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Victoria Falls Birding
2012.03.09
We took a birdwatching cruise this morning on the Zambezi River above the falls with two other people and a highly knowledgeable guide. Lots to see and photograph, though being in a pontoon boat on a fast flowing river made for interesting challenges. Here are a few birds we sighted.
Great White Egret |
Black Egret with its yellow feet and long back feathers
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Red Bishop finch
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Open-billed stork. The gap between the mandibles forms in mature birds who feed on fresh water mussels and snails.
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Wire-winged swallow
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Little bee-eater
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White-fronted bee-eater
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Eggs are probably from a bee-eater
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A family of hippos watched us pass
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White-crowned plover or lapwing
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Malachite kingfisher
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This small crocodile let the pontoon boat get quite close before he dashed very quickly to the shore and jumped in.
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Spotted dikkop or thick-knee
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Hamerkop
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African pied wagtail
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Egyptian goose
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Cattle egret
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The Smoke that Thunders. Looking for all the world like a forest fire, the spray of Victoria Falls is clearly seen against rainclouds.
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Sacred ibis
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Fish eagle
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A spotted reedbok watched us cautiously from near the shore. It lives on one of the small islands in the river. Reedbok and monkeys were introduced there by the Zambian govenment, we were told.
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Blue waxwing singing his heart out.
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© 2013