Tag Archives: nature

Pin-tailed Whydah

Vidua macroura

The little Pin-tailed Whydah (12cm long, without the tail, and weighing only about 15g) is most known for the aggressive nature of the breeding males, which carries tails almost double their own body length and have no qualms tackling birds many times their own weight, like doves and pigeons, over a food source or territory!

Pin-tailed Whydahs are brood parasites, meaning that the female lays her eggs (usually 1 or 2 but up to 4 at a time) in the nests of other birds, mostly small seed-eaters like waxbills, for them to raise the chicks, often after removing some or all of the host birds’ eggs. A single Pin-tailed Whydah female may lay up to 25 eggs in a season. Their breeding season stretches from spring to autumn. Males are polygamous and highly territorial. The chicks hatch after about 11 days of incubation and leave the nest at about 3 weeks old, staying with their host family for about another week before joining a Whydah group.

Their habitat ranges from savanna, grassland, reedbeds and scrublands to suburban parks, orchards and gardens. They feed mostly on seeds and termites. In South Africa they occur in all our provinces, though they’re rather sparsely distributed in the arid Northern Cape, while outside of our borders Pin-tailed Whydahs occur over most of the continent south of the Sahara. The IUCN considers the Pin-tailed Whydah to be of least concern.

Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah female

Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed whydah

Pin-tailed whydah male without the long tailfeathers

Pin-tailed Whydah female

Displaying Pin-tailed whydah male without the long tailfeathers

Pin-tailed Whydah female

Male Pin-tailed Whydah (lost the trailing feathers somehow)

Female Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah female

Pin-tailed whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah male (photo by Joubert)

Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah male

Female Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah

Female Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah male displaying to the female

Pin-tailed Whydah

Pin-tailed Whydah male

Female Pin-tailed Whydah

Temminck’s Courser

21 Replies

Cursorius temminckii

Temminck’s Courser inhabits open savannas with a covering of short grass, favouring recently burned or overgrazed areas as well as recently ploughed fields, where it is easy to capture their insect prey. These are the smallest species of courser in Africa, with a wingspan of 42cm, length of around 20cm, and a weight of about 70g.

Temminck’s Coursers are diurnal and usually seen in small, loosely associated flocks of around 12, though up to 40 in a group have been recorded. They breed almost throughout the year with a distinct peak in spring. Pairs are monogamous and both parents incubate the clutch of two eggs which is simply laid on the bare ground. Chicks are precocious and start moving around with their parents hours after hatching, and able to fly by the time they’re 3 weeks old.

The IUCN considers Temminck’s Courser to be of Least Concern, and it is found in two large parts of Africa – one in West Africa south of the Sahara and the other from Ethiopia southwards to Angola and South Africa. In our country they can be encountered mainly in the central and northern provinces – Free State, North West, Gauteng, northern Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

Temminck’s Courser

Temmink’s Courser

Temminck’s Courser

Temmink’s Courser

South African Shelduck

27 Replies

Tadorna cana

South African Shelducks inhabit bodies of fresh water, ranging from small seasonal pans and farm dams to large impoundments, mostly in fairly arid areas or areas of open grassland. They grow to a length of 60-65cm and weigh between 0.7 and 2.2kg, and are often found alongside the slightly larger Egyptian Goose with which they could be confused. They’re active both during the day and night, searching mainly for vegetable food (including agricultural produce) although they will also consume crustaceans and the like when the opportunity arises.

In early summer South African Shelducks congregate in enormous flocks of up to 5,000 on large dams and lakes for their flightless moulting phase. After this they disperse into solitary, territorial, monogamous pairs (which often hold for many years) for the breeding season which mainly stretches from April to September. They usually nest in abandoned animal burrows, mostly those dug by aardvarks, porcupines or springhares, or other natural cavities, but very rarely on the open ground. Clutches of 6-15 eggs are incubated by the female only for around a month, after which both parents look after the ducklings until they become independent at between 3 and 4 months old.

South African Shelducks are only to be found in Namibia, a small part of Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa, where they can be seen at suitable habitat in all the provinces except Limpopo, eastern Mpumalanga and the northeast of Kwazulu-Natal. The IUCN lists the species as being of least concern and, although they’ve greatly expanded their range and numbers thanks to artificial water bodies laid on in arid areas, the population may be facing pressure from human disturbance as well as a decline in aardvark populations and the resultant diminishing of available nesting sites.

