Mashatu is a private game reserve in the Tuli Block which is in south-eastern Botswana. It has several ecosystems which are unique in Botswana. Along the seasonal rivers the vegetation is relatively thick, and the river is lined with large trees such as Leadwoods, Apple Leafs and Nyala Berries (affectionately called Mashatu trees). In the dry season from May to November much of the wildlife congregates around the remaining pools of water in the seasonal rivers. Away from the rivers there are grasslands, sections of mustard bushes, groves of crotons and large areas of mopanis and of dry acacia thornveld.

It is in the areas of acacia thornveld that we find Mashatu’s crimson jewels, Crimson-breasted shrikes. These shrikes have black upper parts and their tail is black. This shrike’s throat, chest and belly and vent are all a stunning scarlet-crimson red colour. Its beak is black and it has a purplish grey iris. It has a white flash on each wing, which is mainly black. The white flash does not show under the wing only on the upper side of the wing and by the look of it the white flash extends from the primary coverts to one or two primary feathers, similar to the Southern Boubou. Both sexes have the same colouration and are monomorphic.

Similar to the Southern boubou which is found along the rivers in Mashatu, this is a restless insect eater continuously hopping along the ground in search of insects and moving up and down and in and out of acacia thorn trees and semi-arid scrub.

Thankfully, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has rated this shrike as a “least-concern species”. That said, this shrike species is more often heard than seen. While this is not a shy bird but it is constantly moving which makes it relatively difficult to get a decent photograph of it. As is so often the case, persistence will reveal one shrike that will pose beautifully allowing worthwhile images to be captured.

Although it rates as a “least concern” species, it is usually only found in specific dry thornveld areas. In Mashatu, the shrike is non-migratory so we the Crimson-breasted shrikes in similar areas throughout the year.

In my experience, this species of shrike is more often found in pairs. Their breeding season is from October to January and the female lays two to three eggs which are incubated for around 16 days. The eggs vary in colour. All have variable sized brown blotches but the base shell colour varies from cream or light brown to a light blue-green colour. The Black cuckoo is known to be a brood parasite which lays its eggs in the cup-shaped nest of the Crimson-breasted shrike.

I have been visiting Mashatu regularly for 12 years and only in late 2022 did I see a yellow-morph Crimson-breasted shrike. This is only the second time I have seen one, the first occasion was at White River country club in Mpumalanga. The usual scarlet crimson red throat, chest and belly plumage is a vivid yellow in the yellow morph. In all other respects, the yellow morph behaves in the same way as the normal Crimson-breasted shrike. It was interesting to note that the Scarlet-crimson and yellow morph shrikes do not mix. It is well known that plumage colouration is important for birds as it helps them a variety of ways such as camouflage, mate selection, social signalling and many other physiological and behavioural processes.

There are times when you can be misled by the colours of the plumage and often this is just because the bird is moulting. On more rare occasions you come across and bird with a genetic mutation which interferes with its normal pigment. These mutations can be leucism (reduced melanin), melanism (excess of dark pigmentation), xanthochroism (excess of yellow and orange instead of the red pigment) or erythrism (more than normal red pigment). The yellow morph Crimson-breasted shrike probably has xanthochroism which is a relatively rare condition but also occurs in the Black collared barbet where the red coloured plumage on the head and throat is replaced by yellow. I have yet to see this colour morph on a Black-collared barbet.

The Crimson-breasted shrike forages on the ground and in shrubs and small acacia trees mainly for insects such as ants, beetles, caterpillars and small fruits.

Once you have heard the call of a Crimson-breasted shrike you will not forget it as it is so distinctive. The voice is a loud, penetrating bell-like, flute-like, zipping or tearing sound ‘kirik-dzui-kirik’ with several other snarling or clicking notes. (Source: https://dibird.com/species/crimson-breasted-shrike/).

Seeing and watching this yellow morph Crimson-breasted shrike on three occasions and having enough time to watch its behaviour was very special. Other than it was alone, this shrike behaved the same way was as the normal Crimson-breasted shrike.

Whether the bird is just moulting or is a colour morph it is still crucial to look at the General Impression of Size and Shape (GISS) of the bird when trying to identify it. The shape posture, wing type, flying style, preferred habitat and habits are all factors in the identification, even if the colour is not the same as in the reference bird book.

The birdlife in Mashatu is prolific and varied. The types of birds you are likely to see is governed by the seasons. For instance, in the southern hemisphere most of the inter-african and Palearctic migrants only arrive around September. Mashatu’s crimson jewel is resident and can be seen all year round.

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

Have fun, Mike

On several occasions, long-standing friends, Bill and Judy Pierce, invited Helen and I for a weekend at their syndicated bush cottage in Eagle’s Rock estate. This is a private wildlife estate located about 15 kilometres north of Witbank in Mpumalanga, a province in South Africa.

“Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” ~ Athenaeus

The Eagle’s Rock wildlife estate is located in the flat farming area outside Witbank which is rapidly developing into an opencast coal mining area. This wildlife estate was unique because its eastern and northern border was the Olifant’s river which flows northwards from the Witbank dam to the Loskop dam and onto join the Letaba river in Kruger National Park.

The Olifants river has cut a steep canyon through the red sandstone in the area, an impressive feature which you would not know existed by just looking at the flat farming and mining surrounds. Eagle’s Rock estate has a unique geological character which determines the diverse flora, fauna and birdlife found on it. The red sandstone in the canyon is highly weathered and has developed steep cliffs in sections along the river.

“The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.” ~ Mark Twain

The steep cliffs on sections of the canyon used to be home to White-backed vultures and are now home to baboons, dassies, Black eagles, and Peregrine and Lanner falcons.

One of my favourite things to do here was to get up early when everyone was still asleep, after an evening of fun and laughter, and drive around the estate as the sun was rising to watch all the diurnal wildlife getting started. It is not only the wildlife that is entrancing but the insects and flora too. First thing in the morning, this Common Dotted Border was sipping moisture from the wet soil.

One of the sand roads on the estate follows a valley on the northern side of the estate which has abundant flora and fauna. There are two dams on the river course, and I have often seen kudu and klipspringers on my wanderings. There are Cocqui francolin and Natal spurfowl and many species of seed eating birds in this river course.

Around the dams we have seen Marsh owls, several species of duck and of course in the evenings the frog orchestra warms up for its nightly symphony.

”A river doesn’t just carry water, it carries life.” ~ Amit Kalantri

This Eupatorium was just one of the many flowers blooming along the sand track adjacent to the stream trickling down the valley.

You need to be wide awake when photographing Black eagles from the sandstone cliff edge. It is very exciting when these huge eagles fly past. Being caught up in all the excitement it would be very easy to take a step in the wrong direction and free fall about 300 metres to the bottom of the gorge. Even with that risk it was still a wonderful opportunity to photograph Black eagles in their natural habitat.

“Rivers are places that renew our spirit, connect us with our past, and link us directly with the flow and rhythm of the natural world.” ~ Ted Turner

While waiting for the Black eagles to appear there are always the Speckled pigeons which inhabit the cliffs. These pigeons together with numerous Little swifts are constantly flying past . On occasion, I have seen Fish eagles and even a Martial eagle fly along the river course. I have spent many happy hours musing over the beauty and majesty of this place and what a privilege it is to have your own private Black eagle viewing spot.

You need to remain alert as the Black eagles appear quickly from behind the ridge. They make no sound so you only have a visual cue. They can either come from high after riding a thermal or from down in the valley using the updraft to lift them up.

The pair of Black eagles usually fly together and use the updraft from the canyon to fly along the canyon. This gives a photographer many wonderful opportunities to get relatively close shots of these magnificent eagles gliding past.

From the eagle look-out point looking east up the Olifants river you can see the Presidentsrus resort which is mostly hidden by the cliff at the bend in the river. The Black eagles often sit on the red sandstone rocks. From this vantage point you get an almost 360 degree view of their hunting area. This vantage point also gives them close access to the nest which is about three hundred metres along the valley.

Once the sun has risen and it has warmed up enough for thermals to start developing, I usually drive to an eastern section of the estate where there is a resident pair of Black eagles which have produced offspring almost every year. There is a three hundred metre walk through the rocks to get to the edge of the sandstone canyon. From the main vantage point, you can see up and down the canyon. From this point you can also see the nest that the Black eagles use to raise a chick each year.

The male Black eagle is smaller than the female. The adult Black or Verreaux’s eagle is mostly jet-black in colour. The eye ring and cere are yellow, and the beak is horn grey with a black tip. When these magnificent eagles are flying and when seen from above the white on the back, rump and upper-tail coverts and part of the scapulars form a distinctive V-shaped patch.

There are plenty of dassies on the sandstone rocks which are a favourite part of the Black eagle’s diet. Dassies make up around 90% of this eagle’s diet.

It is a real thrill to watch these huge Black eagle’s fly past. During the breeding season which is in late winter the eagles are very busy preparing and repairing their huge stick nest structure sitting precariously on a cliff ledge.

These Black eagles are inquisitive and often fly above “our” lookout point just to check up on what we are doing as the lookout point is about 50 metres above and 50 metres away from the nest.

The weather in the late afternoons in summer can be quite colourful and dramatic. This was the view from the cottage patio looking north onto the gorge as a storm was building.

“There is something massively energising about the gathering storm. The gathering builds expectations of wild skies, where flashes of forked lightning were followed by booming thunder claps. The sky darkens, there is wind in your face and you can smell the rain coming.” ~ Mike Haworth

The last weekend we spent will Bill and Judy at Eagle’s Rock estate, a thunderstorm developed and with the lightning came the thunder. The view from the patio gave us the sunset to the west and the thunderstorm to the east which was both beautiful and dramatic.

As the storm moved west and the sun set the sky darkened and we got to see nature’s light show with sundowner in hand. It is very humbling to watch mother nature display like this.

“The thunder speaks, but the lightning strikes.” ~ Zulu proverb

The last time we visited Eagle’s Rock estate was in the March of 2020 just before the lockdown for the Covid-19. Bill and Judy’s syndicate has subsequently sold their bush cottage at Eagle’s Rock estate. We spent many happy weekends as guests of Bill and Judy over the years. There was always something to see during the days with long walks around the estate and at times down to the valley floor which took some navigating.

