Rainbow flashes,
(Lilac Breasted Roller)
glimpsed in lakes and trees.
(Egyptian Geese)
Raucous birdsong,
(Superb Starling)
wakes you at dawn.
(Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill)
Bateleur Eagle’s walk down the road,
and Giant Kingfisher’s get ready to strike.
Another glorious day,
(Crested Barbet)
in the African bush!
(Cape Glossy Starling)
Cheers to you from South Africa’s incredible wild birds~
Klasse Fotos. Freundliche GrΓΌΓe,- Wolfgang
Vielen Danke mein Freund Wolfgang~
Beautiful birds.
SA is just full of amazing feathers!
Not only the starlings are superb….your photos are almost overwhelmingly beautiful!
Oh, I want to have you over for tea!
Wow! Take a few of their snakes since you’re there!
We’ve seen two Green Boomslangs! One is a bird hide~
Green Boomslangs are nasty fellows! Ok now a black mamba…
Yeah, that I do not want to meet!
Amazing feathers! It would be nice if my plumage looked like that lol but alas it most definitely does not!! π
You don’t need the plumage my friend, you’re beautiful inside & out!
Africa’s birds are so spectacular. I had to buy a bird book when we vacationed in Kenya, so I could see how many different birds I could identify, with their names. Thanks for these spectacular photos as a reminder of our time there!
So happy you have been and relived your memories!
Wow! Fantastic set of photos! So many interesting birds.
There are so many species! It is just amazing~
Glorious! π
Thank you Bette! There are new bird species every day!
Nice photos, thank you Cindy. π
Happy Saturday Ranu~
Some amazing captures Cindy! Thank you π
Thank you more for the appreciation!
What a wonderful collection of images depicting the great diversity of birds (with some I’ve never seen or even heard of before – Great job Cindy!). Love the sheen on the Cape Glossy Starling… makes this little guy look like he’s made out of foil. Beautiful! This diversity is just one of the reasons why my love and fascination for them never ends! <3 ~Lynn
We share this affinity for the feathered ones don’t we Lynne, and there are more species to come. Just thrilling for me to see new species and to share them with friends like you!
Such beautiful birds. My favorite is the first – I love the gorgeous colors he (she?) sports.
The male of the species rolls like a belly dancer on branches to attract a mate, hence the name! I wish I had seen this!! π
That would be something to see!
Hi Cindy,
They are so colourful!
Leslie
Aren’t they exquisite. And there were the ones who got away, the ones whose photos I couldn’t get! Such beauty in such numbers~
I like your own nicknames you have given them. So distinctive!
I wish I named them! π
The Crested Barbet is amazing, as are all of the beautiful birds. <3
Isn’t he something!! Whoa! π
Beautiful photos of beautiful birds. Thank you <3
Alison
Such variety! It’s amazing, rivals Australia! π
Enchanting!Ω©(ΛβΏΛ)ΫΆ
Yep, they enchant me! So glad you are enchanted too~
Nice!
Mil grazi~
Hi there Cindy, thanks for stopping by to like one of my posts I’ve now begun following you. This blog is such a treasure. I have developed a sudden fixation on cape glossy starlings, I think S.A. birds could be the most beautiful in the world. They remind me of NZ’s iridescent birds Keas – the South Island Parrot, the most southerly parrot in the world and critically endangered. I did a post about them here http://contentcatnip.com/2014/08/04/quirky-facts-about-the-kea-nzs-alpine-trickster/
I love this! Just awesome.
Yay! Thank you~
beautiful…:-)
Thanks, I love clicking in your turf~
Lovely birds Cindy and u photographed them just beautifullyπ
Awwww, so appreciated!
Wow, such amazing birdlife! We so rarely get to see the birds of Africa, the mammals always steal the show. Thanks for sharing these!
They do indeed, but the birdies are just bee-yute-eee-full too! π
wow love the pictures, especially this one of the Bateleur Eagle
Isn’t he incredible! I got a series of him just walking down the road! I was flabbergasted~
Glorious pictures Cindy. I adore birds.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
Thank you David, that makes two of u! π
What amazing birds and photos!
Awwww, so encouraging & appreciated!
That’s a great portrait of the Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill, love the pose and the light.
Thank you, such an amazing and fearless bird!
Unbelievable!
Kruger National Park is just that! π
Dear Cindy, I am at awe. These birds are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your images with all of us. Hugs! Veraiconica
Thank you more Veraiconica, for your very kind appreciation~
Wow! Such an amazing variety and so beautiful, each in his/her own way.
Hi Dor. Supposedly there are 10,000 bird species in the world. South Africa seems to posess a disproportionate share!
