Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

A fairly common nomad in Southern Africa, this black and white wader is interesting for its long thin curved bill. Another interesting fact about these are that they sometimes swim in deeper water and upend, like a duck, looking for food.   In flight the long legs extend beyond the tail and I was lucky to get a shot of the landing as well. Usually found in wetlands, sometimes at the coast. Feeds on small fish, insects and mollusks by sweeping the bill side to side.

Right-of-way – Flightless Dung Beetles

In the Addo Elephant National Park, it is not just Elephants and other large animals that have right-of-way, when you drive around. The small insects do to, and in specific the "Flightless dung beetle" (Circellium bacchus).   They are now restricted to the Addo National Park, as this is the only area with animals like elephant, rhino and buffalo, still remaining in their natural area. They live by eating fresh dung or rolling it into a ball to bury for later use. The females also make "brood balls", which get buried underground, and they mate, underground, laying 1 egg into the ball. They are definitely some of the most important insects within the Addo National Park, the cleaners. We found one on the tar road, and it seemed it was very particular on the direction it wanted to go, steering the ball over the road.   When you walk or drive in nature, remember to give 'right-of-way' to all creatures you encounter, they are all giants in their role in the ecology of a region.

Crimson-Breasted Shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus)

This bright red-breasted Shrike is endemic to Southwestern Africa, and we were lucky to see it in Marikana reserve. Unfortunately, I could not get the best of pictures, but because I may not get a chance again, here they are, regardless. There is a yellow morph of this, red been replaced by yellow, but it is rare. They love Acacia thickets, which is also where these were taken. The white wing bar is also clearly visible. The red does stand out in the trees, lovely finds for us.

Ashy Tit (Parus cinerascens)

Woodland and forest birds, of which this specie is mostly found in Southwestern Africa. Often in groups, sexes alike.   Only 13 cm high, small bird, but beautiful little bird, very close to another specie, the Southern Grey Tit.

Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata)

You cannot miss the bright yellow bill of this duck, with a black saddle in the middle of the bill. The feather edges as white and gives a nice scaled look to it. Orange feet to finish the picture. We have seen these all over South Africa, in every and any type of freshwater ponds, lagoons and more. Usually feeding near the edge of the water, both sides of the edge. I have taken a few pictures of them, so here goes, enjoy. At a water reservoir, Central South Africa. The following at a river in the Eastern Cape: And finally, today, Boeta and I took a drive, and we found them at a local farm dam.

Lions

A compilation of pictures taken at similar breeding facilities...of Lions. These last 2 are still favorites of mine. I took this with an old video camera a few years back and this is not in enclosures but in a big reserve. First pic shows the male in size and second pictures the KING is laying down watching over his kingdom... Melting into the African environment..

Verreaux’s Eagle (Aquila verreauxii) – 3 stories

This eagle holds a special place in my heart. I grew up with them, visiting a farm for 2 months annually, from before I could remember. They had a huge nest, against a cliff edge, I do not know how many meters high it was, but we climbed the mountain regularly, looking for sheep on top, and could look at them from above as well. Only on one occasion did I see 2 chicks, usually just 1, because the second chick is usually killed by its sibling. One year we walked right into an adult sitting on a rock, and it was a "wow" moment, huge bird, incredibly strong and proud. They reach 95 cm in height.

The second story is about an Eagle we saw at the rehab center in Kuruman. This was an injured bird, hidden behind netting and visibly wild. You can see the unmistakable white "V" on the back of the otherwise black eagle. This bird would stand a chance to be released and hopefully by now has been, and is flying the skies again.

The last story is of another eagle we saw at the rehab center in Addo. This bird had been imprinted, basically did not know it was an eagle to begin with and sadly will not be released. In fact it was so tame, we walked into the cage without it even looking spooked. Sad, but it gave an incredible opportunity to get close. Would give it all up, to see it fly in the skies.

Stunning birds and always special to see them. They occur mainly in mountainous areas from Namibia, South Africa and up the East Coast of Africa.

Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea)

Fairly common quelea, in fact the most abundant of the queleas in Africa, south of the Sahara.

Adult males have distinctive red bill and black face when breeding, while females have yellowish bill in breeding. Behind the black face there are 3 morphological variations with some males being pinkish or yellow, even a version with white face.

I pictured them in the Northern Cape, one early cold-ish morning and on another occasion on the Garden route bathing.

The Northern Cape group/flock.

The group on the Garden route taking a bath.

Busy little birds, up and down, up and down....nervous.

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