The resident Hyena clan recently moved their den site. Fortunately the new site is easily accessible which has allowed great viewing opportunities. I have spent some time watching and recording them in the proximity of their new base Hyena female with snare scar high on her neck Hyena female with snare scar in the middle of her neck Hyena female with no snare scar on her neck The older pup lying at the main entrance to the den The older pup suckling on her mum - No Scar No Scar and the older pup at a secondary entrance to the den The two younger pups appearing at the main entrance to the den The two younger pups suckling on their mum - The female with the scar high on her neck Family portrait Mum playing with her two pups The two pups playing together The teenager appears at the main entrance to the den with a piece of hide The teenager resting just outside the den The teenager about to set off
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An fruitful week with some interesting birding A Red-billed Oxpecker hitching a ride to the waterhole A Martial Eagle seen in fading evening light when I was on my way to a Lion sighting The lion called "Notch" giving me the 5 yard stare when I caught up with him lying in the riverbed with a full belly from feeding on a recent Kudu kill Another Striped Kingfisher A Natal Spurfowl warming up in the early morning sunshine A male Bearded Woodpecker doing what they do best - pecking My first Willow Warbler of the Spring. This tiny 5g bird has just flown approx. 14 000 km from Europe to spend the Summer here One of a pair of resident Purple-crested Turacos that patrol up and down the riverine trees in front of our house A portrait showing the brilliant colouring of the head of the bird Black-headed Oriole Male African Paradise-Flycatcher. A common breeding intra-African migrant. Migrating birds return to the same locality annually
A really good week for raptors and vultures. Our female Cheetah has arrived and is habituating in the boma. She was fed with an Impala carcase and the vultures flew in to pick off the remains. It offered a great photo opportunity as they dropped out of the sky. Another interesting sighting was a pair of Tawny Eagles, one tawny and one dark phase bird. I also had my first close encounter of a Yellow-billed Kite of the season and a juvenile Brown Snake-Eagle to complete the list Juvenile Brown Snake-Eagle A soaring Hooded Vulture A Hooded Vulture dropping in to the scene A White-backed Vulture gliding in the thermal Another White-backed Vulture bleeding off altitude as it descends to the ground A rufous phase Tawny Eagle A light phase Tawny Eagle The two Tawny Eagles side by side in the tree. They are regarded as Vulnerable A Yellow-billed Kite at the waterhole for a drink Quenching its thirst Yellow-billed Kite perched on a branch clearly showing the diagnostic dark eye, yellow bill and deeply forked tail
A Dark Chanting Goshawk seen coming down to drink at dusk Dark Chanting Goshawk A ground nest with two eggs seen near a dam on our property Here one of the Three-banded Plover adults does a stint at egg incubation On game drive the other evening we encountered two Spotted Eagle-Owls out and about. This image was taken with the use of a handheld spotlight after dark and my ISO set to the maximum of 12800. It came out quite nicely given the constraints A male Brown-hooded Kingfisher scans the ground below for insects An Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike, a common resident and very colourful bird A Purple Roller seen here in fading evening light. A sparse resident. The least common roller in the region
Recently I was fortunate enough to get a couple of images of one of our resident Leopards. They are mainly nocturnal and quite secretive so sightings are not an everyday occurrence. We believe this female may be pregnant so we are hoping that in the not too distant future that she may be a proud parent
Wahlberg's Eagle. Common breeding intra-African migrant. Present here from August to April. Most birds winter north of the equator. My first sighting of one this Summer Yellowbreasted Apalis on the look-out for a snack. Note the diagnostic red eye A female Scarlet-chested Sunbird. Rather drab when compared to the male of the species. Can be confused with the female Amethyst Sunbird which is similar but has a pale eyebrow Here is another sighting of this White-throated Robin-Chat which was ringed on the 24th April 2018 at the same spot that I observed it again at this week The ringed bird has paired up and I suspect they are breeding as both these birds have been seen on several occasions together at this spot recently A Chinspot Batis with catch My first good images of a Brown-crowned Tchagra. Seen here hopping around in the leaf litter in search of a meal A Fish Eagle on look-out for a meal at the dam recently
We have a resident pair of Striped Kingfishers near where we live. They are often on show next to the road when I drive into town. I have posted several images of them previously on the blog. The other day I spotted both of them perched on a branch so stopped to observe them. I have been trying for some time to record good images of one of them hawking an insect. Luckily for me I managed to capture a much rarer action sequence A pair of Striped Kingfishers perched together on a branch All of a sudden the male bird started to get amorous Excitedly spreading his wings in the heat of the moment He then makes a stylish left hand dismount a few seconds later Did the earth move for you too Darling?
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April 2024
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