My 2014 Kruger Highlights

[Heksie]

thank you for the recipe
you saw all the nightly animals of the Kruger
poor Lion... poor

a marshmallow braai is great for a dessert as it ready in a jiffy and delicious as well

[Heksie]

Episode 4 The fishing Kings

Every December I go to Bronkhorstspruit to visit my family, just before I go to Kruger National Park. Everybody in my family is ‘non-smokers’ (when it suites them) so I go outside and sit on the stoep to have my morning MMC and menthol. Then I hear a distant trrrrrp-trrrrrr, this is when I know that the summer holiday has arrived and another trip to the bush is on its way. Then when I get to Kruger and after the first few days of constantly hearing those beautiful woodies, their call melts in with the bush and it is one with the cicadas and rustling grass. Kingfishers are a vital part of my Kruger experience, there are so many species of them to see, and they can be near water, or in a tree next to the road, or in camp. Also some of them migrate so you can only see them certain times of the year. Even the non-birders have a random kiekie of one of these birds on their cameras, because you can’t drive past one and not feel the need to click away to capture these beautiful fishers.
There are 9 species of Kingfishers that can be seen in Kruger (not counting the Mangrove Kingfisher) and still do have a few on my wishlist but I was able to get a lifer (or maybe two) this past year in the Park.
Unfortunately I didn’t take any kiekies of the woodies this past Dec/Jan as they were never posing close enough or in the right light for me. Sorry.
The one kingfisher that allows me to get great close-up shots is the Giant Kingfisher.

September 2013


December 2014


Now another kingfisher that you see all year round, especially at the low level bridges in the south as well as sunset dam. Yes, people do see them at the birdhides, I just don’t visit them enough to add them on my list. The pied kingfisher (the only kingfisher that isn’t monogamous)

December 2014


A highlight for me was to see Grey-headed Kingfisher in Dec 2013 with WendyA the one afternoon on the S79 causeway. And then in March with Mads, we were on the H11 trying not to be late for the cricket gala, when I saw this birdie right next to the road, unfortunately it was almost 18:00 and the sun was almost non-existent. I just had to stop and take a pic of the beauty.



Then in April I saw this bugger-so far away, and only able to get one shot, that I can’t ID him. The beak seems red from this distance so can maybe be a brown-hooded kingfisher or can it be a striped Kingfisher as he’s got a very dark crown?



A Kingfisher that is with us all year round is the Brown-hooded Kingfisher, a beautiful bird that hides mostly as you have to search for him in the bush. I only had 3 sightings of them this year, but weren’t that lucky with the pics. Here is one that allowed me to take a kiekie during our December trip.



Now for the highlight of my kingfisher year… I have been searching for this one for a few years, checking out all the birdhides, transport dam and wherever people said you could see them but to no avail. Then one day we drive to Transport dam and after checking out the waterbuck we did the little loop on the right, we drove over this teeny weenie stream and a something blue caught my eye… I immediately got the camera ready and was elated when I saw my FIRST EVER MALACHITE in Kruger, it was a juvenile but I still deserved the tick in my birdbook. We saw him 3 times over the December trip but then the little stream dried out and he was there no more.





So I have seen 6/9 of the fisher kings and now there are new ones on my list:
Half-collared
Pygmy
Striped… 2015 here I come

To be continued…

[Richprins]

Dunno about the lion having TB...could be? It has a brand mark on its right buttock, so may have been around for a while? They simply reach their sell-by date eventually, and pack up and can't eat much etc.?

The guide said that it is TB... I just presumed with him looking so malnutritioned when comparing to his brother that it can actually be true

Fair enough! The TB ones normally have "snot en trane" and a swollen nose, and the brother would maybe also be infected? It often strikes a pride, depending on the fitness of the individuals, which is often poor in the wet season. Can send it on, especially if you have a facial pic?

Not all that much news of lion TB lately, think dup saw some? So who knows?

Same with feline AIDS.

[dup]

thank's and love the " presentation"

[nan]

weldone for the Malachite and all the other King

[Toko]

My favourite is the immature Malachite actually more elegant with its dark bill than the adult

[Heksie]

Dunno about the lion having TB...could be? It has a brand mark on its right buttock, so may have been around for a while? They simply reach their sell-by date eventually, and pack up and can't eat much etc.?

The guide said that it is TB... I just presumed with him looking so malnutritioned when comparing to his brother that it can actually be true

Fair enough! The TB ones normally have "snot en trane" and a swollen nose, and the brother would maybe also be infected? It often strikes a pride, depending on the fitness of the individuals, which is often poor in the wet season. Can send it on, especially if you have a facial pic?

Not all that much news of lion TB lately, think dup saw some? So who knows?

Same with feline AIDS.

I don't see snot and trane or a swollen nose doctor Prins...

[Bushcraft]

I’m no birder but I agree, Kingfishers form part of my KNP adventures also

Thanks for the pics and information

[Flutterby]

Lovely pics of the kingfishers...especially the Grey-headed!

[Heksie]

dup
nan
Toko
BC
Flutterby
RP

I always love your comments on my TR
Now for a bit of mega Kruger highlights