Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is a compilation of travel stories, photos and places that I have visited over the years (although once in a while I will include places that I WANT to visit!). I love to travel and am also a bit of a "foodie" so every now and then I will probably start talking about my favorite restaurants too. Enjoy!
-Deborah

Sunrise at Kruger National Park, South Africa

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Birds of the Okavango


What I had heard prior to visiting Botswana and the Okavango Delta was that it has an incredible variety of birdlife. I must admit that I was not that excited about seeing a bunch of birds, but thanks to Water (our fabulous guide!) we saw such amazing birds and learned a ton about bird calls, nesting habits and how to identify males and females. An interesting note about the bird kingdom is that the male of the species is usually the more brightly-colored and beautiful of the two sexes. Did you know that? ;-)

Typically on a “safari” you focus on the animals, but Jason and I were fascinated and quickly lost track of how many species we saw throughout our visit, although when the bird-watching couple from Johannesburg joined us on our second day they reported we had seen over 92 different species of birds in one day! This couple was on a mission to spot a Pels Fishing Owl – apparently one of the hardest birds to spot since it is only located in certain climates and is close to becoming an endangered species. We did manage to catch a glimpse of one in a tree but unfortunately could not get a good photo (need to invest in a better telephoto lens!!!).

But, I was able to get a good selection of pics of some gorgeous birds of the Okavango so I hope you enjoy!


(Saddleback Stork landing in a tree)




(Ruff Sandpiper)



(Pied Kingfisher)




(Pelican Nest)



(A second Pelican Nest!)




(Little Bee-Eater)



(Grey Hooded Kingfisher eating a Frog!)



(Hornbill)



(Flamingo in flight)




(Probably the most amazing bird ever -- the Fish Eagle!)



(Fish Eagle at dusk )


Anyone else a bird fan now? :-)

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