I got very excited when I saw this flash of white feathers as this bird flew into a tree in front of our house. I quickly fetched my camera and was able to take a couple of images before it flew off again. I checked my records and I have only seen this bird once before at a Game Reserve way back in November 1997. These are my first images of this shy and elusive dove Tambourine Dove
0 Comments
One of the many Fig Trees that are growing in the riverbed that is situated in front of our house A Crested Francolin. These birds are often heard as part of the morning chorus A Steppe Buzzard seen here coming to have a drink at the waterhole This African Pygmy-Kingfisher and I have become good friends. He often perches near me when I am sitting in the hide. The colours show up well against the soft green background This female Chinspot Batis had just gleaned this tasty morsel off the underside of a leaf A male Yellow-breasted Apalis poses nicely for the camera The highlight of the week for me was this Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird. It is a new tick for my Leadwood list
An interesting weeks worth of birding to follow up on last weeks bonanza. A lifer as earlier posted, a friendly Fish Eagle and still more Here an Ashy Flycatcher has a bath in a pool of water on our paving Watched closely by a Spotted Flycatcher which soon joined in the bathing This little willow warbler also joined in the bath party Making up the trifecta of Flycatchers, a female Paradise Flycatcher busy feeding in the tree canopy A juvenile White-bellied Sunbird. Note the fleshy gape A juvenile Scarlet-chested Sunbird seen here raiding a spiders web. It finally bagged the main prize of the female Golden Orb spider seen here A juvenile Klaas's Cuckoo blending in nicely in the dappled light A Helmeted Guineafowl cautiously comes down to drink A female Cardinal Woodpecker The Hamerkop is still in the house A splash of colour as this male Namaqua Dove takes off after quenching its thirst
I had seen a Fish Eagle at one of the dams on the estate so decided to drive out there with my camera to see if it was still there in the hope of getting some images. Well the plan all came together, not only was it still there but it also allowed me to approach it close enough to get a few reasonable images Front view of a sub-adult bird with the breast still showing heavy brown streaking on the white feathers. It takes 4 - 5 years to reach full adult plumage Side view Underwing view as it circles overhead
This uncommon breeding intra-African migrant put in an appearance at the pan the other morning. It had my adrenalin flowing as this was a lifer for me. It moved into a spot and then stood motionless for over half an hour waiting for some unsuspecting prey to wander into range. It is the smallest of the bitterns to be found in South Africa, present here from October to April Dwarf Bittern caught briefly out in the open as it moves towards some cover Stealth Hunter in position and waiting
A real bonanza week with some high octane birding taking place. I think I am going to struggle to top this line up for a while European Nightjar. Thanks to Derek Solomon and Mike Pope for confirming the ID on this uncommon non-breeding migrant for me Double-banded Sandgrouse male. A hand held spotlight was used and my ISO setting was at the maximum (12800) to capture this somewhat grainy image. Despite this I am very pleased to get a record shot of this relatively scarce near endemic species Double-banded Sandgrouse female An African Wood-Owl. A lifer for me. Its rhythmic call alerted me to its presence in the tree-line in front of our house. Jen held the spotlight whilst I took the shot. ISO setting at 10000 African Green-Pigeon. They are enjoying the figs that are on currently on offer A Bearded Scrub-Robin. This species is occasionally parasitized by the Red-chested Cuckoo. In this instance it bred successfully One of two juvenile Bearded Scrub-Robins that I saw being fed by the adults Chinspot Batis male seen at the hide A female Black-backed Puffback. Part of the bird party that I watched mobbing a Boomslang The snake in question. A female Boomslang. This back-fanged snake is classified as very dangerous, it has potent haemotoxic venom. Note the very large eye, the largest of any African snake African Pygmy-Kingfisher, the smallest S. African Kingfisher. I come across this little chap on a regular basis at the hide This Crested Francolin casually came past the hide as it was busy scratching around in the leaf litter for tasty grubs Female Red-crested Korhaan blending in perfectly with the background A male Red-backed Shrike enjoying the late afternoon sun Last, but not least this male Red-billed Firefinch seen at the water edge
A visit to the waterhole by the resident Cheetah had me making a tactical withdrawal from the hide A Rhino bull having a Sundowner at Seskant Krip The Wild dogs made a kill next to our home and then moved down into the riverbed below us to rest up for a while. I followed them and sat and watched them for over an hour. A truly memorable interaction A Wildebeest calf suckling off its mother Two of the many Impala lambs that have dropped this season seen here quenching their thirsts. Note the horn buds on one of them This Kudu Bull was very relaxed and continued to browse whilst I sat and observed A Nyala Bull comes for a drink in the heat of the day A Warthog female that had been cooling off in the mud Here a proud Zebra stallion (second adult from left) seen at the waterhole with his four mares and foals
|
Archives
April 2024
|