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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Our first birding trip back in Mwadui - July 2013

Last Saturday morning Grant collected me from home for our first birding trip since arriving back on site. Although it's winter here, we're hardly feeling any change in the weather, but we have noticed how dry and brown the bushveld has become - at first glance - not very conducive to birdwatching.   Nevertheless, when you go out armed with binoculars, camera and bird-seeking eyes, you'd be surprised what you actually manage to spot!

Malachite Kingfisher seen over the dam where our favorite flock of Dabchicks live

The only Dabchick we managed to see this weekend

A bird with striking markings - a Three-banded Plover on the edge of the dam

A Black-headed Heron always makes a wonderful photo subject

A male Namaqua Dove - to me one of the prettier dove species

So, although the surroundings seem bleak at this time of the year, we managed to see a number of birds (I've kept two back until I have a positive identification on them) on our first weekend of birding in and around Mwadui.

I'm linking my post to the Wild Bird Wednesday meme, hosted by Stewart of Oz. Please click here to see amazing bird photography.
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14 comments:

  1. Sylvia K10 July, 2013 03:45

    Beautiful birds and wonderful captures, Jo!! Good to see you back online! Hope your week is going well!

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  2. Betsy Banks Adams10 July, 2013 05:47

    Great bird photos, Jo... You have so many interesting and different birds over there. Love that Kingfisher.. His colors are gorgeous...And that dove looks like someone spilled black ink on him... ha

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  3. Gaelyn10 July, 2013 06:02

    Those African Kingfishers are so vibrant. Not bad for a dry winter day.

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  4. mick10 July, 2013 07:45

    A beautiful series of birds but of course the kingfisher is the most eye-catching!

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  5. Firefly the Travel Guy10 July, 2013 08:43

    Amazing how fortunate we are in Africa with flowers and birds in winter

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  6. eileeninmd10 July, 2013 10:39

    Great collection of birds, Jo! I love the colorful Kingfisher. And the dove is pretty, ours look more plain. Thanks for sharing your bird sightings. Have a happy day!

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  7. Unknown10 July, 2013 12:57

    Lovely birds. The kingfisher is very beautiful.

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  8. Arija10 July, 2013 15:02

    That is the beauty of a dam in an otherwise arid area, the birds all congregate there. Love the colour of the kingfisher!

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  9. Joyful10 July, 2013 18:35

    Looks like you had a good day of birding despite it being a winter day. Hugs. xx

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  10. Neil11 July, 2013 00:23

    Nice lot of birds you found in Winter.

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  11. Faye11 July, 2013 17:06

    Looks like you were rewarded on this bird spotting mission. I appreciate seeing such a variety of area birds. And your "star" bird does look like malachite--stunning!

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  12. Pat12 July, 2013 21:34

    These are wonderful bird close-ups, Jo. I just love the bright blue color of the Malachite Kingfisher's feathers.

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  13. Gordon13 July, 2013 20:58

    Just love the colours on the Kingfisher, excelent.
    Gordon.

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  14. Stewart M14 July, 2013 05:50

    Great set of pictures - I think you are the only African WBWer so all images are more than welcome.

    My slow reply was caused by a week in central Australia.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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

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