South African Shelduck pair

South African Shelduck (female)

South African Shelduck (male)

South African Shelduck (female)

South African Shelduck (male)

South African Shelduck pair

South African Shelduck (male)

South African Shelduck (female)

South African Shelduck (pair)

Egyptian Goose chasing South African Shelduck

South African Shelduck

South African Shelducks

South African Shelduck (male)

South African Shelduck (female)

South African Shelduck male

South African Shelduck male (photo by Joubert)

South African Shelduck male

South African Shelduck female

South African Shelduck female (photo by Joubert)

South African Shelducks

Lesser Bushbaby

33 Replies

Galago moholi

The Lesser Bushbaby, or South African Bushbaby, is by far the tiniest primate occurring in South Africa. These cute little furballs weigh only about 150g and grow to a length of around 35cm, including their tail.

Lesser Bushbabies inhabit savanna habitats, especially those dominated by thorn trees and mopane. They feed on tree gum, fruit, berries, blossoms, insects and even small vertebrates from time to time.

Being exclusively nocturnal, Lesser Bushbabies spend the day in nests constructed of leaves, in hollow tree trunks, in abandoned bird nests or the roofs of buildings. These nests are shared by groups numbering 2-8, though they mostly forage alone. These groups are territorial and mark their home ranges by urinating on their hands and feet. They are almost exclusively arboreal and amazingly agile, being capable of jumps over 2m high and over 5m long!

Litters of two tiny 9g babies (1 or 3 in a litter is most unusual) are born in summer. The babies grow very quickly and become independent when they’re only 2 months old. Lesser Bushbabies have a life expectancy of around 10 years in the wild, and are a favoured prey of owls, genets, pythons and other carnivores.

The IUCN lists the Lesser Bushbaby as being of least concern. They occur widely in the savanna areas of Africa south of the equator, and in South Africa specifically can be found in the provinces of North West, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

The cute and tiny lesser bushbaby

Lesser Bushbaby

Water Monitor

36 Replies

Varanus niloticus

The Water, or Nile, Monitor is one of the three largest lizards occurring in Africa, growing to a total length of up to almost 2.5m and a weight of up to 15kg or more!

As its name suggests, this enormous lizard is very much at home in aquatic habitats (streams, rivers, pans, lakes, dams, marshes, etc.) and is an excellent swimmer, often diving beneath the water surface to hunt for prey or escape enemies. They feed predominantly on crustaceans and molluscs, but will also prey on insects, frogs, fish and the eggs of birds, tortoises and crocodiles. They’re often seen basking in the sun on rocks or logs close to the water and are very good climbers, often hibernating in the tops of trees in temperate regions like South Africa. When cornered they lash out with their long, muscular tails in self-defense, often inflicting serious damage to any bold attacker.

After the first spring rains, females dig holes in occupied termite mounds in which they lay between 20 and 60 eggs. The termites then fix the nest and the monitor eggs then develop inside it at a constant temperature and humidity. The eggs can take anything between 6 months and a year to hatch, with the young then digging themselves out of the termite mound.

In South Africa, the Water Monitor occurs along all the river systems running to the Indian Ocean north of Port Elizabeth, as well as along the rivers making up the Orange-Vaal system running to the Atlantic. North of our borders they occur widely in sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile River into Egypt. Sadly they are a target species of the exotic pet trade.

Water Monitor at Nkuhlu

Water monitor

Can you see the hibernating monitor lizard?

Water Monitor

Water Monitor lizard

Water Monitor

Baby Nile Crocodile and Adult Water Monitor lying next to a pool in the Shingwedzi River

Water Thick-knees warding off a Nile Monitor

Water Monitor lizard

Water Monitor (photo by Marilize)

Water Monitor swimming (photo by Joubert)

Water Monitor swimming

Nile Monitor on a rocky bed

Water Monitor

Nile Monitor (photo by Joubert)

Nile Monitor

Nile Monitor trying to swallow a huge crab

Nile Monitor

Water Monitor

Nile Monitor

Green-backed Heron

36 Replies

Butorides striata atricapillus

The Green-backed Heron, also known as the Striated Heron in many parts of its range, is a shy species inhabiting aquatic habitats (swamps, estuaries, lakes, rivers, streams, floodplains and mangrove stands), with a well-vegetated border. Here they feed on a wide-range of mostly water-related prey such as worms, insects, molluscs, crabs, frogs, fish (often attracted with a piece of bait, like floating bread) and even small vertebrates.

These relatively small herons (length 40cm, weight 215g) are mainly active from dusk to dawn. Green-backed Herons are monogamous and pairs usually breed well away from others of their species and only occasionally in small colonies. Their nests are shallow platforms constructed of twigs and reeds in the branches of trees of bushes. They breed throughout the year with a peak coinciding with the rainy season. Clutches of 2-5 eggs are incubated by both parents for 3-4 weeks. The chicks can fly strongly by the time they’re about 5 weeks old.

