Neil Gray's birds and other wildlife
Atlasville, 01 Jan 2008 I finished 2007 with a visit to Marievale on 29th December taking my 2007 list to 434 species and started the New Year at Marievale this morning with an impressive 78 species in a little over 3 hours. It is mid-summer and Marievale is buzzing with the juveniles of many of the …
Atlasville, 17 Dec 2007 Paid 2 more visits to the exploration site in the Hotazel area in the past 2 weeks, one overnight stay and one full week as the next phase of exploration drilling has begun. The ‘green Kalahari’ is now truly that, with the veld covered in albeit sparse grass with wildflowers …
Atlasville, 06 Nov 2007 Last Sunday, 4th November, I went on a birding day trip to Borakalalo National Reserve. The day got off to a great start as I managed to get my first and only photo (not that great I must admit) of an adult Red-chested Cuckoo, but then tailed off into mediocrity as …
Atlasville, 14 Oct 2007 My visit to Marievale this morning showed how well the veld has recovered since the fire in mid-June, with new green growth everywhere, as today’s photos show. A completely new addition to my Marievale photography list was Common Waxbill. Among others I got some decent shots of Spotted Thick-knee and …
Atlasville, 29 Sep 2007 Paid 2 more overnight visits to the exploration site in the Hotazel area in the past 4 weeks. Again due to the nature of the visits there was no time for any serious birding, but still managed to add one to my Umtu photos list with Shikra, and another rare opportunity …
Atlasville, 23 Sep 2007 Paid a quick visit to Marievale this morning. After a few minor rain showers recently some sections of the veld are recovering after the fire in mid-June, as this photo of an African Pipit shows. The only migrants in evidence are many more Ruff, adding to the single bird seen 5 …
Atlasville, 03 Sep 2007 Just back from a 6-night trip to the Drakensberg, with 3 nights at Giant’s Castle and 3 nights at Kiara Lodge adjacent to Golden Gate Highlands National Park. The trip got off to a good start with Blue Crane, Secretarybird and a lifer in a pair of Barrow’s Korhaan all seen …
Atlasville, 22 Aug 2007 Paid 3 more overnight visits to the exploration site in the Hotazel area in the past 6 weeks. Because of the nature of the visits there was no time for any serious birding, but again there was a bit of activity around the exploration yard and I managed photos of …
Atlasville, 12 Aug 2007 Visited Marievale this morning. The veld is still looking awfully black after the fire in mid-June but the reeds are recovering, as well as the vegetation around the fringes of the spruit. The Capped Wheatear that seem to prefer these conditions are still quite prominent. Also in good numbers …
Atlasville, 30 Jun 2007 Paid a visit today to the Northern Farms just outside suburban Johannesburg, where the arrival of a male Northern Pintail in breeding plumage is causing quite a stir. Is it an escapee from captivity or a true reverse migrant hopelessly lost and well out of its normal distribution range? I …
