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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 4, 2011 11:24:27 GMT
These aren't in my garden (unfortunately) altho these species do visit they are too quick for me to photograph...
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Post by Kimby on Oct 11, 2011 3:39:08 GMT
Young warblers were swarming around the lake cottage for a few days around the equinox.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 11, 2011 3:40:15 GMT
I woke up the morning of the Autumn Equinox to the sound of hundreds of webbed feet pitter-pattering across the lake. When it got light enough, I took this photo. There was raft after raft of coots, steaming down the lake. I stopped counting at 600! They began dying off over the next few weeks, from eating parasite infested snails. This one looks like he's sleeping but is dead as a doornail.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 11, 2011 3:56:08 GMT
Your house at the lake is really paying back all the work y'all put into it! Exquisite pictures, Kimby.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 19, 2011 20:40:38 GMT
This immature bald eagle was sitting outside the window when we woke up. Don't know if he roosted here all night, or was just warming up in the morning sunlight. My parents were sleeping in the bedroom 15 feet away so we just had to wake them up to see it.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 20, 2011 0:41:01 GMT
Wow -- exciting! So glad you got a picture, too.
The mist rising off the water in the background of the 1st picture is lovely.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 20, 2011 6:43:42 GMT
What a shot Kimby! Definitely worth waking up for ;D All your photos of that wonderful lake are just lovely. The pink hue behind the mountains etched in black -wow!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2011 11:27:31 GMT
WOW Kimby!!!! Just incredible!!!
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Post by Kimby on Nov 21, 2011 1:47:30 GMT
Thanks. It ain't the photographer, it's the subject matter that's earning me all these kudos.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 21, 2011 14:26:32 GMT
This recent trip to Kruger Park with friends did not wow us with wildlife - and birds in particular. The stiffling heat ( around 36.5C most days and higher) led the animals to hide away in the shade of the dense bush. However, we did manage a few photos I think may be of interest. First up is the striking Jacobin Cuckoo: Giant Golliath Heron: A number of Whitefaced Ducks: Brown-headed Parrot: Lilica-breasted Roller:(Although his colours seem more tangerine here). The secretive Black-headed Oriole: Last but definitely not least, the mighty Bateleur: This bird is known as the 'acrobat of the skies' because his short stumpy tail allows him to engage in incredible manouvres whilst tracking his prey. He is also usually the first bird at a kill - sitting and waiting for the vultures to arrive. They need him to rip the tough animal skin open so they can tear at the flesh. In flight right above us:
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 21, 2011 15:53:20 GMT
What a treat, Tod -- you certainly wowed me!
Bird pictures are hard -- you're generally having to hold the camera pointing up, there's glary sky or reflective water behind the bird, the little devils won't hold still, etc. But your pictures are always so natural and capture the birds so well.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 21, 2011 16:00:17 GMT
Thank you very much Bixa - it's great when someone really understands the difficulty of getting the perfect ( or maybe not..) shot! The bateleur in the tree was sitting above a dead buck - no signs of an attack by another animal. Within half an hour vultures circled and came to roost in the same tree. Unfortunately we thought the feast would begin a bit later but when we got back in about an hour....no buck, no vultures, everyone had left the building!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 21, 2011 17:17:46 GMT
Wow -- nature is efficient!
I wonder why the bateleur waits for the vultures before he rips into the kill. Maybe since he's solitary & they're not, they are protection for him?
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Post by Kimby on Nov 21, 2011 21:01:18 GMT
A few? That's a LOT of good bird pictures!
