawk. A fairly common and sedentary resident Yellow-billed Kite. An intra-African migrant Dark morph Wahlberg's Eagle. Common breeding intra-African migrant
I visited Pofadder Dam on a game drive the other day. We had just had some rain and the weather was cloudy and overcast. I have never seen a gathering of so many Comb Ducks ( Knob-billed Ducks) before. It was a truly magnificent sighting which I will remember for a long time. Roberts Birds of Southern Africa 3rd Edition records gatherings of up to 3000 birds in various locations. Clearly these birds like to congregate when conditions are suitable A general view of Pofadder Dam nestled close to the mountain range A grainy zoomed in shot to assist me in the head count. There were over 100 ducks gathered. These Intra-African partial migrants are nomadic and often undertake extensive movements A large male with a well developed comb Celebrating the recent rain To top it all I managed a B.I.F. shot of a male shortly after take-off
The other evening we were out on a game drive with our good friends Ian and Maxine Smith when we came across a very obliging Cheetah at a waterhole
My first image of a Bushbuck male Kudu Cows A fine specimen of a Duiker male Portrait of an Impala female White Rhino. Calf in background, mother in the middle and a large bull in the foreground Nyala males Hippopotamus with passenger Spotted Hyaena near den site A very large Serrated Terrapin An inquisitive Wild Dog pup Thirsty Giraffes
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April 2024
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