“Old friends are like wine — they grow much sweeter and more valuable as they get older. And they are irreplaceable.” ~ Ron Hale-Evans

Natural wild places and time spent with long standing friends is the perfect tonic and a great way to share ideas and have much fun and laughter together. Thank you Bill and Judy for many wonderful times spent with you at Eagle’s Rock.

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

Have fun Mike.

We visited Marievale in early spring knowing full well that the warmer weather would bring more birdlife and low water levels in the wetland would attract certain species. The Marievale Bird Sanctuary is situated in the southern half of the Blesbokspruit RAMSAR site, an area that is also a designated Important Bird Area (IBA SA021) in South Africa. Marievale Bird Sanctuary is about five kilometres east of Nigel, a small town a drive of about 45 minutes south from Johannesburg in South Africa.

It was a couple of weeks since our previous visit to Marievale but were interested to see the change in birdlife activity with the warmer weather. We normally get to Marievale around 06h00 when it is light but before the sun has risen.

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” ~ J. B. Priestley

Just after we had entered the bird sanctuary we found a pair of Black-winged kites. The female was perched on a dead reed and had a small feather stuck to her beak, the remnants of some prey she must have recently fed on. Her primary wing feathers are black and she has grey upper parts and a white neck, chest and belly which are diagnostic as is her ruby red eye.

It was not long before she moved and was joined by a male and they proceeded to mate. It was certainly a brief unbalanced affair.

A Grey heron foraging along the transition between the reeds and the water’s edge.

We stopped at the Hadeda hide to see what we could find and to our delight we saw an African rail following the small remaining stream of water flowing in front of the hide.  Its plumage is brown on its back, its head and chest are dark gray, it has a dark grey belly with white barring, red eyes, and a red beak and legs. This rail is elusive so this was a fortunate sighting.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” ~ Anonymous

The long red beak is ideal for probing the mud and shallow waters. During its short visit in front of the hide it remained in the mud along the stream and did not venture into the vegetation. This rail forages for food by sight and looks for insects, crabs and other small aquatic animals.

A White-throated swallow stretching its wing just before taking off. This swallow was perched on a stick directly in front of the Hadeda hide. It has glossy dark blue upperparts and a bright chestnut fore crown. A dark blue-black breast band separate the white throat from the greyish white underparts and underwing coverts. The White-throated swallow looks similar to the barn swallow but has white throat not the chestnut coloured throat of the barn swallow.

“Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it.” – Mary Pickford

A Levaillant’s cisticola foraging in the greenery next to the stream in front of the Hadeda hide.

This little Levaillant’s cisticola was drying out after foraging in the dew laden vegetation.

A male Stonechat with its rufous chest puffed out because it was cold. This chat was foraging for insects in the dried out section of the stream bed in front of the hide.

Our time in the Hadeda hide proved to be very productive with a pair of Hottentot teals moving up the stream, but some distance behind the African rail. This Hottentot teal was using its bill to scoop up grass seeds, though it is omnivorous so will also eat crustaceans like ostracods, molluscs, water insects such as beetles and their larvae if it can find them.

A Hottentot teal foraging in its ideal environment in front of the Hadeda hide.

A Three-banded plover foraging in the wet mud section in front of the hadeda hide. Its beak dictates that it is only able to probe shallowly in the mud. It forages mainly along the water’s edge of open lakes, rivers and streams. It uses a “run-stop-search’ technique for finding its prey. This little plover focuses on insects and their larvae, small crustaceans, molluscs and worms.

A Malachite kingfisher perched on an angle iron protruding from the water next to the Otter hide. There are plenty of small fish for this diminutive hunter.

This wetland sanctuary attracts Hadeda, Glossy and Sacred ibises. The next image is of a Sacred ibis foraging among the rocks next to the elevated access road leading to the main picnic area. This section of road can be highly productive when the water levels are low.

A Marsh sandpiper caught an aquatic insect after wading relatively deeply into the water. This is a small sandpiper that does not have long legs so you can get an idea of how shallow the water was in this pool.

“Much learning does not teach understanding. ” ~ Heraclitus

The water levels around the Otter hide had all but disappeared leaving mud flats which were ideal for this Little Stint to forage in. Again the small beak only allows a shallow probing action.

One of the first species of the migratory waders to arrive in Marievale was the Ruff. This female was very busy probing the mud flats for flies, frogs, beetles, snails, spiders, and worms. These birds are omnivores, and will feed on both invertebrates, seeds or berries.

An adult Black-winged stilt picking small insects off the surface of the water. This stilt is aptly named because of its exceptionally long legs. It is a black and white wader with long stilt-like pink-red legs and a straight black bill. It has black plumes on its back and a white underparts, head and neck and has a red iris.

“The hidden harmony is better than the obvious.” ~ Heraclitus

A Pied Avocet resting in the open water on one leg. The still water early in the morning provided a near perfect reflection.

A Glossy ibis caught an aquatic insect. Glossy Ibises look uniformly dark, but a close look in good light reveals stunning colours with deep brown-maroon upper and under parts with an iridescent emerald, bronze, and violet gloss on its wings.

A Speckled pigeon walking on a fallen tree stump in front of Duiker hide. There are many Speckled pigeons in Marievale probably because of the abundant grass seed and a farmer’s lands adjacent to the sanctuary.

An Orange-throated longclaw. This is a large ground-dwelling pipit-like bird. Its upperparts are brown and cryptic, but the underparts are particularly colourful. It has a yellow supercilium and yellow chest and belly. Its neck is a red-orange enclosed by a black band which runs from its beak down to the lower part of its throat and back up to the other side of the beak enclosing the orange-red throat plumage.

This Orange-throated longclaw was very busy foraging on insects in a dried out section of the normally waterlogged section of the wetland.

“What people call serendipity sometimes is just having your eyes open.” ~ Jose Manual Barroso

I was sitting in the Duiker hide watching a Goliath heron hunting in the deeper waters on the other side of the pool from the hide. This section of the wetland has water all year round and as such has some large carp living in it. We watched several carp jumping out of the water. The main reason carp jump is to clear debris from their gills. When foraging for food, carp gulp sediment from the bottom and filter out the edible bits. During this process, some particles get lodged in their gills as they are expelled. A jump clears the gills of these particles (Source: Improvedcarpangling.com). I had to smile, this Goliath heron was not even looking in the direction of the airborne carp.

The Goliath heron is extremely patient which can be frustrating when you are trying to capture it spear its prey. Patience paid off and it managed to capture a small fish while we were watching it.

A Long-tailed widowbird coloured in its transition plumage. In winter, the male loses his black plumage and long tail feathers. In summer, the male Long-tailed widowbird has black plumage with orange-red and white shoulder (lesser and median) coverts.

The access roads through the wetland are elevated embankments with water on each side. The main access road to the picnic site can be very productive. On this occasion we saw a lone Great crested grebe fishing in the open water.

“If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.” ~Heraclitus

The grebe’s long, slim neck and pointed bill are used for catching fish underwater in a similar way to a Reed cormorant or Darter. Grebes dive underwater to search for prey. It can remain underwater for up to 30 seconds and can dive up to five metres, depending on the depth of the water. Like a heron, this grebe rotates the caught fish to swallow head-first to ensure the spiky dorsal and pectoral fins will flatten against the body so it will go down smoothly.

The images shown represent just a few of the birds and their behaviour that we saw during one morning visit to Marievale Bird Sanctuary. Some birds we only saw fleetingly, and others were not easily photographed. A visit to this bird sanctuary is a great way to brush up on your bird recognition and photographic skills.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this wetland sanctuary is that the water level has a major influence on what birds you are likely to see and how frequently you are likely to see them. In early spring, it is ideal for the small waders as they can probe the open mud flats. There are still large stretches of water which attract coots and moorhens. The Red-billed and Hottentot teal are resident as are the Cape shovellers and Yellow-billed ducks. Most of the migrants have yet to arrive but the large flocks of Spurwing geese and the flamingoes are sensitive to the level of water in the open stretches. If the water is shallow you may see the flamingoes, but if it the water is too deep you will not see a single flamingo.

“Go to a bird sanctuary frequently. Be quiet and present, and the more you will notice its subtleties. The weather, the light, the water levels yield different birds in different numbers. These subtleties alter their behaviour which will give you a quite different experience.” ~ Mike Haworth

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

Have fun, Mike

A pair of Little sparrowhawks are resident in our suburb and they visit our garden each day. The regular visits are probably because we put out food for the birds which helps their hunting success rate.

“Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” ~ Alice Walker

The Little sparrowhawk is a small and secretive raptor, just a bit larger than a laughing dove. It is the second smallest raptor in southern Africa after the Pygmy falcon. A male Little sparrowhawk typically weighs around 68 to 70 grams, and his mate can can be almost double his weight at between 100 and 105 grams.

The colour of the plumage of a Little sparrowhawk and African goshawk are similar with a grey head and upper parts. Its neck is white and its chest and belly are white with a slight rufous tinge and grey barring. It has yellow legs and a yellow cere and eye ring but its eyes vary in colour from yellow to orange. Males are blue-grey above with fine orange barring beneath, females are grey-brown and white. Young birds are browner with coarsely barred chests.

One of the most striking aspects of sparrowhawk morphology is the difference in size that exists between males and females. It is not uncommon for male raptors to be smaller than their mate, but the size difference between male and female sparrowhawk is usually large. It is speculated that this size difference ensures both birds can hunt different prey, and not come into conflict over limited prey, especially in winter. The larger female is also more able to protect her nest and young from predators.

“To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated.” ~ James P Carse

Although they look similar, there is marked difference in size between an African goshawk and the Little sparrowhawk. The African goshawk has a wingspan around 70cm and body length which varies between 36cm to 47cm whereas the Little sparrowhawk has a wingspan around 39cm and body length averaging 26cm.

Another marked difference is in the tail feather colouring. The African goshawk has clear dark grey and white banding whereas the Little sparrowhawk has very light banding on the underpart of the rectrices but two clear white spots on the upperparts of the tail feathers.

