The Gem in a Volcano - A Short Photo Report

[ForWildlife]

Black fly-catcher and fork-tailed drongo are notourisly hard to distinguish, with the drongos being usually far more common (and the flycatcher overlooked).

[Peter Connan]

I have only been to Pilanesberg a couple of times, and once as a day visitor. The other time we did camp at Bakgatla.

 

Previously I prefered going to Marakele, but Pilanesberg will see me again!

Edited March 20, 2018 by Peter Connan

[Ritsgaai]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 7:46 PM, xelas said:

Hmm, something is not right. There should be two posts,

 

Hi Ritsgaai,
xelas has posted a comment on a topic, The Gem in a Volcano - A Short Photo Report

xelas said: Great photos again! Yes it can be spotted, on the other side of the pond. Is below photo a crop from the above one?! Beautiful close-ups of the Kingfisher. Also, you might want to recheck the Heron, it looks more like Green-backed Heron to me.

Hi @xelas, yes it is weird.

 

I received your post via email and that contents does not show amongst the replies. I copied the above from the email. Maybe the administrators worked on the website while posting. I also had an unexplainable experience while posting on Sunday.

 

Thank you for your kind comments about the kingfisher shots. It takes a lot of effort with my camera to produce something worthy. As mentioned previously I have a Canon bridge camera and a lot of times when I see the quality on this forum I wonder if I must upgrade 

But on the other hand with me being the only photographer, my poor hubby already suffers enough with me shunting him around to position the car right for me . I must give him credit that he is very patient with me ... most of the times...

 

Fish-eagle - I zoomed in on the 2nd photo. It is not cropped from the 1st.

 

 

[Ritsgaai]

9 hours ago, ForWildlife said:

Black fly-catcher and fork-tailed drongo are notourisly hard to distinguish, with the drongos being usually far more common (and the flycatcher overlooked).

 

Your comment makes me feel much better and I am so happy to tick the Black Fly-catcher on my list!  I will definitely in future be more attentive when I think I spot a Drongo!

Thank you again for this comment and insight.

[xelas]

1 hour ago, Ritsgaai said:

Fish-eagle - I zoomed in on the 2nd photo. It is not cropped from the 1st.

 

Related to hubby/driver, I can relate to his position 100% ! Over the years we can be trained to become great spotters and drivers ...

 

The zoomed-in photo is good, I would not expect it to be that good, using a bridge camera. Yet with good light and steady hand they do produce nice results. However any additional cropping usually deterioate the image quality. 

[RobK]

Great pictures. especially Rhino and Wilddogs..   Is Pburg the only place where impala and springbok coexist ?

[Ritsgaai]

Hi @RobK, thank you for reading and your kind comment.

We see Impala and Springbok quite often in parks. We have a small reserve in the Cradle of Humankind only about15 minutes from home called The Rhino and Lion Park where you find both species. The same with Marekele National Park. 

Springbok and Impala are two of the most successful species to breed in South Africa and especially Springbok is found on many farms throughout the country.