Sorry again, with the pink eyelids, I assume then this is Giant Eagle Owl?? If yes, wonderful find!
I also found a pair with a fledged chick near Shingwidzi a while back. Spent half a day just listening to the adults talking to the chick...
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Sorry again, with the pink eyelids, I assume then this is Giant Eagle Owl?? If yes, wonderful find!
I also found a pair with a fledged chick near Shingwidzi a while back. Spent half a day just listening to the adults talking to the chick...
Sal
Well-known member
Yes, Giant Eagle Owl - somehow a far more evocative name! What noises did they make to the chick? was it those same deep hoots?
Yes Verreaux's eagle-owl, giant eagle-owl, milky eagle-owl, reuse-ooruil, bubu lacteus and many other names in other languages is what i saw.
The new roberts is very good at listing both new and old and alternate names if you are finding it hard to figure them out.
Sorry to use the new names so freely but i am new to birding in South Africa and therefore am useing the books currently available in shops, that list the new names. I am not trying to be clever, no doubt in 10 years they will be changed on me too.
Mean time i am enjoying them all regardless of name.
Today it was raining on and off all day and there must have been thousands of swifts swallows and martins flying back and forth over the river hawking insects.
I saw lesser striped and wire tailed swallow, alpine, little and white rumped swift and house martin.
Saw what was either african black or common swift but for the life of me wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Bad light and fast flying left me guessing. Anyone got any tips on telling the two apart.(they weren't calling)
cheers Lulie
Very difficult to tell them apart, especially in bad light. The European Swift (which I assume is the common swift), should be reaching here by now, so you can't even use date as an aid in your ID
Sal
Well-known member
Now that I would love to hear! It must have been amazing.
Martin Hobbs
Well-known member
I agree with you Alan.
We were stopped watching three Hyena on a cloudy morning just north of Letaba and started to hear squeeking noises. I noticed two Giant Eagle owls, one with soft downy feathers. I decided I would come back to these two after finding out what was making the squeeky noises, only to keep coming back to these two Giant Eagle Owls, before realising that it was the immature Owl making the noises and was then answered by the adult.
We were suprised that such a small sound could come from such a big bird..
Martin
Martin Hobbs
Well-known member
Hi Lulie,
I am so pleased you have finally had rain, now the heat of Hoedspruit is bearable.
Some great spots also.
Martin
These sqeaking owls was what led me to the eagle owls to begin with, I really thought i was going to come apon a goshawk or something similar, certainly not owls.
Calls can be sooo misleading.
Yesterday whilst out with a friend we heard a song we weren't familiar with, a loud fluting song, very strong, would have guest a bushshrike, but it was a bit repetative. Anyway we searched and searched and finally aspotted the little ******* A steirlings wren warbler. I was so surprised at the strength of its call from such a small bird.
These surprises are all part of the fun and i love discovering these calls almost as much as the birds themselves.
Calls can be sooo misleading.
Yesterday whilst out with a friend we heard a song we weren't familiar with, a loud fluting song, very strong, would have guest a bushshrike, but it was a bit repetative. Anyway we searched and searched and finally aspotted the little ******* A steirlings wren warbler. I was so surprised at the strength of its call from such a small bird.
These surprises are all part of the fun and i love discovering these calls almost as much as the birds themselves.
Very difficult to tell them apart, especially in bad light. The European Swift (which I assume is the common swift), should be reaching here by now, so you can't even use date as an aid in your ID
I will have to keep looking at them when ever I get the chance. It always makes me smile when the books say things like (for african black swift) 'pale secondaries clearly visible from above' Of course that 'clearly' depends heavily on the light ( i always seem to see them on overcast days) and the birds not flying around like they are on steroids. I find it hard enough to train the bino's on a fast moving object let alone long enough to see the obvious pale secondaries.
Oh well practise and more practise
Martin Hobbs
Well-known member
Lulie,
I have sympathy with your dilema. We have a pair of swifts that return to the nest under the roof of our house each year.