This small raptor is often seen alone and it usually hides in the middle of trees for cover. It is a diurnal hunter and we mainly see it in the hours around dawn and dusk. We hear the Little sparrowhawks often but only see them clearly in late August and September once the trees have lost most of their leaves. When the greenery returns to the trees these little raptors are more often heard than seen. According to Ulrich Oberprieler’s Raptor Guide of Southern Africa, the female calls a rapid high pitched “kick-kik-kik-kik” while the male’s call is a mellower “kew-kew-kew-kew”.

The Little sparrowhawk is a bird hunter, waiting in cover. When an opportunity presents itself, it attacks using a short dash which often results in flight capture. This raptor seems to catch many birds the same size as itself. It normally consumes its prey on a branch in a tree. It will go for chicks of many species if it can find them. The Little sparrowhawk preys mainly on small birds weighing between 15 and 60 grams which include seedeaters such as mannikin, waxbills, weavers and frugivores such as bulbuls and thrushes. We have seen the male Little sparrowhawk go for a Green woodhoopoe but they never seem to go for Indian mynas.

These sparrowhawks have keen eyesight and are excellent at targeting unsuspecting prey. As a perch hunter and using their sharp eyesight and acute hearing, they scan their surroundings for potential prey even when light is relatively low. When this diminutive raptor decides to attack it is phenomenally quick and agile diving through the branches of the trees at remarkable speed.

“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.” ~ Anonymous

With the female being so much larger than the male and having a steadier flight pattern, she is able to hunt in more open spaces for larger prey. Males tend to hunt more in woodland and riverine areas seeking small sparrow-sized birds.

Little sparrowhawks prefer to nest in trees in forests and woodlands. Sparrowhawks build their own nests. The nest is often built low in a tree, in a fork near an opening with easy access. Sparrowhawks build simple platform nests from twigs which are not lined with soft material. We have watched a pair mating in mid-August though most breeding in Southern Africa takes place between September and February. Until the chicks are old enough to be left alone, the male sparrowhawk does all the hunting, feeding both the young and the female. Then both parents hunt for the juveniles, and they continue to do so for a month or so after the young sparrowhawks have left the nest.

Life starts rapidly in the Little sparrowhawk world. The incubation usually takes about 32 days and only one chick survives from a clutch of two to three eggs. The nestling is fed by its mother and becomes independent after about a month.

Little sparrowhawks are small birds of prey with short, broad wings. Most bird wing shapes can be grouped into four types, which include elliptical wings, high speed wings, high aspect ratio wings and slotted high-lift wings. Elliptical wings are found on bats and most small forest and scrub-dwelling birds. This wing shape allows a high degree of control and manoeuvrability in confined spaces. Elliptical wings are highly slotted between the primary feathers which helps to prevent stalling during sharp turns, low-speed flight, and frequent landing and takeoff.

Sparrowhawks and goshawks are Accipiters and as such are specialised hunters. The Accipiter shape is very distinctive, with short and broad wings with a strongly rounded wing-tip – ideal for rapid manoeuvring in confined spaces. This is the ultimate ambush predator of small birds, relying on surprise and the speed of pursuit.  The shape of the wing is important in determining the flight capabilities of a bird. Different shapes correspond to different trade-offs between advantages such as speed, low energy use, and manoeuvrability.

Two important parameters are the aspect ratio and wing loading. Aspect ratio is the ratio of wingspan to the mean of its chord (or the square of the wingspan divided by wing area). A high aspect ratio signifies long narrow wings which are useful for endurance flight because they generate more lift. Wing loading is the ratio of weight to wing area and determines the capacity for sustained lift and soaring.

“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” ~ Stephen McCranie

Wings with a low aspect ratio facilitate rapid takeoff and swift twisting flight, but not for sustained high speed. When not hunting, the flight lacks the aerial mastery of the falcons and appears a little weak with characteristic ‘flap, flap, glide’ pattern. The relatively high wing loading is due to the relatively small wing area to its weight but the weight assists in the mid-air attack.

Many Accipiters hunt and chase songbirds, which are very good at flying fast for short bursts and ducking and dodging through branches. Little sparrowhawks are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and a long tail which helps them manoeuver in flight. The shorter wings make it easier to tuck in and avoid hitting branches, and the roundness still gives them lots of power on the down stroke. They have long legs and long, sharp talons which they use to kill their prey, and a sharp, hooked bill to cut and tear into its prey. The long narrow tail acts like a rudder and steers the bird in and around most obstacles, but it can also be fanned out to act like a third wing.

Sparrowhawks are the sprinters of the raptor family. They are capable of dramatic and fast bursts of speed of up to 50kph, but cannot sustain this speed in a chase. This means ‘spars’ must rely on stealth, speed and surprise to succeed, startling their prey before it has any time to react.

Even when we cannot hear the Little sparrowhawks calling, we often know where they are because of the alarm calls of small birds in the trees in the garden such as Black-capped bulbuls.

It is interesting that these sparrowhawks hunt an area in a similar way to lions. They will hunt in the area daily for a short while and then move away for a period. This prevents over hunting the area and does not give the garden birds enough time to get to know the sparrowhawks pattern of hunting and helps keep the element of surprise.

Whether it is first thing in the morning when we are watching these little “spars” with a cup of hot coffee in hand or dusk with a sundowner it is exciting when these “dashing hunters” come into the garden. The avian dynamics change dramatically and their presence adds dimensions of excitement and wonder spiced with a dose of anticipation.

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” ~ Bruce Lee

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

Have fun, Mike

I am fortunate enough to have worked from home for the past 14 years. My office has a set of french doors which open onto the garden. We live along the Outspan bird sanctuary which has a stream flowing through it. This sanctuary has many trees so looks like a forest. The Outspan stream flows past our home and on down to the Jukskei spruit. Many birds wander up and down the stream foraging.

We are fortunate enough to have many birds resident in the area, probably because the is so much food around. It helps that we provide seed, fruit and suet which attract a variety of our avian friends daily.

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

Over the years, and especially after the dry period around 2015, many bushveld birds moved into the urban areas to find food. They found a bounty and never returned to the bushveld. Johannesburg has many parks and is a well treed city which also provides a haven for our avian friends.

In recent years, we have regularly seen and heard a pair of Grey-headed bushshrikes. They have a distinctive long piping call which changes to a clicking sound when they are alarmed. Their clicking sounds just like the clicking of an electric fence. The clicking is normally due to the presence of a pair of Little sparrowhawks which are resident in the well treed Outspan bird sanctuary.

An adult Rose-ringed parakeet with its vivid green plumage and a black and rose ring around its neck. It has a bright red beak and a red-orange eye ring. This is one of the world’s worst invasive parrot species. Rose-ringed parakeets were first introduced to South Africa in the 1900s as part of the pet trade according to an report by the Mail & Guardian.

In the last six months we have had regular visits from as many as five Rose-ringed parakeets at one time. These parakeets have a call which is a harsh shriek but their beautiful vivid green plumage makes them very acceptable. These parakeets come into the garden for the suet but they are relatively skittish.

Juvenile Rosy-cheeked lovebirds. We have had as many as 15 arrive at one time. They compete with the doves and weavers for the seed we put out. These lovebirds are endemic in Namibia and the population in Johannesburg must have grown from pets that managed to escape.

The adult Rosy-cheeked lovebird has the rosy cheeks but the fledged juvenile can vary in colour from a vivid green with a light pink flush across it face and throat to a blue beige colour. The adult’s rump plumage is a powder blue and the colour of the underside of the rectrices is a barred vivid orange, black and green colour combination.

“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” ~ Robert Lynd.

Although these lovebirds are monogomous and at times have a very confiding manner, they can be very aggressive towards each other when it comes to dominating the available seed. They certainly dominate the weavers and sparrows on the seed tray.

A male Southern masked weaver in his full breeding plumage. The female is a similar size but lacks the colourful yellow plumage and black face and neck mask. These weavers are seed eaters but also enjoy the suet. This male was perched in a budding prunus looking down at the activity around the feeding tray.

An adult Grey lourie or Go-away bird. It’s latter name is onomatopoeic. It has light grey plumage and when excited raises its grey crest in the same way as other turacos. These lourie’s come into the garden for the fruit we put out. In late winter they gorge themselves on syringa berries and in early spring also eat the new buds on the oak tree in our garden.

An juvenile Speckled mousebird with its partly grown rectrices. These unique birds fly in as a group of six or more birds. They come in for the fruit and the berries on the puzzle bushes and bottlebrush trees. Like swifts, mousebirds are pamprodactylous meaning their two outer toes are reversible, so all four toes can be directed forward at will. Being able to rotate all four toes to face forward enables them to feed upside down, hold food with their feet, and perch with their legs positioned at strange angles.

The Speckled mousebird’s feet are large, and their legs widely spaced. Mousebirds do not perch like most other species and tend to rest their abdomens on their perch. They could be considered “living fossils” being survivors of a lineage that was massively more diverse in the late Paleogene and Miocene ages. These birds are unrelated to anything else alive today.

An adult Cape glossy starling with its iridescent blue plumage and bright yellow eye. These starlings are frequent visitors to our feeding table to enjoy the fruit and suet. These birds are very talkative which makes great accompaniment when gardening. Of the seven species of glossy starlings, only the Long-tailed and Burchell’s starling have a black and not a bright yellow eye.

“Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.” ~ Douglas Coupland

A few months ago a pair of Red-winged starlings were regular visitors to our fruit and suet offerings. These starlings are frugivores and insectivores so enjoy the fruit and the suet in particular. The brick-red colour is only on the primary wing feathers.

The female Red-winged starling is the same size as the male and has the same clearly evident brick-red primary wing feathers. The female has a grey head with darker streaks and her blue glossy plumage is somewhat duller than that of the male. This species of starling has a variety of call which are more like whistles with the most frequent sounding like an extended “spreeooo”.

Two adult Green woodhoopoes with their iridescent green neck and back plumage, and bright red beaks. The fledged juvenile has purply-blue neck and back plumage and a black beak. The juvenile’s distinctive white and blue barring has still to fully develop on its rectrices.

An adult male Grey hornbill feeding suet to his female. The female has a creamy coloured maxilla (upper mandible) with a dark red tip to both mandibles. These hornbills have a distinctive piping call which has a sad tone to it.

