The evening on the farm was nice with Fiery-necked Nightjars calling all around us. I called one up and it did a slow fly past in the dying evening light. We took a torch and went searching for calling birds to take a photo but they did not stick around. I ended up photographing some Golden Orb-web spiders which are quite common in this area. They build huge webs of bright golden thread which is strong enough to catch small birds and sit and wait in the centre of the web for prey. The femals is quite large and can be as big as a mans outspread hand.
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| Golden Orb-web Spider |
Early the next morning I left in the dark to try and find some night birds on the Uitvlucht loop road and disturbed a pair of owls at the farm gate. Unfortunately they took off too soon and away from me but judging by the size they must have been Spotted Eagle-owls. The Uitvlucht road did not produce any nightbirds but I got some eager Crested Francolins wandering around in the early morning darkness.
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| Crested Francolin |
It turned out to be a rainy day and the birding was not great, I managed a few birds here and there but the highlight was probably a lone Bearded Woodpecker drumming on a dead tree about 50m from the road.
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| Bearded Woodpecker |
With the rain now coming down steadily I decided to head back to the farm for a warm breakfast before the drive back into town for the tournament. A last quick photo of a Southern Black Tit concluded the photos and the birding for the day.
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| Southern Black Tit - Female |
Next week should be more rewarding as I plan to head to Zaagkuil for the River Warblers. Hopefully I'll get more photos as well.
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