Amongst the many more famous African animals, such as lions, leopards, giraffes, elephants, zebras and dozens of others we often forget to think and talk about the hundreds of different species of birds that inhabit our safari game reserve. In many cases these are at least as interesting (if not more so), and often more endangered than some of the larger mammals that our guests love to see.
Mike, who’s one of our rangers, took some beautiful shots of some birds that he saw last week while out on safari with our guests.
So let’s introduce some of them!
First up, the African Gray Hornbill.
This is a widespread and common bird in much of sub-Saharan Africa and even into Arabia. It is omnivorous, taking insects, fruit and reptiles and is usually seen feeding in trees. Here Mike’s shot!
Next up a beautiful Woodland Kingfisher. This bird is aggressively territorial, attacking intruders including humans. It has a striking display where the wings are spread widely to show white linings. It is seen regularly here, and is in my eyes one of the prettiest birds to be seen on our reserve. I often see them near one of our many lakes.
Now to a relatively rare bird, the stunning Bateleur eagle. It is estimated that only a few tens of thousands are still in the wild. We see them on a daily basis, and for any birder this is a delight. “Bateleur” in French means “Street Performer” which includes tight-rope walking. The name describes the bird’s characteristic habit of rocking its wings from side to side when in flight, so it looks very similar. This is very noticeable when we observe them in flight here too.
In 2009, the Bateleur was placed on the Near-Threatened IUAN Red List Category. Decline of the species is suspected to have been moderately rapid over the past three generations. We are pleased that our reserve is a sanctuary for this incredibly beautiful species!
See for yourselves. Many thanks to Mike for this shot. Well done!
Last up a well known bird, the White Stork. This bird breeds in Europe, and then spends its winter in the Southern hemisphere, and so as such we have them on visit here from November to March typically. Great sighting here from Mike, and absolutely beautiful shot.