The adult male Grey hornbill has its diagnostic dark black beak with a noticeable but small casque on his upper mandible. A pair of Grey hornbills are resident in the area and occasionally come to visit to feed on the suet balls we put out for the birds.

We have a pair of Southern boubous in our area and they can be heard during the day dueting to each other. These shrikes have a distinctive black upper parts, a buff-beige under parts and a clear white wing bar. They have a wide variety of calls in their repertoire. The boubou prefers to forage in the undergrowth and only occasionally presents itself out in the open. They are not fruit or seed eaters and are very selective on the suet.

A pair of Cape Robin-chats are resident on our property. These are shy but inquisitive birds with an orange throat and rump, grey upper and under parts and a striking white supercilium, which separates the blackish lores and ear coverts from the dark grey crown.

This species of Robin-chat is always the first to start singing in the morning at the first hint of light. When on alert it flicks its tail up. The masked weavers chase the robin-chats when they get too close to the weaver’s nest.

“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild.” ~ Stephen King

A fiesty małe Southern masked weaver guarding his seed against all birds smaller than himself. The Southern masked weaver has a red eye and its crown is yellow to just above the beak. The Lesser masked weaver has a yellow eye and the yellow plumage on its crown only extends half way across its head and the black mask extends from its neck across it cheeks and include the front part of its crown.

An adult male Cape sparrow. It has the white and black markings on its face and neck and rusty brown upper wing coverts. This male did not have the usual black crown so its grey nape and crown suggested it still had to develop its full adult colouring.

The female Cape sparrow has the same colouring as the male except it has a grey head, neck and nape and no distinctive black markings on her face and neck. The female has a clear white supercilium.

A pair of Crested barbets are resident in our area and they can often be heard trilling. They are very fond of the fruit we leave out for them. They tend to dominate the fruit and are only pushed off by the Grey Louries. The smaller Black-collared barbet defers to its larger black, red yellow and white plumed cousin.

“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 Crested barbet is also fondly referred to as the “marmalade bird”.

A family of Black-collared barbets regularly come to visit the fruit tray. These barbets can be quite aggressive to some birds that are bigger than themselves. They have a very strong beak which is probably the deterrent. This species of barbet is smaller than the Crested barbet and is pushed off the fruit by the latter.

The intensity of red face mask seems to vary according to age. I have never seen a Black-collared barbet with a yellow face mask, a yellow morph. This barbet has dark red eyes. Black-collared barbets have a distinctively different call to the Crested barbet and can be seen bobbing and quivering their wings while duetting.

A female adult Thick-billed weaver is also an occasional visitor. I have not seen the male in the garden but I know they nest in the reeds in a small dam about a kilometre down the stream. These weavers prefer the grass seed and also do not compete on the feeding tray.

We normally see the Southern boubou hopping around in the undergrowth in the garden. They tend to be more secretive than the other birds with the exception of the Cape Robin-chats. Among the vast repertoire of the Southern boubou, it has a piping call like a Grey-headed shrike but its call does not extend as long as that of the Grey-headed bushshrike.

A Green woodhoopoe holding precariously onto a thin branch. We have a family of six which come through the garden twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. They seem to travel up and down the Outspan stream foraging for grubs and insects under the bark of the many trees growing along the stream. They are particularly fond of the suet balls and can easily access them with their long beaks. Interestingly, the Indian Mynars will not tangle with these woodhoopoes because of their long beak.

A male Red-headed finch. This is an occasional visitor. A few of these finches come into the garden at times when the grass seed is abundant. They cannot compete on the feeding table with the weavers and doves.

A Ground dove – I think! I do not know what species of dove this is. I have only ever seen a similar looking dove in Mauritius. This character stayed for a few days and we have never see it again. It was bigger than a Laughing dove but was shunned all all the doves.

An adult Laughing dove. With the seed we put out on the feeding table, we attract 20 plus Laughing doves and a few Cape Turtle and Red-eyed doves. The Laughing doves have a soft call that sounds like ‘coo-coo-cuk-coo-coo’. These doves have exquisite soft pink, cinnamon, brown and bluish grey colouring on their wing and back feathers. As demure as these doves appear they can be quite aggressive with each other using their wings to hit their opponents when feeding.

The Red-eyed dove looks like a large turtle dove but has a red eye. We usually only see one or two of these doves around at any one time.

We have several Karoo thrushes in the garden. They enjoy the fruit and the suet. We often see them foraging on the lawn for insects and worms. The Karoo thrush is easily mistaken for an Olive thrush but the latter has a dark brown maxilla whereas the Karoo thrush has a yellow maxilla and mandible.

A Tawny flanked prinia is a regular visitor but prefers to forage for insects in giant strelitzia, clivias and and other shrubs.

We had Black sparrowhawk in the garden a year ago when a pair were nesting in the poplars along the Outspan stream. We even had an African Harrier-hawk visit a couple of times a few years ago, but we do have daily visits from a pair of Little sparrowhawks. They use the cover of the large trees in the garden to launch their blisteringly fast aerial attacks.

These images illustrate the variety of birds which we are fortunate enough to have come into our garden. Feeding the birds is certainly helps attract them.

There are many more species of birds which we see in the garden varying from Cape white-eyes to bronze mannikins. We often hear a woodpecker in the olive tree next to the house but I have not seen it clearly. We have several Hadedas which aerate our lawn and flower beds for us. Although the Hadeda is an attractive ibis, it is very noisy. Tongue-in-cheek we refer to the Hadeda as a “sabre toothed pigeon”.

“Every bird, every tree, every flower reminds me what a blessing and privilege it is just to be alive.” ~ Marty Rubin

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

Have fun, Mike

We visit Marievale bird sanctuary regularly to practice our wild bird photography and expand our knowledge of birds and their behaviour in this wetland sanctuary. The Marievale Bird Sanctuary is located about five kilometres north of Nigel and lies within the Blesbokspruit Ramsar wetland which is internationally recognised.  The Blesbokspruit forms part of one of the tributaries of the Vaal River, which provides water to Gauteng province. 

“If you stay stuck in the past season or fixated on the future season, you will miss the one you’re in.” ~ Maree Dee

The major habitat consists of shallow open water, extensive phragmites and typha reedbeds, and surrounding grassland. During winter the grassland is often burnt which causes the regeneration for the spring. The water level in the shallow open water varies depending on the season, being high in summer and low in winter.

“Creative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty.” ~ Anne Lamott

An adult Pied Avocet with its pied plumage and ruby bred eye. Given its up curved beak it uses two feeding methods. In clear water, avocets feed by sight by picking prey from the surface of water or mud which they can do very accurately with that sharp posted beak. When the water is murky and when foraging in the sediments, they forage by touch, sweeping the long, upcurved bill from side to side through water or loose sediment to locate hidden prey. The avocet’s primary food is invertebrates, especially crustaceans and worms but in fresh water they also feed on insects found on the water’s surface or within the top layers of the bottom sediments.

An adult Glossy ibis in his breeding plumage. The bronze-brown plumage glistens and the primary and secondary wing feathers are an iridescent green in the sun. Outside the breeding season the adult’s neck and head is flecked with white.

An adult female Ruff in non-breeding plumage of bold mottled brown on the back and wings. The male is much larger. The mud on her beak shows she prefers invertebrates but will feed on seeds as well as small frogs and fish. The Ruff breeds in colder regions of Northern Eurasia and migrates down to, amongst other places, southern Africa for the northern hemisphere winter. 

In adult Purple swamp hen foraging in the mud among the reeds. The mud was exposed because the level of water in the wetlands was low at the end of winter. Its red beak, red frontal shield and red legs are diagnostic as its green back and wing coverts and blue head, neck, chest and belly feathers.

“The colours of winter are browns and yellows illumed by icey blue skies. Many grasslands are blacked by fire, but birds provide colourful jewels in this otherwise subdued winter wetland.” ~ Mike Haworth

The frontal shield appears to relate to protection of the face while feeding in, or moving through, dense sharp vegetation like reeds, as well as courtship display and territorial defence.

An adult female Fiscal shrike perched on a broken reed stem. I never realised that the female had a rufous patch on her flank just below her wings. The male is just black and white.

A juvenile Black-shouldered kite perched in the gum trees near the Duiker hide. The adult has ruby red eyes and its back and primary and secondary wing feathers are a light grey and its neck, chest and belly are white. Its shoulder coverts are black, hence the name.

A Lazy cisticola foraging in the grasses exposed by the lower water levels. Its plain light brown upper parts are its non breeding plumage but in the breeding season its upperparts become more rufous.

A pair of Pied kingfishers watching the water below carefully from their perch on a fallen tree branch. The female looked to be on top with a single breast band and the male at the bottom with two breast bands.

“Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we’ll soon be in trouble.” ~ Roger Tory Peterson

A Marsh sandpiper with white underparts and well defined grey-brown mottling on the upper parts. This sandpiper has yellow-green legs much like a Greenshank but is smaller and has a long thin beak. The length of the beak probably enables it to wade in relatively deep water while foraging.

A Wattled lapwing chick identified by the patchy brown down on its head and upper parts and the early vestiges of its black primary wing feathers. There is no early sign of the black head of a Crowned lapwing.

“What people call serendipity is sometimes just keeping your eyes open. ” ~ Jose Manuel Barroso

An adult Wattled lapwing. Two lapwings have yellow wattles – the White-crowned and Wattled lapwing. The latter has shorter yellow wattles and the white patch is only on the fore crown and it has a red skin immediately above the beak and below the fore crown. The Wattled lapwing also has a yellow eye but its head is brown and its neck is streaked brown and white. 

Being August which is the end of winter in southern Africa, this male Long-tailed widow bird had not yet grown his black breeding plumage and long tail feathers. His red-orange shoulder patch was evident as were his beige primary coverts and his black primary wing feathers had a beige leading edge.

Searching through the burn grassland with green shoots was this Orange-throated long claw, which is a colourful large pipit. It was foraging through the new grass shoots for insects.

“The sound of birds stops the noise in my mind.” ~ Carly Simon

This was the first time I had seen a Capped wheatear at Marievale. This wheatear was also foraging through the burnt grassland.

