A Fish Eagle perched in a Marula tree on the dam wall watching and waiting Its patience paid off when it suddenly swooped down and plucked this Barbel out of the water
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The resident pair of African Wood Owls were in fine voice last night in the trees in front of our house. It is one of my favourite night sounds African wood Owl
Red-billed Firefinch male Spotted Flycatcher Willow Warbler Green-winged Pytilia male And then there is always one bully trying to muscle in on the action. Here a Red-billed Oxpecker gatecrashes the party
Early one morning I had a brief visual of a very large raptor flying into a fig-tree in front of our house so walked down to investigate. I came across a young Impala carcass lying in the riverbed and I immediately got excited. This must have been a kill it had made! With loads of patience I eventually managed to capture few images. As it turned out it wasn't one, but it was a pair of adults Partially eaten Impala kill African Crowned Eagle Perched in a nearby figtree watching over its kill About to fly back up into the cover of the trees again
After having monitored the progress of this Woodland Kingfisher breeding attempt from the time of their arrival in Spring, I was very fortunate to be observing the nest the actual moment a fledgling flew the coop. It launched out of the nest hole and flew straight towards me, landing on the thatch roof above where I was siting on a deck. A beak appears No need for the parent to enter the nest hole any more as the hungry fledgling calls loudly at the entrance from the moment a parent comes into sight, until it is silenced by receiving a feed item Having taken off on its maiden flight it lands on the thatch roof, gathers its bearings and then flies into the tree line near the house Perched in the shade of a tree. It then began calling I presume to allow the parent to locate it It then moved to another branch more out in the open when it realised the adult had arrived with some food Here it begins begging to encourage being fed The parent obliges with this tasty grasshopper Shortly afterwards it flew into the canopy of a large Weeping Boerbean tree..... onwards and upwards!
Lizzard Buzzard. Image captured on my mobile phone camera Red-billed Oxpecker Red-chested Cuckoo Indigo bird spp. to be confirmed Retz's Helmet Shrike. A family is showing well around our house of late Natal Spurfowl African Harrier-Hawk juvenile Red-backed Shrike male very early on an overcast morning Southern Red-billed Hornbill collecting mud to assist in sealing the female into the nest hole
Once the pans fill and the vegetation cover improves the waterbirds soon follow. An added bonus was the discovery of a single duckling. My first record of a successful breeding attempt on the Reserve. Whilst staking out the pan to observe and photograph the ducks I was pleasantly surprised when a Lesser Moorhen popped out into the open for a short while White-faced Duck Breeding pair with duckling Lesser Moorhen. I only heard and observed one bird. They also bred here last season. Here is hoping they do again this year.
Probably one of the most photographed pair of Kingfishers in a long time. I have spent hours trying to predict the flight path in and out of the nest whilst finding the correct camera settings to freeze the action with mixed results. Here are a few of the better ones
A Pin-tailed Whydah in non-breeding plumage. A new tick for my RGR list Natal Spurfowl Retz's Helmetshrike Southern Black Tit Southern Grey-headed Sparrow at nest entrance Male (right) and female of red-billed Firefinch A juvenile Red-billed Weaver moving in the canopy
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