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| adult Lesser Kestrel |
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| Water Dikkop |
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| Long-crested Eagle |
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After the snow of Ontario, I came back to do 2 back to back trips during February and March.
There were 6 regulars on the first trip, Richard Charles, Richard Dobbins, Nick and Jill Tardivel, Kieth Smith and Eugene Hood. Then Mark and Theresa Stanley on the second.
Our first trip was very successful with 236 birds ringed of 80 species with 26 retraps and 54 birds of Prey of 16 species plus 3 retraps;
Steppe Buzzard 12
Jackal Buzzard 2
Black-chested Snake-eagle 6
Brown Snake-eagle 3
African Hawk Eagle 2 (1)
Long-crested Eagle 1
Lanner Falcon 3
Dark-chanting Goshawk 2
Pale-chanting Goshawk 2 (1)
Gabar Goshawk 1
Greater Kestrel 2 (1)
Lesser Kestrel 1
Amur Falcon 14
Pearl-spotted Owlet 1
African Scops Owl 1
White-faced Owl 1
Remarkable retraps consisted of a 12 year old Pale-chanting Goshawk, an adult when ringed and a Greater Kestrel of 6 years, also an adult when ringed, both from the same area they were initially caught. The AH Eagle retrap was of an immature, ringed as a juv 2 years prior and 5 ks away!
The northern sites of acacia (virgelia and senegalia) bush provides with a mix of local species, Levaillant's Cuckoo, Violet-backed Starling, Grey-headed Bush-shrike, Woodland, Brown-hooded and Malachite Kingfishers, and Palearctic migrants included Europen Roller, Marsh and Willow Warblers, Red-backed Shrike. At night, Richard Dobbins managed to dazzle a Water Dikkop.
The highland mist belt forest site produced some endemics, Barratt's Warbler, Forest Canary, Cape Grassbird, Drakensberg Prinia, Southern Double-collared Sunbird and Olive Thrush, as well as Dark-capped Yellow Warblers, Olive Bush-shrike and a gorgeous pair of Malachite Sunbirds.
At the last site, we had a very successful session at the Amur Falcon roost catching 14 birds.
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| adult male Malachite Sunbird |
