10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2020

Mkuze Game Reserve is in the Eastern part of South Africa, about 5 hours away from Johannesburg, and one of the best places I have ever been to for bird photography. Not too many raptors, but at least an African Fish Eagle. More birds of South Africa here. Some gorgeous looking smaller birds such as. Laughing Dove.

South Africa 236

South Africa Giraffes Birds Africa 236

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

In November 2018, I spent a few days birding in Cape Town, South Africa. The resident pair of Spotted Eagle Owls and I agree on this. While apparently not the safest of places, it is a great spot to see birds. Here are some of my sightings. An absolute highlight were the African Penguins at Boulders Beach.

South Africa 141

South Africa Penguins Ostriches Birds 141

10,000 Birds

MAY 16, 2022

St Lucia is a small town on the Southeastern coast of South Africa. The Southern Banded Snake-Eagle is listed as Near Threatened as there is only an estimated global population of 1000–3000 individuals. They mostly come to see the hippopotamuses and Nile crocodiles living in and near the Saint Lucia Estuary.

South Africa 246

South Africa Africa Saint Lucia Birds 246

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2015

My only sighting until this year had been a distant speck on a far off koppie in Kenya, but this pair (they live in pairs) came very close to my safari vehicle in Madikwe in South Africa. Female Klipspringers have horns in East Africa, but not in South Africa. They are small, at about 58 cm (23 in) at the shoulder.

South Africa 100

South Africa Kenya Leopards Africa 100

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 3, 2013

The Osprey in its turn was dispossessed by an African Fish-Eagle. As the fish-eagle left, the heron returned to the perch and the cycle began again. South Africa’s Kruger National Park may get all the publicity, but I adore Pilanesberg for its intimacy, variety and accessibility.

South Africa 185

South Africa Mammals Reptiles Elephants 185

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

Nevertheless, only the most important news I did follow, those about the decision-making process on future sales of elephants and their ivory at a global wildlife summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, the first such meeting since 2013. In Africa, one elephant is being killed every 15 minutes.

Elephants 219

Elephants Botswana Zimbabwe Africa 219

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

The reserve, in the eastern corner of Botswana near Zimbabwe and South Africa, isn’t open to the public in general, so I figured I’d share a few images here by way of showing off. Spotted Eagle Owls are one of several owls that can be seen here. I mean education. Red-faced Mousebirds are common African specialities.

Zimbabwe 101

Zimbabwe Botswana South Africa Endangered Species 101

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on my home patch of Cape Town, South Africa. The little seaside village of Rooiels is famed for being a wonderful location to pick up some choice South African endemics but it is also one of the most beautiful spots in the Cape. And then there are the Ground Woodpeckers !

South Africa 256

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 256

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 22, 2022

As the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the African Fish Eagle is usually very busy whenever it stays in these countries, giving speeches, opening shopping centers, etc. So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity.

Zimbabwe 147

Zimbabwe Birds South Africa Benin 147

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2015

But if they obeyed the rules, which may be too strict – in the Kruger Park in South Africa, the limit is 50 km/h (31 mi/h) – they would not manage to show tourists much of the reserve in about three hours in the morning and the afternoon, which would reflect on their tip. Grey-headed Fish Eagle Copyright © Nitin Bhardwaj.

Tigers 255

Tigers Boars India Chickens 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 19, 2013

Several years ago I started to work in South Africa, either running academic tours or carrying out fieldwork in archaeology and paleontology. In any given trip to South Africa, the vehicle I was in (I only drove myself some of the time) probably hit about one vertebrate animal about every 2,000 kilometers, usually a bird. (We

Killing 229

Killing South Africa Nebraska Collecting 229

10,000 Birds

JUNE 5, 2012

Found patchily in sub-Saharan Africa, this large, ginger-colored owl can never be guaranteed on a trip to the continent. It is classified as threatened in South Africa – where its numbers have dwindled due to loss of habitat and pollution – and is uncommon and localized elsewhere.

Owls 261

Owls Fish Botswana Barn Owls 261

10,000 Birds

JULY 9, 2019

I have to agree with her, as every time I chance upon an owl, be it something as common as a Great Horned Owl, or something extremely special like Australia’s Powerful Owl , or the Verreaux’s Eagle-owl from South Africa, I get a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Owls 187

Owls Arizona Tucson South Africa 187

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2012

Marabous occur throughout tropical and subtropical Africa from Zululand in northern South Africa right up to the arid Sahel region fringing the Sahara Desert, avoiding the closed canopy rainforest zones of central and west Africa. They also prey on frogs and crabs.