Love those african birds, especially the lilac breasted roller. I practically swooned when I saw my first one, with the stunning turquoise against the pinky-purple breast. And they're good-sized and fly acrobatically too, and perch on prominent bare branches where they are easy to watch.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 22, 2011 16:57:29 GMT
You're too kind Kimby! To us those photos represent so little compared to the 500 recorded species flying around. Of those 220 will most likely be encountered regularly. That green parrot looking at the lens suspiciously was a buggar to snap. Flitting from one tree to the next but luckily for us it was in the grounds of the camp so could be followed on foot. All the others were taken from the confines of the vehicle. Bixa, I am not sure about that. My book only mentions that the bateleur rips open the tough hide before the vultures tuck in. They all sat together in that tree ignoring oneanother but were right above a dead buck. I could kick myself for not hanging around a bit longer to see exactly what happened but boy was it hot that day!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 22, 2011 22:31:56 GMT
The idea of you keeling over in the heat & having a bateleur get up close & personal with you is scary!
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Post by tod2 on Nov 27, 2011 13:37:47 GMT
Bee-Eaters and their 'dugout' nests: Quite a striking colourful little bird:
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 27, 2011 17:33:58 GMT
So pretty and different. Do they catch bees on the wing, or go for the hives? Those formidable curved beaks must have been evolved for digging.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2011 17:39:36 GMT
It's really odd how birds can seem so similar and yet dwell in such completely different places... from airy nests to mud holes!
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Post by Kimby on Nov 29, 2011 2:37:49 GMT
Wow, if the bee-eaters hadn't been peeking out of those holes, I'd swear they were bank swallow nests.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 29, 2011 16:24:59 GMT
Looking up some informarion on Bee-eaters my Bird book says they are aerial feeding birds catching flying insects ( never mentions bees), while twisting and turning in graceful aerial manoeuvres or by hawking them from a perch in short aerial sallies,, usually retuning to the same perch. The birds in my photo are Bohm's Bee-Eaters and are uncommon.
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Post by rikita on Nov 29, 2011 19:08:34 GMT
wow, beautiful pictures tod! i especially like the first one! and the last one!
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Post by Kimby on Nov 30, 2011 19:17:55 GMT
Ibises and a wood stork hanging out in the 'hood'
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2011 19:20:03 GMT
... until a 'gater gets 'em!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 1, 2011 2:39:35 GMT
Oh, NICE picture Kimby!
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Post by tod2 on Dec 1, 2011 6:43:19 GMT
Kimby - I notice the Wood Stork has a beak quite different to the stork species here. All of them have sharp pointy beaks with the exception of the Yellowbilled Stork which has that downward turn at the end of the beak like the Wood Stork's. Similar to an Ibis. The beak is also much longer than the other storks. My book says it feeds by wading and probing with the bill partly opened beneath the water while constantly moving.
Our two Woolly-necked storks (still hanging around everyday for a year now) feed by picking up a piece of meat/insect on the tip of the bill and slinging it backwards with the bill open, into its throat.
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Post by Kimby on Dec 1, 2011 17:47:26 GMT
These storks feed by touch, rather than sight like other wading birds, keeping their bills in the water as they walk along and when something touches their bill they strike with lightning fast reflexes. They rely on drought to concentrate fish in remaining pools, and tend to disperse widely and not nest when water is high as it is this season
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 2, 2011 17:59:37 GMT
Amazing facts, Kimby. Nature's way of filling every niche is endlessly fascinating.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 12, 2011 17:59:17 GMT
Still hanging out in my garden are Woolly and his arch rival Kitey! Yes, I'm such a handsome bloke! And getting quite cheeky too - this morning I wandered into Tod's bedroom and pecked at her flatscreen TV! (Her fault for not jumping out of bed to get me some nibbles out the fridge...) Kitey sitting in the tree above my bedroom waiting for me to throw something out for Woolly so HE can get to it faster!(not always..) Making my move.... Coming in for the grab!
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 12, 2011 18:11:58 GMT
this morning I wandered into Tod's bedroom and pecked at her flatscreen TV! Oh my gosh! Bet you jumped up then! Was the tv on? Tod, it's so amazing to have access to these fantastic pictures and the continuing saga of Wooly and Kitey. Thank you!
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