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Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Storks are typically viewed as wetland species and whilst some storks are restricted to aquatic habitats, others are not. Like the Adjutants in Asia and Jabiru of the Americas, the Marabou is our bare-headed scavenging stork.
What is your favorite bird species? René Rossouw, I live in Nelspruit, South Africa. North-eastern South Africa including the Kruger National Park and the Western Cape How long have you been a bird guide? Expect to see many of South Africa’s endemic and special species, and a total trip list well in excess of 400 species!
More than 150 bird species are known to have become extinct over the past 500 years, and many more are estimated to have been driven to extinction before they became known to science. The Gray Crowned-Crane is a new addition to the list of the world’s Endangered species, creeping up a category from Vulnerable.
One in November 2018 included a one-day birding trip in the Drakensberg area, a mountain range in the border area between South Africa and Lesotho. In fact, this is probably a species that has substantially expanded its original range through the pet shop route and the resulting escapees. On the ground?
Nowhere else in Africa do the preconceived ideas of the continent really exist in such living detail; tall, red-robed Maasai herding their skinny cattle, endless grasslands studded with flat-topped Acacia trees and grazed by herds of zebras and wildebeest, and dramatic volcanic calderas brimming with big game and fierce predators!
And so, I went on the American Birding Association Safari to South Africa. That was easily fixed by adding a post-Safari trip to Eastern South Africa, led by dashing Rockjumper guide Clayton Burne, to my itinerary. I was not on one of those lucky groups, but I did get to see a Secretarybird on my Eastern South Africa trip.)
That is why I am so pleased to see the new “Gulls of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: An Identification Guide” being illustrated with nearly 1400 colour photographs of the 45 species of gulls found in the Western Palearctic. Detailed range maps with a textual range description for each species are included.
and dreaming of a place where the heat is moderate, beer snake-cold and birds innumerable… Let’s say, where the average annual maximum varies from 22 to 24 degrees Celsius / 72 to 75 Fahrenheit and where some 700+ bird species – 24 of them endemic – are waiting for an intrepid birder… Answer to the riddle?
The majority of wildcats live today in Africa, and virtually none of them have provided the DNA from which supposed histories of domestication have been constructed by researchers. I new him because we enlisted his Dryfus Lion and one of his tigers to carry out experiments with bones (this is something archaeologists do).
While Uganda does not have the international reputation of its neighbors Kenya and Tanzania, the experience there is no less extraordinary – and in many ways, particularly for the birder, it’s even more so. In the relatively brief period, my group had something on the order of 450 species. I, personally, had around 430.
When you mention “Africa” to a birder, it is likely that at least two thirds will instantly think “Kenya”, and for a good reason: it is home to over 1,060 bird species and boasts many globally important birding areas. She has been active in conservation, working for the East Africa Natural History Society.
Central Africa has one of those birds. The Shoebill serves as the symbol of the magnificent wildlife experiences Uganda offers visitors, which may seem a bit odd. That honor goes to the Gray-crowned Crane , a very sexy species in its own right. Penguins are, obviously, penguins, which makes them awesome. Malachite Kingfisher.
My name is Kalu Afasi, I am a birding guide from Ghana, a country in West Africa. I chose the name Malimbe Tours because the first bird I ever set eyes on through a pair of binoculars was one of our dazzling malimbe species. It was a fantastic experience. Before I started birding and guiding I was a professional footballer.
The clean plumage and scaly pattern on the back are diagnostic Already in the Strait of Gibraltar, to the south, the Black Kites Milvus migrans , are leaving south for Africa. Instead, much of central and southern Iberia experiences an intense hot and dry season, from June to September, and a wet season. Other species are tied down.
This map shows the distribution of the World’s bird species, based on overlying the breeding and wintering ranges of all known species. I live in the southeast of Europe, for a while lived in the south of Africa and also have extensively birded western and central India. Which leaves only East Africa. And it shows.
Birdlife South Africa has previously done two of these types of trips before, previously called Flock to Sea – Namibia in 2013 and Flock to Nowhere in 2017, in partnership with MSC Cruises. This cruise rose funds for the Mouse-free Marion project of Birdlife South Africa which will attempt to eradicate house mice from Marion Island.
Before self-rule it was administered by South Africa and known as South-West Africa. After a brutal colonization that included genocidal campaigns against the Herero (80% killed) and Nama (50% killed) tribes, the Germans lost control when South Africa invaded soon after the declaration of the First World War.
What this land-locked country lacks in endemic birds it more than makes up for in accessibility of tough species, numbers of birds and the overall wildlife experience. It is also home to the largest concentration of African Elephants on the planet and over 450 bird species. We are currently filming in Botswana.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Africa’s famous Big Five , but do you know there is also an equally fascinating Little Five ? Africa is famous for its large, charismatic mammals, and the Big Five epitomize the most sought-after of these fantastic beasts. This blog post will discuss both the Big and Little members of these quintuplets.
If you are into amazing avian-dense trail experiences, you either want to bird Pipeline Road or want to bird it again. But this type of singular experience can be enjoyed in the Old World as well. Africa boasts its own legendary birding road: Uganda’s Budongo Forest Reserve AKA the Royal Mile. Chocolate-backed Kingfisher.
Or would be, had I encountered more of them – so far, I have seen only a very small share of the approximately 233 woodpecker species, and got decent photos of an even smaller number – not much more than 10% of all of them. It is the most widespread woodpecker in Africa, claims the HBW.
As usual, my experience with such boardwalks was somewhat underwhelming, as was Eshowe as a whole, but there were still a few birds worth mentioning at the forest and in the area surrounding Eshowe. The White-eared Barbet is another bird species with an annoyingly sensible Latin species name, leucotis (white-eared).
