The red-billed queleas had been unleashed

[Flutterby]

Lovely sightings in that long green grass!

[Pumbaa]

You always have lots of nice birds. I love the white storks, who knows why

Obviously we do attract our feathered brids

[Pumbaa]

Thanks for another installment Pumbaa. Wow that grass is incredible!

More awesome bird photos. My favourites are the bustard and White Storks. You had great encounters with these two species.

And the Zebra foal is simply adorable.

Could not complain about the bustard sightings that year and the grass was in the entire park incredibly high

[Pumbaa]

Excellent, Pumbaa!

Interesting all round.

Simply love the area around Mopani as there is always something to be seen

[Pumbaa]

Lovely sightings in that long green grass!

At least we saw something as same was indeed extreme high

[Pumbaa]

We paid Grootvlei a visit which this year was filled with water but with nothing else around besides some very noisy yellow billed hornbills



and continued until we reached the first causeway where we met a sunbathing water monitor



and we even came across a very hungry giraffe.



We paid Nyawutsi hide another visit which is such a wonderful place and in which I fell in love last year but as nothing was around we carried on and finally reached the Dipeni outpost and could now travel along the Shingwedzi river



enjoying the view into same and onto Mrs. Zorro.



Compared to last year this year the river was carrying a lot of water but we even saw this river at a higher water level especially after heavy rainfalls during previous visits already



but it is always a wonderful road with wonderful birdlife and for sure with lots of hippos as well.



In one of the many loops you are allowed to drive we stopped as Timon spotted a juvenile fish eagle in a tree in the river.



It took quite a while but the sound of the clicking camera made the raptor alert and soon started



to take off and we already though that’s it

[Pumbaa]

but to our surprise the fish eagle came even closer and landed in a thick tree right where we stood only then we noticed that same had caught a fish



which same had already caught when we first saw same.



Same now started to feed on the fish and now did not bother any longer where the strange click click sound came from.



From time to time the fish thrashed around although the fish eagle had ripped already parts out of same.



It was quite a fantastic sighting especially with the fish eagle so close and Timon took shot after shoot until finally another car approached from the back



and as we stood on the only spot from where the fish eagle was visible we explained to them where to look for but somehow they did not understand us but we for sure gave place to them and carried on



as we got our shots. In one of the next loops a group of vervet monkeys was sitting on top of a tree in the middle of the loop



and whilst the adults did not heed us at all the youngster between them eyed us suspiciously.



We further carried on and drove into loop after loop and in one we noticed a couple of black storks



out of which one took a drink.



to be continued......

[Flutterby]

Nice sequence of the fish-eagle and cute vervets,

[Lisbeth]

Quite a big fish that the fish-eagle has caught

Nice vervets

Lovely black storks

[Ratel]

Close encounter with a Fish Eagle!