PC's 2019: a lazy year

[xelas]

Looks like being a Safaripal is beneficial to your Big Year count, @Peter Connan. Not to mention meeting all those interesting persons.

[Tdgraves]

Now I see the advantage of attempting swallows in flight @Peter Connan ...I even tried on some palm swifts in the Kruger - EBC to follow....

a lovely morning spent, even though not all of the birds played ball!

back in civilisation now, flying home tomorrow 

 

[Peter Connan]

@xelas a couple of my best outings this year have been with Safaripals. As you should know.

 

Thanks @Tdgraves. Some birds I just never see perched.

Travel safely!

[Tdgraves]

Popped into Rietvlei at lunchtime to kill a few hours before our flight - very different in September but bagged a few....

Edited September 14, 2019 by Tdgraves
Typo

[Peter Connan]

Nice @Tdgraves!

 

159) Red-capped Lark

 

31 August, Zibulo

[Peter Connan]

160) Three-banded Plover

 

 

31 August, Zibulo

[Peter Connan]

161) Black-shouldered (now Black-winged) Kite

 

Blouvalk

Elanus caeruleus

 

31 August, Zibulo

[Peter Connan]

Misidentified double deleted

Edited September 18, 2019 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

162) Grey Heron

 

Bloureier

Ardea cinerea

 

31 August, Zibulo

Edited September 18, 2019 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

163) Comb Duck

 

Knobbeleend

Sarkidiornis melanotos

 

 

 

31 August, Zibulo

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

That's the end of the presentable new ones, but I/we did have a couple of other interesting sightings:

 

Two Egyptian Goose having a royal barney:

 

 

 

 

A nice shot of a Mongoose

 

 

Some ripples at sundown

 

 

And a coot on it's nest:

[michael-ibk]

Beautiful as always Peter. Are you sure about the Marsh Harrier? Just in the mobile right now but really does not look like ours, and I've seen dozens of them this weekend. 

[PeterHG]

Excellent photography again, Peter. I agree with @michael-ibk on the harrier. It rather looks like a (steppe? ) buzzard.

[Peter Connan]

Thanks @michael-ibk and @PeterHG.

 

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of it, but it had a grey panel on the outside of the wing, which my book says is indicative?

[lmSA84]

As always such awesome photography! Love the coot nest!

[michael-ibk]

Male MHs have pale, grey (almost whitish) flight feathers, yes. But like I said, this really does not look like a Harrier to me but rather a Buzzard. Two pictures for a comparison:

 

 

 

I can´t seem to find a juvenile right now in my files but they shouldn´t be in your area end of August anyway.

[TonyQ]

Lovely additions Peter, and some interesting extras!

[Dave Williams]

Nice shots Peter.... but I'm another for the Buzzard vote I'm afraid!

[Kitsafari]

beautiful additions and beautiful shots of the ripples and the coot's nest. 

 

[Peter Connan]

Thanks everyone.

 

OK, Western Marsh is deleted from the count.

[Galana]

Some excellent additions. JUst catching up so never even saw the Marsh Harrier. I think the Mongoose is Yellow Mongoose. One of my favourites.

[Alex Rogers]

Some lovely shots again Peter. The Comb Duck is an interesting one - we have a Musk Duck here with a similar knob bill - bizarre. 

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @Galana and @Alex Rogers. The comb is an interesting adaptation foe sure. Not sure if the Musk Duck's comb also increases in size during breeding season? 

[Alex Rogers]

12 hours ago, Peter Connan said:

Thank you very much @Galana and @Alex Rogers. The comb is an interesting adaptation foe sure. Not sure if the Musk Duck's comb also increases in size during breeding season? 

 

The Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) has its knob (a leathery pouch) on the underside of the bill, not the top, but yes, it does also increase in size during the breeding season. Strange things we do to attract mates, huh? 

[Peter Connan]

On the weekend of the 21st September we went to a park which I had never even heard of before. Called Botsalano, it is situated almost on the border with Botswana, a little bit north of the town of Mafikeng. The website claims that the area is Kalahari Sandveld, but whoever wrote that has never been there, as it's a;; rock and hard earth, although at least the colour is right and it is nominally just on the edge of the Kalahari, so some of the Kalahari birds are found here.

 

The true purpose of this park is a breeding centre for other parks, and there is little accommodation. Some (by SA standards) rough-and-ready "bush camps" and a permanent-tent camp.

 

For some reason my photos all suck though, so the following few birds are not all that sharp. I really struggled to get close to anything (there are no predators, but walking is not allowed and the birds are very skittish), and I used my teleconverter, which I should probably just toss. Hardly ever get any sharp photos with it. I think an effective focal length of around 1000mm is just too long for atmospheric conditions here.

 

Anyway, here we go:

164) Secretary Bird

 

Sekretarisvoel

Sagittarius serpentarius

 

23 September, Botsalano