I will also show you how a Malachite hunted dragonflies.
First up is a Fork-tailed Drongo above (Dicrurus adsimilis).
We only had a one-hour break, and we popped out to one of our favourite wine estates for a coffee. I have taken many of my birding photos over here, and I knew where to look for the birds. We always go out expecting something new, and this time we were not disappointed. Many times, we don't get something unusual, but we accept it with the thought that there will always be a next time.
We are still in the spring period, and when all of the protea pincushion flowers open then we know that summer has arrived. Thankfully the butterflies and dragonflies have already arrived. Not in numbers, but we see it as an indication that the normal abundance of insects and also the migrant birds will also arrive soon. It is going to be another long and very hot summer. But let me show you what I got on this outing.
From a distance, I thought that this bird below was a Fiscal, but not so.
This shot, below, told me that it was a rare Klaas's Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas). Apparently, a person with the name of Klaas discovered the bird.
And now here, below, is a Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa) in action.
At first, he just sat and looked at me.
Then he saw something else.
He popped out of the tree to sit on a loose hanging branch.
As he fluffed, I knew that he was going to fly.
Look at the top right above the bird, and you will see what he was hunting. A pair of mating dragonflies in flight. It happened too fast, and I could only get this one shot of it, but the dragonflies sensed the danger, and they split apart.
Whenever the Malachites are out on a serious hunt for insects, then it means that they have to feed their babies somewhere. We have an idea where the nest is, but this time around it is in a well-protected dense bush in a place where I cannot get to it. But I wouldn't want to get to it, as it might scare the birds and then they may abandon the nest. And so, I will rather wait to get the babies when they come out of the nest.
Last spring season they had two little female babies, and they were so cute. We are looking forward to see if there would be two male babies this year. Maybe not, but it as it may I will be happy to get the babies on camera. Thankfully the gardener knows to leave the nest alone, and also to keep an eye on it. The red pincushion flowers have already opened, and now we saw that the yellow pincushion flowers are also starting to open.
Here below I will show you the opening of the yellow pincushions.
The amazing thing here is that when the Malachites nest, all the pincushion flowers, both the red and the yellow, will be open, and then there is an abundance of nectar available for the babies.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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