It took me ages to identify them and I was sat in a chair on the patio waiting for these two Swifts to fly in and out of the nest only a matter of a few metres away from where I was sat. I was trying to see the shape of the tail and the wings and the extent of the white on the back to determine if they were Whiterumped or Little Swifts.
The speed they fly into and out of their nest is incredible, and how they stop in time to get through the tiny entrance is mind boggling.
I eventually identified them as Whiterumped, and they come back every year, we look forward to seeing them each year as that is how we know Winter is finished.
Martin
...and of course, one is usually always in a position to see a swift from above...
Dryocopus
Was Eagle before...still am in life!
Hi all
Just back from an amazing , stunning and wonderful trip to South Africa.
I have just caught up again on this thread and its great to be able to know the birds you mention. Now I can imagine in my minds eye the Dikkops (love that name - more like that than Thickknee!)Not really revisiting those posts!
I was on a steep learning curve but it was the Antelope that provided rather more difficulties with ID ing (LOL).All my preparation was helpful but really seeing the birds made all the difference. Fieldcraft the key and the birdsong/calls were even more useful.
I will be posting on my blog and will refer to it but just to say we missed the Wattled Cranes and must have been very near to the place you mention...Howick was where we had lunch on our final day. We did break the journey up from the Drakensburg mountains to Durban with visits to a couple of other places, including Darville Resource Park and Bird Sanctuary, which appears to have birds but also the reedbeds are overgrown and there doesn't appear to be any management of the site at all. The hides are burnt out, it looks like it would be a cracking place if sorted.
I arrived home shattered after that last day journey but what a trip!
Over 350 birds seen and the mammals! We dipped the big five as Leopard was elusive but apparently everywhere we went.But daily Lions in the Kruger was an unexpected bonus but highlight for me were the two Cheetah brothers who we spied first lying on the road fairly close by to some Lions.(the Lions were mainly sleeping/relaxing)
The Cheetahs became very aware of the Lions (twitching tails?) and also watching/ preparing to hunt some antelope, we were of no concern to them at all. They just got on with the business of living. It was a privilege to be so close to fantastic action.
Havent adjusted to the time difference yet - not jetlag but getting up at 4am or there abouts!
Wonderful trip -
A somewhat surreal experience being in a minibus surrounded by wildlife. A Rhino just outside your window and a Giraffe gliding elegantly past your rear bumper.
Where to start?
Later!:t:
Just back from an amazing , stunning and wonderful trip to South Africa.
I have just caught up again on this thread and its great to be able to know the birds you mention. Now I can imagine in my minds eye the Dikkops (love that name - more like that than Thickknee!)Not really revisiting those posts!
I was on a steep learning curve but it was the Antelope that provided rather more difficulties with ID ing (LOL).All my preparation was helpful but really seeing the birds made all the difference. Fieldcraft the key and the birdsong/calls were even more useful.
I will be posting on my blog and will refer to it but just to say we missed the Wattled Cranes and must have been very near to the place you mention...Howick was where we had lunch on our final day. We did break the journey up from the Drakensburg mountains to Durban with visits to a couple of other places, including Darville Resource Park and Bird Sanctuary, which appears to have birds but also the reedbeds are overgrown and there doesn't appear to be any management of the site at all. The hides are burnt out, it looks like it would be a cracking place if sorted.
I arrived home shattered after that last day journey but what a trip!
Over 350 birds seen and the mammals! We dipped the big five as Leopard was elusive but apparently everywhere we went.But daily Lions in the Kruger was an unexpected bonus but highlight for me were the two Cheetah brothers who we spied first lying on the road fairly close by to some Lions.(the Lions were mainly sleeping/relaxing)
The Cheetahs became very aware of the Lions (twitching tails?) and also watching/ preparing to hunt some antelope, we were of no concern to them at all. They just got on with the business of living. It was a privilege to be so close to fantastic action.
Havent adjusted to the time difference yet - not jetlag but getting up at 4am or there abouts!
Wonderful trip -
A somewhat surreal experience being in a minibus surrounded by wildlife. A Rhino just outside your window and a Giraffe gliding elegantly past your rear bumper.
