30 April 2022 - Kyalami Estates
We are truly into Autumn with lower temperatures and leaves changing colour on many of the trees.
There are still a few intra-African migrants around, but the true migrants have all headed north. Nevertheless, it was still a pretty good month with 56 species recorded with a couple of good birds in that mix. Arrow-marked Babblers and Little Sparrowhawk were seen in the Poplar Forest near the St Ledger Dam, along with Black-backed Puffback. The Freckled Nightjar's were still heard calling early morning and late evening in the earlier part of the month. Grey-headed Gulls passed by overhead, whilst African Black Duck and both Malachite and Brown-hooded Kingfishers were seen. An African Harrier-Hawk is still around and I had two unidentified Brown Eagles overhead, that more probably Brown Snake Eagles (one had been seen a few days after my sighting in Beaulieu, a nearby suburb).
I didnt photograph any birds in the garden this month, but on walks to the main park I had the usual suspects; Tawny-flanked Prinia
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| Tawny-flanked Prinia (Prinia subflava) |
Cape Turtle Dove are quite secretive and skulky in our Estate
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| Cape Turtle Dove (Streptopelia capicola) |
Speckled Mousebird giving me its beady eye
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| Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus) |
The Weavers and Bishops are now all in winter or non-breeding plumage; Southern Masked Weaver
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| Male Southern Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) |
Southern Red Bishop
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| Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix) |
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| Just a hint of colour left |
Thick-billed Weaver
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| Thick-billed Weaver (Amblyospiza albifrons) |
The White-throated Swallows will be departing shortly with their newly fledged youngsters
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| White-throated Swallow (Hirundo albigularis) |
Sacred Ibis fly over on occasion
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| African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) |
Down at St Ledger Dam in the Poplar Forest, I had a flock of Arrow-marked Babblers
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| Angry Bird - Arrow-marked Babbler (Turdoides jardineii) |
Which were being harassed and hunted unsuccessfully by two Little Sparrowhawks
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| Juvenile Little Sparrowhawk (Accipiter minullus) |
A rather large fresh water Crab at St Ledger
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| Crab sp. |
Not many butterflies around, so I was pleased to see an African Leopard
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| African Leopard (Phalanta p. aethiopica) |
The Damselflies will also soon disappear for the winter, but there are still Common Threadtail's
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| Common Threadtail (Elattoneura glauca) |
and Slate Sprite's around
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| Slate Sprite (Pseudagrion salisburyense) |
I quite liked this Mushroom that sprung up on our pavement
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| Mushroom sp. |
A view of the Jozi and Sandton CBD on a particularly stormy day
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| Jozi CBD Skyline |
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