LITTLE BIRDS

Water, any source of water, like a dripping tap at a campsite, and the little birds will gather to drink. In Nossob, our camp tap was visited by Cape Sparrows, House Sparrows, Familiar Chats, Pririt Batises, Scalyfeathered Finches, and my favourite: Violet-Eared Waxbills. They were quite used to human activity, and one could pull up a camping chair in the late afternoon, sit about four metres away, and enjoy an avian display.  Whenever Dave heard a "toy toy" sound near our campsite, out would come Dave's Sigma 150-500 mm f5-63 lens, and he would stalk the vividly coloured Crimson-breasted Shrike ( Laniarius atrococcineus ). This bird is also known as the Crimson-breasted Gonalek, or Crimson-breasted Boubou. The shrike would hop around, and play a "hide and seek" game with him, much to my amusement. Dave had many attempts at photographing the elusive bird, but one afternoon at Mata Mata, the shrike caught a small grub, and Dave was quick enough to capture the action.

Crimson-breasted Shrike 

Photo: David Mullin

 Of the 264 species which have been recorded in the Park, only 78 are resident, 16 are seasonal migrants, 18 are nomads, and 152 species are irregulat visitors, and are therefore classed as vagrants. The Crimson Breasted Shrike is a resident.

 Swallowtailed Bee-eater

Photo: Noel Hammond

 The Swallowtailed Bee-eater ( Merops hirundineus ), catches its prey in mid-air, unlike the Crimson- breasted Shrike which forages on the ground. It feeds on bees, flies, wasps and other winged insects. The Swallow-tailed Bee-eater breeds in pairs or in small colonies. The long, tunneled nests are made in sandy banks. They may be seen on a cold morning, huddled in a row. Noel used a Sigma 300-800 F5.6 lens to capture the above image.

The adult has caught a bee, which it will feed to the chick on the right.

Photo: David Mullin