Bateleur

This morning I birded with Jonathan in the agricultural fields around Gal'on in the southern Judean Plains. Yesterday a young Bateleur was found there by Shraga Alon:

Mega news: Bateleur near Gal'on in the Judean Plains a short while ago, found by Shraga Alon, photo by Ezra Hadad of @rashut_hateva (thanks for sharing!)

חיוויאי להטוטן בשדות גלאון לפני זמן קצר, נמצא על ידי שרגא אלון, צילום של עזרא חדד מרשות הטבע והגנים pic.twitter.com/5qRJeKhV9b

— Yoav Perlman (@yoavperlman) November 18, 2020

I was keen to get a photo of it. I have seen several in Israel, including earlier this year, but haven't managed a photo yet. The obliging, long-staying bird that spent most of its time in the exact same area overlapped its lengthy stay with my time in the UK.

This is an excellent part of the country, very bird rich. So the hours we spent birding and scanning until Jonathan spotted the Bateleur were enjoyable and fruitful. I found a young Isabelline Shrike, sadly with a deformed bill:

A flock of 43 Wood-Pigeons flew south:

There were many eagles about, including Greater Spotted, Imperial and Bonelli'sץ Volume off! Horrible noise from route 6:

Then Jonathan spotted the Bateleur, flying far to our west, showing its unique and distinctive wing shape and tail-less silhouette:

After a while it flew towards us, in better light but by the time I caught up with it, it was already heading away:

Very cool bird! Close examination of wear and notches indicates that this individual may be the same bird seen in August in the Golan Heights, though I am not sure. Thanks to Yotam Bashan and Ezra Hadad for allowing me to use their images:

Kruger Park colourful birds #2

Watching Woodpigeons and Blackbirds digging in the snow out of my window now, but my head and heart are still in South Africa. Luckily those images keep the memories fresh and warm.

On February 16th we drove around Satara, to the south and to the east. We left very early, especially for big mammals. The plan worked well, and we saw some exciting stuff (more to follow), but here I will focus on the birds we saw during that day and also during my short drive out of the park to Orpen Gatecon the 17th. As always in Africa, the focus is on colourful, long-tailed birds.

Burchell's Starling is common but so pretty

Sound-recorded one as well:

Crested Barbet is super-charismatic too

Lilac-breasted Rollers are common and usually very photogenic. This time around I had less luck photographing them. Still this adult posed nicely:

 And this youngster too:

Southern Carmine Bee-eater - classic Africa

I love Hornbills, even if they don't have eyelashes. Here's a sweet pair of Red-billed Hornbills:

This Yellow-billed Hornbill was too close:

Three-banded Plover are neat waders:

Lots of raptors in Kruger Park. By far the commonest was Bateleur.

Brown Snake Eagle

My next post will be about vultures and cats - expect some action...

African White-backed vultures and a cat

On the way back to Johannesburg I bumped into some Abdim's Storks - very cool birds