PC's slightly less lazy year.

[Peter Connan]

109) Crested Francolin

 

10 August

[Peter Connan]

110) Jameson's Firefinch

 

10 August

[Dave Williams]

I'm so envious you have these options close to home Peter! Some cracking captures too.

Definitely Yellow-throated Longclaw in my book. Nice one!

[xelas]

Congratulations on your lifer, Peter! 

[TonyQ]

Well done with the lifer, and the Mousebird photos are lovely 

[PeterHG]

Congrats on the lifer and the great captures!

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @Dave Williams, @xelas, @TonyQ and @PeterHG

Dave, certainly there are advantages to living here too!

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @Dave Williams, @xelas, @TonyQ and @PeterHG

Dave, certainly there are advantages to living here too!

[Peter Connan]

111) Litle Bee-eater

 

\

10 August

[Peter Connan]

112) Little Sparrowhawk

 

 

10 August

[Peter Connan]

113) Little Egret

 

11 August

 

[Peter Connan]

114) Malachite Kingfisher

 

10 August

 

This is a horrible photo.

But it was taken with an 18-70mm zoom lens, at an inadequate shutter speed of 1/500th. The edge of the door frame and passenger mirror of the vehicle are visiblem in the photo too (i left them there on purpose), giving some indication of just close the little bugger was, and just how tiny it is.

[Peter Connan]

115) Reed Cormorant

 

 

This photo was taken at Rietvlei:

18 September

[Peter Connan]

That's all from the river trip. There was one other birding incident of note. I was wandering around in a very rocky section, looking for a route through when I found a Hamerkop in distress. It had it's leg caught in a piece of fishing line, presumably a trap. Fortunately it was still in pretty good shape and I managed to free it, whereupon it flew away.

The camera's next outing was to Rietvlei, to meet up with @Tdgravesand her husband.

 

116) Bokmakierie

 

18 September

 

I guess in every situation where a lot of people have the same second language there are lots of jokes about incorrect translations.

A very common one around here is about a hunt that went quite badly wrong. the joke is told in English but no Englishman would understand it, because virtually all the words are translated directly from Afrikaans. This bird features in the joke as the "buck-mother-walking-stick bird".

Edited October 22, 2023 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

117) Brown-throated Martin

 

 

18 September

[Peter Connan]

118) Capped Wheatear

 

18 September

[Peter Connan]

119) Pied Crow

 

18 September

[Peter Connan]

120) Crowned Lapwing

 

18 September

[xelas]

Those are fantastic shots of birds in flight. And to even get a Kingfisher flying in the frame is an awesome achievement!

[Peter Connan]

1 hour ago, xelas said:

Those are fantastic shots of birds in flight. And to even get a Kingfisher flying in the frame is an awesome achievement!

Thanks Alex

 

The latest Mirrorless cameras are fantastic bu the old D500 isn't quite dead yet!

 

[TonyQ]

48 minutes ago, Peter Connan said:

Thanks Alex

 

The latest Mirrorless cameras are fantastic bu the old D500 isn't quite dead yet!

 

Especially in the hands of such a talented photographer.

Beautiful photos, and well done with the bird rescue!

 

[PeterHG]

Some great birds in flight shots, indeed! I love you Sparrowhawk photo: you must still be in good shape to get your lens on it so quickly. I’m getting curious about the joke….;)

[xelas]

2 hours ago, Peter Connan said:

The latest Mirrorless cameras are fantastic bu the old D500 isn't quite dead yet!

 

I can vouch for your words! While ML has incredible AF and is a fantastic tool with a miriade of options, the "old" D500 is still having an advantage or two. Coupled with an excellent prime it shines in expert hands, as your photos are showing.

[Galana]

Indeed an excellent and varied collection . I was wowed by the Harrier Hawk and head on Parrot but they came so thick and fast I left it there.

Congratulations on the Lifer.

[Peter Connan]

16 hours ago, PeterHG said:

Some great birds in flight shots, indeed! I love you Sparrowhawk photo: you must still be in good shape to get your lens on it so quickly. I’m getting curious about the joke….;)

Thanks everyone.

 

There are several versions.

The translation starts about half way through.

https://youtu.be/Ks8fx35yCNE?si=64bM4e9gYeQ4tnXl

Edited October 23, 2023 by Peter Connan