Return of the Eagles

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Geo: -26.1, 27.7667

After lunch Paul and I went to the Botanical Gardens for a few hours. Firstly we went into the hide and saw some Red Bishops and Southern Masked Weavers. Then the rain came down quite heavily, so we sat there and watched the rain, as most of the birds had disappeared to shelter.

Once the rain stopped we continued to walk further into the gardens. Next to the creek we saw a large brown crab. I was looking out for the large tortoises, but didn't see any today.

At the waterfall we saw a small crowd looking up. We looked up and noticed that the pair of Verreaux's Eagles were back on the ridge. This was good news to the locals, as they are one of the few pairs of eagles to live so close to a city. Fingers crossed that they will soon lay eggs.

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Photos

01 Southern Red Bishop
Its feathers are all puffed up.

02 Southern Red Bishop
Sitting above a Southern Masked Weaver's nest.

03 Southern Red Bishop
Just sitting around.

04 Southern Masked Weaver
Building a nest in the hope of attracting a female.

05 Above the Reeds
The Southern Masked Weavers nest is above the reeds on the edge of the dam.

06 Working
He is working on his nest to make sure it is up to scratch.

07 Disturbed
Looking at us as if we disturbed him from his nest building.

08 Birds
The Southern Red Bishop and the Southern Masked Weaver.

09 Hanging On
Hanging on by his claws.

10 Flapping
Flapping his wings so he doesn't fall.

11 Nearly Finished
Hope she likes the nest, otherwise she will tear it apart and he has to start all over again!

12 Birds
Both birds back together on the same branch.

13 Southern Red Bishop
Now moved to a new branch.

14 Heavy Rain
Luckily we were protected from the weather in the hide.

15 Big Drops
Lots of big drops of rain falling on the dam.

16 In the Rain
The Southern Red Bishop getting wet in the heavy rain.

17 Crab
The brown crab we found near the creek.

18 Eagles
The pair of Verreaux's Eagles on the ridge.