Where to start?
Later!:t:
Sal
Well-known member
Well hi Dryocopus- welcome back!! I am so, so delighted that you had a wonderful time and I can't wait to read the full story and see some pics.
Yes, in Howick you would have been about fifteen minutes from where I saw the wattled cranes!
I'm glad you got to Darville and hope you had some good sightings there. Its not really a bird sanctuary, or at least, not managed as one. It is just that Umngeni Water who manage the place allow birders in to look at the old settlement ponds and the streams. I have seen some great sightings there - it is one of my local birding spots but not safe to go to unless with a group unfortunately. There used to be two bird hides, but one was pulled down by people who took the materials presumably for building, and as you saw, one was set on fire. Before that there was another bird hide, which was aso pulled down.
350 birds - great list! And so glad you saw all the lions and some cheetah.
kittykat23uk
Well-known member
I've just got back this morning from my fab holiday in Botswana. It was not a birding trip but a general safari. There was one other birder on the trip which helped a lot. Not sure what the total list is, as my luggage has not yet arrived and I didn't have time to tot up the number before we left. However, highlights for me bird wise were Wattled crane, so many eagles including Martial and fish eagles. Carmine bee-eaters at a nest site on the panhandle, Kori Bostard, painted snipe, Rosy-throated longclaw, Meyer's parrot, skimmers, giant eagle owl (no Pels sadly), Slaty egret etc.
Mammal wise we had most of the usual stuff (no rhinos present in the areas visited though) plus Puku, reedbuck, kudu, chobe bushbuck, dwarf, slender, yellow and banded mongoose, african wild cat, spent time with a pride of lions in Xaxanaka but best of all we had FIVE leopard sightings:
1. Kudu barking gave the game away and one of our group spotted one in thick cover- brief views of the tail then head/body- but very obscured.
2. Poor weather at Savuti meant little was being seen, however I spotted the cat at quite a distance sitting under a bush. Clearer views than 1. but still too far/brief and poor lighting for a photo.
3. Fantastic clear sighting at Xaxanaka on the evening of our arrival! Another vehicle was watching this large male cat on a branch close to the road, he moved along the road to a termite mound where he posed for photos.
4. As we were looking for cheetah (which we dipped), we came across a large male leopard walking towards us along the track- great photo opps! We followed him for a while whilst waiting for another group to join us. He was scent marking and eventually laid under a tree where we left him in peace.
5. The tour company's other guide who led the lodge safari (we were camping) found a smaller leopard up a tree. Distant bins views were had and record shots taken.
Sadly we dipped on wild dog and did not see any other large predators such as hyena, although the camp staff had one come through camp as well as a honey badger which I would have liked to have seen.
I'll be posting a much more detailed report in the vacation section along with photos.
Thanks for all your pre-ttrip help as well, it really did help a lot.
Jo
Mammal wise we had most of the usual stuff (no rhinos present in the areas visited though) plus Puku, reedbuck, kudu, chobe bushbuck, dwarf, slender, yellow and banded mongoose, african wild cat, spent time with a pride of lions in Xaxanaka but best of all we had FIVE leopard sightings:
1. Kudu barking gave the game away and one of our group spotted one in thick cover- brief views of the tail then head/body- but very obscured.
2. Poor weather at Savuti meant little was being seen, however I spotted the cat at quite a distance sitting under a bush. Clearer views than 1. but still too far/brief and poor lighting for a photo.
3. Fantastic clear sighting at Xaxanaka on the evening of our arrival! Another vehicle was watching this large male cat on a branch close to the road, he moved along the road to a termite mound where he posed for photos.
4. As we were looking for cheetah (which we dipped), we came across a large male leopard walking towards us along the track- great photo opps! We followed him for a while whilst waiting for another group to join us. He was scent marking and eventually laid under a tree where we left him in peace.
5. The tour company's other guide who led the lodge safari (we were camping) found a smaller leopard up a tree. Distant bins views were had and record shots taken.
