Martial Eagle (Polemaetus bellicocus)

One of those perfect eagles. When you imagine an eagle, this would be the size and form one would imagine. Common in certain areas, rare in others within Southern Africa and some drier regions further north.

On the few occasions we have seen them it is usually in flight, never on the ground or trees, so when we stayed at the Red Sands Lodge, near Kuruman in the Northern Cape province, we took our chance to go and visit a raptor rehab center nearby. We saw a martial for the first time, up close, this one had injuries on wings and most birds are brought to the center by farmers in the region who find them injured.

What is nice, but also difficult for taking photographs, is the netting around the sides to minimize the interaction with humans, so I had to find a spot for my point and shoot to "see" through.

An impressive eagle, up to 86 cm high, and those talons are impressive to say the least, preceded by beautiful feathered legs.

Another feature is the short crest on the dark brown head, making him look even more impressive. It was an honor to see this bird, and my hope is to be able to see them close enough in nature to take pictures, but for now, we are happy to at least have been privileged to see this bird, hopefully hunting the skies again, by now.

Previous birding post:

Ground-Hornbill

Kalahari

We love traveling to various spots in South Africa and one of these trips ended in Red Sands Country Lodge, about 15 km outside the Northern Cape town of Kuruman. The town is in the green Kalahari.

We love the drier regions of South Africa (Karoo, Little Karoo, Namaqualand and Kalahari), because these areas are sparsely humanized and it is a real recharge for the soul.

[caption id="attachment_333" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Red Sands Country Lodge[/caption]

Although we usually barbecue ourselves, we also had a big T-Bone at the restaurant, and in all cases the food seemed just to taste a little better, maybe because we were relaxed and peaceful, I do not know, but it just tasted better. Maybe we were just hungry!

[caption id="attachment_334" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Kalahari[/caption]

Our mission is to do birding, look for animals and just be. We tend to drive with my 99 suzi (Isuzu), to get where we want and then find a spot, drop the back and sit there.

[caption id="attachment_337" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Taking in the scenery and being.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_335" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Another stopping point.[/caption]

The idea for this post is to introduce this Kalahari stop. I will add a link to a page and as time goes by add pictures of birds and animals in the old fashion of our previous posts.

[caption id="attachment_336" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Impalas[/caption]

Here are some more shots of this stop and I hope with them you can get a feeling of "tranquility and peace", as we enjoyed on this trip.

[caption id="attachment_341" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Red Sands - Kalahari[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_340" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Red Sands - Kalahari[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_339" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Red Sands - Kalahari - Sundown[/caption]