A Yellow mongoose ventured onto the burnt grassland from its sanctuary at the base of the mine dumps on the western boundary to Marievale. This is an opportunistic carnivore which mainly eats insects including, ants, termites, locusts, and beetles but will also go for baby birds, eggs, frogs, lizards, rodents and snakes and lizards. This species is mainly diurnal.

There were plenty of Grey-headed gulls flying around the wetlands and some nesting on the reed tufts and mud mounds protruding out of the water. This is a striking grey and white gull with a red beak and red eyering surrounding a pale yellow eye.

We did not see many species of duck on this visit but we did see quite a few Cape shovelers with their unique shaped bill and bright yellow eye. 

We always see Stonechats during our wanderings around Marievale. This is a male. The female has a grey-brown head.

We only saw Little grebes this time but occasionally also see the Great-crested grebe. The Little grebe is a very busy paddler which often dives under the water in search of food. This is a juvenile which still has to develop its ochre cheek and neck colours.

The time of the year has a big influence on what and where you see birds in Marievale. There are two reasons, the warmer weather brings the migrants and from December to April the water level rises with the summer rains.

When the weather has warmed somewhat in late August and September, the water levels are low enough for the sandpipers, stints, snipe, rails and egrets to forage in the muddy water’s edge. When the water level deepens the ducks, teals, cormorants, darters and flamingo numbers increase.

It is fun to visit the bird sanctuary with no expectations and then be amazed at the variety of birds you can see. More often than not you see a bird you have never seen at Marievale before or it is doing something that gives you a much deeper insight into the nature of the species.

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

“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

Have fun, Mike

Helen and I spent five days in Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve in the central part of Maloti-Drakensberg mountains. This reserve gets its name from the towering peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains, whose shadows resemble a sleeping giant. The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park is a World Heritage Site and Giant’s Castle is in the middle of it. We visited Giant’s Castle in July which was mid-winter in southern Africa. Winter is a fascinating time of the year to visit these mountains. The weather is constantly changing and with it the colour of the light and mood of the scene.

We spent three days in the hide and two days wandering around the Giant’s Castle reserve. Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve is known for its magnificent San rock art, many hiking trails and incredible vistas.

A telescopic view early in the morning in winter before the sunlight hit the buttresses in the upper berg.

The vulture hide is about seven kilometres north east of the chalet-style camp. Access to the hide is via a steep track from the Bushman’s river valley floor to the plateau where the hide is located. A 4×4 vehicle is required to negotiate the steep climb and dirt track on the plateau. The hide itself is on the cliff edge of the plateau on the eastern side of the Bushman’s river valley.

“The most beautiful gift of nature is that it gives one pleasure to look around and try to comprehend what we see.” ~ Albert Einstein

On top of the plateau there had been a veld fire which blackened a large swath of the grassland.

It was in the large burnt patch of grassland that we found this juvenile Southern Bald ibis. It was very busy foraging and took little notice of us on the dirt track.

A few hundred metres before we reached the hide we stopped to watch baboons and a Jackal buzzard perched on a sign post. The view looking east over these rocks at the sunrise.

This particular morning we had been at the hide for about half an hour and were just settling in when the sunlight spread out over the rolling slopes of the plateau on the western side of the Bushman’s river valley. It was very cloudy to the west and the plateau was draped in various shades of mid-winter brown.

From the hide we spent hours watching the White-necked ravens frolicking in the updrafts rising from the Bushman’s valley floor. The ravens were wonderful fliers and very playful. They seemed to revel in the wind currents.

This was the vista, just after sunrise, looking north-east from the parking area just above the Bearded vulture hide.

A view from inside the vulture hide looking south west along the hide’s feeding shelf. The hide and feeding shelf are positioned on the plateau’s edge on the eastern side of the Bushman’s river valley. There were many Red-winged starlings waiting for the bones to be put out for the day. Early in the morning, the colours were soft yellows, browns, blues and mauves, quite saturated before the sun rose and washed out that unique saturation in the early part of the golden hour.

Once it had warmed up somewhat and the updrafts and thermals began to develop then we started to see the raptors.

A view looking north from directly above the vulture’s hide across the Bushman’s river valley onto the rolling plateau toward the basalt buttresses in the distance.

“This curious world we inhabit is more wonderful than convenient; more beautiful than it is useful; it is more to be admired and enjoyed than used.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Another view looking north from above the vulture hide across the Bushman’s river valley. A corner of the vulture hide is just visible above the yellow grass and between the two green bushes.

A view looking north west toward the snow capped basalt buttresses. It was a relatively clear sky and the sunlight had just spread across the plateau. In the middle ground is the Bushman’s river valley and above it the plateau was lit up by the morning sun. In the immediate foreground is part of the hide’s feeding shelf.

Another morning just after sunrise. The sun had risen high enough to cast beautiful soft light across the rolling plateau up to the steep sandstone cliffs which are capped by near vertical basalt buttresses. The golden sunlight painted soft mauves, browns, beiges across the scene. The sun was still too low to light up the green vegetation in the deep ravine leading down to the Bushman’s river valley.

A juvenile Bearded vulture soaring in the Bushman’s river valley with the boulder strewn Bushman’s river below in the background. The partly white face was an indication that this juvenile Bearded vulture was around four years old.

“Mother Nature is always speaking. She speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer. Leopards, cobras, monkeys, rivers and trees; they all served as my teachers when I lived as a wanderer in the Himalayan foothills.” ~ Radhanath Swami

” There is something hypnotic about watching a raptor soaring in the sky. Wings spread and fingers feeling the wind. Moving to a symphony we cannot see or hear.” ~ Mike Haworth

“Beauty and seduction, I believe, is nature’s tool for survival, because we will protect what we fall in love with.” ~ Louie Schwartzberg

Another view looking north west across the Bushman’s river valley. The early morning sun had only lit up the sandstone slopes and basalt buttresses. It is interesting to see the different colours as the sun rises and illumes the plateau.

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” ~ John Ruskin

I used a long focal length to take this image of the snow covered basalt buttress of the Drakensberg mountains. Again this image was taken early in the morning when the sunlight had only hit the top of the basalt buttresses.

The snow capped basalt buttresses made a wonderfully dramatic background for this high soaring Bearded vulture.

This adult Bearded vulture was soaring high above the Bushman’s river valley. The snow capped basalt buttresses provided some context as to the time of day and season.

Majestic and free.

An juvenile Bearded vulture landed on a large rock outcrop below the hide. It looked to be warming itself in the mid-morning winter sun. The black colouration of the face suggested it was around two years old.

A view from the hikers path just out of the Giant’s Castle camp looking west into the Bushman’s river valley.

“Nature’s beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude.” ~ Louie Schwartzberg

A male Buff-streaked chat looking into the valley while perched on a stem of a dry fern.

A female Buff-streaked chat similarly perched on a dry fern stem.

A Greater Double collared sunbird looked like a jewel in the green and gold flora.

A view from our chalet looking west as the sun was rising and progressively lighting up the valley. The babbling Bushman’s river was in this foreground.

“And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” ~ Khalil Gibran

Early in the morning, a view from our chalet in Giant’s Castle camp, looking west to see the sandstone cliff and basalt buttress lit up by the golden hour sunlight.

“Aren’t we grateful for our brains, that can take this electrical impulse that comes from light energy and use it to explore our world? Aren’t we grateful that we have hearts that can feel these vibrations, in order for us to allow ourselves to feel the pleasure and beauty of nature?” ~ Louis Schwartzberg

We could not help but be entranced by the vast spectacular beauty of the place. Closer inspection revealed many avian wonders. For anyone interested in photography and birds, the Bearded vulture hide will delight. Your patience at the hide will be amply rewarded.

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

Have fun, Mike

Giant’s Castle vulture hide in the central section of the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains is a place where you can get lost in all the grandeur and the wildlife activity. Sitting in a hide for nine hours might sound boring until you try it. The hours melt away as your attention is caught by all the avian visitors and their fascinating interactions. The weather is always changing and with it the light, the clouds and the mood of the place.

“And in life, it is all about choices we make. And how the direction of our lives comes down to the choices we choose.” – Catherine Pulsifer

Just below the small bushes in the foreground is the Bearded vulture hide. The view looking over the hide across the Bushman’s river valley towards the basalt buttresses in the distant mountains which form part of the escarpment.

A view from the hide looking south west along part of the feeding shelf. The view is spectacular with the eye led to the near vertical basalt buttresses capping the steep sandstones slopes. The height of these mountains creates constantly changing cloud formations which add drama to the vista.

A male Rock kestrel came to visit on two occasions. This is a small kestrel with rufous upper and underparts. The rufous colouring is patterned with black spots. The adult male has a grey head which is streaked. The female is similarly coloured but does not have a grey head and her body plumage is lighter in colour. This adult male Rock kestrel was perched in a Natal Bottlebrush also called a Glossy bottlebrush. This beautiful kestrel can often be seen hovering above the Bushman’s river valley. Its diet varies from rodents (mice, voles and shrews) to reptiles (grasshopper, beetles and crickets) and small birds.

The male Rock kestrel can be confused with the Lesser kestrel. The latter also has a grey head and rufous upper parts but the upper parts do not have the black spotted pattern and the underparts are much lighter. The Lesser kestrel also has a grey bar on the trailing tip of the primary and secondary wing feathers. The adult Rock kestrel has light grey rectrices (large tail feathers) with a black tip on the trailing edge. The Rock kestrel is resident in South Africa whereas the Lesser kestrel is migrant from Europe and North Africa. Rock kestrels are usually only seen in pairs or singly.

A female Cape Rock thrush. The Cape Rock thrushes love the fat on the bones put out for the Bearded vultures. They can not compete with the mobbing boisterous Red-winged starlings. The male and female Cape Rock thrush are dimorphic with the female having a brown head and the male having a blue grey head.

A male Cape Rock thrush. These Rock thrushes prefer rocky areas and are endemic to southern and eastern parts of southern Africa. The Cape Rock thrush favours areas of relatively high rainfall and lower altitudes while the Sentinel Rock thrush is the high altitude specialist of rocky slopes and alpine conditions. The male Cape Rock thrush has a blue-grey head colour whereas the Sentinel Rock thrush has a blue-grey head and the that colour extends down its back and around onto its chest.

