The yellow billed duck welcomed me with open arms...

in Photography Lovers6 months ago (edited)

...and sadly I couldn't embrace the duck as I would get wet :)
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I have posted the Bishop at the nature reserve recently, and here are some more shots that I took at the nature reserve.
Southern Africa covers a land area of approximately 3.5 million square kilometers and has a high bird density; more species breed here than in the USA and Canada combined. Southern Africa consists of the following countries south of the Kunene, Okavango, and Zambezi rivers, encompassing Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, and southern and central Mozambique.
We live in South Africa and I will put a map at the end of the post to show you where we are.

So, another White-backed duck ((Thalassornis leuconotus), gave me a bathing lesson, as it flipped over upside down and you can see his stomach and his tail sticking out.
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They can be identified by the white line below their eyes. I loved the fairy lights created by the sun on the water.
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The first duck was clapping his hands at the show, and he shouted to the bathing duck to join the Olympic Games.
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He even waved goodbye to us as we walked further along the dam side. A real showman posing for the camera.
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Just a great shot of the duck at the back, and a Black Crake photo bombing by running into the photo.
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Now this guy is a Cape Weaver (Ploceus capensis), and he was building a house to attract a possible female.
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Lovely eyes as he gave me a look.
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One can even see the Atlantic Ocean from a high mountain foot hill in the reserve.
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I mentioned that I will show you a map of where we live, and you can see it here below.

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See the little arrow at the bottom of the map? That's where we live in the Cape Province at the southern tip of the African continent.

So, as you can see on the map, we live in a big country with many biomes of desert, forest, fynbos, and so on, as listed on the map. Some say that it will take several lifetimes to explore every biome listed. I was fortunate to pay short visits to every biome on the map, but I can tell you that it is almost impossible to cover every country in Southern Africa. We also have hundreds of birds coming in during the summer to breed in South Africa, and we are now currently waiting for the flamingos to arrive. I will share posts of them, as soon as they arrive.
That's all folks.

Late edit; I just read the post and discovered that I had forgotten to cite the source of the bird information and the map. I usually cite everything that is not my own, and I apologize for this mistake.

So, without further ado, here below is the source.

A Book, Sasol Birds of South Africa. ISBN 978-1-77584-668-0

I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

Thank you kindly for supporting this post.

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The ducks are so cute to watch @papilloncharity

Thank you for the appreciation Madi.
!PIZZA

So far I have never seen a duck bathing upside down, I have only seen ducks swimming on the water like a boat. It's extraordinary that you can find rare moments that are rarely seen by many people

Well now you have seen one, and I always focus on the extraordinary my friend. !LOLZ

Yellow-billed duck is a cutie always excited to see them on our waterways, we truly have been spoiled with our wildlife especially birds down here.

I believe the Yellow-billed kite is back in town heard the quiet calls the other day, they have returned for their summer vacation over our coast once again.

!LUV
!LOLZ

Spoiled indeed, as there are such abundances. I am a bit jealous that you get those Yellow-billed every year, as they are rare over here. Soon the migrating birds will start to arrive for the summer, and at times, something extra-special pops up here. There is always hope.

!LOLZ and !LUV

One could never be bored, simply look at the variety of visitors coming and going all year round.

!PIZZA
!WINEX

The bird tourism agency will once again be fully booked come spring !LOLZ
!PIZZA

Some there already for the flowers, after all the rains life will pop up quickly.

Oh yes, we look forward to the wildflower carpets all over the place. Last year we went to Darling, but we missed the wildflower festival by a week. I don't know if we will be able to make it this year !LOLZ

Very nice photography, friend, I am amazed to see the snapshot of the yellow bird that is building its nest 👍👍👍

Thank you, and I am glad that you liked the yellow Weaver bird !LOLZ

It’s incredible how diverse the wildlife is in your country. I’m really inspired by your adventure and can’t wait to see the flamingos when they arrive.

Thank you, and yes, we are blessed with abundant wildlife here. The flamingos are the icing on the cake, and we hope to get them soon.
!PIZZA

I love discovering new places thanks to you. By the way, what beautiful photos.

Glad that I could show you our place, and thank you for liking my photos :)

That photo bombing was intentional hahah the duck stole all of the attention 😆 what a lovely area to live in, you have so much to explore!

Yep, I tend to agree with you as the runner was jealous of the duck posing for my camera. You know what life is all about, and if one gets all of the attention, the others become very agitated :) !LOLZ

PIZZA!

$PIZZA slices delivered:
papilloncharity tipped madimoire
joanstewart tipped papilloncharity
(1/15)
papilloncharity tipped iamlovelykate @papilloncharity tipped @joanstewart

It's so pretty

Thank you kindly!

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