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Birds of a feather

The bush is so diverse that often first time safari-goers and seasoned travelers may experience sensory overload. Expectations to look for the larger animals may be high and one might miss out on the other creatures that the bush also has to offer.

This post highlights the astonishing bird life that could be seen on safari or even while walking along the lodge’s pathways.

Raptors

Image by - Stuart Buy 16 LSP

Image by - Johan de la Ray 22 Image by - Johan de la Ray 13 Image by - Johan de la Ray 8 DCG

Vultures

Image by - Johan de la Ray 16

Image by - Cal Butler 23 Image by - Cal Butler 26

Owls

Image by - Stuart Buy 17 Image by - Stuart Buy 3

Image by - Johan de la Ray 23 Image by - Johan de la Ray 18

Image by - Cal Butler 11

African Barred Owlet - Cal Butler 6

Passerines

Rufous naped Lark

Image by - Johan de la Ray 30

Yellow Fronted Canary - Cal Butler

Image by - Cal Butler 17

Dark-capped Bulbul - Cal Butler

Kingfishers

Image by - Stuart Buy 8

Image by - Johan de la Ray 9 Image by - Cal Butler 21

Image by - Cal Butler 16

Brown-hooded Kingfisher - Cal Butler

Malachite Kingfisher - Cal Butler

Bee-eaters

Image by - Johan de la Ray 19 Image by - Johan de la Ray 21

Image by - Cal Butler 15

Water birds

Image by - Stuart Buy 24

Image by - Johan de la Ray 11 Image by - Johan de la Ray 10 Image by - Johan de la Ray 15 Image by - Johan de la Ray 5 Image by - Cal Butler 27 Image by - Johan de la Ray 26 Image by - Johan de la Ray 32

Image by - Cal Butler 12

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Other

Image by - Johan de la Ray 1 Great Spotted Cuckoo Image by - Johan de la Ray 14 Image by - Johan de la Ray 17

Image by - Cal Butler 10

Burchell's Coucal - Cal Butler

Image by - Johan de la Ray 34

 

Grey Go-away Bird - Cal Butler Yellow-billed Hornbill - Cal Butler

Image by - Stuart Buy 23 Image by - Stuart Buy 20 Image by - Stuart Buy 7 IS8A0179 Image by - Johan de la Ray 28

Written by: Cal Butler

A bush full of colour

As the bush reaches the end of the dry season, it can start to look rather drab and dreary. However, under certain conditions there are beautiful colours that can be seen during and after game drive.

During the winter months there is a lot of smoke hanging over the horizon caused by nearby villages burning their fields. This creates a beautiful filter through which sun must rise and set.

Image by - Johan de la Rey Image by - Stuart Buy Image by - Stuart Buy Image by - Cal Butler

 

From time to time we experience an early morning mist. This adds a whole new dimension to the surrounding bush. One might also see numerous amounts of spider webs laden with water droplets.

Image by - Johan de la Rey

Once the sun has set the sky softens with some spectacular pastel colours still present. This light often allows for great silhouette images.

Image by - Johan de la Rey

Image by - Cal Butler Image by - Cal Butler Image by - Johan de la Rey Image by - Cal Butler

Recently we experienced a beautiful full lunar eclipse which resulted in a blood moon which could be seen during dinner time in our outdoor boma area.

Image by - Johan de la Rey

When the skies are clear and the moon has not yet risen, The Milky Way will stretch across the length of the sky.

Image by - Cal Butler

Written by – Cal Butler