memorablemeanders.blogspot.com

Saturday, May 30, 2015

More critters from our Zululand holiday

Driving to St Lucia we always cross a bridge over the Estuary. Last week I posted about the hippos and crocodiles on the Estuary. This week, I'm posting several birds seen at the same time while standing on the bridge.

Further up river I zoomed in on a heron. When I downloaded the photos I saw that I'd captured a Goliath Heron on film. These photos are taken early in the morning hence the strong light on the water...

Goliath Heron

The Goliath Heron is the world's largest Heron, found in Sub-Saharan Africa with smaller numbers in Southern and southwestern Asia. 

Leaning over the bridge railings, we spotted movement on the plinths below. 
White-fronted Swallows (Juveniles)
A pair of Pied Kingfishers sat fishing in the reeds ahead of us
Later they flew to another plinth beneath the bridge, giving me a good view of them

On the beach later, after I'd photographed the Grey-headed Gulls (posted on Wednesday) I snapped away at other critters which caught my eye. 
A fisher-woman...
...who looked very much at home in this pose
Horse rides ...
...on...
...the beach
A seagull screaming at the other birds?
A scurrying in the sand near my feet showed a Ghost Crab emerging
And another Ghost Crab ...
...just beyond the dunes in front of me

I'm linking my post today to Saturday Critters with Eileen here

Happy Saturday to you all! 




10 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun day at the beach!! I love your photos for the day, as always!! Hope you enjoy a great weekend, Jo!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like a fun day at the beach!! I love your photos for the day, as always!! Hope you enjoy a great weekend, Jo!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. love the pied kingfishers! so cool!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Jo, wonderful post and critters. The Goliath Heron is new to me. Great sighting. I loved the Pied Kingfisher pair and the swallow they are cute birds! And the riding the horses on a beach would be fun! The ghost crab is cool, awesome shots. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Have a happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. these are fantatstic, love the fisher woman and the waves and that crab peaking at you.... that is the biggest crane i have ever seen. did not know they come in giant size

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh goodness that ghost crab is an interesting fellow I have no idea if they are friendly or not, but to me, he's very cute. Google time!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What wonderful photos! I love the pair of kingfishers, the horseback riders on the beach and that great crab close-up! It's all good! ":-) Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your photos are beautiful. I enjoyed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Jo,those are great. Love that last shot of the ghost crab!
    ~

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've never been to St Lucia. Would love to go and experience that part of the country

    ReplyDelete

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