PC's slightly less lazy year.

[Peter Connan]

75) European Roller

2 & 4 Janaury

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

76) Lilac-breasted Roller

Various

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three of these photos are of the same bird, presumably a youngster. Virtually every time we drove one specific road, it would be waiting for us on the same branch. I have never seen a tamer example, and once it very nearly landed on the vehicle's canvas roof.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

77) Emerald-spotted Wood-dove

9 January

 

 

 

A favorite bushveld call, but I have always really struggled to get nice shots of them. Got lucky this time.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

78) Kurichane Buttonquail

9 January

 

 

 

The only bird of the trip I had never seen before.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

79) Woodland Kingfisher

11 & 12 Janaury

 

Sorry for the overload. I love all Kingfishers, and these gave me some nice opportunities and showed me some interesting behaviour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

80) Grey-headed Kingfisher

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

81) Red-billed Quelea

10 January

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

And the last bird for the trip:

82) Green-winged Pytillia

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gues I'd better get the camera out again...

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[BRACQUENE]

Whilst I was birding in windy and damp conditions in Anderlecht my inbox almost exploded and I was pretty sure from whom that came  Great set of pictures Peter and some of my favorite kingfishers amongst them !

[PeterHG]

Another excellent batch of photos, Peter! A lot of great flight shots and detailed captures of rollers and kingfishers. My first impression of the second coucal photo was that it was gathering nesting material, but on closer inspection it appears to be a large stick insect. Well caught!

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much Peter and Peter ( @BRACQUENEand @PeterHG).

 

I believe this is the second time I have submitted a stick insect in a Big Year thread, the previous being helpfully posed by a Fork-tailed Drongo).

[xelas]

That was one excellent (birding?) trip, Peter! Loads of fantastic shots, specially those In-flight. Who are the other four members of the Little Birdy 5 ?

[Kitsafari]

great shots of all the birds, and already closing in on the 100th. 

 

I think you had two counts for white-crowned helmet-shrike? 

[Peter Connan]

22 hours ago, xelas said:

That was one excellent (birding?) trip, Peter! Loads of fantastic shots, specially those In-flight. Who are the other four members of the Little Birdy 5 ?

The others are not birds Alex.

They are:

Leopard Tortoise

Ant Lion

Rhino Beetle

Elephant Shrew.

@Kitsafari, oh dear. You are indeed correct.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Dave Williams]

On 1/25/2023 at 5:48 PM, Peter Connan said:

33) Wire-tailed Swallow

8 & 10 January

 

 

 

 

S

 

Since the Fox isn't looking I can post as many pictures as I like, right?

 You wrote the rules Peter! 

I think your Alpine Swift is one of these too. It's just not big enough to be an Alpine Swift which has a large wingspan.

 

I put the photo through merlin and it suggested Barn, White-throated or Wire-tailed Swallow which I thought crazy but there again maybe not .

 

I  put the Scrub Robin to the Merlin test and it suggested Red-backed Scrub Robin which it says also has a streaked chest contrary to Fred's suggestion. Not that I would know, if I did I wouldn't be using the merlin app!!

[Dave Williams]

You have an impressive score so far Peter, am I correct in thinking you are aiming for the SA 400 club this year?

[TonyQ]

Racing ahead Peter with so many beautiful birds and beautiful photos 

[Peter Connan]

Thanks Dave

I looked through all the photos of juvenile Wire-tails I could find and it just didn't look right. I will drop the score but let it stand as a possible.

 

As for the Scrub-Robin: I will have a look, but it wouldn't change the score.

 

I have no score in mind, and things are going to be quiet on this thread from now on for the foreseeable future.

The name of the thread says it all. Slightly less lazy than last year, in which the score was 0.

 

Thank you very much @TonyQ.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Zim Girl]

Great set of birds from your trip.  Particularly like the Woodland kingfisher shots in this last batch!

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @Zim Girl

[shazdwn]

Stunning, especially the woodland kingfisher sequence 

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @shazdwn!

[Soukous]

On 1/17/2023 at 3:26 AM, Peter Connan said:

Not going for big numbers or the best quality, just having a bit of fun. The birds here will be the ones I find interesting and those that just beg to be photographed.

 

As far as I am concerned you can post whatever you wish to, especially if you're having fun. It's great to have you back in the game Peter. 

Oh, and I love your Kingfishers

Edited February 9, 2023 by Soukous

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @Soukous

[Galana]

Welcome back @Peter Connan. Lots of goodies for me to catch up. Catching a Kurrichane (or ANY) Button Quail kin the open like has to be very special. All I often see is  a little bird whizz into the air and dive back in the long grass.

On 2/5/2023 at 5:15 PM, Dave Williams said:

I  put the Scrub Robin to the Merlin test and it suggested Red-backed Scrub Robin which it says also has a streaked chest contrary to Fred's suggestion. Not that I would know, if I did I wouldn't be using the merlin app!!

 

On 2/5/2023 at 7:31 PM, Peter Connan said:

As for the Scrub-Robin: I will have a look, but it wouldn't change the score.

It won't change either the score or the species.

"The white-browed scrub robin, also known as the red-backed scrub-robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, .." One cannot beat a good book.