[dc]T[/dc]he past few weeks, while birding has been slow, I have devoted my free time to finally organizing all my bird photos by species, month, and year. I finished that up a few days ago and then began going through them and picking out my single best shot of each species (if I even had anything worthwhile). Going through and … Read More
Birding with Great White Sharks
Exactly one year ago today, I was in Cape Town, South Africa. It was my last full day in the country before heading back to the US. I knew I wanted to try and get out on the water somehow or at least go to a nearby park that might have some species I didn’t find yet. Then some friends … Read More
Pigeons and Doves of South Africa
South Africa is blessed with quite a collection of pigeon and dove species. Of the 15 species that call southern Africa home, I was able to see 12. Ranging in size from the massive African Olive-Pigeon to the tiny Emerald Spotted Wood-Dove, they are all beautiful and at least one species can be found in every habitat you could encounter … Read More
Wagtails! South Africa
Most North American birders don’t even know what a ‘wagtail’ is…it doesn’t really sound like a bird, but in Africa, the name wagtail is well known. These medium-sized relatives of our pipits are common throughout Eurasia and Africa. Within South Africa, there are six species in total. I was lucky enough to see three of these species; the Cape Wagtail, … Read More
LBJ’s of South Africa
If you think the United States has a LBJ (“Little Brown Job”) problem, then you need to visit South Africa. There are literally close to one hundred species that are perfect candidates for being classified as LBJ’s. Throwing all these tiny brown birds in the face (or bino’s) of a visiting birder, like me, was completely overwhelming. Certainly the most … Read More
Kingfishers of South Africa
Southern Africa is a hotbed of kingfisher species. There are a total of 10 species that can be found in southern Africa and I was fortunate enough to see 9 of them on my previous visit. I would like to share of few photos of my favorite southern African kingfishers with you all today. Let’s start with the smallest; the African … Read More
Wetland Birds of South Africa
I wasn’t able to visit many wetland habitats in South Africa, but when I did, I was greeted by some very beautiful birds. The four photos below were taken in a wetland within the Wilderness National Park along the southern coast of South Africa. The African Purple Swamphen is a massive relative to the coots and rails. This beautiful bird … Read More
Raptors of South Africa
During my ten weeks in South Africa, I saw a nice assortment of raptors. I was able to find 21 different diurnal raptors, plus one owl species. These species were: Cape Vulture, Secretarybird, ‘Yellow-billed’ Black Kite, White-tailed Kite, Long-crested Eagle, African Fish-Eagle, Steppe Buzzard, African Goshawk, Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk, African Marsh-Harrier, African Harrier-Hawk (Gymnogene), Osprey, Lanner Falcon, Amur Falcon, … Read More
Crowned Hornbill: Moth-catching Menace
A bird species I saw daily while in South Africa was the beautiful Crowned Hornbill. This hornbill species is not very secretive and it’s loud, hawk-like call makes you very aware of it’s presence even if you cant always see it. The Crowned Hornbill is a large bird that frequently moves around the forest canopy in groups searching for insects, reptiles, rodents, seeds, and fruits. … Read More
Cape Gannets along the Wild Coast
In South Africa, the Eastern Cape’s coastline is known as the ‘Wild Coast’ due to its habit of smashing ships against its rocky shoreline during the winter months, when storms toss and turn the ocean. This beautiful coastline with its vast expanses of farmland, dune jungle, wetlands, and dark forests that I was able to call home for 10 weeks in 2011 … Read More
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