And then the rain set in or at dusk the bush comes alive

[Lisbeth]

Fabulous photos of the dragonflies and what colours they have

I love all the birds, especially the smaller ones

I must go and spend some time at those hides

[Flutterby]

Great pics of the dragonflies!! And interesting pic of the croc!

[ExFmem]

(You already know my favorites ), however, the zebra w/ colt is precious, and the Kudu with its icing stripes is equally impressive.

All the birds you saw together could be posted on the Bird Challenge thread Quite an assortment there.

But... those dragonflies are too I especially like the first one where it appears it has caught something to eat - a bug of some sort

[Pumbaa]

Great pictures and sunshine all round, Pumbaa!

I like how the birds are feeding in an orderly and disciplined fashion at the causeway!

Never been to those hides...looks great!

You must visit them whenever in that area - Both are in fact not far away from each other and when water is flowing over the causeway normally all the birdies we saw there are normally around

[Pumbaa]

Fabulous photos of the dragonflies and what colours they have

I love all the birds, especially the smaller ones

I must go and spend some time at those hides

You simply have to, Lisbeth - Mopani camp is also not far for a nice break

[Pumbaa]

Great pics of the dragonflies!! And interesting pic of the croc!

That croc was simply the best especially when we neared with the car and same even did not move

[Pumbaa]

(You already know my favorites ), however, the zebra w/ colt is precious, and the Kudu with its icing stripes is equally impressive.

All the birds you saw together could be posted on the Bird Challenge thread Quite an assortment there.

But... those dragonflies are too I especially like the first one where it appears it has caught something to eat - a bug of some sort

It looked as if that bug was hanging there already a bit longer but I could be wrong - Nevertheless those dragonflies were beautiful - Like colourful helicopters

[Pumbaa]

Luckily we were in the North of the park and consequently not much traffic around so we could again spent a reasonable time on the causeway and were thrilled that the black stork posed for us extreme close



and also the pied kingfisher was now hanging around





extreme close in one of those reeds



and was willing to pose long enough for a lovely photo shooting.



Finally one of the hippos also appeared again after same dived



we still observed the black stork who was not willing to leave the causeway





and also one of the many crocodiles always laid its head on the causeway



and now also the black crake was willing to stay a bit longer with us.



The yellow billed stork who caught the large fish was still busy in running around with same in the bill still followed by the grey heron,



the hammerhead



as well as the black crake were the last birds we saw as we had to drag ourselves away from the causeway as otherwise we would still standing on same and observing birds.

[Pumbaa]

Now it was time for a short break at Mopani camp for sure with the obligatory icecream in hand we walked a bit around and finally returned to Mooiplaas waterhole were we stopped for the bathing



crowned plovers in one of the larger puddles which do occur after heavy rains always plentiful here.



There were again many of these birdies around and to our delight also a kittlitz plover could be discovered



who so far could not be seen that often but when one was coming across than funnily



always exactly here or at Tihongonyeni – Another reason to pay also the North a visit!



Our first during that trip but still a bit farer away tsessebe could be seen



and for sure more zebras appeared on the scene as well.



A buffalo was busy with a spa treatment



and indeed was not willing to leave his puddle



and simply chilled along.



We also stopped for a steenbok but same was a bit skittish and immediately dashed away. Another “must” when in that area is a visit at Tihongonyeni which is normally worth the detour maybe not only for the waterhole but for the ride along the S143 and this year same was an extreme fascinating detour which we called the raptor boulevard as we never saw that much eagles, owls or other wading birds mostly on the ground looking for insects. It started with a great number of Wahlberg in bushes



followed by white storks on the ground



and even a black backed jackal who was obviously chasing larger insect who just emerged from holes on the ground after the heavy rains



but same looked still a bit tired.



to be continued….

[Richprins]

Fascinating!

Lots of water there, Pumbaa!

One must remember that the Tsendze is one of the bigger Kruger rivers that originates entirely inside the park, so the water is clean!

Lovely waders.