Once you enter the Kruger National Park in South Africa, the first thing that you will notice is the rich bird life. At any checkpoint or stop where there is human activity, a multitude of different birds will descend upon you.
Where there are animals, there are also a multitude of birds; they feast on everything that the animals will allow them.
The most amazing symbiotic relationships exist in these spaces; so many birds sit on the animals feasting on ticks and other insects. The waste of animals is also a rich source of bugs and critters; and even the dead animals that are a given in these "wild" places serve as an all-you-can-eat bar for the vultures.
As you drive through the National Park, you will see the most colour of birds, the most bland-looking ones, the ones you can see in the suburbs, and the biggest predatory birds on the continent.
The Kruger National Park truly remains a birding photographer's dream, paradise, or playground.
Please join me as I show you the beauty of this place or the beauty of the birds that this place offers.
After a while, we saw so many of these lilac-breasted rollers that they became a common sight, despite their striking beauty. We stopped the car way too much for them, as we really appreciated their beauty.
I am not sure if this was a kingfisher, but it immediately grabbed our attention. It was a rather big bird, and the shadows fell in such a way as to completely darken the bird. It looks like a true fighter!
Less prevalent is the predatory birds. They hide most of the day and you really need to be lucky to spot them. We love to drive around, so this does not really allow one to appreciate the predatory birds that much, as they usually hang out near the watering holes. We were lucky to see two or three of them.
Seeing vultures always causes some sadness in me, as I know their species are under threat. There are many programs in the country to help get their numbers back, but it seems like a losing battle. Here, we saw the bird perched high up in a tree on a nest.
Alas, this is just a small sample size of all of the birds that you can see in the Kruger National Park. In fact, if you stay a bit longer than the mere 6-10 hours you are allowed on a day pass, you will be able to see a whole list of birds (and animals).
I hope that you enjoyed these photographs of the most beautiful birds our country of South Africa has to offer.
For now, happy birding and keep well!
All of the musings and writings are my own, albeit inspired by the many birds we saw. The photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Tamron 300mm zoom lens.
Thank you so much for the wonderful community!
The Lilac-breasted roller is beautiful, I've never seen one!
We have Kingfishers visit our garden, the beak looks like a Kingfisher, but its body looks longer and slimmer. Google Lens says it is a Kingfisher.
Absolutely stunning photos as always @fermentedphil
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words. For sure, they are lovely birds! I am not sure how to identify the kingfisher, maybe I was wrong. But they are quite large, much larger than one thinks!
And yes, the lilac-breasted roller is stunning! We probably saw 20 of them, after the fifth one, we no longer stopped the car, hahah. It feels like the red impala you see at the Kruger, after the fifth herd they become common sightings.