I am really hoping to use this blog in more of a "real-time" manner, but I already have so many adventures to catch up on! I think have been procrastinating with my final batch of South Africa photos because, on some level, I just don't want it to end. The process of sorting through photos,... Continue Reading →
I was soooo close to finishing and publishing my last South Africa post, recounting our final, and most exciting, adventure of the trip....our drive up the Sani Pass to Lesotho. In writing this post, it quickly became abundantly clear that the Bearded Vulture deserves its very own post. So, here it is....my second "Beak of... Continue Reading →
Ahhhh, just a few more days of my South Africa adventures to recollect! We left St. Lucia bright and early (actually, not bright at all, but very, very early) and made our way to the Dlinza Forest, a subtropical indigenous forest near the town of Eshowe and one of The Great Five Natural Forests in... Continue Reading →
I am back in California and have spent the past couple of weeks exploring California's deserts and Oak Woodlands as spring begins to show signs of emerging. Before I venture back out again, I want to spend a bit more time reflecting on my South African adventures. I've recently highlighted some of charismatic birds of... Continue Reading →
Before leaving the Umkhumbi Lodge for the coastal town of St. Lucia, we had one more morning of local explorations, including a Sand Forest. One of the first birds of the morning was the African Golden Weaver. By this point in the trip Weavers, and their nests, have become a fairly common sight. We've seen... Continue Reading →
In preparation for my trip to South Africa, I purchased a few bird books of the region and attempted to familiarize myself with families of birds of which I had no previous knowledge. The exception: Red-billed Oxpeckers. I can't recall the first nature documentary that introduced me to one of these birds pecking away on... Continue Reading →
After some final early morning birding in Wakkerstroom, we made our way south to Mkuze, an area in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Mkuze is another birding hotspot, with its variety of savanna, forest, and wetland habitats. The Mkuze Game Reserve is 40,000 ha in extent and forms part of the tremendous iSimangaliso Wetland Park. We left the... Continue Reading →
I have covered quite a bit of ground across eastern South Africa in the past few days. I had the silly notion that I would update this blog every evening as a way to document my South Africa travels. Ha! The combination of spotty reception and lack of sleep (we start our days at 4:30... Continue Reading →
Wakkerstroom is a quaint village surrounded by pristine upland grasslands, wetlands, and forests. For some, its a vacation retreat from Johannesburg but for those in-the-know it is a birding paradise! It's the best place to find certain high altitude grassland biome specialists, such as Rudd's Lark and Botha's Lark, and some beautiful wetlands birds, including... Continue Reading →
I only have a few moments to spare, but I am too excited to share some cat photos. Our Kruger NP guide tempered our expectations of seeing big cats. Of course, they are a big draw to the park for many, but our primary focus is birds and cats are hard to predict. His last... Continue Reading →
Feathers & Flora 