A proud looking Drakensberg prinia. This prinia is also called the Saffron prinia. Its preferred habitat is the Drakensberg forest edges, wooded gullies and bracken covered hill and mountain slopes. The Drakensberg prinia can be confused with the Karoo prinia but the latter has whiter underparts with heavier streaking. This prinia forages on the rocks and scrub around the hide for insects.

The Drakensberg prinia’s colouring is warm brown above and yellowish below with fine streaks mostly restricted to the chest and lacking on the throat and belly. It has a long tail which it tends to cock upwards. It has a whitish eyebrow and its eyes are a pale orange.

“The beauty of the natural world lies in the details.” ~ Natalie Angier

A solitary juvenile Southern Bald ibis. The adult is much more colourfully plumed with a bright red bald head and a decurved red beak. This ibis is endemic to southern Africa and its preferred habitat is the high altitude grasslands. According to Birdlife, the global population size is estimated at around 6 592 ± 837 individuals (adults and juveniles), of which 3 296 ± 419 are breeding individuals, across approximately 245 colonies.

We had a wonderful day in the hide and were on our way back to camp driving through a large burnt patch of grass on the upper plateau when we saw this lone juvenile Southern Bald ibis foraging through the burnt grass veld. It was too busy to take much notice of us.

Red-winged starlings are always at the hide. They are the first ones to greet you when you arrive early in the morning. This is one of nine species of starling in South Africa. Its closest cousin is the Pale-winged starling which I have only seen at Tiger Canyon in the Karoo. The Red-winged starling is glossy blue all over with striking red-orange primary wing feathers. The male and female are dimorphic with the female being of similar size to the male but has a grey head.

The Red-winged starlings are attracted by the fat on and marrow in the bones that we put out for the vultures. The bones are too big and heavy for the starlings to carry away and they are constantly pushed off the bones by the White-necked ravens. These starlings frequently squabble amongst each other over the bones. The squabbling is not only male on male but also male on female.

The male on male Red-winged starling disputes can get quite boisterous but never damaging. Red-winged starlings prefer rocky mountainous regions with cliffs and ledges where they breed. These starlings are omnivorous. They prefer fruit but will feed on the nectar of flowering plants and insects when they can find them. The fat and marrow on the bones in front of the hide make easy pickings and attract more than 10 pairs at any one time.

When flying, the red primary wing feathers of both the male and female Red-winged starlings are vividly revealed. The Pale-winged starling looks similar but their primary wing feathers are a very pale beige colour. The Pale-winged starling has an orange eye whereas the Red-winged starling has a dark brown eye colour.

A view of the entrance to the Bearded vulture hide from the parking area above. Looking past the hide, the cliff falls away into the Bushman’s river valley. Beyond the Bushman’s river valley is a rolling tussock plateau which leads to the foot of the basalt capped sandstone mountains with steep high, severely eroded faces which can reach 3300 metres height.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life exists.” ~ Rachel Carson

White-necked ravens abound around the vulture hide. At times there must be over 20 ravens on the feeding shelf or flying around it. They, like the Red-winged starlings, are around to feed on the fat and marrow on the bones. The White-necked raven is the only raven species found in south Africa. It has a much deeper beak than a crow. The beak and neck muscles are strong enough to tear flesh and sinew off the bones. The White-necked raven has a deeper beak than even the Common raven which is found in the northern hemisphere.

White-necked ravens were highly social birds but there is a hierarchy. Every now and then, two evenly matched individuals would tangle. These ravens mate for life and known to be highly intelligent birds. The plumage is black in colour with a glossy sheen. The White-necked raven has pure white feathers on its nape.

At times the White-necked ravens got quite aggressive with each other but no one was seriously injured in these scuffles. The squabble was probably just re-establishing the pecking order. These ravens form flocks after leaving the parents. These flocks can be seen from the hide and the flock seems to behave like a gang. Once fully matured these ravens pair off for life.

White-necked ravens are wonderful fliers which seem to revel in the updrafts and wind across the feeding shelf. There is also a lot of sparring but no one seems to get hurt in these tangles.

We watch the Bearded vultures and the Jackal buzzards carry bones away from the feeding shelf in front of the hide. To our amazement, White-necked ravens could carry large bones away on the wing. They often dropped the bones when challenged by other ravens. These ravens have anisodactylic feet with the first toe or hallux facing backward and three toes facing forwards. The feet are strong and these ravens use a combination of feet and beak to lift large bones off the feeding shelf and fly to a more peaceful place to feed. The strength of the beak and neck muscles is evident.

Later in the afternoons when most the bones had been cleaned by the ravens and starlings, the wind would pick up and the ravens took to the sky and appeared to be having such fun frolicking in the wind. They are wonderful fliers and aerobatically jostled on many occasions with each other in the air.

We were visited almost every day by a Cape longclaw also known as an Orange-throated longclaw. Its orange-red throat has a black surround which is diagnostic. The crown is a greyish brown and there is an orange supercilium above the eye. Its upperparts are a light mottled brown which are cryptic and its belly is an orangish yellow. This bird has the GISS ( general impression of size and shape) of a large pipit.

The Cape longclaw prefers high altitude habitats with open grasslands. These longclaws are usually seen singly foraging for insects and seeds. They do not compete on the bones.

A Speckled pigeon flying toward the feeding shelf. These pigeons are fast fliers and normally arrived in pairs or small flocks. It has a red patch of skin around the eye. Its head is grey as is the chest and belly. Its back and wings are a rufous colour and the wings are speckled with spots. The neck feathers are larger and more prominent and are a rufous brown colour.

A male Speckled pigeon trying to get the attention of a female. The male puffs out his neck feathers in a courting display all the while bobbing his head up and down. These pigeons flew onto the feeding shelf to eat grass seed. They were not there for any part of the bones we put out.

We were also visited each morning by Yellow bishops in their non-breeding plumage, as it was winter. These small bishops foraged on grass seeds immediately in front of the hide.

A non-avian visitor, a male Black-backed jackal. We think a family of Black-backed jackals live in the rock crevices a couple of hundred metres to the south along the cliff. These jackals visited the feeding shelf in front of the hide each day we were there, and on some days more than once a day.

There was always tension in the hide when we watched the jackals and ravens take away many bones from the feeding shelf. The raptors only arrived later in the morning once the thermals and updrafts intensified making soaring easier. The starlings and ravens also made quick work of removing the marrow in the bones.

I hope the previous images gave you a sense that there is much more to the experience in the Bearded vulture hide than the raptors. Winter is an ideal time to visit the hide as the grass on the feeding shelf is low. This helps photograph the small seed eaters without grass stems obscuring the view. The same is true when we place bones on the far end of the feeding shelf, When the grass is long it makes photographing the raptors more tricky.

“We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to do certain things, we can accomplish those goals.” – Stephen Covey

You are guaranteed to see many White-necked ravens and Red-winged starlings but the sightings of the other birds was the luck of the draw. The weather is also highly variable which enables photographers to mix the bird and landscapes. Patience is needed as there are quiet periods but then no raptor gives you warning that it is on finals for landing so you have to stay alert the whole time.

“This is as true in everyday life as it is in battle: we are given one life and the decision is ours whether to wait for circumstances to make up our mind, or whether to act, and in acting, to live.” – Omar Bradley

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

Have fun, Mike

One of the two vulture hides in the Drakensberg is located in the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve in the middle berg section of the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains. The hide was opened in 1967 and built to create a greater interest in vultures in response to their declining numbers. The hide is pre-booked for the day at the Giant’s Castle camp and only accessible by 4×4 vehicle.

“The best adventures are the ones that make your heart race and your soul sing.” ~ Jon Miksis

We usually get up to the hide by 6h30, at the latest, in winter as the sun only falls across the shelf in front of the hide by around 7h30. You are given a bucket of precut bones by the Giant’s Castle camp staff for the day you have booked the hide. Getting into the hide early gives us time to get organised and get our cameras ready for a day that awaits us.

“Jobs fill your pockets, but adventures fill your soul.” ~ Jaime Lyn

The raptors we have seen from the hide include Bearded vultures, Cape Griffon vultures, Jackal buzzards, Lanner falcons, Rock kestrels and Yellow-billed kites. I have never seen the Verreaux Eagles in all the times I have been to the hide, but I live in hope. The bones attract a variety of non-raptors which feed on the fat and marrow on the bones. The White-necked ravens and Red-winged starlings are particularly partial to the fat on the bones. There is also a Black-backed jackal family that lives in the crevices a few hundred metres from the feeding shelf in front of the hide. The jackals are also fond of the pickings.

With all the competition for the bones from non-raptors, we put out the bones strategically, both in terms of time and position. The vultures tend to only land at the south-western end of the shelf which is about 50 metres away from the hide. The shelf has a cliff edge that falls away into the Bushman’s river valley.

One day we were fortunate enough to be visited by both the Bearded and Cape vultures. My previous post described our Bearded vulture sightings and this post is focussed on the Cape vultures which are also called Cape Griffon vultures. Both the Bearded and Cape vultures are categorised as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to Project Vulture, the southern African population of Cape vultures is listed at 2 900 breeding pairs, of which approximately 1 450 reside in the Maloti-Drakensberg mountains- about 20% of the population. (Source: https://birding.krugerpark.co.za/birding-in-kruger-raptor-vultures.html)

With all the aerial activity along the Bushman’s river valley, the juvenile Cape vulture in the next image landed on the rock ledge at the far end of the feeding shelf but was keeping an eye out for other raptors in the sky above.

The Cape vulture is the second largest vulture in southern Africa after the Lappet-faced vulture. The adult has a wingspan of up to 260 centimetres. It stands around 106 centimetres tall and can weigh between seven and 11 kilograms. There is a slight size difference between the male and female with female being larger but in all other aspects the male and female look the alike. The brownish colour plumage, red skin on the neck and dark eyes are characteristic of a fledged juvenile Cape vulture.

The Cape vulture is an old world vulture, meaning it comes from the Africa, Asia and Europe region while the new world birds are found in the Americas. This vulture is endemic to southern Africa and breeds in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique. The majority of (excluding the Palm-nut and Bearded) Old World Vultures have featherless faces with bald or almost bald heads and necks. Old World vultures find carcasses exclusively by sight and do not have a well developed sense of smell. They do have vocal chords so vocalise by mainly hissing and cackling at each other around a carcass.

