birds

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Malachite Sunbird

People underestimate the Port Elizabeth area as a bird watching destination.  One example of excellent bird watching around the city is Addo Elephant National Park boats with over 450 different bird species making it not just great for elephant and game watching, but also for our feathered friends.  I caught this pic of a Malachite Sunbird on a game drive in the park a little while back.  The adult male is metallic green when breeding, with blackish-green wings.  In non-breeding plumage,…

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05/06/2014
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Flamingo take-off

The Flamingo Trail in the Zwartkops Nature Reserve is ideal to get a little bit closer to birds after which the trail was name.  I don't know why but I am always amazed to see the flamingos on the estuary.  Not sure why cause its not like I've never seen them there before.  On a walk along the trail these flamingos decided to take off as we passed and I got a couple of shots of them "walking on water".

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02/06/2014
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Egyptian Geese at Kings Beach

There is nothing as cute as a mother duck, or in this case an Egyptian Goose, swimming or walking along with a couple of babies in tow.  That was the case at the Kings Beach lake until babies started to turn into messy teenagers...  This is not a negative post, just one making fun with the geese and what they leave behind them.

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12/04/2014
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Grey Heron on a pole

This Grey Heron was taking a break on a pole in the Sundays River at Colchester and wasn't really bothered when we cruised past it on the Sundays River Ferry.  The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae and grows to about one meter in height with a wingspan of between 1,5 and 2 meters.  It normally feeds in shallow water, catching fish, frogs and insects with its long bill.  Herons will also take small…

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04/04/2014
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Malachite Sunbird in Addo

Addo Elephant National Park boats with over 450 different bird species making it not just great for elephant and game watching, but also bird watching.  I'm not always too bothered with trying to photograph birds with my superzoom as it isn't really fast enough to take proper pictures of them, but on my last visit I had a borrowed SLR with a long lens and snapped away at anything that moved.  One of those was this Malachite Sunbird.  The adult…

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27/02/2014
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Flamingo take off

I wonder how many people driving the Swartkops road on a regular basis don't even notice the flamingos anymore.  I think its awesome to have so many flamingos on the Swartkoms estuary right here close to the city.  I walked the Flamingo Trail recently and snapped this pic of the flamingos taking off as we started to get too close.

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17/01/2014
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Death on the beach

Maybe its just me, but its always sad when I find a dead marine bird, shark or something on the beach.  I went for a walk along the Sacramento Trail at Schoenmakerskop and spotted this departed Cape Gannet from some distance away already.  The rest of my group walked by without even a glance while I felt I just had to stop to reflect on its former beauty (and of cause snap a picture).   Bird Island (part of the Greater Addo Elephant…

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10/12/2013
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You can’t help but smile when you watch a penguin

One of the things that Libby Sharwood at the South African Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (SAMREC) in Port Elizabeth always say is, "You can help but to smile when you watch a penguin."   The African Penguin is highly endangered with only just over 20 000 breeding pairs left in the world, most of these right on my doorstep on St Croix Island in Algoa Bay.  SAMREC does an amazing job both in the care and rehabilitation of birds that…

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09/12/2013
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A Saturday morning hike on the Flamingo Trail

I'm probably the most overweight, unfit active guy there is.  There is no hesitation to go if I get the opportunity to get out and about and because of my love for the outdoors I make an effort to explore and do as much as possible.  I've been fortunate that I've had the opportunity to do most of the day walks around Port Elizabeth with the exception of only a few.  One of those being the Flamingo Trail in the…

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02/12/2013
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The crowning pigeon

I don't quite think I would like to be a statue.  Yes, people walk past you and remember you every day, tourists stop by and take pictures and you have lots of feathered company but the problem is those same feathered friends and what they leave behind when they fly off again.  Passing Queen Vic in front of the Public Library the other morning there was a pigeon sitting on her crown back to front.  I wondered to myself what the…

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01/10/2013