Sadly we dipped on wild dog and did not see any other large predators such as hyena, although the camp staff had one come through camp as well as a honey badger which I would have liked to have seen.
I'll be posting a much more detailed report in the vacation section along with photos.
Thanks for all your pre-ttrip help as well, it really did help a lot.
Jo
Dryocopus
Was Eagle before...still am in life!
No not jealous at all!
(Did see Cheetah, Hyena and both Rhino's!)
Remarkably quite a lot of the same birds you mention I saw as well!
Sub-saharan Africa something to do with that!
Be interesting to compare experiences Jo!
Sal
Well-known member
Jo, the trip sounds great and it sounds as though your bird list is going to be amazing - I'm already green with envy over the slaty egret, painted snipe and Meyer's Parrot; look forward to the details and the pics. And all those leopard . . . wow! So pleased it all went well.
kittykat23uk
Well-known member
Thanks both. Must be close to 200 species of bird I would guess. :t: I took around 4 gig's worth of photos! Have been just browsing through some of them now. Trumpeter hornbill, Heuglin's robin and collared palm thrush were good finds around livingstone. Sadly didn't manage to find schlaow's turaco, narina trogon nor aftican finfoot.
ATB,
Jo
ATB,
Jo
swiss7
Well-known member
Hi Sal,
Sorry I haven't replied yet.. just got back from a very quick business trip to Europe.
My partner and I were in SA for 5 weeks in Feb/March this year. We headed north into Limpopo from J'burg, and into Punda Maria on the second day after stopping at Nylsvlei. 8 days around Kruger/Blyde C., Wakkerstroom, Mkhuze, St Lucia, Eshowe, Sani Pass, Garden Route, Cape Town, West Coast NP, Tanqua Karoo, Karoo NP, Kimberley, and back to J'burg.
We saw heaps.. 480 species of bird + plenty of mammals. The route meant lots of driving (did 9'800kms), but rewarding in covering alot of the habitats.
Birding highlights included:
Nyslvlei (black herons, dwarf bittern & tons of birds in general)
Northern Kruger (Punda & Parfuri, though dipped on all owls, but 5 spp. of nightjar & double-banded sandgrouse, + big 5).
Wakkerstroom (Blue koorhan, crowned cranes, bald ibis)
Mkhuze (way too hot, but Fig walk was very birdy)
St Lucia (Narina Trogon, Livingstone's Turaco)
Sani Pass (a highlight in itself)
Nature's Valley (White-starred Robin, Knysna Woodpecker, Yellow-breasted Woodland-warbler, though dipped on African Finfoot which was seen throughout the time we were there!!)
Wilderness (Red-chested Flufftail & more)
West Coast (koorhans & francolins & more)
Tanqua Karoo (great spot.. cape penduline tit & a few more specials)
Karoo NP (Kori Bustard, camp ground great for birds)
Kimberley (heaps of new birds at the end, the drive from Karoo NP was a highlight with Sociable Weaver, Pygmy Falcon, Greater Kestrel, Red-headed Finch, etc..)
We did manage to dip on some rather common birds - Giant eagle-owl in Kruger, Terrestrial Bulbul!, African Hawk-harrier.. but also managed to pick up alot of the rarer things such as the flufftail, Namaqua Warbler, Wattled Crane, several Black Harriers, Broad-tailed warbler, Pennant-winged Nightjar, Dickinson's Kestrel, etc..
All in all, a fantastic trip. We only used a guide for Sani Pass, the rest of the time we drove ourselves, stayed in budget accommodation. The South African Bird Sounds CDs were incredibly useful, and we used the three main field guides. The SA Bird Finder, however, is what made a self-guided trip possible, and thats what we used to plan our journey. The best bit was reading about the Orpen area, and it telling us to look for Senegal Lapwing in the field near a turn-off we happened to have pulled up at. So we put up our bins onto the field and lo-and-behold, there was one standing in the shade under a distant tree.
I'm keen next to head up the Tanqua Karoo and continue north into Namibia & Botswana.. one day
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Nice list, but what poor bird has been hit with this horror name?
Yellowthroated Warbler?
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