Third time lucky? Peter Connan's year.

[Peter Connan]

Thanks @@xelas

 

165) African Olive Pigeon:

 

Geelbekbosduif Columba arquatrix

 

7 May, Kempton Park

[Peter Connan]

166) Green Wood-hoopoe:




Rooibekkakelaar Phoeniculus purpureus

14 May, Kempton Park.

And that, for now, is that. Now I sit and worry about how many birds @Michaelibk sees in the Kgalagadi, how many @@PeterHG still has up his sleeve and when @@xelas starts his Big Year thread...

[xelas]

@@Peter Connan

 

I am sure there will be more from your side, now that you have your beloved D750 back in your hands!

 

Your competitors are @@michael-ibk and @@PeterHG and @@TonyQ , not me (or better, not us, as me and Zvezda will compete as a team). I don't think we could ever reach #100 ... and half of those will be IDed as Joe Doe.

[Tdgraves]

Not worried about me then @@Peter Connan ?

[Peter Connan]

Not worried about me then @@Peter Connan ?

I am, but since i don't know of any immediate travel plans on your part, that worry can be defferred a little bit...

[Tdgraves]

 

Not worried about me then @@Peter Connan ?

I am, but since i don't know of any immediate travel plans on your part, that worry can be defferred a little bit...

Ah, but I haven't finished my Kruger TR yet. And we do have birds in the uk, you know.....

[Peter Connan]

Ok, so now you have me really worried!

 

But I suspect it's not me you nead to beat anyway.

[PeterHG]

Some cracking shots again, @@Peter Connan, and what a great set with the oxpeckers! I must get going again, finishing off the Sri Lanka bunch and add this year's locals, but you're way ahead. I'm off to Spain in two weeks, hoping to get quite a few new ones there for the yearlist, so I'm not out of it yet ! Keep going, though, Peter, I love seeing your contributions. And I will definitely come to South Africa next year to see some of those beauties myself. Flights have been booked already......!

Edited May 20, 2016 by PeterHG

[KaingU Lodge]

Great stuff Peter. I haven't been following all the big years as much as I should as the internet on download speed is painfully slow.....

[TonyQ]

@@Peter Connan

Great shots - I am sure we will see more during the year (well I hope so...)

[offshorebirder]

156) White-headed Vulture:WitkopODP.jpgWitkopaasvoel Trigonoceps occipitalisStrangely enough, the previous one I photographed (on the Primitive Trail) was also standing in the river. Is that something they do @@offshorebirder ?

@@Peter Connan - I expect old world Vultures are fastidious bathers just as new world Vultures are.

 

Many is the time I have come upon bathing Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures. Despite their reputation as filthy brutes, our Vultures over here spend lots of time keeping clean. Once I saw and photographed a Turkey Vulture bathing by fitting herself into my backyard birdbath - she had a brood patch so I presume she was nesting/incubating at the time.

[Peter Connan]

Thanks guys

@@PeterHG, any chance you have some free time here in JHB, maybe we could go to Marievale or Rietvlei?

 

@@offshorebirder, thanks for your input. That males sense, although I have never seen other vultures here bathing. But then, I doubt I spend enough time in the right areas to call myself an expert.

Edited May 22, 2016 by Peter Connan

[PeterHG]

Thanks guys

@@PeterHG, any chance you have some free time here in JHB, maybe we could go to Marievale or Rietvlei?

 

 

That sounds tempting, @@Peter Connan, thanks for the invite! We are flying to Cape Town this time, however, to have a look round the southern parts, which we've never been to yet. After that were planning to go to the Kgalagadi and Namibia. If finances don't allow that we may well drive up to the north-east again, as we've really enjoyed our trips there, both for the birds and the wildlife. If we do I'll let you know for sure!

[michael-ibk]

 

 

Now I sit and worry how many birds @Michaelibk sees in the Kgalagadi

 

Be afraid, Peter, be very afraid! ;-)

 

Lots of great shots here, and congrats on passing 150. Especially love the Giant Kingfisher (still have no photo of that one) and the last Oxpecker one, but really hard to single out shots from all that goodness.

[Peter Connan]

Thank you @@michael-ibk

[Geoff]

@@Peter Connan 166 and counting. Good effort.

[Peter Connan]

Thank you @@Geoff

[Soukous]

Love the Green wood hoopoes @@Peter Connan

 

On a different point, I'm curious.

In Afrikaans you called it a Rooibekrenostervoel

 

doesn't that mean a red billed rhinoceros bird?

[Peter Connan]

Thanks @@Soukous

 

It does indeed mean that, but that's the Red-billed Oxpecker, not the Green Woodhoopoe, which is a Rooibekkakelaar (which is difficult to translate but basically means a red-billed bird that makes a cackling noise).

[Peter Connan]

Erratum: Bird number 37 (post 53) is in fact a Ruff (Philomachus pugnax Kemphaan), not a Wood Sandpiper... Thans @@xelas.

 

This time of the year the photo quality goes down in indirect proportion to the desperation...

 

The following few birds were photographed on the weekend of the 22nd May near Brits.

 

167) White-browed Scrub-Robin:

 

Gestreepte Wipstertjie

Cercotrichas leucophrys

Edited June 8, 2016 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

168) Arrow-marked Babbler:

 

 

Peilvlekkatlagter

Turdoides jardineii

 

[xyz99]

Haven't had time to visit in a while....but I just got to enjoy them now. Wow! Amazing pics...some remind me of our trip to SA, some make me want to go back. Who am I kidding? I just want to go back no matter what

[Peter Connan]

169) Pied Babbler:

 

 

Witkatlagter

Turdoides bicolor

 

[Peter Connan]

170) Chinspot Batis:

 

 

Witliesbontrokkie

Batis molitor

 

[Peter Connan]

171) Yellow-fronted Canary:

 

 

Geeloogkanarie

Serinus mozambicus