PeterHG's fifth attempt

[TonyQ]

Superb photos - I love the Gabar Goshawk

[PeterHG]

This one had me baffled for some moments. At first I thought it might be a Booted Eagle, but the longish tail and whole appearance made me decide on a light phase Wahlberg's Eagle. So far I'd only ever seen the dark variety. It's already in the count, but it would be interesting to show it anyway.

 

[PeterHG]

161 (SA 149) Peregrine. Kruger, February. Distant, so a heavy crop, but the only one we saw.

 

[PeterHG]

162 (SA 150) Blue Waxbill. Kruger, February

 

[PeterHG]

163 (SA 151) Natal Spurfowl. Kruger, February.

 

[PeterHG]

164 (SA 152). Temminck's Courser. Kruger, February. Only seen in the Mopani area, but it is easily overlooked. A lifer for me.

 

[PeterHG]

165 (SA 153). Verreaux's Eagle Owl. Kruger, February. Always exciting to find this giant owl with the pink eyelids.

This is the juvenile.

 

And this the adult

Edited April 19, 2020 by PeterHG

[PeterHG]

166 (SA 154) Southern Carmine Bee-eater. Kruger, February. We saw more than I'd anticipated, considering I'd  only seen it once in the Kruger park before. That is the advantage of being here in February, I suppose. One of my favourite species I must say.

 

 

[PeterHG]

167 (SA 155). Black-backed Puffback. Kruger, February.

 

[PeterHG]

168 (SA 156). Saddle-billed Stork. Kruger, February. Sadly enough the population of this spectacularly coloured stork is decreasing, but we were still lucky enough to see it on several occasions.

The one with the dark eyes and little yellow wattle is the male. The female has yellow eyes.

 

And a close-up of the female

[PeterHG]

169 (SA 157). Pied Kingfisher. Kruger, February. Widely distributed all across Africa and Asia. This is the male, with the double band.

 

 

The typical hunting mode:

 

After a succesful dive

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by PeterHG

[TonyQ]

Superb photos @PeterHG

The Carmine Bee-eaters in particular are stunning!

[xelas]

42 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

169 (SA 175). Pied Kingfisher.

 

Sorry, Peter, as much as your photo of Pied Kingfisher is superb, it does not count extra points ... go back to SA 157 !

[Peter Connan]

Fantastic photos! 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Peter Connan

[michael-ibk]

Love the Carmines and the Saddle-Billed!

[Tdgraves]

Well done on the peregrine - never seen one there!

[Galana]

Well done. some lovely photos as usual.

I share your pain on the "Booted Eagle". I went through three books before I was convinced it was 'just' a Wahlbergs. In the end the primaries  were the deciding factor.

[Soukous]

On 4/19/2020 at 1:32 PM, PeterHG said:

At first I thought it might be a Booted Eagle, but the longish tail and whole appearance made me decide on a light phase Wahlberg's Eagle.

 

A different tail shape and I would have agreed with Booted Eagle, but that longish tail, straight not fanned, suggests Wahlberg's 

[PeterHG]

Thank you, @TonyQ, @xelas, @Peter Connan, @michael-ibk, @Tdgraves, @Galana, @Soukous.

 

170 (SA 158). African Fish Eagle. Kruger, February. No visit to South Africa can be complete without a sighting of this magnificent bird.

 

[PeterHG]

171 (SA 159). Kittlitz's Plover. Kruger, February. Seen only once, at the Grootvlei Dam.

 

[PeterHG]

172 (SA 160). Lesser Striped Swallow. Kruger, February

 

 

[PeterHG]

173 (SA 161) Striated Heron. Kruger, February

 

[PeterHG]

174 (SA 162) Greenshank. Kruger, February.

 

[PeterHG]

175 (SA 163) African Green Pigeon. Kruger, February. 

 

[PeterHG]

176 (SA 164). Emerald-spotted Wood Dove. Kruger, February. We only saw it a few times and, although I am always ready to add a dove to my collection () I did not get a better opportunity