Soukous - My Big year

[Soukous]

Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae

 

 

Pied Oystercatcher - Haematopus longirostris

 

White-faced Heron - Egretta novaehollandiae

 

Australian Shelduck - Tadorna tadornoides

[Soukous]

Back in Africa again, Botswana to be exact

 

Lesser Striped Swallow - Hirundo abyssinica

 

 

Red Billed Hornbill - Tockus erythrorhynchus (try saying that after a couple of glasses of red)

Edited October 10, 2014 by Soukous

[Soukous]

Southern Carmine Bee Eater (Merops rubicoides)

 

 

 

 

African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

African Openbill (Open Billed Stork) (Anastomus lamelligerus)

 

 

Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax)

 

 

 

Blue Waxbill (Uraeginthus angolensis)

 

[Soukous]

More birds from Chobe.

this time from a short boat ride on the river

 

African Jacana - Actophilornis africanus

 

White Breasted Cormorant - Phalacrocorax lucidus

 

African Darter - Anhinga rufu

 

 

Yellow Billed Stork - Mycteria ibis

 

 

Pied Kingfisher - Ceryle rudis

 

 

Wire Tailed Swallow - Hirundo smithii

 

 

Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea

 

 

African Sacred Ibis - Threskiornis aethiopicus

 

African Spoonbill - Platalea alba

 

 

 

Long Toed Lapwing - Vanellus crassirostris

 

 

Black Heron - Egretta ardesiaca

 

Squacco Heron - Ardeola ralloides

 

Open Billed Stork / African Openbill - Anastomus lamelligerus

 

Marabou Stork - Leptoptilos crumeniferus

 

 

Grey Headed Gull - Larus cirrocephalus

 

African Skimmer - Rynchops flavirostris

Edited October 16, 2014 by Soukous

[Peter Connan]

Lovely photos Martin!

[Soukous]

Red Headed Weaver - Anaplectes melanotis

 

 

 

 

And the female Red Headed Weaver, who is not red at all

 

 

Fork Tailed Drongo - Dicrurus adsimilis

 

[Soukous]

More birds from Hwange National Park

 

Kori Bustard showing courting plumage

Ardeotis kori

 

 

 

Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea

 

African Hoopoe - Upupa africana

 

 

Saddle Billed Stork - Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

 

Secretary Bird - Saggitarius serpentarius

 

Southern Pied Babbler - Turdoides bicolor

 

[Soukous]

Giant Eagle Owl / Verreaux's Eagle Owl - Bubo lacteus

 

Lilac Breasted Roller - Coracias caudatus

 

Lappet Faced Vulture - Aegypius tracheliotos

 

 

White Backed Vulture - Gyps africanus

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow Billed Kite - Milvus aegyptius

 

Swallow Tailed Bee Eater - Merops hirundineus

[Soukous]

A selection of birds from our stay at Rhino Safari Camp, Matusadona NP.

If you like birds I cannot recommend this place too highly.

 

Blue Waxbill - Uraeginthus angolensis

 

Dark Capped Bulbul - Pycnonotus tricolor

 

 

 

Goliath heron - Ardea goliath

 

 

Greater Painted Snipe - Rostratula benghalensis

 

 

Helmeted Guinea Fowl - Numida meleagris

Helmeted Guinea Fowl are on eof the most common birds we see on safari, but the colours on these at Matusadona were so vibrant I just had to grab a shot.

 

Southern Carmine Bee Eater - Merops rubicoides

 

African Fish Eagle - Haliaeetus vocifer

 

 

 

Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellus

 

Grey Heron - Ardea cinerea

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saddle Billed Stork - Ephippiorhynchus Senegalensis

 

Kittlitz's Plover - Charadius pecuarius

 

The Kittlitz's Plover lays its eggs on the bare ground. When it senses a threat it will scuff dust over the eggs to cover them and then move some distance away from the eggs and pretend that it has a broken wing.

 

Malachite Kingfisher - Alcedo cristata

 

Red Billed Firefinch - Lagonosticta senegala

 

 

Three Banded Plover - Charadrius tricollaris

 

Yellow Bellied Greenbul - Chlorocichla flaviventris

Edited October 27, 2014 by Soukous

[Peter Connan]

I particularly like the grey heron series Martin!

[Soukous]

I particularly like the grey heron series Martin!

 

Thanks Peter, it was one of the sightings that stayed in my mind and I couldn't wait to get back and see how the photos turned out. It was o good to have nice light.

[Treepol]

Lovely heron sequence as Peter has posted.

 

I also admired the carmine bee-eater and the malachite kingfisher.

[Soukous]

Brown Hooded Kingfisher - Halcyon albiventris

 

Giant Kingfisher - Megaceryle maxima

 

Green Backed Heron - Butorides striata

 

Hamerkop - Scopus umbretta

 

White Fronted Bee Eater - Merops bullockoides

 

White Crowned Lapwing - Vanellus albiceps

 

Black Winged Stilts - Himanoptus himanoptus

[Tdgraves]

given my recent spate of misidentifications, I may be sticking my neck out here @@Soukous, but isn't the heron a squacco, not a green-backed?

[Soukous]

given my recent spate of misidentifications, I may be sticking my neck out here @@Soukous, but isn't the heron a squacco, not a green-backed?

 

You could be right @@Tdgraves - Because of the position I did not identify it with any confidence and can't remember what we named it as at the time - I was too busy juggling paddle and camera, no spare hand for a notebook

[Soukous]

Cape Weaver (Ploceus capensis)

 

 

[Soukous]

Mana Pools brought me another first and that was seeing Crested Guineafowl. (Guttera edouardi)

 

Each morning they would strut out from the forest and come for a drink.

The only problem was that on most occasions they came and went before the sun had hit the ground.

 

 

 

It was the same in the evenings. They would emerge again just on sunset.

 

 

I did see them in the forest itself when we went on a game walk but they were much more elusive then.

[Soukous]

Kanga Pan attracts quite a number of raptors, there is even a resident African Fish Eagle.

Unfortunately though, they don't often come close enough.

 

These images have been cropped to about 20% of the original frame just so the birds are big enough to see.

 

African Goshawk - Accipiter tachiro

 

 

 

Western Banded Snake Eagle -

 

 

 

[Soukous]

Each morning at Kanga Pan, just before sunrise, we would hear the sound of thousands of Cape Turtle Doves descending on the waterhole.

They would swoop in, settle, and then take off again. The sound of so many wings flapping together was actually very loud.

 

 

 

don't ask which bird I was focussing on, I have no idea.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Soukous

[Soukous]

Cattle Egret

Kanga Pan, Mana Pools NP