Bulletin 352 - South Africa 2020 #6 - Old World Flycatchers, corvids, antelope

I was enthralled with my first visit to Africa in November 2018 and so I scheduled another trip with the same guide Casper Badenhorst. As we had done the eastern part of the country from Durban to Kruger NP, we went to the Capetown area and the famous fynbos habitat.

The old world flycatchers are a very large family of small songbirds. Many of them are brightly colored. I saw some on the first trip, but found some new ones on this trip.


The 7" Capped Wheatear (Oenanthe pileata) is a brown-backed bird with distinctive black and white head.

Capped Wheatear

The 8" female Cape Rock Thrush (Monticola rupestris) has a grayish back and head and brick red underparts.

Cape Rock Thrush - female

The  7" Cape Robin-Chat (Crossypha caffra) has a gray back, orange breast and white eye line.

Cape Robin-Chat

The 6" Familiar Chat (Cercomela familiaris) is a dull gray bird with buffy under tail.

Familiar Chat

The 6" Karoo Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas coryphoeus) inhabits the semi-desert scrubland in the western Cape area known as the karoo. He is a gray backed bird with buffy underparts and a white eyebrow.

Karoo Scrub Robin

The last is the 8" Fiscal Flycatcher (Melaeornis silens). He is an attractive bird of dark gray back and white underneath.

Fiscal Flycatcher

Crows, jays and magpies make up the corvidae family. The crows and ravens have to be the largest songbirds, as they are the size of ducks or hawks. There are 2 native crows in South Africa. The all black one is the 20" Cape Crow (Corvus capensis). 

Cape Crow

The third corvid is the 22" White-necked Raven (Corvus albicollis). This bird I had photographed far away on the first trip, but this time we had a pair very close to the car. He has a massive bill with a white tip. And of course the white neck feathers make an easy ID.

White-necked Raven

I photographed 2 antelope species on the trip that I had before, but I was much closer and hence improved pictures this time.

The Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx) is the largest antelope in Southern Africa. They are gray brown with straight horns and a dewlap on the neck. Males are huge weighing up to 1000kg. Their meat is highly prized and thus they have been domesticated both for meat and their milk, which interestingly if properly prepared can be stored for up to 8 months! The main problem with raising eland on a farm is the ability of younger animals to jump over a 10 foot fence. Also the big bulls can just push their way through many fences.

Common Eland

The beautiful Springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) is cinnamon above and pure white on the belly with a chocolate brown stripe between. He has curved horns. Males can weigh up to 120 pounds.

Springbok

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 51 of the 328 species of  old world flycatchers

I have photos of 43 of the 134 species of crows and jays

I have photos of 23 of the 147 species of cattle, sheep, goats

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.

Bulletin 351 - South Africa 2020 #5 - waterfowl, seal

I was enthralled with my first visit to Africa in November 2018 and so I scheduled another trip with the same guide Casper Badenhorst. As we had done the eastern part of the country from Durban to Kruger NP, we went to the Capetown area and the famous fynbos habitat.

There are a number of African endemic ducks and geese. I saw several on the first trip, and found a few more here.

Of course as we have seen, some of them will be named cape something. The 20" Cape Shoveler (Anas smithii) is a mottled gray brown duck with large blue wing patches and the typical large shoveler bill. The male here has a yellow eye. This was a lifer.

Cape Shoveler - male

The 18" Cape Teal (Anas capensis) is a gray mottled duck with a red bill.

Cape Teal

The next 3 species were all life birds for me. The 25" female South African Shelduck (Tadorna cana) is a brown duck with a gray neck and white face - an easy ID. I never saw a male. He would have a totally gray head and neck. The name shelduck is strange, so I investigated and these are a group of a half dozen large ducks that are intermediate between ducks and goose.

South African Shelduck - female

The 20" male Southern Pochard (Netta erythrophthalma) is a very dark duck with a blue bill.

Southern Pochard - male

Lastly is the 20" male Maccoa Duck (Oxyura maccoa). He is similar to the Ruddy Duck in America. The male has the stiff tail, ruddy body and blue bill, but has an all black head.

Maccoa Duck - male

The 2 geese we saw were not lifers. The 30" Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptica) can be found beside any puddle in Africa. What was uncommon about this bird was he was swimming in the ocean! Even the guide was surprised although the guide book says they may be found in 'sheltered bays'.

Egyptian Goose - in ocean

The 40" Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) is a huge black goose with a red bill and is an easy ID. These are my best photos of this species.

Spur-winged Goose

And standing on land one can see his red legs as well.

Spur-winged Goose

The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) also gave me my best photos in that same wetland. Here is nice close up of face to show yellow eye and bicolored bill.

Greater Flamingo

There was also a large flock of African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopics). This is a white bodied ibis with a bare black neck, head and bill is an easy ID. This is also my best photo of the species.

African Sacred Ibis

The only marine mammal I saw on the trip was the Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus). It is a huge seal with males weighing up to 650 pounds. The adults are brown and, like the California Sea lions, they love to sleep on docks in the harbor, so one can walk right up to them.

Cape Fur Seal

The pups are black.

Cape Fur Seal - pup

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 72 of the 165 species of  ducks and geese

I have photos of 3 of the 6 species of flamingos

I have photos of 11 of the 35 species of  ibis and spoonbills

I have photos of 3 of the 16 species of fur seals

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.

Bulletin 350 - South Africa 2020 #4 - Finches, Sunbirds, Hyrax

I was enthralled with my first visit to Africa in November 2018 and so I scheduled another trip with the same guide Casper Badenhorst. As we had done the eastern part of the country from Durban to Kruger NP, we went to the Capetown area and the famous fynbos habitat.

Finches are a large family of small seed eating birds. I found several new ones on the trip as well as a couple of repeats for the previous trip.

The most unusual is the 6" Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs). The male is pinkish below and has a gray cap. The reason it is unusual as it is a European resident and has been introduced into the Capetown area, so it was nice to see and photo for the first time.

Common Chaffinch - male

The most beautiful resident finch on the trip was the 5.5" Brimstone Canary (Crithagra sulphurata). It is bright yellow with olive wings.

Brimstone Canary

The male 4" Black-headed Canary (Serinus alario) is a striking bird with brown back, white underpart and black head and throat.

Black-headed Canary - male

And of course there is a Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis). The male is a 5" bird with gray and yellow head and yellowish body. The female is streaky brown.

Cape Canary - pair

The 5" Forest Canary (Crithagra scotops) is dark streaked green above and yellow below with some streaks. He has a black chin and a pale bill.

Forest Canary - male

The 6" White-throated Canary (Crithagra albogularis) is a pale grey bird with a pure white throat and white eyebrow.

White-throated Canary

Lastly is the 5" Streaky-headed Seedeater (Crithagra gularis) is a darker gray canary with dark cheeks.

Streaky-headed Seedeater

Sunbirds are small curved-billed nectar drinking songbirds with males that are often brightly colored and some have long tail feathers. The 5" male Southern Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus) has narrow red breast band.

Southern Double-collared Sunbird - male

The larger 6" male Greater Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris afer) has a wider breast band and larger bill. These 2 similar birds are best IDed by voice.

Greater Double-collared Sunbird - male

The last of the sunbirds is the beautiful 6" male Orange-breasted Sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea). If you see this bird, he is an easy ID with his purple chest and orange belly.

Orange-breasted Sunbird - male

The most unusual mammal of the trip is the Rock Hyrax or Rock Dassie (Procavia capensis). There are 5 species of these small mammals that resemble marmots. All of them are in Africa and the Middle East. This species is 20-24" in length gray brown with small round ears. They are in their own family Procaviidae. Plants are their food and despite the  resemblance to rabbits or rodents, their nearest relatives are elephants and manatees! This was my first time to see a hyrax.

Rock Hyrax or Rock Dassie

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 56 of the 212 species of  finches.

I have photos of 17 of the 145 species of sunbirds

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.

Bulletin 349 - South Africa 2020 #3 - raptors, tall birds, some mammals

I was enthralled with my first visit to Africa in November 2018 and so I scheduled another trip with the same guide Casper Badenhorst. As we had done the eastern part of the country from Durban to Kruger NP, we went to the Capetown area and the famous fynbos habitat.

There are a great number of raptors in Africa and always a treat to see these powerful birds. The 15" Greater Kestrel (Falco rupicoloides) is a resident in southern Africa. Like all kestrels it has the brown back, streaked breast and vertical black stripe on face

Greater Kestrel

The 23" Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus) has a red chest and black belly. It is a resident bird in South Africa and I had seen it on my previous trip.This was my best photo of this bird.

Jackal Buzzard

The 19" Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a winter migrant in Africa. It is a typical brown hawk with red barred breast. 

Common Buzzard

A great new bird for me was the 21" Pale Chanting Goshawk (Melierax canorus). It is a pearly gray hawk with red bill and long red legs.

Pale Chanting Goshawk

The last raptor of the trip was the 20" Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus). It seems small to be called an eagle, but I did not name it. I only saw it overhead but it was an easy ID with the white body and black and white wings.

Booted Eagle

I had photographed several species of storks on my previous trip, but the 45" White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) was a lifer for me. It is a winter migrant from Europe. It is white with black wings and a red bill.

White Stork

I also found a new crane for the trip. The elegant 45" Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus) is blue gray in color with black streamer tail feathers. It is listed as vulnerable as it has a very restricted range in southern Africa. Many were also poisoned by an insecticide used on wheat fields. It was nice to see, as it is the national bird of South Africa.

Blue Crane

The Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus) is an elegant large mahogany colored antelope with white face and legs.

Bontebok

The Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) is one of 3 or 4 species of zebra. Mammalian nomenclature can be confusing. All zebras have the stripes of course, but notice this one, the stripes do not extend under the belly. Here is the Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) for comparison, and you can see the stripes go under the belly.

Cape Mountain Zebra

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 17 of the 65 species of  falcons

I have photos of 70 of the 254 species of hawks and eagles

I have photos of 8 of the 19 species of storks

I have photos of 7 of the 15 species of cranes

I have photos of 23 of the 147 species of cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.