2023-11-26: An assortment of birds

I felt like some colour on a dull day, so small birds with bright feathers it is. The lilac breasted roller remains one of my favourite birds to spot on safari, and I was quite excited on my past trip to have the chance to see other types of rollers as well. I didn’t get great photos of the other rollers, but included them anyways to show the variety of colours.

A lilac breasted roller.
A purple roller.

It was unfortunate to only see the purple roller and racket tailed roller high up against very bright skies, but at least I did get the racket tailed roller at the right angle to show off the interesting tail feathers.

A racket tailed roller.
A southern masked weaver.

These weaver images were taken in different areas; the southern masked weaver is wide spread and they create very interesting nests that often hang over water. The males are in charge of construction, and the females in charge of determining if the nest is up to standards or not. When you come across a large colony, you will often see nests that have been abandoned partway through construction.

A southern masked weaver colony in the midst of nest construction.
A male long tailed widowbird in breeding plumage.
A male violet backed starling.

2023-04-02: Birds in Southern Africa

The arrival this week of the robins makes it feel like spring is finally on the way, despite the volume of snow that is still on the ground. Listening to their song and seeing them on the road reminded me that I have posted very few bird images lately, even though my last trip was bird focused.

The selection for this week is fairly random; just a small sampling of some of the birds seen on my most recent trip, with more to follow.

A pair of lesser striped swallows seen in Madikwe. There were several pairs nesting in the photography hide at Jaci’s lodge, giving some great opportunities to watch these birds up close. South Africa, November, 2022.
A southern masked weaver perched in the reeds along the edge of a dam. This individual was spotted whilst on a bird trip just outside of Johannesburg. South Africa, November, 2022.
A long tailed widow bird spotted near Johannesburg. These birds are amazing in flight; their long breeding feathers nearly pulling them out of the air.
A starling, I believe the greater blue eared, seen while traveling in Zimbabwe. November, 2022.
A violet backed starling in perfect morning light. Botswana, November, 2022.

2019-10-27: Weaver Nests

I’ve been having fun this weekend working on some of my photo art images, but decided to share a few images of interesting weaver nests today.  They caught my eye, and I decided to just go with it.

On my most recent trip, we saw communal nests of the red-billed buffalo weaver and the typical hanging basket style nest of southern masked weaver (that’s my best guess, as we didn’t actually see anyone in residence).

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Loads of tiny basket style nests, abandoned for the season.

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These nests are built on the north and east branches of the tree; I believe in order to keep the nest cooler.  Our guide told us that this was one way to determine direction if you are lost out on the bush.

On previous trips I saw several other great examples.

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In Etosha National Park, the Sociable weaver nests had gotten so large, it brought down the branch of the tree.

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One of the many sociable weavers still in residence in the broken nest.

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In Amboseli National Park, another tree filled with the basket style nests of the weavers.  I don’t recall which variety would have bee the architects here.

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A black headed weaver gathering supplies to work on a nest in Queen Elizabeth Park in Uganda.

2018-06-03: Monthly Project – Bird Photography

Part of the reason that I chose bird photography this month was to get out and enjoy the nice weather, as well as get familiar with a new lens I have purchased.  So at first glance it may not make any sense that today I’m posting images from my last trip.  I have gotten out a bit over the past couple of days and taken some bird images, and I have been really impressed with the lens so far.  But I’m already half way through Sunday and I haven’t had a chance to start editing, so rather than miss posting altogether or rushing my editing process, I decided to go for some bird images from my catalogue that I haven’t posted before.

I hope you enjoy my selections for this week, and next week I will be sharing some of our local birds.

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

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We came across a very large sociable weavers nest while on a game drive through Etosha National Park.  There was a lot of activity in and out of the large communal nest, here one of the birds pauses in a more open spot where it is easier to see them.

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Up against the nest, the weaver is very camouflaged.

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The nest itself was so large it brought down one of the large branches of the acacia tree.

crimson breasted shrike
This crimson breasted shrike played hard to get for a photo; this was the best that I could do while driving through the Makgadikgadi Pans.

glossy starling
A beautiful glossy starling in early morning light.

lilac
My personal favourite, the lilac breasted roller.

Birds at breakfast

These birds seemed to think that breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, but an easy breakfast is!

Too many carbs??? A sociable weaver looks sleepy atop a bowl of museli.
Too many carbs???
A sociable weaver looks sleepy atop a bowl of museli.

A pair of mountain wheatears and a sociable weaver look for crumbs.
A pair of mountain wheatears and a sociable weaver look for crumbs.

A group of sociable weavers line up on the patio steps, waiting for me to leave the table so they could help themselves to leftovers.
A group of sociable weavers line up on the patio steps, waiting for me to leave the table so they could help themselves to leftovers.

Weavers

A friend of mine recently showed me some lovely photos she took of a Baltimore oriole, which inspired me to get to work on the photos I have of beautiful yellow birds – the southern masked weaver and spectacled weaver.

I was lucky enough to be able to watch the southern masked weavers crafting their nests in a tree in the back garden of the Wildlife ACT volunteer house at Zimanga, plus have them visit the water hole while we had time at the hides.

Enjoy!

A female southern masked weaver perched high in the branches in the back garden.  Not a great shot; I included it to show the difference between the male and female. 1/320 sec, f5.6, ISO 450
A female southern masked weaver perched high in the branches in the back garden. Not a great shot; I included it to show the difference between the male and female.
1/320 sec, f5.6, ISO 450

A southern masked weaver works on his nest upside down. 1/320 sec, f5.6, ISO 280
A southern masked weaver works on his nest upside down.
1/320 sec, f5.6, ISO 280

The weaver makes a retreat after having a quick splash in the water. 1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250
The weaver makes a retreat after having a quick splash in the water.
1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250

A southern masked weaver flanked by a pair of cape glossy starlings.  I love the contrast between the colouring of the weaver and the starlings. 1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250
A southern masked weaver flanked by a pair of cape glossy starlings. I love the contrast between the colouring of the weaver and the starlings.
1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250

The early stages of the nest process.  The grasses are woven together with a great deal of intricacy. 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 100
The early stages of the nest process. The grasses are woven together with a great deal of intricacy.
1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 100

Several southern masked weavers work on building the perfect nest. 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 140
Several southern masked weavers work on building the perfect nest.
1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 140

A spectacled weaver eyes up the water hole before heading down for a drink. 1/2500 sec, f7.1, ISO 5000
A spectacled weaver eyes up the water hole before heading down for a drink.
1/2500 sec, f7.1, ISO 5000

A southern masked weaver perched above the watering hole. 1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250
A southern masked weaver perched above the watering hole.
1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250

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