Our visit to Giant’s Castle vulture hide was richly rewarded by all our raptor sightings but there was so much more. The raptors are the central attraction at the vulture hide, especially the Bearded and Cape vultures because of their rarity. But there is so much more to see when you are in the hide.

This post is mostly a gallery of images of the non raptors that we saw on and around the feeding terrace in front of the hide while waiting for the raptors to arrive.

“The lesson which life constantly repeats is to ‘look under your feet.’ 
You are always nearer to the divine and the true sources of your power than you think.
The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive.
The great opportunity is where you are.
Do not despise your own place and hour.
Every place is under the stars.
Every place is the center of the world.”
~ John Burroughs

The Cape canaries were regular visitors. This species of canary has a distinct grey nape and pure yellow-mustard coloured face. It is sometimes confused with the Yellow-fronted canary which also has a grey nape but a much bolder face pattern of black, yellow and grey. The latter also has a grey crown.

The male Cape canary has more vivid colouring than the female. This species of seedeater is gregarious and often seen in small noisy flocks.

The two most common bird species we saw in front of the hide was the Red-winged starling and White necked raven. In the sunlight, the Red-winged starling has a beautiful sheen to his dark blue plumage. Both the male and female of this species of starling have the rust red primary wing feathers which are distinctive in flight. This species also has a dark eye unlike the Pale-winged starling which has red-orange eye. The female has similarly coloured back and wing coloured plumage but she has an ash-grey head and upper breast.

When the weather is overcast, the dark blue sheen fades into a dark blue almost black colour but the red primary wing feathers are still distinctive.

White necked ravens were the thugs of the feeding terrace. They arrived in gangs and pushed all other birds off the bones. Like the Red-winged starlings, the White necked ravens are omnivores and come to the feeding terrace to feed on the fat on the bones we put out. This is a large bird and is bigger than a Pied or Black crow. It has a heavy beak with an arched upper mandible and a white tip to both mandibles. It uses its powerful beak to tear fat and flesh off the bones we leave out for the raptors.

“We are not above nature; we are a part of it.” ~ Paul Watson

White necked ravens are wonderful fliers and seem to love playing in the updrafts when the wind picks up. Ravens are part of the Corvid family and are the only passerine (perching) birds with the ability to soar.

White necked Ravens are almost exclusively cliff nesters so tend to prefer mountainous and hilly terrain where nest and roost sites are plentiful. This species is omnivorous and very happy to scavenge when the opportunity arises, so the feeding terrace is a favoured place for these ravens in Giant’s Castle reserve. White necked ravens have surprisingly strong necks and are able to pick up large bones with their beak and fly off down the valley with them, probably to feed in peace.

A Red-eye dove arrived at the feeding terrace not for the fat on the bones but for grass seed. The Red-eye dove looks very similar to the Cape turtle dove in that they both have a black ring on the back of their neck and their plumage, at a quick glance, is similar but the Red-eyed dove is larger and has darker grey upperparts. The Red-eyed dove also has a dark red eye with a thin surround of red skin around the eyes.

A Rock martin in flight catching the updraft next to the feeding terrace. The Rock martin has predominantly brown plumage which is paler toned on its breast and underwing coverts. In flight, it has distinct white windows on its spread tail in flight.

“There is an unreasonable joy to be had from the observation of small birds going about their bright, oblivious business” ~ Grant Hutchison

This Rock martin’s natural breeding habitat is hilly or mountainous terrain with cliffs and steep ridges which is why this species is regularly seen from the hide. Its flight is relatively slow with rapid wing beats interspersed with flat-winged glides.

Also commonly seen in front and around the hide is the Greater striped swallow. This species is constantly hawking small insects in mid flight. The Greater striped swallow prefers more open habitats with hilly or mountainous terrain. It is always great fun trying to capture images of these agile fliers in flight.

The Greater Striped swallow has distinct white patches on its tail feathers. These white patches, or “windows,” are found on the inner webs of the rectrices, except for the innermost two pairs. The tail itself is deeply forked and has elongated outer tail feathers forming streamers.

“Every thread you discover in the local web of life leads beyond your place to life elsewhere.” ~ Scott Sanders

The Lesser striped swallow has heavier and darker underpart striping, a deeper red rump, and a brighter head colour than the larger Greater striped swallow. The Greater striped swallow does not have the rufous ear coverts of its Lesser cousin.

One of the highlights of this trip was seeing a pair of Ground woodpeckers for the first time. This species has been on my wish list for years. Helen and I were driving down the steep section of track that provides access between the elevated ridge that the vulture hide is on with the valley far below that leads to the main road. As we were descending the particularly steep section of the track we suddenly noticed a bird flush from a nesting hole in the side of the road cutting. This bird landed on a large rock further down the steep incline. To my astonishment and delight it was a Ground woodpecker.

“You must have the bird in your heart before you can find it in the bush.” ~ John Burroughs

Woodpeckers are primarily known for their arboreal nesting and foraging. Occasionally, arboreal woodpeckers feed opportunistically on the ground. The Ground woodpecker is the only species of woodpecker that nests on the ground usually in wall of an earthen bank, and it forages terrestrially. Like all woodpeckers, the Ground woodpecker uses its stiff tail feathers for support and its has zygodactyl feet, meaning two toes forward and two backward, for effective gripping.

Once we had descended from the ridge into the valley below we came across a pair of Malachite sunbirds feeding on the nectar of this attractive fluorescence. The Malachite being a large sunbird dominates the smaller sunbirds on the fluorescences.

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” ~ Wendell Berry

Malachite sunbirds prefer higher altitudes but can be found from sea level to mountains and from Ethiopia to Cape Town. The breeding male Malachite sunbird has the vibrant metallic green plumage but the female by contrast has brown upper parts and dull yellow underparts with some indistinct streaking on the breast. The female’s tail feathers are much shorter than the male’s and does not have the long central two tail streamer feathers.

While waiting for a Jackal buzzard to arrive on the feeding terrace, which we had heard in the valley below, along came what initially sounded like a pair of Hadeda ibises. They were flying down the Bushman’s river valley. I had never heard a Southern Bald ibis before so was surprised they sounded, to me, similar to the Hadeda ibis.

This was a special sighting as they are endangered. According to Fannsie Peacock’s Firefinch app, there are only around 7200 of these South African endemics remaining. This species prefers high-altitude grassland between 1200 and 1800 m, favouring short grass and recently burnt areas. It breeds in nearby rocky gorges and cliffs.

The day after our first sighting, we again saw this pair of Ground woodpeckers close to their nest in the earthen embankment where the access track cut through the side of the steep incline. This is the largest species of woodpecker in southern Africa and it can grow to between 22 cm and 30 cm in length. The upper parts are greyish-brown with pale spotting, and the rump is red and more visible in flight. The upper sides of wings and tail are brown barred with white. The underparts are buff, flushed with pink or red.

This pair of Ground woodpeckers seemed to prefer to perch on rocks close to the nest site. The diet of the ground woodpecker consists mainly of ants with their eggs, larvae and pupae. These are extracted from dead wood or between rocks, using its long, sticky tongue. One member of the pair seemed to be a sentry while the other foraged. The sentry was frequently looking up at the sky for threats.

The Speckled pigeons were daily visitors to the feeding terrace in front of the hide. They fly in very quickly so unless you see them coming from a distance, they crest the far edge of the feeding terrace in an instant. This species of pigeon flies in to feed mostly on grass seed on the feeding terrace. Like most pigeons and doves they fight by hitting each other with their wings.

This male Speckled pigeon flew in to try and mate with a female who had landed a few minutes earlier.

The sexes have similarly coloured plumage. Their back and wings are rufous in colour with white speckles. The upper and under parts are a blue-grey as it the head. It has a distinct red patch of bare skin around each eye. The male displays to the female by inflating his crop and puffing out his rufous neck feathers and bobbing his head up and down.

This post showed a small selection of the non raptors we saw from the vulture hide and driving to and from it. Every day was different. The variety of birds was different and usually their behaviour was different. The weather was variable with changing clouds, wind and light. This is a place for a photographer and birder alike to draw endless hours is intrigue and fascination.

“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions, and she has more votes, a longer memory, and a sterner sense of justice than we do.” ~  Wendell Berry

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

Have fun, Mike