The Bearded vulture hide in Giant’s Castle National Park is sited on the eastern section of a terrace on the edge of a plateau which falls away into the Bushman’s River valley some 700 metres below. The hide is a perfectly positioned to observe and photograph a variety of birds in their natural environment.

“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” ~ David Attenborough

In this post I show a selection of birds which flew past and around the hide. The main attraction for most of the birds was the bones that we put out on the terrace. The bones were placed to attract raptors but many other birds, mostly insectivores, sought the fat on, and marrow in, the bones.

Several pairs of Greater striped swallows flew around the hide each day. We assumed they were hawking insects attracted by the meat and fat on the bones. Insects must also have been swept up along the ridge by the updraft from the Bushman’s River valley.

The bones were dominated for most of the day by the White-necked ravens and the Red-winged starlings. These two species competed with the larger ravens frequently pushing the starlings off the bones, but the ravens could not protect every bone. Every time the ravens bullied their way onto the bones the starlings would fly up and move to the next closest unoccupied bone.

“Birds chirping around you is a beautiful realisation that life is incredibly good. Let this sound be a gentle break in your routine.” ~ Hiral Nagda

The White-necked ravens ruled the bones when the major raptors were not present. They fed on the meat and fat on the bones during the morning but once the wind strengthened in the afternoons the ravens preferred to folick in the wind and updrafts.

White-necked ravens were very playful in the afternoon winds. They sparred with each other mid air and liked to dive bomb each other. They are wonderfully skilled fliers.

“Don’t just fly – soar!” ~ Kelly Markey

White-necked ravens were surprisingly strong and often flew off with large bones to feed in peace.

For about an hour one morning we were visited by a lone Yellow-billed kite. Kites are also very accomplished fliers who relish the updrafts and strong winds. While Yellow-billed Kites feed mainly on mice and rats, they will eat almost anything they can scavenge.

On occasions this lone Yellow-billed kite flew straight at the hide providing some wonderful photographic opportunities. Its forked tail was doing most of the lateral control. You can differentiate the Yellow-billed from the Black kite as the latter as a black tip to its beak, otherwise they look very similar.

Each day we saw Jackal buzzards fly in to feed on the meat, fat and marrow on the bones. On one occasion we saw this fledged juvenile Jackal buzzard fly by, but it did not land. It was much more skittish than its parents.

The adult Jackal buzzards were quite habituated to the hide and as soon as they knew there was food on the terrace they would fly in. The Jackal buzzard adults always flew to the outermost point of the terrace and had a good look at the activity around the hide. Once satisfied that it was was safe they would fly closer to feed on the meat on the bones.

“I look in wonder at a raptor with wings fully extended. The span always surprises me and slotted wingtips look like fingers playing with the wind.” ~ Mike Haworth

Besides the Bearded vultures, Jackal buzzards were the other main raptor to visit the terrace in front of the hide. There was a pair that visited the hide daily, usually arriving singly. They were not intimidated by all the ravens and often attempted, and succeeded, in flying off with a bone to feed away from all the competition.

By mid-morning the temperatures had risen and the updrafts had developed enabling the Bearded vultures to start their daily “fly-bys”. Some “fly-bys” were very close and other some distance away in the centre of the valley. A mature Bearded vulture has white to rust strained head and neck feathers. This Bearded vulture flying above the Bushman’s river valley had relatively white head feathers signalling that it was not an old adult whose head would have been more oxide stained rust-brown in colour.

“Tame birds sing of freedom. Wild birds fly.” ~ John Lennon

A fledged juvenile Bearded vulture had a good look at the bones on the terrace in front of the hide while flying by. Its black neck and head feathers showed that it was about two to three years old. The colour of the head feathers changes and turns whiter as it matures. Its body plumage also changes progressively from a pattern of black, brown and white blotches to rust-brown and white plumage.

Often the Bearded vultures would fly very close to the ridge and the hide. When doing so they had a good look at what is inside the hide.

Over the six days we were in the vulture hide, a single Cape vulture visited on two occasions. It invariably approached from high up in the Drakensberg mountains. The Cape vulture tucks its neck in when flying to retain longitudinal flight balance much like herons.

It was alway a thrill to see this impressive vulture coming in to land. Their final approach took them to the furthest point of the terrace. This vulture was not intimidated by one or two ravens but was not comfortable with a gang.

On occasions we saw four Bearded vultures flying above the Bushman’s river valley. Each vulture flew singly and they seldom flew in pairs and never in a group.

There was plenty of activity on the terrace around the bones and plenty of “fly-by” activity from the ravens, starlings and raptors. The frequent “fly-bys” gave me many opportunities to practice my “bird in flight” photography. The sun rises from the east which was behind the hide so by 7h30 it had begun to illuminate the terrace. The direction of the light was perfect in the mornings when photographing birds flying past the hide.

“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.” ~  E. O. Wilson

The afternoon light became more problematic at it progressively fell behind the birds so timing and position of the subject became more important. Raptors are larger so shooting needed relatively lower shutters speeds(1/4000sec) but the smaller ravens and starlings required high shutter speeds (1/6400sec and higher) to freeze their wing movement. I tried to keep my shutter speeds as high as possible to try and capture the sudden surprise interactions. The ravens and starlings were active around the hide all the time but the raptors seldom gave any signal they were flying by or flying in so we had to remain alert all the time. On rare occasions we heard a Jackal buzzard calling in the Bushman’s river valley before in approach the terrace.

