I have just caught myself mainly talking about the “famous” African animals in all my recent blog posts. The truth is, though, that I take less interest in certain particular animals, but much more in the entire eco-system, and also the truly rare animals that we are lucky to host on our reserve.
We have, for instance, about 400 species of birds on our reserve alone, which is a truly staggering birdlife variety and diversity. Some of the birds that call our reserve their home are truly rare, snd some are in high danger of extinction. Many others are quite “common”, but all the prettier. So I urge all our future guests to arrive here with an open mind, and to enjoy the diversity here, and to be surprised by the many animals, small and large, beautiful and also “ugly”, most of which you probably never heard about. And that is what traveling is all about: learning new things, and not just having confirmed what one knew already before going. And for that this is a perfect place.
So let me introduce 3 species of birds we saw yesterday, to illustrate my point:
The Southern Ground HornBill
This is a highly endangered species! It only breeds every few years, and only one egg (or chick) makes it. Couples stay together for life, and a chick has to stay with them until a next chick has been reared after them, so that it can learn how to raise a chick itself later. This is a bird that has a VERY complex life, and this explains why it struggles in a world of habitat that’s getting ever rarer. Well, the good news is, on our reserve their rearing is successful, and their numbers are on the up. But still, a sighting is cause for massive celebration. This is also a fairly large bird, and it is very unusually looking. See for yourselves! Many thanks to Uyai for this quick shot. Well done.
European Roller
This is a migrant bird, traveling from Northern Africa and Europe all the way down to Southern Africa for the winter, and then returning for the summer season in the Nortern hemisphere. It is not threatened yet, but the numbers have declined in Europe quite significantly, and in some European countries, such as rogue Russia, they have almost disappeared, due to hunting and habitat destruction.
I find it one of the most strikingly beautiful birds on our reserve. The colors of its feathers are just impossible to mistake.
Marabou Stork
This is one of the “Ugly 7”, it is also called the “Untertaker Bird”. Well, look at it, and it is obvious why. But here is the real kicker: it is a massive bird! It is widely accepted to be the bird with the widest wingspan in the world, it can reach over 4m! it is believed to have a wider wingspan than the Andean Condor. So this is a bird worth seeing, be it for this record alone. It is not a threatened bird, and quite common across Africa. It does particularly well on this estate, due to the many foraging spots in the plains, where it fiests on frogs and toads. Nice.
So these are 3 bird species that we saw yesterday, But for fanatic birders there are another 397 species here, so book your stay here, and come and see as many as possible.