The Cape vulture is often confused with the White-backed vulture but the Cape vulture is much larger and much lighter in colour being mostly whitish grey above flecked with brown. There are individuals that look mainly brown but this is probably due to dust bathing though generally the brown plumage is a indication of a fledged juvenile. The outer black primary feathers of the wing, the 12 tail feathers (in other species of this genus there are 14) and the inner dark brown secondary feathers contrast sharply with the lighter colour of the rest of the body, both above and below.

The blue grey head and neck are sparsely covered with white down but at the base of the neck there are a few rows of longer feathers forming a grey-buff collar. The eyes are pale yellowish-amber, and the bill is black. Juveniles and immatures are generally darker and more streaked, with dark brown eyes and neck skin has a reddish colour.

The Cape vulture has passive soaring wings. This type of wing has a long wingspan and is relatively broad. Wing dimensions are of biological interest for several reasons. They can be used to predict and understand the habitat selection and hunting methods of the bird.

The passive soaring wing type has a low aspect ratio meaning its wingspan relative to the width of the wing is comparatively low which is ideal for soaring. The large wingspan enables the Cape vulture to glide for long distances catching thermals and riding updrafts as it flies. Long wings are better for gliding, but harder to flap quickly so are not good for quick acceleration. In the case of the Cape vulture in the Drakensberg, the large wingspan dictates its preference for roosting and nesting on cliff ledges. The vulture can just dive off the cliff to get airborne as minimal flapping is required. Like the Bearded, the Cape vulture makes use of the cliff and mountain updrafts to fly along the cliffs and the length and breath of the Bushman’s river valley which varies around two kilometres wide. Flapping is energy intensive so being able to soar gives these vultures an extended foraging range which can be up to 150 kilometres.

The first five or six long primary wing feathers spread out, creating “slots” which reduce wingtip turbulence and so reduce drag. The primary wing feathers provide control and thrust while the secondaries provide most of the lift on the wing.

Wing loading is another important way of assessing how (and how well) a bird flies. Wing loading is the ratio of wing area to weight. The relatively low wing loading of the Cape vulture dictates its soaring duration and its manoeuvrability at slow speeds. The slowing flight speeds gives the vulture more time to scan the ground for carcasses. The vultures also watch each other carefully while flying to get an indication of whether there is food on the ground. A quickly descending vulture invariably creates a chain reaction and others seem to come from nowhere as they are usually much higher up so are not easily seen.

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

It is interesting to see this Cape vulture landing with full flare of its wings and tail feathers which act as an airbrake. The slotted primary wing feathers are spread to enhance control at lower air speeds and even the alula wing feather is extended. The alula is the freely moving first digit, a bird’s “thumb”, which typically has three to five small flight feathers. In normal flight, the alula is held flush against the wing. When flying at slow speeds or landing, the bird moves its alula slightly upwards and forward, which creates a small slot on the wing’s leading edge which adds lift at slower airspeeds.

Immediately after landing this adult Cape vulture walked over to the edge of the rock shelf and peered over into the valley below possibly to see if it was going to have any immediate competition in the feeding area by another raptor.

Having satisfied itself that the “coast was clear” it ran back to feed on the flesh on the bones we had laid out. If there had been many vultures on a carcass, this vulture would probably have run toward the carcass with its wings out in a threatening display.

The Cape vulture fed among several White-necked ravens which did not seem to be bothered by the much larger vulture. The Cape vulture tore off the flesh and fat on the bones but it would normally go for the muscle and internal organs of a large carcass. It has a strong and sharp enough beak to tear open the tougher parts of the carcass. Farmers donate carcasses to the vulture project but only the ones that have not been treated with veterinary products which are harmful to the vultures.

“The web of life both cradles us and calls us to weave it further.” ~ Joanna Macy

One noticeable feature of the Cape vulture is the blue-grey bare skin breast patches either side of the crop. Some think these bare skin patches have a thermo-regulation function. Perhaps they may also have a brood patch function as can be seen on Saddle-billed storks. Vultures also thermo-regulate by hunching their bodies and tucking in their heads in the cold, and opening their wings and stretching their necks in the heat .

The dynamics on the feeding shelf changed when the male Black-backed jackal arrived to claim his share of the bones. These two species seem to be old antagonists and probably quite evenly matched one on one. The male jackal appeared to have a disjointed jaw, possibly an old injury which made him a little more wary about tangling with this large vulture.

I have never seen a Cape vulture fly off the feeding shelf with a bone, unlike the Bearded vultures and Jackal Buzzards and even the ravens. The Cape vulture’s feet although large are not built for catching live prey or carrying off large bones. Its feet are strong enough to hold a part of the carcass or bone to enable it to rip apart muscle tissue and tendons. The Cape vulture has anisodactylic feet which has the first digit, the big toe or hallux, as a backward facing toe and three forward facing toes with the middle one being the longest. Vultures have weak feet compared with eagles, and a relatively small hind toe, which is capable of gripping but not killing.

The Black-backed jackals have to be careful as the Cape vulture has a powerful hooked beak and can be aggressive when defending its food. The bird reference book, Roberts VII has noted the curious ‘foot show’ sometimes performed by the Cape Vulture. It half opens its wings, walks about on stiff legs and then raises one spread foot while hissing loudly all the time. This display is thought to be driven by the conflicting impulses of fear and aggression.( Source:https://birding.krugerpark.co.za/birding-in-kruger-raptor-vultures.html)

This Cape vulture decided to leave the feeding area after having been pushed by the Black-backed jackal. The large wings are not ideal for flapping so this vulture just dived off the cliff edge to get airborne.

This is the highest flying vulture, preferring to fly at a heights of around 8 000 metres. To be able to hunt at this height means that their eyesight has to be outstanding. These vultures are estimated to be able to see with 20 times better resolution than human beings, and eight times further. Vultures tend to watch each other and other raptors when flying to see if they have discovered a carcass on the ground.

According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), the Cape Vulture was listed as Endangered on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, but in 2021 it was ‘down listed’ to Vulnerable. This is a remarkable conservation success story and testament to the tireless efforts of multiple generations of conservationists in southern Africa. This achievement resulted from a concerted effort by various organisations, including the EWT, BirdLife South Africa, and wildlife rehabilitation centres such as Moholoholo, VulPro, and others.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” ~ Margaret Mead

The number of Cape vultures had been steadily declining since at least the 1980s when it was first classified as endangered. Between 1992 and 2007, in South Africa alone this species has declined by 60-70%. By 2021, the total population of mature individuals is estimated to be approximately 9,600-12,800 individuals and was assessed as Vulnerable. (Source: https://projectvulture.org.za/the-vultures/cape-vulture/).

Cape vultures are thought to be subject to many threats. Reduced abundance of large carrion, especially during nesting, targeted or inadvertent poisoning, loss of foraging habitat, and unsustainable harvesting for traditional uses are thought to be the most important factors.

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” ~ Beverly Sills

According to Vulture Conservation Foundation, vultures play a crucial role in the environments in which they live. These scavengers do the dirty work of cleaning up after death, helping to keep ecosystems healthy and prevent the spread of disease. Vultures have extremely corrosive stomach acid that allows them to consume rotting animal corpses. These scavenged leftovers are often infected with anthrax, botulinum toxins and rabies that would otherwise kill other animals. When vultures consume carcasses, they keep diseases in check.

“Shallow ecology is anthropocentric, or human-centred. It views humans as above or outside nature, as the source of all value, and ascribes only instrumental, or ‘use’ value to nature. Deep ecology does not separate humans – or anything else – from the natural environment. It does see the world not as a collection of isolated objects but as a network of phenomena that are fundamentally interconnected and interdependent. Deep ecology recognises the intrinsic value of all human beings and views humans as just one particular strand in the web of life.” ~ Fritjof Capra

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

Have fun, Mike

The Giant’s Castle hide was built in 1967 to enable birders and photographers to better appreciate vultures, especially the Bearded vulture. The remaining southern African population of Bearded vultures live in the Maluti-Drakensberg mountains in South Africa. While you are likely to see a variety of birds from the hide, the grand prize is the Bearded vulture because of its rarity and unusualness.

“Our relationship with nature is more one of being than having. We are nature: we do not have nature.” ~ Steven Harper

According to the African Raptor Centre, there are estimated to be 100 breeding pairs and 320 birds remaining in the wild in the southern hemisphere. This makes it one of the most threatened vultures in southern Africa. The decline in numbers has been caused by less food availability due to the expansion of human settlements, electrocution by overhead power lines, collisions with wind turbines, and farmers poisoning bait to kill Jackals. Bearded vulture body parts are also used in ceremonial and traditional medicine purposes.

The vulture hide in the Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve is located on a shelf on the eastern side of the Bushman’s river valley. The shelf, where most of the feeding occurs, expands from just wider than the hide itself at the north east end of the shelf, about 25 metres wide in the middle of the shelf and 50 metres at the south eastern end of the shelf. One of the photographic highlights of your time in the hide will be when a Bearded vulture lands on the south eastern end of the shelf.

If you are lucky you may see the Bearded vulture flying in to land on the south eastern shelf. Alternatively, it may suddenly appear over the edge of the shelf. So often it looks like it is going to land only to turn away at the last moment. Every time this happens there is great excitement in the hide.

The uncertainty of how or when a raptor will come in to land on the rock shelf dictates that you have to be alert and ready to shoot photographically all the time. Fortunately, my avid birding wife, Helen, is an excellent spotter which significantly improves my photographic hit rate.

Interestingly, despite its large size the Bearded vulture seems to be relatively timid in front of the hide, perhaps it is just wary. On this particular occasion, the adult Bearded vulture landed at the far end of the shelf. It did not walk over to the many bones scattered on the shelf but kept looking over the edge of the shelf and after a minute or so it took off again.

The adult Bearded vulture is mostly dark gray, rusty, and whitish in colour. It has grey-blue to grey-black upperparts. Its creamy-coloured forehead contrasts against a black band across the eyes and lores, and bristles under the chin, which form a black beard that gives the bird its English name.