Africa 250

Africa Tanzania South Africa Uganda 250

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 23, 2014

The Hudwit edged out more than 650 other birds on my Costa Rican year list by a large margin because unlike Resplendent Quetzal , Maroon-chested Ground-Dove , Ornate Hawk-Eagle , and even Unspotted Saw-whet Owl , the last and only documentation for Hudsonian Godwit in Costa Rica occured in 1975. I also blogged about that dreamy day.

2014 222

2014 Costa Rica South Africa Birds 222

10,000 Birds

JUNE 4, 2020

Before it joins waters with the Matabele’s iliMphopho, the river of rapid rising and falling, known to the rest of the world as the ‘great, grey, green, greasy Limpopo’ of Rudyard Kipling’s writings, the Ngotwane River marks the boundary line between Botswana and South Africa. African Fish Eagle 1. Hamerkop 1. Egyptian Goose 3.

Botswana 233

Botswana Africa 2001 Fish 233

Animal Person

MARCH 21, 2009

As for the eagle's nest, I think all of the people who surround the nest each morning are mistaken. A less-than-thrilling update is that South Africa is still considering dog racing. Box 339 Bloemfontein 9300 South Africa Snyman.rd@ufs.ac.za I'm still not satisfied with the photo of her, and I might try again.

South Africa 100

South Africa Kennels Jamaica Greyhounds 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 3, 2012

These areas, as well as being famous for the afore-mentioned near-endemics, are also home to long isolated populations of birds otherwise only found in East Africa to the north and South Africa to the south. Listen for the bizarre whurring sound of their display especially early in the morning.

Zimbabwe 228

Zimbabwe Buffalo Mozambique Birds 228

10,000 Birds

MARCH 13, 2012

mi (almost exactly the same size as Indiana), it is one of the smaller provinces of South Africa, but is the second most densely populated with over 10 million inhabitants. They discovered Gurney’s Sugarbird during their time in South Africa. Sundevall named Wahlberg’s Eagle and Wahlberg’s Honeyguide in his memory.

Mozambique 219

Mozambique South Africa Africa Collecting 219

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2016

Luckily, I didn’t have to look hard to find the Dusky Eagle-Owl’s nest. Well, the Dusky Eagle-Owl was big too, but for some reason, the Fish-Owl seemed huge. India was not on my list of places to go in 2016. A few birders were already there (when in doubt, follow the bins), and it was located nearby, east of the gate.

India 189

India Tigers Birds Owls 189

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2016

On my recent visit I managed to see specialties like Spotted Eagle Owls , Swee Waxbills , Cape Sugarbirds , Malachite Sunbirds and Cape Francolins. Spotted Eagle Owl. The gardens are so bird rich books have been written about what can be seen in them. Cape of Good Hope. Black-headed Herons are an African speciality.

Penguins 174

Penguins Birds Mongoose Ostriches 174

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 11, 2021

No Eagles here as I think they are crap (even though Hotel California is probably one of the most popular songs in Chinese karaoke places). Fortunately, Berninger recently covered the song “Big bird” A big bird ( Ostrich , Cape Town, South Africa). Lucia, South Africa). Dr. Dog – Cuckoo.

South Africa 261

South Africa China Germany Birds 261

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 19, 2015

Two White Storks awaited us there, choosing to stay for the winter instead of wasting all those calories to fly down to South Africa and back, and above us, seven young White-tailed Eagles were thermaling. The number of gulls had halved by now, but the weather had improved and was sunny and quite warm for this time of the year.

Serbia 169

Serbia Birds Ukraine Europe 169

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2018

After leaving Africa, I was fearing a real let down in my birding. New Zealand had been good, Australia was incredible, and South Africa was almost life altering. Where do you go from there? Well, for us, we went to Doha, Qatar. Speaking of Bank Swallows , here is one of those family groups.

Qatar 139

Qatar Sparrows South Africa Africa 139

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 1, 2017

Most of these are common/abundant residential and migratory birds (and, this being Kruger, that includes five Hornbill species, four Sunbird species, a Trogon, five Owl species, and many other goodies); uncommon and striking-but-rare species are also included, so we have Storks, Martial Eagle, and Pel’s Fishing-Owl.

Ecuador 189

Ecuador Wildlife Reptiles Birds 189

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2015

Ostritch ( Struthio camelus ); Wakkerstroom, South Africa, 22 February. White-backed Duck ( Thalassornis leuconotus ); Wakkerstroom, South Africa, 22 February. South African Shelduck ( Tadorna cana ); Madikwe, South Africa, 17 February. Cape Teal ( Anas capensis ); Madikwe, South Africa, 17 February.

2015 205

2015 South Africa Botswana Singapore 205

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Ethiopia, a landlocked country situated in the Horn of Africa, has firmly established itself as one of Africa’s top birding destinations. Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa).

Ethiopia 254

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 254

10,000 Birds

MAY 8, 2013

The Cherokee nation called them “Peace Eagles” owing to the fact that they never killed a living thing – and also that they tended to show up in numbers after battled when peace treaties were being signed, though admittedly that may have been for a slightly more macabre reason. California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus.

California Condor 215

California Condor Turkey North America Jordan 215

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2018

I have managed to find two owls, the first was this pair of Verreaux’s Eagle-owls. So far, I have only found one of the Common Scimitarbills, but they are so cool. This is the Red-crested Korhaan that we found in the wet dewy grass. Then second was the tiny little Pearl-spotted Owlet. This is the Southern White-crowned Shrike.

Lions 131

Lions Buffalo United States Zebras 131

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 17, 2024

Second, every raptor we encountered was identified as Tawny Eagle. For focusing on the client’s needs it is hard to find better than the South African community birding guides. This is a fantastic initiative by BirdLife South Africa. And yes, Sable Antilope is very cool, but birds are sub-zero cool!

Birds 246

Birds Mozambique Zimbabwe Mammals 246

10,000 Birds

MARCH 15, 2024

However, the appearance of a Peregrine or Booted Eagle “causes widespread panic at the colony, birds circling up high into the sky to avoid them”. I have fond memories of watching flocks feeding on the open veld in South Africa, where thousands spend the winter.

Falcons 238

Falcons Spain Europe 2012 238

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 8, 2013

Other specials include Large-billed Lark, Gray-winged Francolin, Sentinel Rock-Thrush, Sickle-winged Chat, Yellow Canary (at the very eastern edge of its range) and, if you are very lucky, a roosting Cape Eagle-Owl. Here one can also find pairs of very cute Sloggett’s Ice Rats , another member of Sani’s distinct fauna.

Lesotho 203

Lesotho Africa Birds Rats 203

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

Owls live and migrate from Arctic circumpolar to Colorado prairie to South American rainforest to Southeast Asian islands, Galapagos islands, Canary islands–many many islands–to coastal Australia and onward. “Well, that’s great,” you may be saying, “but what does that have to do with owls?

Owls 244

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 244

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 2, 2019

Visited this month were; Germany , France , Austria, South Africa, Hong Kong, USA, UK, Serbia, Costa Rica, Australia, China, Indonesia , Switzerland and Singapore). The year list has reached 2403 , a boost of 174 and the life list now stands at 3875 after beats’ efforts in Indonesia, South Africa and China added 39 ticks.

2019 139

2019 China Battery Jamaica 139

10,000 Birds

MAY 31, 2011

This ruled out some excellent species like Cape Eagle Owl, Violet Wood-hoopoe, African Finfoot and Half-collared Kingfisher and I was still left with 36 species. I then decided to reduce it further to South African endemics only. The korhaans are a group of small bustards and South Africa has 7 species.

South Africa 255

South Africa Africa Parrots Swaziland 255

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

Madikwe , in South Africa, wasn’t a site of importance before it came into existence. And so South Africa’s fifth largest park came to be (it’s worth remembering that its largest park, Kruger, is the size of Israel) on marginal land that no one in particular could do much with. But they are very cute!

South Africa 182

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 182

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

With a trip to South Africa on the horizon at the time, I thought I could handle it. Did I dare dip my toe into this catalog of tantalizing species? Now, I’m not so sure. I’m already looking up birding tours of Borneo and pricing airfares.

Brunei 195

Brunei Birds Asia China 195