Wow! Those are amazing photos of some really beautiful birds!!!!!
Awww, thank you very much!
Such a great diversity of species, Cindy, and to think, you’ve only scratched the surface of what’s there, Cindy, Marvelous ! π
We stayed in this small community that is on the southern perimeter of Kruger after we left the park. I can just imagine how wonderful it would be to have daily access to the park. Imagine what you would see over the course of years! South Africa has infastructure and other problems, and it is such a distance for me to travel too, 22 hours one way flying, but my God it is gorgeous!
Now I know that you’re having a great time! :
Yep cuz you would like it too! On top of everything else it never snows and never gets too cold. One lodge had a weather report, “Snow Expected,” everyone chuckled.
Beautiful photographs Cindy. Hope you are having a wonderful time. Love, Isabella
Thank you my friend & cheers to you! <3
You are more than welcome!:)<3 Cheers, Isabella
Reblogged this on Voices and Visions.
So appreciate your kindness Sharon~
You must’ve been in seventh heaven Cindy. What glorious colours and so much diversity. You would have enough superb photos to publish in a coffee table book.
Hi Pauline, I think spotting wild creatures in Africa has to be one of the most fascinating things to do in the world. You have to keep tallies and counts of species and phylums. It is seventh heaven~
Phylum is a new word to me Cindy I had to ask Mr G (or is that Mrs???) So I have had a bit of education this morning, thank you. I’m sure you found all the phylum groups in Africa, fascinating…
Laughing…..I did thank you very much. That is long ago bio class memorization clicking in. P-Cof. GS. Phylum, class, order, etc all the way down to species. Love em all and you have lots of em all in Australia! One never knows what totally irrelevant information one can get from reading blogs. Laughing more…..
Such beautiful birds and I think my fav is the Battler Eagle and the Giant Kingfisher. beautiful colors.
There are so many eagles in Africa. My camera broke in the last few days and my back up camera was not as good, but I still saw so many different varieties of eagles. The Bateleur was the most unusual and absolutely unconcerned about us happening upon him on the dirt road!
Nature surpasses herself! Beautiful photos Cindy.
She really does, doesn’t she! Such an amazing world we live in~
Absolutely stunning pictures Cindy, you have captured their colors and beauty magnificently, I have to ask Cindy, did you take these photographs ?, if so you are a magician with the camera.
Kind regards.
Awww, such thougtful sentiments. Yes, I took the photos, but it is mother nature’s accomplishment afterall!
Estas fotos de los animales de SudΓ‘frica son un gran recuerdo de este viaje tan especial. La variedad de aves es impresionante. Β‘Vaya griterΓo que se puede montar en el parque! π
Estoy de acuerdo con usted! La variedad de especies de aves en Sudafrica es sorprendente y magnΓfico. Gracias a mi amiga y feliz Domingo~
unglaublich tolle Bilder,, bin wieder da, beste GrΓΌΓe, Klaus
Guten Tag Klaus! Ich freue mich, Sie wie die Vogel und danken Ihnen herzlich fur Ihre sehr freundlichen Kommentare!
ich danke dir
Great post Cindy – such a colourful bird
Thank you Diana & happy Sunday~
Beautiful!!!
Merci beaucoup!
Indeed they are incredible, as are your photos. π
Thank you Anne and hope it is a nice day for you today in New Zealand! <3
It is, it is.
Made several trips to South Africa over a couple years. Amazing country and no shortage of photography opportunities….
Yes! Definitely an unfair advantage for photographers! π
What stunning captures Cindy! Lovely African feathers. π
Aren’t they beautiful creatures! Everyday brings a new suprise~
Your ability to capture the beauty you see is such a gift…thank you for sharing it.
Oh, that is incredibly kind of you and so appreciated! <3
Gosh! Those Egyptian Geese are everywhere/ π Great captures of these beautiful birds, Cindy.
I saw them in Saint James park in London today which was surreal having just seen so many in Africa, but they don’t have them in Caly as far as I’ve seen!
We have them in Florida. π
You really do have everything in Florida!! π
Beautiful Cindy and so very colorful π
Aren’t they lovely creatures! So glad you enjoyed them Irene~
If I ever go to Africa, it will definitely be for the birds.
Yes, if you like birds, you will love Africa!
My birder family and I loved this post! My older son says he’s rather fond of glossy starling. π
Tell him I am too! They are such personable friendly birds, they eat crumbs out of your hand and jump on your picnic tables! Love em. We named two persistent ones in our Oliphants camp, Hekyl & Jekyl!
Great names for them! LOL!
π
Amazing feathers they are! Wonderful photography as always… π
I was just at your blog admiring your photography and writing!
