Little Bee Eater

 

Saddle Billed Stork study

 

Ground Hornbill

 

Feeding frenzy

A strange sight on this game drive. The carcass of an Impala covered in vultures feeding heavily, yet no sign anywhere of a predator that might have killed the antelope. 

There were Wild Dog in the area and it is possible that this Impala died of natural causes having escaped from the pack.

 Whatever the cause, it provided a feast for the Vultures without them having to wait for other, bigger, beasts to finish first.
 

A reflection on the Grey Heron

 

Looking for dinner

 

A Brown Snake eagle perches scanning for its next meal.

Clean up crew

 

Yellow Billed Oxpecker

 

Korhaan out for an evening stroll

 

Hammerkop

 The Hammerkop (Scopus umbretta), also known as  hammerkopf, hammerhead, hammerhead stork, umbrette, umber bird, tufted umber, or anvilhead, is a medium-sized wading bird 56 centimetres in length with a weight of 470 grams. The shape of its head with a long bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, hence its name.

Fish Eagle at sunset

 

Someone's been painting the birds

Lillian's Lovebirds are a favourite. 

Usually seen in small, chirruping flocks these unfeasibly colourful birds are a joy to watch. 

Bee-eater heaven

 

Four White Fronted Bee-eaters and a carmine Bee-Eater

Nsefu Stork Colony at dusk

 

Yellow Billed Stork

 

Giant Kingfisher

One of our favourite birds - the Giant Kingfisher.

Stork formation

This year was certainly the year of the Yellow Billed stork

Sacred Ibis

The African Sacred Ibis is a wading bird that belongs to the family Threskiornithidae which found near shores and marshes throughout Africa, including extensively in the South Luangwa valley.

A distinctive large wading bird it measures 75 centimetres (30 inches) in length and weighs 1.35 kilograms (3 pounds), with a wingspan of 112 – 124 centimetres (44 – 49 inches).

The plumage of the sacred ibis is mainly white in colour with black plumes on its lower back. Its small head and slender, curved neck are also black and practically bald. The sacred ibis has small black eyes and a long, slender, downward curved bill which is used to probe into sand and mud in shallow water or in grass and soil when foraging.

The legs of the sacred ibis are long and black and its feet are partially webbed like most wading birds. When in flight, the wing tips of the primary flight feathers are black which display a black border to the rear of the white wings.

In ancient Egypt he Ibis was sacred to and associated with Thoth the God of wisdom and writing. Thoth was often represented in the form of a man's body with the head of the Ibis and was the patron of the educated scribes who were responsible for the administration of the country. 

As a sacred animal the Ibis on death was embalmed and put inside the hollow body of a carved figure of the bird. Alternatively, the mummified remains were placed in pottery jars and deposited in vast underground galleries. Hundreds of thousands of such burials have been discovered at Sakkara, near Memphis the ancient capital of Egypt.

Lucky birds

We were lucky to see these Southern Carmine Bee-Eaters as they normally arrive later in the year.

 During the breeding season, Carmine Bee-eaters live in huge breeding colonies, and form smaller flocks when the season ends. One colony in Zimbabwe contained approximately 1 500 Carmine Bee-eaters, according to documented research.
Colonies on flat ground can contain up to 10 000 nests.
The birds emerge from their nesting holes after dawn and perch nearby, preening in the morning sun before flying out to feeding areas.

Fish eagle - King of the Luangwa skies