Soukous Big Year 2017

[Soukous]

Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk (Melierax canorus)

Klein karoo, South Africa, Feb 2017

 

not the best photo, sorry.

 

 

[Soukous]

Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)

 

Klein Karoo, South Africa, feb 2017

 

 

 

[Soukous]

Yellow Bishop (Euplectes capensis)

Klein Karoo, South Africa, Feb 2017

 

Non breeding plumage

 

Breeding plumage

Edited March 2, 2017 by Soukous

[Game Warden]

@@Soukous Seems like what is needed is a birding GTG at your place in SA...

 

Matt

[Soukous]

@@Soukous Seems like what is needed is a birding GTG at your place in SA...

 

Matt

 

Sounds like a wonderful idea

[TonyQ]

@@Soukous

The Southern Red Bishop is stunning!

You have made a great start to the year.

I would find it interesting for the whole big year if you could put the number of the sighting. (but don't worry if you don't want to )

[Soukous]

@@Soukous

The Southern Red Bishop is stunning!

You have made a great start to the year.

I would find it interesting for the whole big year if you could put the number of the sighting. (but don't worry if you don't want to )

 

@@TonyQ I was going to be smart and reply that I didn't need to because I only put 1 species per post and each post is numbered. BUT .. I forgot that the replies and comments are also allocated numbers.

Getting the posts opened up so i can edit retrospectively is a bit of a pain so I'll start from next post if that is OK. (by my count the last one I posted was number 23)

Edited March 3, 2017 by Soukous

[Soukous]

#24 Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)

 

Knysna, South Africa, Feb 2017

 

 

Yes, I do feel a bit bad posting this long distance shot but it is identifiable so it counts.

[Soukous]

#25 Southern Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus)

Klein Karoo, South Africa, Feb 2017

 

[Soukous]

#26 Spur Winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis)

Klein Karoo, South Africa, Feb 2017

 

[PeterHG]

Getting off to a good start @@Soukous! Great to see all the familiar species I encounteredso recently. Drove the R62 from Montagu to Oudtshoorn in February. That is a beautiful area, where you SA house is!

Edited March 6, 2017 by PeterHG

[Soukous]

# 27 Cape Wagtail (Motacilla capensis)

 

Storms River, South Africa, Feb 2017

 

 

 

and a juvenile

[Soukous]

#28 White Breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus)

 

Klein Karoo, South Africa, Feb 2017

 

[Soukous]

OK, I know this will sound absurd, but I don't know UK birds nearly as well as I know African ones, so I won't be offended if anyone feels the urge to correct my identifications.

 

# 29 Bar Tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica)

River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk, March 2017

 

 

[Soukous]

#30 Black Tailed Godwit (winter plumage) (Limosa limosa)

River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk, March 2017

 

 

 

[Soukous]

#31 Black Headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)

 

River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk, March 2017

 

[Soukous]

#32 Curlew (Numenius arquata)

 

River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk, March 2017

 

 

 

[Soukous]

#33 Redshank (Tringa totanus)

 

River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk, March 2017

 

[Soukous]

# 34 Turnstone (winter plumage) (Arenaria interpres)

 

River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk, March 2017

 

 

[Soukous]

Well, so far this is not proving to be much a of a Big year for me. A pretty poor showing with just 34 species posted.

After a wonderful trip to the Okavango Delta I have a few more to post but I can already see that I am WAAAY behind many others.

However, it is really good to see that in 2017 this thread has attracted a lot more participants. Well done to those few who nurtured it through the lean years, especially @@Tdgraves and @@Peter Connan .

[Soukous]

I'm a bit of a chump when it comes to bird identification, but my week in the Delta produced a total of 103 species positively identified. I even managed to get photos of about 77 of them, although some are species that I've already posted this year.

 

Arrow Marked Babbler

Bearded Woodpecker

Lesser Masked Weaver

Red Billed Buffalo Weaver

White browed Sparrow Weaver

African Darter

African Jacana

Water Thick Knee

White Breasted Cormorant

Temminck's Courser

Spotted Thick Knee

Magpie Shrike

Common Fiscal (Shrike)

White Crested Helmet Shrike

White Browed Coucal

Coppery Tailed Coucal

Swamp Boubou

Glossy Ibis

Marabou Stork

Open Billed Stork (African Openbill)

Saddle Backed Stork

Yellow Billed Stork

Sacred Ibis

Hadeda Ibis

African Fish Eagle

African Hawk eagle

Bateleur

Tawny Eagle

Wahlberg's Eagle

Gymnogene (African Harrier Hawk)

Secretary Bird

Hooded Vulture

White Backed Vulture

Martial Eagle

Dickinson's Kestrel

Barred Owl

Giant eagle Owl (Verreaux's Owl)

Scops owl

Crested Barbet

Little Bee Eater

White Fronted Bee Eater

Swallow Tailed Bee Eater

Arnot's Chat

African Stone Chat

Reed Cormorant

Crowned lapwing

Three Banded Plover

Wattled Lapwing

Fiery necked Nightjar

Yellow Billed Oxpecker

Collared Pratincole

Red Billed Quelea

Lilac Breasted Roller

Wire Tailed Swallow

Double Banded Sandgrouse

Grey headed Sparrow

Burchell's Starling

Greater Blue Eared Starling

Meves Starling

Grey Turaco (Go Away Bird)

Blue Waxbill

Dark Capped Bulbul

Fork Tailed Drongo

African Green Pigeon

African Hoopoe

Green Wood Hoopoe

Hartlaub's Babbler

Black Collared Barbet

Pied Crow

Cape Turtle Dove

Emerald Spotted Wood Dove

Laughing Dove

Heughlin's Robin

Lesser Striped Swallow

Pied Wagtail

African Wagtail

Grey Hooded Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Malachite Kingfisher

Great Egret

Cattle Egret

Little Egret

Squacco heron

Black Crowned Night heron

Slaty Egret

Grey heron

White Faced Whistling Duck

Egyptian Goose

Spur Winged Goose

Red Billed Teal

Hottentot Teal

African Pygmy Goose

Egyptian Goose

Red Billed Francolin

Swainsons Francolin

Helmeted Guinea Fowl

Grey Hornbill

Southern Ground Hornbill

Yellow Billed Hornbill

Red Billed Hornbill

Bradfield's Hornbill

Wattled Crane

Edited June 1, 2017 by Soukous

[Soukous]

#35 Greater Blue Eared Starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus)

 

This gorgeous bird joined us for our breakfast each morning before we set out on our morning drive.

 

[Soukous]

#36 Crested Barbet (Trachyphonus vaillantii)

 

This was our other regular breakfast companion each morning

 

 

[Peter Connan]

Some very nice birds on that list @@Soukous!

 

And thanks for the compliment. I'd better get cracking on this year, but need to finish off my trip report first!

[Soukous]

#37 Arnott's Chat (male) (Myrmecocichla arnotti)

 

Linyanti Swamp/Marsh, Botswana. May 2017