Mike’s use of our new camera has been extensive, so I suspect he quite loves using it. 😉

Rina just emailed me some of the prettiest shots he took last week of two birds while out on safari with our guests, and some of them are so excitingly beautiful that I immediately wanted to share them with everyone who follows us.

So first up a shot of a white backed vulture. As one may suspect, it is a scavenger, and only feeds on carcasses that it spots from very high up. When breeding they only lay one egg, so they reproduce quite slowly.

They have become fairly rare over recent years, and as a result in 2012 (sad news indeed) it was rated as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List.

We have a fair amount of white backed vultures resident on our reserve, and they are doing well, so from both a touristic and conservationist point of view, this is great news! They may not be the prettiest of all animals, but they are are just as vitally important to the ecosystem as any other animals!

Next up is a Marabou Stork! It forms part of the Stork family (duh!), and it is sometimes also called the “Undertaker bird”. One can see why: cloak-like wings and back, white legs, and sometimes a large white mass of hair-like feathers on its head.

This is a big bird! They can reach up to a height of 150cm, and weigh up to 20 pounds, and wingspans exceeding 3.5 m (!!) have been recorded. It is thought to have the largest wing spread of any birds on earth, rivalling the one of the massive Andean Condor!

The name “Marabou” is thought to derive from the Arabic word “murabit”meaning “quiet”. And indeed these animals are very quiet.

You will see these during your stay at the Vuyani Safari Lodge, as we have a resident colony on our reserve. It is fascinating to see them pick up the odd scraps and frogs and swallow them in one go. Please ask our ranger why they have white legs when on visit at the lodge. They are not naturally white that way! 😉