Tag Archive for 'eagles'

Quelea, Feeding for Survival

Quelea is probably one of the most numerous birds in Southern Africa. Occurring in flocks of thousands, they wander in search of food. They are considered a pest by farmers as they do considerable damage to winter crops. Drastic measures were taken to annihilate these birds, but with no success.

Quelea Flying

During the dry season, those members of the flock that cannot find suitable food sources will starve. Nearly fifty percent of the Quelea population starve each winter. But that is not their only threat. Predators in all shapes and sizes wait for them to breed and will raid nests of eggs and nestlings. This might even decrease their numbers by a further twenty percent…

Quelea Flight
Can one actually ponder the thought when you see them in their thousands like these and ask yourself…”Are they going to be around for much longer?”

Elephant Immobilization: Video

Malilangwe Drugs Course is on.
For the next week some 70 wildlife veterinarians and students from across Africa are at Malilangwe learning the latest in wildlife capture techniques and the use of medicinal drugs.
Today the practical was to dart this elephant bull. All went according to plan and he was soon on his way again, probably only nursing a slight hangover.

Elephant Immobilization 4
Earlier in the day I was happy to find Snorkel again. He still has a breathing problem but it’s a lot better than last week. Although he’s now only breathing through his trunk, not through his mouth any more, you can still hear he battles with each breath. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stay with him as he moved into the wet clay soils. We were hoping to use him for the drugs course and at the same time try and alleviate his breathing problem.

Snorkel

The collared lioness was on her own today with no sign of the rest of the pride. No doubt they’ll join up again tonight.
Tomorrow for the drugs course we plan to change this large cumbersome collar for an implanted transmitter.

Waiting
Earlier while walking in the hills try to locate the lioness I came across this young Spotted Eagle, probably only just out the nest. It sat around for me, just long enough for a couple of photos, but when I got too close it took off.

Spotted Eagle Owl
Chipfongwe’s got competition! This new little female elephant calf can only be a week or so old. How cute is that? Mom was drinking at Chekwa pan, but little miss wasn’t sure what to make of me and wanted out. But mom was relaxed. When mom did leave, the little girl took off ahead of mom.

Tiny rage

Elephants - Sisterly Love: Video

I was surprised to find the lions right on the eastern boundary near Nyamsaan. That was quite an overnight trek for them. Nearly 10kms. And again it seemed they weren’t successful hunting.

Lurking
The Quelea colony north of Bandama is in full swing with chicks having hatched. And the slaughter has begun too as over a hundred Lesser Spotted Eagles have moved in and are trashing nests to get to the chicks. But it’s not that easy for them. The nests are constructed in the thickest of thorn thickets. So the eagles have their time cut out just trying to access them.
Over the next few days we can expect many hundreds more eagles arriving especially once the other colonies start hatching.

Wildebeest run
Mandlovu and most of the elephant were also right in the east.
Chipfongwe is doing well and feeding a lot more and even chewing. So his first teeth have presumably erupted.

Stompie posing
I had one of those frustrating times following him. I saw him battling to pull this plant out. But to get a clear shot, I needed to move. While driving around, his sister came over and just pulled the plant out and proceeded to eat it. Chipfongwe didn’t give up. He went and pulled it from his sister’s mouth. She then plucked another plant at her feet, ate that and went back to Chipfongwe and plucked half the plant from him. He ran off clutching his little prize. And I went off with nothing to show for it except this photograph.

Chipfongwe's prize
There are so many little behaviour things like this that I miss. Usually ‘cos one is moving or there is something obstructing a clear shot. So in the end when I do get one there’s a great sense of achievement. And today I got 2 of those, the one being the video clip of Chipfongwe’s sister just loving him.

Muddy threat
And the other was Chipfongwe again finding one of these same plants and hassling with it for ages trying to pluck it from the ground. He even tried to pull it out going down on his knees and biting. Then he rolled around on it for ages before giving up and going off to his sister for some love.

Sunset 02/07

Sunbird Feast: Video

It’s that time of year.

Trio
February and March are always tough times to be working in the bush. Our main rains fall over this period and the bush is just so thick we battle to find the game and then to stay with it.
I usually try and take some time off in this period because of it just not being very productive. And the last couple of days have proven just that, with it not looking like getting any better in a hurry.

Tall sunset
The elephants were still in the south in those clays that have me running scared. Did I say I was scared? No ways, tough guys don’t say that. Must have been the American.

Leopard Tortoise
But I was able to catch up with the lions and that wasn’t fun. They had placed themselves in some really horrible bush. Thick thick stuff! But after much crashing and twisting and turning I was able to locate them. No they weren’t on a kill, just sleeping and hardly visible. I waited a while with them in case I might have missed a kill in that thick bush, but nothing materialised and I bashed my way out of there.

Covered
Up in the hills the Sunbirds were having a feast on the Aloe Erythrina. This is a lovely big specimen of these rare trees. But they get heavily persecuted by elephants and only survive when hidden in the hills in inaccessible places.

Aloe Erythrina
On Banyini at sunset the quelea are back! They’re nesting in huge numbers in several places on the reserve but only have eggs at the moment. As soon as the chicks hatch the predators (eagles, storks snakes, etc.) will descend on them. But in such huge numbers the predators have little impact on the overall population.

They're back

Elephants create bushveld pans: Video

After the good rains yesterday the elephant herds moved back into the sandveld they so love when it’s moist.

Chocolate?
They can stand around for ages digging and throwing the moist red soil over themselves while Chipfongwe falls into these holes getting in the way rolling around.

Wanting attention
Of course further south in the clays the rain had filled up a number of mud wallows and as soon as temperatures showed any tiny sign of getting hot, the herds ducked into a wallow.

Mud wrestling
I think I too have to master this art then at least I won’t be cooking in the heat.
While following the elephant I disturbed a pair Wahlberg’s Eagles on the ground. They took off and on investigation I found they had killed this European Roller which they had been feeding on.

Roller kill
When the elephant kept moving south into the clays I abandoned them.

Cheeky Fellow
Arriving at Lojaan dam soon before sunset a lone hippo started displaying for me. Or rather at me in the vehicle. It was fun to watch him open his mouth as wide as possible as if yawning, but it was a dominance display to say watch out I’ve got a big jaw and big teeth. Then he jumped half out the water only to crash back in again. And when he wasn’t doing that he would surface in spray of water. Quite the display. But then he is just a young bull all on his own trying to make it in the world.

Neat bum
(Earlier in the day I had been challenged by a 22year old American guy working here as a volunteer for a few months. How rude of him to want to challenge me, more than twice his age! This challenge has been on for several weeks now and soon became America vs South Africa. The challenge was to kayak around the Malilangwe dam, about 20 minutes and then a 6km run. He sure was a confident fellow with a big mouth, but lots of fun! Unfortunately he let America down badly in both events!!! Now he’s calling for a mandatory drugs test! Next he’ll be calling his mother.)