While this species has a wide distribution across the world (Asia, Australia, the Americas and Africa south of the Sahara), they’re confined mostly to the wetter eastern and northern provinces of South Africa. The IUCN lists the species as being of least concern, though they do note that the population is probably in decline due mostly to loss of habitat.

Green-backed Heron

Green-backed heron

Green-backed Heron

Got it! Green-backed Heron catching dragonflies

Green-backed Heron

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron

An immature Green-backed Heron being very distrustful of a large Nile Crocodile

An immature Green-backed Heron in flight (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron (immature)

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron swallowing a huge Tilapia (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron

Immature Green-backed Herons

Green-backed Heron

Southern Black Flycatcher

10 Replies

Melaenornis pammelaina

The Southern Black Flycatcher inhabits open, tall woodlands, often along rivers or otherwise near water, and the edges of forests. They’ve also adapted to plantations and gardens. They feed mainly on a wide variety of insects, often pounced on from a low perch such as a branch or fence post, but do include nectar and berries in their diet as well.

This species closely resembles both the Square-tailed Drongo and the Fork-tailed Drongo, which it appears to be mimicking and often associates with. Adults reach up to 20cm in length and weigh up to 32g. They are usually encountered in pairs or small family groups.

The breeding season in the Southern Black Flycatcher spans spring and summer. Nests are cup-shaped formations of dry grass and twigs, built in hollow tree trunks or tangled vegetation. Clutches contain up to 4 eggs, incubated for 2 weeks. Both parents take care of the chicks, which fledge between 2 and 3 weeks old.

The Southern Black Flycatcher occurs widely in east, central and southern Africa, and is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. In South Africa they can be found in the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and parts of Gauteng and the North West Province.

Southern Black Flycatcher

Fledgling Southern Black Flycatcher

Southern Black Flycatcher

Black Flycatcher

Southern Black Flycatcher

Black Flycatcher

Southern Black Flycatcher

Black Flycatcher

Red-headed Finch

20 Replies

Amadina erythrocephala

Red-headed finches inhabit dry savanna and grassland habitats, where they feed mainly on seeds and small insects. They are dependent on a reliable supply of drinking water and is therefore highly nomadic, especially in the dry season. They are frequently encountered in urban and agricultural areas, where the provision of water has aided an expansion of their distribution. Red-headed Finches grow to 14cm in length and weigh up to 27g.

Red-headed finches are usually encountered in flocks of varying sizes, often mixed with other small seed-eating birds. They breed throughout the year inside the abandoned nests of other birds or in holes in trees or buildings, with most eggs laid from late summer to spring. Females may lay as many as 11 eggs, though clutches usually number 4 to 6 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for around 2 weeks, with the hatchlings leaving the nest when they’re between 2 and 3 weeks old.

The IUCN considers the Red-headed Finch to be of least concern, describing their population as common and stable. In South Africa they occur across portions of all our provinces, with their distribution further extending into Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Unfortunately there is a market for wild caught Red-headed Finches in the pet trade.

Red-headed finch (male)

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch (female)

Red-headed Finch pair (male – left and female – right)

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch (female)

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch pair

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch males

Red-headed Finch pair

Red-headed Finches

Female Red-headed Finch

Red-headed Finch

Red-headed Finch (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope

27 Replies

Hippotragus niger

To us, the Sable is the most majestic of all the antelope – the proud bulls with their gracefully curved horns, pitch-black bodies and contrasting white stomachs make a sight to behold! The Sable is a large antelope, weighing from 180 to 270 kg and standing up to 1.4m high at the shoulder. Bulls are only slightly larger than the cows.

The Sable Antelope inhabits open woodland and savannas, with medium to long grass, large trees and few shrubs. They are seldom far from water as they need to drink daily. They are almost exclusively grazers, consuming only small quantities of leaves and herbs, especially in the dry season.

Sable Antelope (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope cows

Sable Antelope

Sable Antelope bull

Sable Antelope

Adult bulls maintain territories through ritual display and serious fights, and attempt to keep passing herds of cows and their calves in their area so that they can mate with receptive females. Breeding herds number about 20 animals, though larger, temporary groups of up to 200 may form in areas of good grazing. Males that aren’t able to hold territories come together in small bachelor herds. A strict hierarchy applies in both the bachelor and breeding herds, and appears to be based on age – the older the animal the higher its rank. Sable Antelope are most active in the early mornings and evenings, sometimes into the night, and rest in the shade during the heat of the day. Sable can be very dangerous and defend themselves valiantly against predator attacks – when cornered they will back into a thorny bush and face the attacker head-on with powerful swipes of those magnificent horns – even lions have been killed by Sable!

