Friday, July 30, 2021

Avian friends

 Thought we'd share a few of our feathered friends encountered thus far for my "birder" friends..




Grey Heron


Brown African Snake Eagle   
Francolin
Magpie Shrike
Pied Kingfisher
White chested Bee eater

Brown hooded Kingfisher















Helmeted Guinea fowl


Blacksmith Lapwing
































Egyptian Goose
Egyptian Goose























African Hawk Eagle























African Goshawk

Fork-tailed Drango





















Juvenile Saddlebill storks- still
continuing to occupy their natal nest


Lappet-faced vulture


African Fish Eagle

Grey Heron























When the exceptional becomes commonplace

There are not enough superlatives to describe today. Each morning we each wonder what the day will hold & what we will see, but today was unimaginably great.. 

We set off to try & track Tlangisa (female leopard whose name means "playful one") & her 2 cubs who had been seen adjacent a perimeter of the property near to the anti-poaching sector office. This is a section of the Sabi Sands that we had not yet frequented this trip. 

We found her and her cubs with her stashed impala kill high up in a Marula tree. This was under the unwavering scrutiny of 2 hyenas who were ready to pounce at any minute should any  part of the carcass fall to the ground.

The cubs, one male & one female are about 5 months old, & are just beginning to eat meat.











                 

Beautiful Tlangisa
















                                           Female cub
                                          Male cub

















                          Ever vigilant & hopeful hyenas













We then headed to another section of the reserve with open savanna grasslands. We were extremely fortunate to encounter secretary birds, which Omega informed us had not been seen here in 6 years! They were on Jason's bucket list.- Check in the box!


















The Secretary bird rarely flies , but uses its wings to help it run at considerable speed.. Next we encountered a young male cheetah resting on a termite mound as a vantage point. 













Morning coffee was at a watering hole where we watched elephants, zebra & wildebeest come to drink.












               Very pregnant mare














As we headed back to camp, we came across yet another group of  rhino. (Their collective  noun is a "crash of rhinos:) Our sightings of this animal species have been exceptional.
 "





With today's incredible sightings & the work of our guide Omega & tracker Joel, Exceptional has truly become commonplace.

Breakfast Club

  We started the morning shrouded in fog. A very different look to the landscape with dew condensation glistening on the spider's webs ...