The rain storm I spoke to you about in my last diary, seems like it was just the beginning of things.
Now the veld is green, the plant life and vegetation is fresh and colourful. The mornings seem loud and noisy with the melodious birds singing their song. They jump from tree to tree in search of their food, which is now in abundance. Raptors have also returned from their nesting grounds on the high veld, some coming as far as from the South of the Sahara.
The common raptor at Thanda is the Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) which can be easily mistaken with the migrant Steppe Eagle. The main diagnostic between the two, is that at close range the gape length in the Tawny extends to below the eye. One morning I was out on drive and had a couple who were very interested in birds of prey. Since I had seen a few raptors recently I was positive that we would see some of the resident birds, so I decided to make my way into the northern section of the reserve.
We were driving along the savanna area, when the silence was broken by the noise of Crowned Plovers (Vanellus coronatus). As we were trying to locate the cause of their concern, Sakhile, my tracker, spotted a Tawny Eagle sitting on a termite mound. It was a large bird and did not seem to be bothered by us. It kept looking around the area where the plovers were running around in circles, then it slowly and carefully started to walk, scanning the area like a master tracker following a spoor of an elusive animal.
The plovers started to mock charge the Tawny, but it was not to be fooled. It is a seasoned hunter, so it knew exactly what is was doing. All of a sudden the Eagle took off and immediately descended to the ground again, when it rose a second time it had something in its talons. The sound of a Crowned Plover's chick was weak with pain, as the eagle's sharp talons held it. It was a sad day for the Plovers loosing one of their chicks, but it was a good meal for the Tawny Eagle.
Now the veld is green, the plant life and vegetation is fresh and colourful. The mornings seem loud and noisy with the melodious birds singing their song. They jump from tree to tree in search of their food, which is now in abundance. Raptors have also returned from their nesting grounds on the high veld, some coming as far as from the South of the Sahara.
The common raptor at Thanda is the Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) which can be easily mistaken with the migrant Steppe Eagle. The main diagnostic between the two, is that at close range the gape length in the Tawny extends to below the eye. One morning I was out on drive and had a couple who were very interested in birds of prey. Since I had seen a few raptors recently I was positive that we would see some of the resident birds, so I decided to make my way into the northern section of the reserve.
We were driving along the savanna area, when the silence was broken by the noise of Crowned Plovers (Vanellus coronatus). As we were trying to locate the cause of their concern, Sakhile, my tracker, spotted a Tawny Eagle sitting on a termite mound. It was a large bird and did not seem to be bothered by us. It kept looking around the area where the plovers were running around in circles, then it slowly and carefully started to walk, scanning the area like a master tracker following a spoor of an elusive animal.
The plovers started to mock charge the Tawny, but it was not to be fooled. It is a seasoned hunter, so it knew exactly what is was doing. All of a sudden the Eagle took off and immediately descended to the ground again, when it rose a second time it had something in its talons. The sound of a Crowned Plover's chick was weak with pain, as the eagle's sharp talons held it. It was a sad day for the Plovers loosing one of their chicks, but it was a good meal for the Tawny Eagle.
Sandiso Shabangu - Field Guide