An awesome day at Leadwood

08 January 2021 - Leadwood Big Game Estate; Day 2

Despite the late night, Simon and I were up before sunrise, packed the cooler and headed out to try and find the Lesser Moorhen and Dwarf Bittern that he had seen earlier in the week. We dipped on the Moorhen, but did have brief views of the Bittern. We then stopped at the dam where we had sun-downers yesterday afternoon and took some time photographing the resident Water Thick-knee's

Water Thick-knee (Burhinus vermiculatus)

Also at the dam, a Grey Heron was patrolling the edges

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

A Yellow-billed Kite had roosted overnight in one of the dead trees

Yellow-billed Kite (Milvus aegyptius)

Simon had a stakeout for nesting Woodland Kingfisher, so that was our next stop. We got into a good position and watched the adult bird bring a variety of food items to the nest, in between lots of vocalisation

Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis)

In the hour or so spent at the nest, other species seen included; Chinspot Batis

Chinspot Batis (Batis molitor)

Burnt-necked Eremomela

Burnt-necked Eremomela (Eremomela usticollis)

This outrageous looking Locust/Grasshopper.

Locust sp.

We had saturated views of the Kingfisher after which time, breakfast with the girls was calling. We stopped for these two Lizards on the way back to the house.

Lizard sp.

After breakfast we spent the rest of the day on the patio and in the pool. This was also the perfect location to watch birds passing by. In no particular order, I managed to photograph the following species;

A pair of Red-billed Oxpecker's feathering their nest

Red-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus)

A family of Retz's Helmetshrike

Retz's Helmetshrike (Prionops retzii)

A young Southern Black Tit

Southern Black Tit (Melaniparus niger)

I suspect this is a female White-bellied Sunbird, but am not 100% sure

Probable White-bellied Sunbird (Cinnyris talatala)

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus)

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow investigating a potential nest site

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer diffusus)

Followed by Violet-backed Starling doing the same. The male kept his distance, not wanting to get involved in the decision

Violet-backed Starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster)

A migratory Willow Warbler was heard, but generally kept in cover. They were certainly way easier to photograph in Kuwait

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

A Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird put in a brief appearance

Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus chrysoconus)

I was unsure of this raptor passing overhead, but we finally agreed it was most probably a Whalberg's Eagle

Whalberg's Eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi)

It was a really relaxing afternoon and we all got a bit crisped in the sun. At 3pm, we packed the cooler again and headed out for an afternoon drive. We were fortunate to briefly see Black Rhino, but they are always way more skittish and elusive than their square-lipped cousins. However, this Dusky Indigobird was a little more cooperative.

Dusky Indigobird (Vidua funerea)

This family of Warthog piglets were quite inquisitive

Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)

We managed to catch this migratory Steppe (Common) Buzzard, as it passed by overhead

Steppe Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Late in the afternoon, we stopped again at the dam we had checked in the morning and this time we were lucky. The Dwarf Bittern was out, hunting in the open, albeit a little distant. Great to see this skulker again, which erupts after a good rainy season, which we certainly have had.