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Saturday, July 12, 2014

Winter critters in and around Mwadui

Although I have mentioned the dry, windy conditions in and around Mwadui these past weeks, we still manage to spot many birds and several species of the small wildlife which roam the area.

Going out last week after dinner, we spotted an African Wild cat which, of course, slunk into the bush as we stopped the vehicle near it. 

Not long after this, we rounded the corner of the explosives magazine; there are huge spotlights which act as security and which, in turn, attract the insect-eating night-jars .

Square-tailed (Mozambican) Night-jar
A short drive into the bush proper, and we came across a young dik-dik

Driving along the haul road at night, we always look out for the Spotted Thick-knee which we've seen here before.

 Spotted Thick-knee...
...and a Three-banded Plover

One evening we went out just before sunset and came across a small flock of Hamerkop. One male was trying to attract the attention of the female of his choice.


"Hi there,  you're one cool-looking bird"
 "I'm good at building a house!"
"So, my dear, will you marry me?"
As always, I just love to photograph the pond lilies

On Sunday morning we drove out to New Alhamisi Dam which is still very full. I posted the Pink-backed Pelican (Juveniles) which I managed to zoom into on the other side of the dam.  Driving back along the bush road, we stopped to watch the antics of a banded mongoose.
This Banded Mongoose seemed to be very interested in something in the bush

I'm linking my post today with Eileen's Saturday Critter Party. You can access this meme by clicking here

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.

11 comments:

  1. such unique critters and birds! thanks for sharing them!

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  2. Great critters to share the party with, Jo!! I love them! Hope your weekend is going well!!

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  3. The banded mongoose looks so cute !

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  4. HI Jo I love going out with you on these rives into the bush and at night exploring. You had many great finds and I love the Mongoose standing up. Yes I wonder what he heard? Have a wonderful weekend.

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  5. Jo, what a great variety of critters.. The dik-dik is a sweet c critter. And I love the pretty Spotted Thick-knee and the Plover. The mongoose is a cutie.. Great captures. Thanks for linking up with my critter party. Enjoy your weekend!

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  6. Remarkable critters and birds Jo!!! Hope you decide to add this link to the Bird D'Pot this weekend [opens at noon Texas time]. They'd be such a great addition for those that love to go birding and the other birding enthusiasts.

    Hootin' Anni
    and
    Anni @ I'd Rather B Birdin'

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  7. i love that cool dude shot and have never seen a mongoose. all these birds have such exotic sounding names.. wish we could have seen the wild cat

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  8. Thanks for the ride along to see creatures from your part of the world.

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  9. I love seeing the critters from your part of the world.

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  10. My goodness if i had a dollar for all the times I have laid on my belly in the road to get the perfect nightjar shot. Thank you for the great memories :)

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  11. I've seen lone Hammerkop birds, but never in a group

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Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo