Watching Wood Pigeons and Blackbirds digging in the snow out of my window now, but my head and heart are still in South Africa. Luckily those images keep the memories fresh and warm.
On February 16th we drove around Satara, to the south and to the east. We left very early, especially for big mammals. The plan worked well, and we saw some exciting stuff (more to follow), but here I will focus on the birds we saw during that day and also during my short drive out of the park to Orpen Gatecon the 17th. As always in Africa, the focus is on colourful, long-tailed birds.
I love Hornbills, even if they don’t have eyelashes. Here’s a sweet pair of Red-billed Hornbills:
Burchell’s Starling is common but so pretty
Sound-recorded one as well: Crested Barbet is super-charismatic too
Lilac-breasted Rollers are common and usually very photogenic. This time around I had less luck photographing them. Still this adult posed nicely:
And this youngster too:
Southern Carmine Bee-eater – classic Africa
This Yellow-billed Hornbill was too close:
Three-banded Plover are neat waders:
Lots of raptors in Kruger Park. By far the commonest was Bateleur.
My next post will be about vultures and cats – expect some action – African White-backed vultures and a cat
On the way back to Johannesburg I bumped into some Abdim’s Storks – very cool birds
Yoav Perlman
I have been birding since the age of 9, and from the age of 15 I started working professionally in birding. I have been working for the Israeli Ornithological Center since 1998. I was a member of the Israeli rarities committee between 2001 - 2007. I have an MSc in Ecology from the Ben Gurion University. I did my research on the ecology of Nubian Nightjars in Israel, and spent hundreds of nights with these fascinating birds. I lead tours in Israel, and especially focus on Nubian Nightjars obviously. I traveled and birded Asia extensively, and also Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and North America. I am married to my lovely wife Adva and father to two sons - Uri and Noam, and one daughter - Libby. Currently I live in Norwich, where I am starting a PhD project at UEA.
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