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Fur and Fangs rather than Feathers and Beaks

10,000 Birds

Only in Africa is it really easy to see a big variety. Lion – much easier to see than an Aardvark In contrast to East Africa, encounters with mammals while out birding in Europe are relatively few. I viewed them at dusk, through a telescope, from a ridge overlooking the area they were hunting.

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Wakkerstroom, South Africa: It’s a Lark

10,000 Birds

I’ve not made spectacular progress writing up my trip to Africa earlier this year, so perhaps I should get on that. So instead let’s talk about South Africa’s best kept birding secret (at least outside of the country) Wakkerstroom. A bit closer to town I checked out some hides overlooking ponds.

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The Storks of Africa

10,000 Birds

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. The Saddle-billed Stork has a similar Africa-wide distribution as the Marabou.

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Big Ticks; What Was Your Last New Family?

10,000 Birds

But there is one kind of tick that I genuinely do enjoy, and as I do more and more birding it becomes harder and harder to get; new families. Getting entirely new families is easy when you start birding. Sometimes you may even lose them, like the aforementioned woodswallows which are probably no longer a family.

Family 162
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A few Barbets

10,000 Birds

Might have something to do with the fact that they were hunted here until quite recently). The Crested Barbet (Kruger Park, South Africa) looks a bit like a pointillist painting gone wrong. Lucia, South Africa) will be your favorite. That Smith Family is so depressing”. Pernice Brothers).

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Can we talk about Cecil the Lion?

10,000 Birds

I get that you’re really angry, I mean, he was a popular lion and yes, his cute widdle cubs will probably die to, but I can’t help feeling you’ve kind of missed the point a bit, and well, ending all hunting in Africa will not solve much and maybe make things worse and… No, no, I’m not a hunter. I mean it.

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Botswana’s Private Reserves

10,000 Birds

While much of the attention that Africa’s tourism industry gets is for its (deservedly) popular national parks and game reserves, a lot of wildlife viewing is possible away from the big name places. Red-crested Korhaans are attractive members of the bustard family. Brown-hooded Kingfishers hunt far from water. You decide.

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