Most Sable calves are born in the rainy season, after a gestation of about 9 months. Cows leave their herds a few days before their calves are born and the calf then stays hidden for 2 to 4 weeks, during which time the mother nurses it twice daily, before joining up with the herd again. Young bulls are expelled from the herds at about three years of age to join bachelor groups, until they can establish their own territory at 5 – 6 years of age. Females remain in their maternal herds. Lions and crocodiles are the only natural threat to adult Sable Antelope, but leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and wild dogs take a heavy toll on calves, especially while they are kept hidden those first few weeks of life. Sable have a life expectancy in the wild of between 10 and 18 years.

With a relatively stable population of 75,000 distributed from southern Kenya to northern South Africa, the IUCN considers the Sable Antelope as being of least concern overall, with at least half of this population occurring in protected areas. Outside of formal conservation areas they are becoming increasingly rare due to hunting and loss of habitat. An isolated population in Angola, known as the Giant Sable (H.n.variani) numbers only between 200 and 400 and is considered critically endangered. In South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe the Sable is regarded a valuable game ranching animal (mostly for trophy hunting) and as a result has been introduced widely onto private land, also outside their historical distribution range, representing the only sub-populations that are actually increasing in number and now make up about a quarter of the total population. South Africa’s biggest natural population occurs in the Kruger National Park, where their numbers have dropped significantly over the years due to competition from other herbivores. They can also be seen, amongst others, at Marakele, Mokala and Pilanesberg National Parks, at Loskop Dam and Willem Pretorius Game Reserves and in the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve.

Sable Antelope

Kgaswane scenery towering above a herd of sable antelope

This time we had good views of the magnificent sable antelope for which Kgaswane is so well known

Sable antelope in the distance

Sable Antelope females and calves

Sable Antelope cow

Sable Antelope bull and cow

Sable Antelope

Sable antelope

Sable Antelope calf

Sable Antelope bull and harem

Sable Antelope on the S36 between Tshokwane and Talamati

Sable Antelope

Sable Antelope cow

Sable Antelope bull

Sable Antelope

Sable Antelope just outside Senyati’s camping area

Wrapping up the “Dads Trip to Mopani”

27 Replies

Middle-May presented an opportunity to visit one of my favourite corners of the Kruger National Park with three very good friends. We set off early on the Friday morning and returned the following Monday, having had a thoroughly enjoyable time exploring the wilds around Mopani Rest Camp. I’ve already shared with you some of what we saw – the exhilarating waterbuck fight, a towering elephant bull owning the road and the love of a mother hyena for her cubs – but of course in a paradise like Kruger there’s still much more to be seen, and shared!

When going to northern Kruger, apart from Impalas, there are three things you just KNOW you are going to see: Elephants, Buffaloes and Hippos!

Sleepy buffalo and red-billed oxpecker

Big old buffalo bull

Mad old buffalo bull

Buffalo cow without her horns

Buffalo Bull

Elephant in the rear-view mirror

Elephant along the stream

Elephant drinking from a reservoir

Unknown Kruger Tusker (2018/05/19)

Young elephant trying to figure out whether to fight or flee

Elephants drinking from a seasonal pan

Big old elephant bull

Hippo pod in the Pioneer Dam

Hippopotamus yawn

Among all the beautiful elephants we saw, our most prized sightings were of Masasana and Ndlovane, two of the big tuskers that call the Kruger National Park home.

Tusker Ndlovane (2018/05/18)

Tusker Masasana (2018/05/19)

Early on the Saturday morning we thought we were going to be extremely lucky and see a pride of Lions take down a Blue Wildebeest at Tinhongonyeni waterhole. A passing rain shower however dampened the lions’ appetites and they went off to search for a drier spot among the dense mopane trees close-by.

Lion pride in the rain at Tinhongonyeni

Apart from the lions there were several predators in evidence around Mopani on this visit, with Black-backed Jackals and Spotted Hyenas being especially common.

Black-backed Jackal

Nile Crocodile juvenile

Big Nile Crocodile male

Spotted Hyena

Spotted Hyena cub

Large Spotted Genet captured on my camera-trap on the camp perimeter

Leopard captured on my camera-trap on the camp perimeter

And of course all those hungry meat-eater mouths rely on a steady supply of herbivores, which Mopani has no shortage of, especially around Tinhongonyeni and Mooiplaas Waterholes and in the marshland along the course of the Nshawu stream.