To date we have recorded 53 different species in the garden, but seeing this pair of Burchell’s Coucals feeding on a suet ball, rather than preying on our nestling Laughing Doves or crushing open snails, was astonishing. GWENOLA LE GARREC-COOPER IRENE, GAUTENG
On a cold, cloudy day I was shelter-ing in the lounge when I spotted a Hamerkop at the garden pond. I grabbed my camera and sneaked outside. Voilà! A frog was caught and after a little softening up, down the hatch it went… MAGGIE MENDELSOHN PAULSHOF, JOHANNESBURG
Late one afternoon I heard a hornbill calling and after walking around the garden trying to locate the bird, I saw a pair of African Grey Hornbills in a tree. The female had a nestling in her bill and was bashing it on the branch, while the male perched nearby, watching. I managed to get a few pictures and then, very suddenly, a dove attacked the pair, driving them away. Perhaps it was the parent of the nestling taken so violently? DOUG CHARLTON OLIVEDALE, RANDBURG
For almost seven years I have lived in suburban Westville, near Durban, and during that time many different species of birds have visited the garden.
This story is from the January/February 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
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This story is from the January/February 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
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WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
