Month Of October 2020 (Part 11)
Speckled mousebird (Colius striatus)
Early morning to late afternoon the Speckled Mousebird runs through the trees, taking short flights over the stretch of water to clamber up through the trees once again. The trees are alive with their movement, must have been ten or more together.
Not such a melodious in song more of a husky tsu-tsu or tisk-tisk when flying which is reasonably fast considering they appear to scrummage around the vegetation for food more that bother with flight.
Another bird where half the body length is in it's tail. Largest of the mousebird species is the Speckled mousebird (Colius striatus) found in Eastern and Southern Africa.
White-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Standing listening to many new calls and sounds the soft whistling made me turn my head upward, indeed the White-faced whistling ducks were overhead coming into to land on the dam.
I have not seen these ducks often, so this was a joy having them land to feed with what some say is a loud whistle, personally I find it endearing to hear them coming in, once on the water they were not really noisy at all.
Mountain wagtail (Motacilla clara)
Wagtail even went a couple of foot into the house really quite at home here, people and nature in harmony!
Cape grass warbler (Sphenoeacus afer)
Perfectly splendid my first sighting of the Cape grassbird, only saw this little bird once whilst up in the mountains and really hope that I have identified this one correctly.
Chorister robin-chat (Cossypha dischroa)
A solitary bird living between trees in wooded area between the ground hopping up into trees when approached, appears this is the small evergreen forest called home.
Chubby was always seen hopping around foraging on the ground for insects, spiders, millipedes never saw any lady friends, perhaps this was the lady who knows. Black hooded head no markings around the eye another first for me, a handsome bird with contrasting colouring.
As mentioned previously this week was jam-packed with bird watching, many more to come in the next content. Hope you are enjoying the birds of Southern Africa as much as I sorting through them to offer you the best views I managed to capture.
Collection so far on October 2020 visit to Drakensberg:
Sunbirds a Natal Bottle Brush In Rainy Weather
Falcon Ridge Powerful Presence Of Raptors
Spring Bird Watching Drakensberg Mountains South Africa
Sight most used for identification purposes Avibase - Howard and Moore 4th edition
_All photography is my own, any queries or requests please drop a comment below or make contact with me, have a wonderful day! Photography without tripod, go with the flow wherever life takes you. Handy camera used is a Canon PowerShot SX730 HS.
Thought for Today: "He who eats an egg foregoes a future meal of chicken soup." - African Proverb
Places to Enjoy On Hive: #powerhousecreatives hive-114105, #qurator hive-102880, #featheredfriends 
!pinmapple -29.01822 lat 29.43679 long Champagne Castle Drakensberg South Africa D3SCR
