I am in awe of birders and twitchers. There I have said it.
These are people, from all walks of life, who share one thing in common. They are able to sit for hours patiently waiting for a particular species to make even a brief but recordable, appearance. I have no patience for that.
Did you know?
And to take that to the nth degree, there was a photographer, Alan McFadyn, who took 4200 hours and 72000 images to finally get the perfect picture of a Kingfisher that he wanted. Yes, it was an award winning shot that was seen all around the word but it cost him his marriage and perhaps a whole lot more.
Alan McFadyen told The Herald Scotland. “I would often go and take 600 pictures in a session, and not a single one of them be any good. However, looking back on the thousands and thousands of photos I have taken to get this one image, it makes me realize just how much work I have done to get it.”
By contrast it took me only a moment to locate and start taking photos of this female Spotted Eagle Owl on her nest, hidden from view, situated not in a tree but in a river bank.
It took me a while to actually find her through my viewfinder, but once having seen her, it was easy to keep focus on her movements.
Can you see the chick? I was so intent of watching the female, that I had to have the chick pointed out to me.
In fact, I was so focused on the parent that I did not spot the chick until I returned to the lodge and checked my images on my laptop.
Mom seems to have had enough…and decided that a mock attack was the best form of defense.
She swooped out of the nest, but not quite in our general direction. But we did take it as a sign that she wanted us to leave and so we did.
She took off to distract us from the nest.
In order not to disturb her too much, we only spent a limited time with her.
Burchell’s Starling. not your common or garden Cape Glossy Starling that used to be seen as a pest when I was growing up in the Eastern Cape. Back then, they were in competition with the Common Minors for the least liked bird to have in your garden. How wrong we were in retrospect.
A Sabota Lark keeping an eye open for competition…or females.
Yellow-throated Longclaw. A first for me! For regular twitchers, this might not be an extraordinary find, but as a novice birder, it ticked a box for me.
Grey Heron, motionless on the side on a dam, hoping to catch a fish (or two) before being spotted.
White-Fronted Bee-eater with an insect. Could this be classified as a kill sighting?
The iconic African Fish Eagle. After the roar of a lion, the whoop of a hyena and the yipping call of a jackal, the call of this bird has to be the most recognizable call of South African bush.
Saddle Billed Stork…dance like no one is watching.
A juvenile Verreaux’s Eagle Owl…an unusual, but not rare sighting. But one that did get me excited as it was yet another first for me.
iDube in isiZulu means Zebra, hence this image finding its way into a post about birds. If you want to find out more about their current specials and offers, click on the logo above to visit their website
All images, unless otherwise stated, are the copyright property of
and may not be used without permission.
