The Birding Blog — The Birding Blog

Many years ago, whilst spending happy hours at the water hole of Okaukuejo (in own right the greatest waterhole on Planet Earth imho.), we were privileged to watch a Grey Heron hunting. With consummate patience, it caught and devoured six doves (you read right!), at a rate of about one per hour. At the same waterhole we watched three jackals kill a springbok.  The two dozen observing visitors were enthralled by the skill of the jackals; no-one even noticed the heron – but we did, and since that day, I was convinced that there was no greater hunter. It all...

The groundscraper thrush is a very common garden visitor in Gauteng. They actually become tame in the presence of human visitors, and will often investigate food sources very close to where you may be sitting in the garden. In fact they may get to the stage of begging titbits. So what to feed them? The standard fare is a meal of insects of different types. However, (as the name implies), they are far happier to feed from the ground and may tend to avoid your feeders. If you have an area (typically close mown lawn) where they are frequently found,...

I believe every Highveld and Bushveld garden has regular visits from the hadeda ibis. There is no better way to control garden snails as well as earthworms and other critters. We very rarely see the equally beautiful cousin in our gardens – the ubiquitous but garden-shy African sacred ibis. On the other hand, our golf courses are full of them – especially near rivers, or after rain (and in standing water). The photo is from Zwartkops Golf Course after a recent rain, and gives immediate hints as to the gregarious nature of the birds. The course is always full of...

It is Christmas today, and we all wish you a Happy Christmas, with plenty of gifts, good food, and the company of family and good friends. We all had a great day in Kruger Park yesterday, and tried desperately to find a “Santa Bird” – one that had red colouration with a white chest. I couldn’t even exactly even imagine such a bird, so settled on the White Fronted Bee Eater as the best trade-off. So here he is – if you don’t like the choice as Santa, consider him Santa’s Little Helper; he certainly put us in a good...

Nature's Heart wishes all customers a peaceful and joyous Christmas. This year we will close from 18h00 on Thursday 14th December 2017, and re-open at 08h00 on Monday 8th January 2018. Counting our production lead period, this means  a full month where your birds will be begging for food! To compensate we are offering bulk specials on suet over this period. Please avail yourself of the offer, and get in early! This year demand has outstripped supply on a number of items. Due to the on-going interest in Suet Pops, we have once more extended the special into December, and...