“Wild animals, like wild places, are invaluable to us precisely because they are not us. They are uncompromisingly different. The paths they follow, the impulses that guide them, are of other orders. The seal’s holding gaze, before it flukes to push another tunnel through the sea, the hare’s run, the hawk’s high gyres : such things are wild. Seeing them, you are made briefly aware of a world at work around and beside our own, a world operating in patterns and purposes that you do not share. These are creatures, you realise that live by voices inaudible to you.”
~ Robert Macfarlane

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Helen and I visited Giant’s Castle Reserve in late January this year. Apart from wonderful scenery and walks, the big attraction in Giant’s Castle Reserve is its Bearded vulture hide. We usually visit the vulture hide in winter when the Bearded vultures are breeding. This time we were interested to see how things change around the vulture hide in mid-summer, in terms of the variety of birds, breeding plumage and behaviour.

The obvious first change was the weather. It was mixed with mist, rain, overcast skies and patches of bright sunshine. At times, it was warm and other times as cold as it had been in winter. The vulture hide has been built on the edge of a terrace on a ridge on the south side of the Bushman’s river valley. In winter, the grass on the terrace is short, dry and yellow/brown which enables cleaner photography, without grass stems in the way. In summer the grass is long, green and verdant which makes photographing small birds tricker.

“Don’t let the weather dictate your photographic mood. Get up early regardless of the weather. The clouds can improve backgrounds. The light before or just after a storm can be unique. That break in the mist or storm clouds can be just long enough to create opportunities you never imagined.” ~ Mike Haworth

On the terrace in front of the vulture’s hide there are many exposed rocks. These rocks provide a clean foreground and the ideal opportunity to photograph small birds such as the Yellow-rumped widow bird and Familiar chat.

The vulture hide is booked for exclusive use each day. The Giant’s Castle staff provided us with a bucket of cut bones each day. We placed these bones strategically with the intention of trying to see the best flying and feeding behaviour. The cut bones have exposed marrow and plenty of meat and fat on them. It is amazing to see how many of the insect eaters, raptors and ravens favour the marrow and fat. The Red-winged starlings and White-necked ravens are particularly fond of the fat and marrow, and greedily feed on the bones. The Familiar chats and Cape Rock thrushes are similarly drawn to the marrow and fat.

The male Cape Rock thrush has a uniform blue-grey plumage on his head and neck. His underparts are a rust-orange and his back is brown. These Rock thrushes are normally seen in pairs and the female has a speckled brown, white and orange colouring on her head and neck. She has a white patch on her throat and her underparts are a rust-orange speckled with buff and dark brown. These Cape Rock thrushes love the marrow and the fat on the bones.

We saw many pairs of Greater striped swallows flying in front of the hide. They seemed to enjoy flying in the updraft which flowed up the ridge from the valley floor and over the terrace. The so-called “greater striped” refers to the size of the swallow not the size of the stripes.

“The hide gives you, the photographer, a chance to get closer to a variety of birds. You will better understand the bird behavior, and there will be many opportunities for capturing images of birds in flight.” ~ Mike Haworth

The two species that dominate the terrace and bones in front of the hide are White-necked ravens and Red-winged starlings. The White-necked ravens bully the smaller birds off the bones and help themselves to whatever they like. These bullies feed mainly in the morning and seem to really enjoying frolicking in the wind and updrafts which strengthen in the afternoon.

Once the bones have been put out in front of the hide you have no control over who gets to feed on them. There seems to be a family of Black-backed jackals that live further along the ridge in a rocky section where I think there must be some caves which provide shelter from some of the colder and wetter weather. One of the sub-adult pups must have seen the ravens and figured out that breakfast must have been served. All the jackals are very wary of the hide and are spooked by any movement or noise in the hide.

There is always great excitement when the raptors arrive. A pair of Jackal buzzards are daily visitors. They normally arrive individually and approach from the far end of the terrace. We have to remain alert all the time because there is usually no warning before they arrive. They suddenly appear over the crest of the terrace without a sound.

“One day your life will flash before your eyes, make sure it’s worth watching.” ~ Gerard Way

As with most birds, they initially fly in to a safe place and assess the situation to see if it is safe to feed. Once they are satisfied that all is well they fly in to feed.

The female Jackal buzzard is larger than the male and has a black neck with a whitish collar, whereas the female has a black neck and no white collar. Both sexes have rufous coloured tail feathers with a black bar at the trailing end. Both sexes have striking black, white and rufous coloured plumage.

We decided to spend a longer time in the hide on this trip. Normally we book the hide for two or three days. This time we booked for six days to see how things changed over a longer period. The longer period takes a lot of pressure out of the expectation of having to see certain raptors and other birds in a limited time period. It also removes concern about the weather and quality of light.

“Expectation has brought me disappointment. Disappointment has brought me wisdom. Acceptance, gratitude and appreciation have brought me joy and fulfilment.” ~  Rasheed Ogunlaru

Activity around the hide is affected by the weather. The large birds seem less affected but the smaller seed eaters, thrushes and chats are less active in cold windy, rainy conditions.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike