We're Going to the BIRDS!
| Santa Says… World Cup - Feel IT! We’re Going To The Birds! |
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Last week I had dinner with a friend and he told me about a dream trip he took to Kenya to spot birds. He is big on birds! He has more books on birds than I have golf swings. Over a period of three weeks, he and his friends spotted nearly 900 different birds – wow… That is amazing! I have to admit that I haven’t developed the eye to see these flying beauties. On a game drive, I am happy when I can see an Eland at 50 meters. Having said that, this column is not about Kenya or Eland – it’s about birds – beautiful birdlife that we have right here on the estate. I still refer to most of them as LBB’s or LBBWOB’s – Little Brown Birds or Little Black Birds With Orange Bellies. But, really, there are birds everywhere you look – little ones with long tails, big ones who stalk and catch field mice and rats and snakes. Oh yeah, we have some cool snakes too! And we have genets and monkeys and other mammals and reptiles (I’ll save them for next week).
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To date we have spotted more than 160 species of birds…
| Guineafowl Helmeted (social) Spurfowl Red-necked (Francolin) Lapwing Blacksmith (Plover) Lapwing Crowned (Plover) Plover Threebanded Plover Whitefronted Plover Kitlitz’s (social) Snipe African (rare) Stint Little (social) Thick knee Spotted (dikkop) (pairs) Greenshank Common Spoonbill African (social) Hamerkop Ibis Sacred (social) Ibis Hadeda (social) Egret Cattle (social) Egret Little Heron Grey Heron Black-headed Heron Purple (scarce) Heron Goliath (scarce) Stork Open billed (social) Crake Black Cormorant Reed (social) Cormorant White-breasted (social) Darter African Wagtail Cape Weaver Cape (social) Weaver Southern Masked (social) Weaver Spectacled (social) Bishop Red (social) Owl Barn Owl Cape eagle Eagle African fish Kite Yellow-billed Kite Black-shouldered Buzzard Steppe Buzzard Jackal Harrier African Marsh |
Nightjar Fiery necked Coot Red-knobbed (social) Duck Yellow-billed (social) Teal Cape Teal Red-billed Shoveler Cape Goose Egyptian (social) Moorhen Grebe Little (Dabchick) Kingfisher Brownhooded Kingfisher Pied Kingfisher Malachite Kingfisher Giant Sparrow House (social) Sparrow Cape (social) Warbler Reed Lark Redcapped Lark Rufous-naped Pipit Grassveld Longclaw Cape (Orangethroated longclaw) Mousebird Speckled (social) Mousebird Red faced (social) Shrike Fiscal (Jacky hangman or Jan laksman) Coucal Burchells (Rain bird) Starling Redwinged (social) Starling Pied (social) Starling Glossy Starling European (Introduced species) (social) Yellow Bishop/Yellow-rumped widow (social) Whydah Pin-tailed Spotted pigeon (Rock pigeon) (social) Dove Cape turtle Dove Red-eyed Dove Laughing Dove Namaqua Apalis Bar throated Gull Kelp (social) Tern Caspian Tropic bird Red-tailed |
Rock martin/sand martin (social) Swallow European (social) Lesser striped swallow (social) Greater striped swallow (social) White-rumped swift (social) Black swift (social) Cuckoo Diederiks Cuckoo Klaas’s Cuckoo Jacobin Hoopoe African Robin-chat Cape Robin White browed Robin Scrub Drongo Forktailed Bulbul Cape Brownbul Terrestrial Southern boubou Bokmekerrie Oriole Black-headed Greenbul Sombre Thrush Southern Olive Tchagra Southern Stonechat Prinia Spotted Cisticola Grey-backed Cisticola Cloud Cisticola Levaillant’s Cape white-eye Batis Cape Canary Cape (social) Canary Brimstone (social) Neddicky Seedeater Streaky-headed Sunbird Malachite Sunbird Amethyst Sunbird Greater double-collared Waxbill Common (social) Goshawk African |
Check it out! There may not be as many fantastic flying machines here as there is in Kenya – but where in Kenya can you see birdies and MAKE birdies at the same time? Ahh, you knew where this was going – it’s all about golf and game (and birds and flowers and clean air) – and there are no Vuvuzela’s allowed on the golfing pitch…
World Cup Is A Week Away!
Oh! Speaking of the pitch – we are pitching the Links Clubhouse as the place to be for the opening ceremonies, the first win for Bafana Bafana and then back again when USA gives England a wake up. We are upgrading to HD decoders and every match will be shown in High Definition! Drink prices have been reduced (not increased like the airlines) to encourage everyone to FEEL IT and come.
World Cup Is A Week Away!
Oh! Speaking of the pitch – we are pitching the Links Clubhouse as the place to be for the opening ceremonies, the first win for Bafana Bafana and then back again when USA gives England a wake up. We are upgrading to HD decoders and every match will be shown in High Definition! Drink prices have been reduced (not increased like the airlines) to encourage everyone to FEEL IT and come.
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Regards,
Jeff
Jeff
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