Awww..that’s so nice of you Cindy…just saw the notifications..Thank you so much… <3 π
Thank you for sharing these gorgeous photographs! Hope that all the creatures have a safe future.
Yes, indeed! I hope so too. I am now in London photographing a family of foxes that come out every afternoon in the heart of London! Remarkable~
Oh that’s amazing! Hope no one hurts them. Enjoy your stay!
These amazing birds make our British ones look very dowdy.
Our too I’m afraid, but don’t tell them I said that!
Amazing stuff. So much colour. π
Aren’t they amazing. Africa is like Canada, an unfair advantage for photographers! π
I’ve been having a whirl in London. Got all my hair cut off at a barbers, which was really fun. Looks terrible. So severe. And I am photographing a family of foxes, two kits, two adults, right in central London. Our hotel looks upon a garden owned by some Duke of Something. Today the magpies were playing with the kits. Lots of chasing and squawking. Remarkable! The window in my hotel only opens about 6 inches, so I’ve been balancing the telephoto in the opening, trying to get decent angles. Wildlife is everywhere! Saw the Egyptian Geese at St James Park. That was surreal. I said to them, weren’t you guys just in Africa????
I’m glad your having fun. I’ve just found
Osterley Park House and Kenwood house. Each have there own web site but have not had time to visit. You can definitely photo the first, not sure about the second.
Enjoy your trip. π
It is more fun when you can take photos. I wish we had more time here!
So many colors, amazing!
The lilac and pink of the roller is just gorgeous!
Yes π
Love these birds, and a feather thing is a good omen!
Oh good. I like good omens!!!
Magnificent feathers and glorious colors! I remember the Kingfisher but while I saw Eagles, I not think I ever spotted this majestic colorful one. Wonderful pictures, Cindy!
I had trouble with the fishing eagles. The best day shooting a pair of them my good camera’s len malfunctioned and I was in a bird hide and forced to shoot against the sun. The bush dust and grit and heavy use was hard on my camera and my back up was old and heavily used. I have some not good pics of Verreaux’s Eagle Owls. Huge and amazing owls. I got some not so good shots of Tawny Eagles. Absolutely amazing raptors in Africa!
My goodness, what an array of colors… terrific photos.
All decked out in Mother Nature’s finery~
These various birds are beautiful and fantastical.
They seem to be designed for pure beauty~
such gorgeous photos!
awww, thank you!
LIebe Cindy, alles Gute, Klaus
Guten Tad und vielen danke Klaus!
Beautiful colours, Cindy!
Yes, I was pretty amazed by them!
What a brilliant capture of the Bateleur Eagle… I’ve been trying to get one like that for years, actually I’m jealous, you come to my country and get better captures than I do…I love all your photos, pure brilliance… Hope you have many more captures to share…
We are going to my favourite place next month (Kalahari Gemsbok Park) for a week… plenty to capture there including the Bateleur, hope I get one as good as yours…
When do you return and leave my beautiful country…??
Ahhhh, so pleased you felt I did your spectacular country justice. We are in London preparing to fly home. I miss Kruger already. Have a wonderful time in the Kalahari and hoping you see a Bateleur. This guy was just walking down the dirt road!!
What a wonderful, wonderful time you must be having!
Yes, it was a marvelous time in a truly magical place~
Wonderful photos of these colorful creatures! Thanks for sharing your adventures Cindy!
Thank you more for appreciating them!
π
Awesome. Very nice set, Cindy! Hope you’re enjoying your trip! π
Thank you my friend and it’s wonderful to hear from you!
Such beautiful, exotic looking birds. Wonderful photos, Cindy! π
Very pleased you enjoyed them Robin!
Those are gorgeous!
Pretty birdies, women used to wear their feathers so they could look like them! π
I wish I could fly, perch on a mountaintop and see for miles. Ride the thermals like a bed, what a feeling it must be.
All of these birds are so pretty, fascinating and strange, too. I loved the first Lilac breasted roller bird and the Superb Starling. You are so wonderful for letting us go along with you to South Africa to go birdwatching, Cindy! xo
It is much more fun having you along Robin! Thanks much and happy Monday!
Those birds are beautiful. Great photography!
Very kind and really most appreciated~
These are beautiful, Cindy! I especially like that glossy starling! π <3
They are really common in SA but not common to me. They love to cage crumbs and I just loved to encourage them!!
Fabulous shots Cindy – looks like South Africa treated you well!! It’s a photographer’s paradise that’s for sure. Missing it already and I’ve just been away for 3 months.
Yes I can completely relate! Be careful or you’ll be going back, like I did, and maybe will again. My camera broke towards the end and I had to use a back up, I missed some shots I’d like a chance to recapture~ π
They sure have some interesting birds there. Great photos!