The family Picathartidae consists of two very unusual birds; White-necked or Yellow-headed Picathartes , endemic to the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa; and Gray-necked or Red-headed , restricted to Lower Guinea forests of Central Africa. I have only seen this species in the massive and beautiful Korup National Park in Cameroon.
But when I felt familiar with perhaps half of the species around my town, I started to feel that my field guide is now too bulky and too hefty to carry, and that was the era before smartphones and phone apps. It is not a concept for a total beginner, more of a reminder to someone with some experience. Subspecies are not included.
And if you take this phrase, “stamps in weathered passports,” my interpretation is that the experiences from travel are the “stamps” as sights, sounds, tastes, smells, textures, on your “passport,” or soul. Hannah overlooking a valley Traveling into Lesotho from the Sani Pass is an experience more than just the journey to the top.
Yet, I was not aware of any of Arjan’s big year updates in English, so I had no clue where he was or how many species he managed to see. After 3 months of South and Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Australia, Arjan’s count stood at 2,060 species. I’ve had so many incredible experiences.
Found patchily in sub-Saharan Africa, this large, ginger-colored owl can never be guaranteed on a trip to the continent. It is classified as threatened in South Africa – where its numbers have dwindled due to loss of habitat and pollution – and is uncommon and localized elsewhere. What a beauty! What a place.
An expanse of habitat as vast as Murchison Falls NP in Uganda, as excessively generous in beauty and biodiversity, permits endless ways to experience both its birds and animals. The 5,000 sq km of exquisite savanna and bush may hew more closely to your ideal vision of Africa than any other spot on the continent.
The 1,500 km route included a great diversity of habitat types, elevations along the west and east facing slopes of the Andes, jaw dropping landscapes, contrasting microclimates, cultural diversity and a potential list of well over 1,000 species. Official presentation of our team: The Zululanders from South Africa.
Madikwe , in South Africa, wasn’t a site of importance before it came into existence. And so South Africa’s fifth largest park came to be (it’s worth remembering that its largest park, Kruger, is the size of Israel) on marginal land that no one in particular could do much with. I never get bored of Giraffes.
Several times, the answer was “Africa”, which, being a continent and not a country, I excluded from the statistics, but will further comment below. 4%: Mexico, West Papua (Indonesia), New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya. Africa is a huge continent with varied landscapes and rich biodiversity. 8%: Brazil, Panama. 17%: Ecuador, Peru.
I don’t think I’ve ever done a post on my home patch of Cape Town, South Africa. So much so that the two species are placed within their own family, Chaetopidae. The species is insectivorous and nests amongst the scree and boulders on the steep mountain slopes.
I birded savannas of Southern Africa, I birded India and Central America, and I always missed having a local mammal guide with me. No, Madagascar is the most famous for an endemic group of mammals: lemurs, sifakas, indri, aye-aye – in total, 112 endemic species and subspecies of lemurs alone! Yet, those bird guides are hefty.
A single morning birding the thorny desert of Baringo in Kenya’s Rift Valley yielded several species at a rate I at times struggled to keep up with. Lake Baringo and the surrounding desert scrub at just over 3,000 feet elevation is one of the most profitable birding hotspots in the country, boasting approximately 470 species.
Yes, we’ll be heading to Africa, more specifically the “Pearl of Africa,” Uganda. You may remember back in 2017 when Nate participated in this trip or maybe you followed along in 2018 as the Birdchick dazzled us with her experiences there. ” That helped, right?).
I’m not sure if this is exclusively my limited experience, let me know! I finally managed to obtain some acceptable photos of this species, which I did not manage on my last visit. I knew that this species had been seen here two weeks earlier, but did not expect to see it at all.
Growing up within an hour of one of the world’s premier shorebird destinations -- West Coast National Park in South Africa -- helped for sure. Getting to know the subtleties in differences between closely related species takes years of dedication and practice. For me, there’s a few things that drive this fascination.
North America is home to many amazing bird species, including several which require a special effort to see and appreciate. These birds also invite one to sites that are unique within the United States – the climate, vegetation, and landscapes all add context and heighten the experience of seeing one’s first Elegant Trogon or Painted Bunting.
Paging through a fieldguide, it’s always with a sense of dismay and sadness that I come across reference to an extinct species. Islands, for various reasons, experience more extinctions than continents (with Africa being the only continent not suffering a bird extinction!). Challenging road conditions to reach Lake Bemanevika!
What a way to sum up what is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest birding sites and certainly my favorite in southern Africa. However, the great birding experience that is Sani starts lower down. Both species of southern African otters are also regularly encountered ( Cape Clawless and Spot-necked.). Photo by Adam Riley.
Nat Geo Wild is airing an amazing show tonight called Shark Attack Experiment: LIVE! It is home to some of the most concentrated and diverse shark populations in the world, including species with a reputation for attacking people, such as great white, bull, tiger, black tip, ragged tooth and dusky sharks. Will you be tuning in?
I’ve been fortunate to see two Penguin species in the wild (African and Galapagos) and have dreamed of seeing more–maybe even all!–especially The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.”
He is also a serious birder (and a birding friend), and his birding observations and adventures are used throughout the book to introduce evolutionary questions and illustrate the mental interplay between personal experience and scientific curiosity. The book is smartly organized into 12 chapters. that’s three birds). ” (p.
I always love the feeling when migrants have just returned, knowing they just travelled thousands of kilometers, some from Subsaharan Africa. I could imagine that timing the earlier emergence of insect prey at the breeding grounds is particularly problematic for insectivorous species.
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