Birds of Southern Africa - November 2025

Naomi & I were so happy to embark on this trip despite my healing left leg. The wonderful adventure was assembled by Africa Adventure Co. with a tiny bit of input from us. They enabled me to be mobile through out. More on this in a later blog.

This blog is dedicated to the two people who have encouraged me to look at birds; my pal George & nephew Lenny.

So many birds; cormorants, herons, egrets, storks, cranes, ducks, geese, ostriches, guineafowls, vultures (I didn’t know there were so many varieties), eagles, hawks, kites, go-aways, hornbills, bee-eaters, kingfishers, lapwings, waders, doves, pigeons, African penguins & on & on…

If a bird is not identified in a caption, it was beyond me, my time & resources. I referred to Mark W. Nolting’s 8th Ed. of “African Field Guide” published by The Africa Adventure Company. I’d be happy to insert anyone’s identification; to add to or correct mine.

Itinerary Southern Africa Adventure November 2025

Airlink jet to Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Herons of some variety.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Great Egrets.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Southern Carmine Bee-eater.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Southern Carmine Bee-eaters.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Blacksmith lapwing.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Southern Carmine Bee-eater.

Muchenje Safair Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

White-Breasted Comorant? & some variety of Heron??

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Great Egrets.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Anhinga?

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Helmeted Guineafowl.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Helmeted Guineafowls.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Yellow-billed Stork.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Ibis & Great Heron.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

A stork?

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

African Fish-Eagle.

We immediately thought of Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

African Fish Eagle.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

African Fish Eagle.

Muchenje Safari Lodge, Chobi River, Kasane, Botswana.

Birds of a feather together at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Glossy ibis.

Ra-ikane Sunset River Cruise on the Zambezi River.

Egyptian geese.

Ra-ikane Sunset River Cruise on the Zambezi River.

Ducks! They were noisy.

Ra-ikane Sunset River Cruise on the Zambezi River.

Can you find me?

Striped Kingfisher?

Ra-ikane Sunset River Cruise on the Zambezi River.

Gray Parrot?

Fastjet to Kruger Mpumalanga Internat'l Airport.

We were fortunate that for 3 days we shared our Land Cruiser with two couples from Johannesburg. It was the 3rd & 4th time for them at Notten’s & they were birders.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

They shared their fabulous binoculars & knowledge. They identified birds by their songs & between them, our driver & our spotter, we found them.

Notten's Bush Camp,Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill.

Notten's Bush Camp,Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

The photo is a bit blurry but there’s a bird here poking into those nests looking for unprotected eggs for its dinner. It found one & took off with it.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Brown Snake Eagle.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Yellow-billed Stork & Egyptian Geese.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Find me if you can.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Red-billed Oxpecker on white rhino’s back. The rhino’s horn has been deliberately cut off by the conservationists to deter poachers. We also saw the Oxpeckers feasting inside the rhino’s ear!

Bird on ground Malachite Sunbird?

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Lynn referring to our driver’s well-worn birding book.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

White-backed Vulture.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Kite or Eagle?

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Eagles or Kites?

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Helmeted Guineafowl.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Helmeted Guineafowl.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

White-backed Vulture.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Grey Go-away-bird, grey lourie.

Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa.

Hadada Ibis.

Jonkershuis Eatery @ Groot Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa.

Egyptian goose family & pigeon.

Company’s Gardens, Cape Town Eats Tour with Karen Schmidt.

Pigeons.

Company’s Gardens, Cape Town Eats Tour with Karen Schmidt. That’s her behind the pigeons.

Green Wood-Hoopoe or Common Sunbird Asity?

Company's Gardens Restaurant.

Cape Town Eats Tour with Karen Schmidt.

Turkeys. They were not on the menu.

Babylonstoren Farm Hotel. An old Cape Dutch farm, set at the foot of Simonsberg in the Franschhoek wine valley.

Simon’s Town, South Africa.

Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town is home to a unique and endangered land-based colony of African Penguins. South Africa on False Bay.

“African Penguins were reclassified on 26 May 2010 from a Vulnerable to now Endangered status. In 1956 when the first full census was conducted on the African Penguin, there were approximately 150, 000 breeding pairs counted. In 2009 there were only 26 000 breeding pairs left in the world. These numbers indicate a loss of more than 80% of breeding pairs in just over 50 years.”

Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town, South Africa on False Bay.

The black spots on the chest, the pattern of which is unique to each penguin. The spots enable the conservators to identify each bird by name.

Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town, South Africa on False Bay.

The penguins sometimes waddle into the residential areas to find nesting spots.

Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town, South Africa on False Bay.

This is molting season for the penguins. They fast & lose weight.

Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town, South Africa on False Bay.

They don’t go back into the water to hunt & regain weight until their new feathes are in.

Boulders Penguin Colony in Simon’s Town, South Africa on False Bay.

Babylonstoren Farm Hotel, Franschhoek , South Africa.

Common ostrich.

Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.

Common ostrich moma with two chicks on the left. Our guide Howie thought that tourists were too getting too close to the birds.

Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.

Common ostrich papa right nearby.

Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.

“The blue crane (Grus paradisea), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.” We didn’t spot the crane until our last day of touring the the Stellenbosch region of S.Africa. We were driving through miles & miles of freshly harvested wheat fields. These cranes like that environment.

Papa showed up.

What's up folks? Where are y'all going? We were just having such a good conversation!

-Notten's Bush Camp, Sabi Sands Nature Preserve, South Africa