Thanks much!
Liebe Cindy, mache es gut, Klaus
Guten Morgan und vielen danke mein Freund!
What a joy to see your vivid portraits of some of my favorite African friends, Cindy! Have never seen the Bateleur so close up (they’re usually so high up in the sky), so this was a very special treat. Delightful! π
The Bateleur was amazing. Got three pics of him walking and then flying at close range. He seemed unconcerned with our presence. We were the only ones on a lonely dirt road and there he was. We saw a leopard too, sleeping in a tree!
herzliche GrΓΌΓe, Klaus
Vielen danke mein Freund!
Beautiful capture of texture and colour. The sharp detail flies off the screen.
Thanks so much for noticing!
I love the Crested Barbet. He looks like something a first grader would have imagined and colored.
No that you mention it, that is precisely what he looks like~ π
Cindy – You never cease to dazzle me with the beauty of your nature shots. I had a great deal of fun last night. I combined several of your blogs along with those of another photographer I admire greatly. I put your blogs together but as individual blogs, if that makes sense and good friends plus Tom and I had the most magnificent art show last night. What beautiful photography from you both and any number of oohs and aughs! The photographers were indeed the heroes of the evening.
Tom is worn out today and probably won’t make it out of bed today but it was worth every ounce he gave last night. The smiles were genuine and being able to hold hands and know he was happy was a miracle.
Oh my! I am touched beyond words Sheri and very, very pleased, especially that it may have made Tom happy. That makes my month! Please tell him so for me. And thank you my dear Sheri for doing and sharing such a wonderful thing with me my friend. Hugs & cheers to both of you! <3 <3
I love their coloring and the majestic look in their faces. You definitely have a way of capturing God’s gifts.
You are a valued friend Antionette. Happy Friday to you and your hubby~
Wunderbare Aufnahmen Cindy, herzlichen Dank fΓΌr’s zeigen!!!
Liebe GrΓΌsse Ernst
Vielen Dank fur die Wertschatzung und Froliche Wochenende Ernst!
Birds are such colorful creatures. Perfect for photographing. I especially the love the barbet in blue and yellow. I’ve never heard of it before. I’m so impressed you were able to identify each one. I can barely do that in my Wisconsin backyard! Thanks, Cindy!
It is actually easier to do in Africa because you drive around with a guide to birds in your car! π Anyone who loves bird is a friend of mine Lori. Thank you~
Cindy your blog is fabulous, your photography amazing, thank you!
I was just over at your blog, feeling simiarly about you!
Thank you Cindy, that is very encouraging !
<3
Nice to see different types of birds from around the world. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of these.
They were new to me too and I agree it is fascinating!
Woah, the Egyptian geese looks so pretty!
(and they look like they use eye makeups like ancient Egyptian ladies did)
LOL!!! π
What do you bet Hari, that Cleopatra copied them!!!! π
Gorgeous eagle.
Isn’t he wonderful! Thrilling to be so close to him~
WOW, such diversity in what I always think of as a spare and perhaps harsh climate. Obviously assumptions are a silly thing. That Hornbill guy looks serious about waking you up. Best not be a doddler, ha!
Yes, they do put on quite a concert at dawn! Wonderful way to start the day~
Wow, what a great collection of photos, Cindy! And each bird so different and beautiful in their own way.
Thank you and I am very pleased you enjoyed them!
Oh Ms. Cindy! I am all a flutter over these π
Reblogged this on Sindy's Saturday Satsang and commented:
Go see this and Cindy’s other amazing pictures from Africa.
Awww, so honored and pleased! Thank you. Africa is the most remarkable continent! Cheers to you my friend~
Luckily for us you share it <3
<3 <3
These are simply amazing!!! Congrats on sharing the earth’s natural beauty in such a wonderful way. True art!!
hugs,
o and om.
You are thoughtful & kind and I appreciate your lovely comments. We do have incredible natural beauty on this planet and I enjoy emphasizing it. Thank you for noticing and appreciating!
A beautiful list of fantastic photographs, cheers Cindy.
I was just over at your blog, thinking the same thing! π
What a fantastic, fanciful array of birds. Lovely shots, Cindy. Hugs. π
Well thank you for appreciating the our feathered friends, my friend and abrazos back to you! <3
Wonderful photos π I tweeted this post.
Awwww, you are a good friend my friend!
Superb colours and so well captured.
Honored and pleased that you enjoyed them Diana!
Cindy your photos are always better than Wild Kingdom, or National Geographic!!!!! Awesome shots!
Awww, you are such a good friend Wendell. Thank you!