Kit & Herman Year 2

[Galana]

8 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

which further supports your argument for a black-chested. 

It does rather. And having seen the untouched photo too I can well understand the call for Brown S.E. I would have done the same with only that view. Your guide is exonerated as he is with the Chat flycatcher.

Now about that 2nd Raptor with the Red-necked Falcon...... Are you going to count it? EBC or not,  let 's have a good crop.

[Dave Williams]

10 minutes ago, Galana said:

 

Now about that 2nd Raptor with the Red-necked Falcon...... Are you going to count it? EBC or not,  let 's have a good crop.

Pale Chanting Goshawk?

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Dave Williams said:

Pale Chanting Goshawk?

That would be my third choice. PCG is quite a lot bigger than the RNF and has more gangly legs so unless much further away.....

Sadly the bit that would clinch the ID is missing.

[Kitsafari]

@Galana what are your first 2 choices?

 

I do know what it is but I'm out now - waiting to watch the avengers in an hour's time.  😁😅

 

[xelas]

With Emma Peel and John Steed ? Darn my age  ...

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Kitsafari said:

@Galana what are your first 2 choices?

My first call was Lizard buzzard but it's a bit out of range.

2nd is Gabar Goshawk.

Avenger? I am old enough to have owned one and driven it to work.

[Kitsafari]

@Dave Williams was close with his guess but not as close as @Galana whose second guess was right on the money.

 

158/BW42: Gabar Goshawk, CKGR

 

no matter which angle we took I couldn't get a clear shot of the raptor in hiding. we saw the goshawk at another place, but still hidden in the branches and twigs. the goshawk apparently appears in two forms - light and dark, and we saw the light form both times. 

 

 

[marg]

@Kitsafari...I am finally going to try to catch up with your trip report and the birding.  Sorry for being so behind!

[Kitsafari]

159/BW43: Pale ChantingGoshawk, CKGR

 

The default raptor in the central Kalahari desert. It was everywhere we looked - either on the ground with the minions or on the bush/trees looking for prey. The beautiful southern pale chanting goshawk breeds in southern Africa and likes dry open semi-arid areas. 

 

[Kitsafari]

160/BW44: Helmeted Guineafowl,  Khwai Reserve

 

[Kitsafari]

161/BW45: Hamerkop,  Nxai Pans

 

We didnt see many of this odd-looking head bird with the oversized nest. I always recall the first time I had seen this brown bird - in Okavango Delta.  another bird that doesn't really need much introduction as it is widely distribution in Africa south of the Sahara. 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

162/BW46: Black-Crowned Night Heron, Khwai Reserve

 

This is an uncommon resident bird and one has been seen around our neighbourhood but it's a slippery fellow. A popular bird to chase so I was delighted to see a whole tree of them in Khwai early in the morning before they slipped into hiding to roost. Distributed worldwide except the two poles and Australasia. 

 

[Kitsafari]

163/BW47: Goliath Heron, Meno A Kwena/Khwai Reserve

 

Seen from a far distance both times, this giant goliath is the largest living heron in the world. Found in Africa south of Sahara, as well as in parts of southwest and south Asia. 

 

[Kitsafari]

En route to Nxai Pans, we stopped to have a lunch break in front of a rather productive waterhole in the semi-dry river (not sure which river this was). the waterhole was drying up and the birds were hovering around it, probably waiting to scoop up frogs and fish trapped in there. These included greater white and little egrets already in the count. A large water monitor lizard crept up from the waterhole, while an elephant minded its own business at the other end of the river. Quite a lovely lunchtime break as you can imagine. 

 

164/BW48: Grey Heron

 

The Grey heron is widely distributed around the world, with a healthy population in Singapore that's breeding on tall trees in one of the more popular parks. 

 

 

 

165/BW49: Woolly-necked Stork

 

there was a pair of them. while the woolly-necked storks are widely distributed in Africa south of Sahara, it is regarded as a near threatened species in South Africa, found mainly in Limpopo's lowveld and Mpumalanga and the north of Kwazulu-Natal. 

 

 

 

166/BW50: Sacred Ibis

 

Quite a few of them gathered at the waterhole. 

 

 

 

167/BW51: Marabou Stork Nxai Pans/Makgadikgadi Pans 

 

This large bird's name "Marabou" is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "murabit" which means quiet or hermit-like, and that kinda struck me that I've never heard it vocalising before. Its leg and toe bones are hollow, an interesting adaptation to enable this heavy bird to fly. 

I was struck by this particular bird (1st pic) which had a sort of horn on its head and a bright fleshy red patch between its shoulders - not a thing that I have seen. is this particular to older male birds perhaps in breeding periods, I wonder? does anyone know? 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

168/BW52: Squacco Heron, CKGR

 

I am fairly confident this is a squacco heron, a winter visitor to Africa from the breeding gounds in Europe and the Greater Middle East. It is a stocky species with a short neck , short thick bill and buff-brown back. 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

169/BW53: Southern Red-Billed Hornbill, Khwai Reserve

 

The red-billed hornbill was widely seen in Khwai Reserve, with a few of them flying in and out of our campsite in Khwai, generally not shy of humans. They must be familiar with the crumbs left behind by humans! Both males and females look alike although the males are larger and have slightly longer bills with a blackish lower mandible.The southern red-billed has yellow irises with blackish plumage from the ear coverts to the side of the neck.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

170/BW54: Southern Ground Hornbill, Khwai Reserve

 

The large and unmistakable southern Ground Hornbill was in a family of three - two adults and an immature - quite far in the distance and which moved quickly away from our sights when they heard the vehicle. On the IUCN's vulnerable list, IUCN reckons that the species has had a 20% loss in the national range in South Africa in the past 15 years. If this figure is used to project declines into the future, a 74% decline over 94 years is likely. I had seen this species fairly regularly, which is a privilege, but I recall our guide was ecstatic in Timbavati when we saw a family of them.

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

Another waterhole in Khwai which was very productive with some 15 species seen but not all photographable. 

Among them were the three ibis species, including sacred Ibis which is already in the count.

 

 

171/BW55: Hadada Ibis, Khwai Reserve

 

 

 

172/BW56: Glossy Ibis 

This ibis kept well hidden behind the reeds,refusing to come out in to the open. 

 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

173/BW57: African Jacana, Khwai Reserve

 

The floating bird with the big feet. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

174/BW58: Greater Kestrel, CKGR

 

Also known as the white-eyed kestrel, the raptor belongs to the falcon family and is found in southern and east Africa.

 

[PeterHG]

Building up a beautiful Botswana collection!

[Galana]

On 5/21/2019 at 7:25 AM, Kitsafari said:

I was struck by this particular bird (1st pic) which had a sort of horn on its head and a bright fleshy red patch between its shoulders - not a thing that I have seen. is this particular to older male birds perhaps in breeding periods, I wonder? does anyone know? 

 

The red patch could well be a wound left when it swallowed the Grey Heron. Nice try!

[Kitsafari]

179/BW59: Pied Kingfisher, Khwai Reserve/ Enroute to Nxai Pans

 

[Kitsafari]

176/BW60: Yellow-billed Kite, CKGR

 

the species was plentiful along the way to CKGR and in CKGR itself. 

 

 

this is a rather morbid shot, but weirdly, there was a number of donkey kills on the tarred road from Maun to CKGR. the speed limit is, if i recall correctly, 80 or 90 or even higher, and there's a lot of domesticated donkeys grazing along the road. I presume a good number get killed when they cross the road or lie on the road and a speeding vehicle comes along. other than this head, we saw another on top of a tree. I'm just assuming the locals put it up there. 

[Kitsafari]

177/BW61: Crowned Lapwing, CKGR