The Bearded vulture is one of the largest vultures in Africa with a wingspan of up to 2.9 metres. It can stand up to 125 centimetres in height and weigh up to just under eight kilograms. It is the only raptor with a beard. This beard gives the vulture its scientific name ‘Gypaetus barbatus’ which literally means ‘bearded vulture-eagle’. Bearded Vultures are big shaggy looking raptors which look more like eagles than vultures. The Ruppell’s Griffon and Lappet-faced vultures are heavier than the Bearded but have a similar wingspan.

It is also the only bird known to decorate itself. The plumage on the chest, neck, shoulders and legs of the adult Bearded vulture are a creamy-white. This vulture stains it’s creamy-white legs, chest and neck feathers a rusty red by bathing in soils or water rich in red iron oxide deposits. The reason for these vultures staining their white chest, legs and neck feathers is not fully known. One theory postulated is that the colour displays their prowess. Another theory is the iron oxide provides an antibacterial effect. This species of vulture cannot produce carotenoids, which are antioxidant compounds that protect cells from free radicals in the body. Many bird species acquire carotenoids through their diets but the Bearded vultures’ bone and marrow diet does not provide these antioxidants. Another intriguing idea is that the intensity of plumage colour of Bearded vultures with access to red soils was correlated with age. The older the adult the more brightly coloured.

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” ~ Rachel Carson

Another unusual feature of the Bearded vulture is its ability to concentrate blood in the scleral ring around the eye. This is different to the carotenoids which pigment the lores and base of the beak of the Bateleur and African Harrier-hawk. The latter two raptors can also concentrate blood in their lores to produce an intense red colour. Again it is speculated that Bearded vultures evolved the large scleral ring and the pale yellow iris to convey information about the status of the individual. This signal is reinforced by staining their plumage with iron oxide, which ore closely matches the iris colour in the species.

The scleral ring in birds consists of ossicles that are fixed as small plates by cartilage joints and have no articulation to other parts of the skeleton. The scleral ring is red because it is full of blood. It is thought that when a Bearded vulture is stressed or feels threatened, it forces more blood into the scleral ring causing it to expand and turn more of the eye a red colour.

The shape of a Bearded vulture’s wing is also noteworthy. Its wing is classified as a passive soaring wing. This wing type has a low aspect ratio, meaning the ratio of the wing span to the average width is low even though it has such large wings. Low-aspect-ratio wings generally provide greater manoeuvrability but at the cost of greater drag (air resistance).

Air from high-pressure areas beneath the wings flows over the wingtips into the low-pressure areas above the wings causing wingtip turbulence, which increases drag. Eagles and vultures reduce this drag problem by flying with their primary feathers extended, creating slots between them. Each primary feather serves as an individual high-aspect-ratio wing, reducing wingtip turbulence and lowering the stalling speed of the wing so that the bird can remain aloft at a slower speed.

The vulture’s wing loading is also low because the ratio of the bird’s weight to wing area is low. This factor allows the vulture to glide with extended wings for long periods. The large wings are harder to flap so the Bearded vulture lands on the edge of a cliff or rock shelf where it can dive off when it wants to get flying again.

The mechanics of flapping flight become harder the larger the bird because the mass increases faster than length. A bird twice as long as another is on average four times as heavy.

Bearded vultures are master wind riders. They make use of updraughts produced when the wind blows over the mountain ridges to get and stay airborne. They also gain height by tacking or flying in alternate directions at right angles to the direction of flow of the wind. There are many wonderful sightings of Bearded vultures flying past the hide, in some cases 30 metres away at eye level.

These vultures also catch thermals to gain height and are at times at least 400 to 500 metres above the hide. They can also be seen flying low through the Bushman’s river valley possibly only 30 metres above the valley floor looking for food.

“Wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us. The sun shines not on us, but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing.” ~ John Muir

Bearded vultures do land on large rocks near the Bushman river valley floor. They can sit on the rock for as long as half an hour just looking around. The rock needs to be high enough for the Bearded vulture to dive off.

We spent a few days in the hide during winter and at times it was very cold. On one day it snowed on the upper sections of the higher mountains. This got me to thinking about how these vultures keep warm enough to fly in the really cold air for extended periods.

These vultures are well-adapted to their cold mountainous hunting grounds. Their broad, stiff overlapping contour feathers prevent the icy wind from penetrating the soft, insulating down underneath. Bearded vultures spend 80% of daylight hours soaring gracefully on the wing with their bare feet tucked in their shaggy feathers to keep them warm.

When feeding, Bearded vultures can swallow whole or bite through brittle bones as large 25cm long and 3.5 cm wide. Their powerful digestive system quickly dissolves even large pieces of bone. Their stomach contains a strong acid (with an estimated ph of 1) which is capable of dissolving the digested bones in just 24 hours.

These vultures also seek the bone marrow. To access the marrow from bones too large to swallow the Bearded vulture has to crack the bones open. To do this they carry the large intact bone to a height of between 50 metres and 150 metres above the ground and then drop it onto specific flat rocks below called ossuaries; this smashes the bone into smaller pieces exposing the nutritious marrow. After dropping the large bone, the Bearded vulture descends to inspect it and may repeat the process if the bone is not sufficiently broken. Once cracked the Bearded vulture extracts the exposed bone-marrow with its rough, scoop-like tongues. The ‘dropping skill’ is learned and requires extensive practice by immature birds which can take up to seven years to master. The energy content of this marrow diet is 15% higher than a meat diet, but requires a lot more work.

Each day you have booked the hide, you are given a bucket of bones to put out for the Bearded vultures. There have been many days when the Bearded vultures repeatedly glided past the shelf in front of the hide where the bones are placed and they never landed to swallow or pick up bones. All the while the White-necked ravens were tucking into the meat and fat on the bones with relish. The passing vultures were definitely looking and seeing the bones but seemed happy to continue gliding back and forth along the ridge supported by the updraft. The Bearded Vulture, like other Old World Vultures, depends on sight to find its food. This is in contrast to many New World vultures that have a highly developed sense of smell.

Vultures can be divided into two age categories. New World vultures, which are from North, Central, and South America; and Old World vultures are from Africa, Asia, and Europe. Old World vultures have also been around longer than the New World vultures.

Old World vultures look like their eagle and hawk relatives. They have large, grasping talons, a voice box so can vocalise, and build nests made of sticks on rocky platforms or in trees. They have stronger feet than the New World vultures, but they are not designed for grasping, and large broad wings that allow them to stay aloft for most of the day, and a large, powerful beak with a hooked tip. Bearded vultures are usually silent but when participating in a breeding display they communicate by means of a high-pitched whistle. I personally have never heard the vocalisation from a Bearded vulture.

The Bearded vulture tends to be solitary, but when breeding they may be seen in pairs. The female is larger than the male.

The Bearded vulture reaches sexual maturity between five and seven years of age. Interestingly, the age of the Bearded vulture in the period until it reaches sexual maturity can be reasonably accurately estimated from the colour of its plumage, especially the head and neck. The next image shows an adult Bearded vulture flying with its juvenile.

The age of the juvenile to adulthood can be estimated by looking at the transformation colouration. Roberts Birds of Southern Africa gives an illustrated aging chart of the Bearded vulture. The juvenile’s head, neck and belly changes colour as do the secondary wing feathers and the wing coverts.

The juvenile fledges about 110 to 130 days after hatching, and it depends on its parents for food for between seven and 12 months. In its second year, the juvenile’s head is entirely black and the first signs of a beard is growing. The breast is mottled black, brown with tinges of fawn colour. The scapular shaped tail feathers are black.

In the third year, the head shows the first signs of white on the neck and cheeks, and the eye brow is starting to whiten. The breast feathers are becoming progressively lighter with more fawn colouring in them.

In the fourth year, the lores are prominently black, the cheeks are whiter and the forehead is becoming white. In the fifth year, the face and neck are even whiter and the underwing coverts are becoming more mottled while the secondaries remain black.

In the fifth year, the head and neck are whitening further and the secondaries are becoming lighter and the underwing coverts are becoming blacker. The upper wing coverts are becoming more mottled black, white and fawn coloured.

By the sixth year the head and neck feather are progressively lighter and often have more iron oxide red colouring. The chest and belly feathers become progressively whiter coloured with red oxide and the secondaries are lighter.

Most people think that a bird’s knee bends backward, but in fact what we think looks like a knee is actually the bird’s ankle/heel joint. The knee is hidden under feathers close to the bird’s body. Since everything under the ankle is the foot, it is easy to see that a bird actually walks on its toes. The Bearded vulture has anisodactylic feet meaning that it has three toes pointing forward and first one, the hallux, pointing backwards.

On our last day in the hide, we were fortunate to have a juvenile Bearded vulture frequently fly past close to the hide at eye level.

The ravens drop many of the bones over the edge of the feeding shelf so the Bearded vultures fly just below the ridge looking for the dropped bones. Looking down on the juvenile Bearded vulture you can see the beautifully coloured upper wing coverts and its scapular shaped tail feathers.

After a few fly pasts, the juvenile landed on a large rock shelf below the hide.

This gave me an opportunity to get a close up of the juvenile showing the wonderful colouring of its head, neck, chest, belly and legs. These vultures always perched on a rock shelf with a steep drop off so that it could take off by just diving off the shelf.

The intriguing aspect of being in the hide is that you have time to ponder about all the adaptations and behaviours of the birds you are watching. Inevitably, more questions arise accompanied by more wonder. Over a few days in the hide you get to understand the behavioural patterns of the various birds which helps anticipate more interesting photographs. Invariably, we would get up to the hide at first light, which in winter was around 6h15. The sunshine only fell on the hide shelf around 7h30. This gave us time to get our cameras set up and have a cup of hot coffee and rusk to warm up. Once the sunshine had cast light on the hide shelf we put out some of the bones at strategic places with the hope of getting particular types of photographs. Within minutes of the bones being put out, the White-necked ravens and Red-winged starlings would appear and begin to feast on the flesh and fat on the bones. The race was then on as to whether the ravens, starlings and Black-backed jackals would finish off the bones before one of our sought after raptors arrived. Although we spent nine to 10 hours in the hide each day it was great fascinating and fun.

“The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on Earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our own future, but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the Earth.”~ David Attenborough

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

Have fun, Mike