Perched on the top of a dead tree it scans the dam below for a meal oppurtunity Holding a majestic pose Noise from an overflying aircraft made it take flight, luckily I managed one BIF frame as it departed
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I prefer the old name, Plum-coloured Starling. Be that as it may these are my first images this season of these colourful birds. They are common breeding migrants to South Africa and are present here from October to April. The trick is now to find a nest site. I have seen them inspecting old dead trees looking for suitable nest holes, but no luck with an active site as yet The male The female A Southern Black Flycatcher. Not as common or a loud as the often seen Fork-tailed Drongo, so it is often overlooked The pair of Woodland Kingfishers continue to visit the nest site which is in the same tree as the Crested Barbets nest. (see previous post) I feel the Barbets may chase this pair away as they have a lot invested and are already feeding chicks in their nest Woodland Kingfisher in full display mode The wing spots are showing nicely in this shot of an Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove which came down to drink at the waterhole
A Crested Barbet at the entrance to its nest hole in the underside of a dead tree trunk Once they got used to my presence they busied themselves with ferrying food items into the nest. About every 15 - 20 minutes one of the parents would arrive back from a gathering foray Some housekeeping being carried out to keep the nest cavity clean
I came across the adult female and her two well grown cubs resting up in the shade the other afternoon again Once they had relaxed with the presence of my vehicle they all continued their power napping Profile of the Mum. You can still see signs of the collar wear from the recently removed collar. Over time the hair will regrow As they begin to wake up she gives me a big yawn Something has caught her attention Female Cub Female Cub Male Cub Male Cub The two cubs are to be darted and relocated to Benguela Swamps in Zambia. This was my my final sighting of them as the darting has now taken place and they are in quarantine waiting on the result of a TB test before heading off to their new home
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April 2024
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