It has a brownish head with black streaks, beautiful turquoise wings and a completely red bill. The male has a black back whereas the females and juveniles have brown backs. Below is a video I filmed of a pair of Kingfishers: Brown Hooded Kingfisher Size: It weighs around 50g to 75g and the size is…Read More
Tag: East London
Olive Woodpecker pecking bark and finding insects (video)
This is a male Olive Woodpecker I filmed in East London, South Africa. I filmed him from my yard as part of the #LockdownBirdingChallenge in our Facebook Group. He was pecking away at the bark and seemed to find a small feast of ants and insects. He has a grey head, olive body and red…Read More
Dark Backed Weaver Video
The Dark Backed Weaver is a Forest Weaver with black-brown upperparts and a striking golden breast and belly. They have a grey-coloured throat and can often be confused with the Olive Headed Weaver. They are monogamous, territorial and generally can be found in forest areas. Below is the HD video I filmed of the Dark…Read More
Bronze Mannikins balancing while eating grass seeds in the wind
I filmed these Bronze Mannikins at my local estuary. While the Mannikins are very common, I just enjoyed being able to see them pick the grass seeds off at such a close range. I marveled at how well they balanced on such a slender stem of grass which was swaying so much in the wind.…Read More
Cape Batis video
This was another lifer for me; the Cape Batis. It is a Flycatcher-like bird which is closely related to helmetshrikes and bushrikes. It has a large head and a thick, black eye-mask and golden eyes (female’s eyes are reddish). It has a black breast band. HD Video of the male Cape Batis:
Buff-Spotted Flufftail bathing and drinking (HD Video)
This Buff-Spotted Flufftail was a very exciting bird for to me film as it was a lifer for me; the first time I had ever seen it. When I first saw it in the shrubbery I thought it was perhaps a juvenile spurfowl or some type of Frankolin. But once it made its way into…Read More
Long Crested Eagle Video – East London
I filmed this Long Crested Eagle at our local estuary. I have filmed one before in the Drakensburg, one at Chintsa and a few times in Stutterheim, but this was the first time I had captured him on film in East London. It is one of the more sluggish eagles and spends most of its…Read More
Spectacled Weaver taking a bath on Birding Planet
I filmed this Spectacled Weaver taking a bath at a local nature reserve. It is bright yellow with an olive green back which is similar to many of the other Weaver species. The Spectacled Weaver is easily identified by the black “spectacles” around its eyes. Spectacled Weaver info They are monogamous and are usually seen…Read More
Video of Crows divebombing Crowned Eagle at International Cricket Match
I recently took this video of a group of 3 to 4 Crows chasing a Crowned Eagle at international cricket match between South Africa and Bangladesh. The Eagle later got one of the chicks and we saw it flying away with the small bird in it’s talons. Excuse the quality of the footage – I…Read More
Hamerkop Video
I filmed this Hamerkop on my way home on the outskirts of East London (South Africa). It was crossing the road of the small causeway which provides a nice location for nature and wildlife very close to town. Here’s the HD Video: How to Identify a Hamerkop The Hamerkop (English translation is “Hammer Head”) is…Read More
Knysna (Turaco) Loerie – HD Video and Story
The Story: This is another bird I saw while trying out a new coffee shop (click here to see all the birds I’ve filmed while visiting coffee shops). It was a treat to get such a clear view of a Knysna Loerie (aka Knysna Turaco) in its natural habitat. It was the first time I…Read More
Southern Red Bishop on Birding Planet (HD Video)
The Story: I filmed this Red Bishop at an outdoor coffee shop which overlooked a pond (not the same place where I filmed the Red-knobbed Coot). There were two or three male Red Bishops flitting in and out of the reeds of the pond, which is a tell-tale sign that it was breeding season as…Read More
Red Billed Wood-Hoopoe (HD Video) (aka Green WoodHoopoe)
I filmed these Red-Billed Woodhoopoes in a garden in East London, South Africa. It is also sometimes known as the Green Wood-Hoopoe. Click play to watch the video of the Red-Bill Wood-Hoopoes It has a long, curved red bill, red legs and white wingbars. The long tail has white bars in the outer feathers.…Read More
Cape White-Eye Video
The Story: I’ve often found this bird a difficult one to film, for two reasons: 1) they are small and very quick, flitting from branch to another, hardly ever sitting still and 2) they seem very shy and prefer to go deep into a bush than sit out in the open. Having said that I…Read More