Bird Activity Rietvlei, Cape -- bird-hide block

Tue 28 Jul 2009

35 Glossy Ibis
1 African Fish-Eagle
2 Black-shouldered Kites
4 Great Crested Grebes
10 Mousebirds

African Pygmy Mouse

Found on the Island

Otters at Rietvlei

I noticed some movement on the waters edge near the new hide - South lake.
It turned out to be a family of otters

Rietvlei reserve 7-7-2009

Rietvlei 7-7-2009 - Mole

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We spotted this mole sunbathing -- just his head sticking out.

Rietvlei 7-7-2009

25-Jun-2009 Rietvlei, Cape - Bird Activity

25 Jun 2009

• The pan is full of water

Bird Activity:

• About 60 Egyptian geese in the area halfway to the bird-hide.

• Two Cape Longclaws (Orange-throated Longclaws)

• One juvenile Black Sparrowhawk

• A pair of Black-shouldered Kites

• One Rock Kestrel

• And pair of Great Crested Grebe in the mating dance. Necks twisting and head-crests fanning.

See photos

Juvenile Swift Tern

Rietvlei Walk 11-Jun-07

11-Jun-009

Rietvlei Walk

Birds spotted:

• * 8 Black-headed Herons - one has just caught a frog. There seems to be a great number of frogs in the area (photograph below)

• * A pair of Black-shouldered Kites in the area between North and South-vlei

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Birds breeding in mid winter

Horse Trails 17-June-2009

Rietvlei 10 June 2009

10 Jun 2009
A super day.
I planned a long walk to the hides but had to cut my walk short because spider webs were covering the whole area.
Going to the hides would have meant that I would have been covered with spiders.
The birds seem to congregate south of the new bird hide

• 10 Red-billed Teal
• 8 Yellow-billed Ducks
• African Darters
• 5 Red-knobbed Coots
• Egyptian geese
• Cormorants
• Cape Shoveler

Rietvlei 9 Jun 2009

9 Jun 2009

Birds spotted

• Pelican 80-100
• Shoveler 250
• Pied Avocets 20
• African Spoonbill 8
• Flamingo 50

9 June 2009

A pair of Southern Pochards was spotted flying over the South-lake.

Rietvlei 1-6-2009

01-06-2009
We watched how a Black Sparrowhawk was trying to get to a dove he dropped on the other side of a fence while the Hartlaub’s Gulls were dive-bombing him.
He gave up and flew away.
Later we saw him return to when the coast was clear to collect his prey.

Pied Kingfisher -- Rietvlei

26-May-2009 14:07
Three Pied Kingfishers
Young birds.
Two of them look as if they are mating.

Owl Moth

Atlantis 2009-05-26




Photograph Leonard Wolhuter

The best website on this topic: http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_noctuidae/index.html

See more photographs: Http://images.google.co.za/images?gbv=2&hl=en&sa=1&q=moth+owl&btnG=Search+Images&aq=f&oq=

Pelican ring no. H1257

26 May 2009

Pelican found -- died about four days ago.
Ring number H1257. Ringed on Dassen Island in 2005. (4 Years ago)
It has been seen on a pig farm near Tygeberg about ten times.

Bush for ID

Night life at Rietvlei 26-05-2009

Read more: http://wally.iblog.co.za/2009/06/03/along-the-night-path/

Rietvlei 23 May 2009 White-breasted Cormorant

Photograph by Wally Wolhuter