Wild Birding Africa

16/07/2026

Watch as this male Bennett’s Woodpecker feeds on some Ants. Truly special sighting! We found the pair at the Skukuza Golf Club in the Kruger National Park. They were completely relaxed with our presence, which allowed us to get some amazing photos!

Amazingly Bennett’s Woodpeckers find up to 85% of their food on the ground.

16/07/2026

18/05/2026

Bearded Woodpeckers busy on a powerline pole this morning.

14/05/2026

18/03/2026

There’s something about the Sabie River at dawn, near Skukuza, that stays with you long after you’ve left. The world is hushed, the air still cool, and the first gold of morning spills across the water like a memory you didn’t know you were missing. Then, in that perfect silence, a lone grey heron steps through the shallows, unhurried, elegant, completely at home in the waking wild.

Moments like this ache a little when you look back on them. They remind you of early bridge stops, coffee in hand, binoculars ready, and that quiet thrill of never knowing what the next bend in the river might reveal. This is why birding safaris call us back again and again, for the peace, the wonder, and the deep longing to stand in that golden light one more time, listening to the bush come alive.

03/03/2026

Purple-crested Turaco: the “living paintbox” bird

If you’ve ever watched a Purple-crested Turaco (also called a loerie) move through the canopy, you’ll notice two standout colours: lush green body feathers and a sudden crimson flash in the wings. That colour isn’t just lighting, it’s rare feather chemistry.

A true green pigment (almost unheard of in birds)

Most green birds look green because of microscopic feather structures that reflect light, often combined with yellow pigments.
Turacos are special because many of their greens come from a real pigment called turacoverdin, one of the only “true green” pigments known in bird feathers. 

The red wing flash is copper-based

That vivid red you see when the turaco opens its wings comes from turacin, a copper-containing pigment unique to turacos. Even more unusual: turacin can wash/bleed out in water that contains traces of alkali (a quirky trait for a feather pigment!). 

What to look for: When perched, the red can be partly hidden, but in flight or when stretching, those crimson wing panels pop dramatically against the green. 

03/03/2026

How cute is this?

White-faced Whistling Ducks safely guiding their little ones across an open part of the pan.

03/03/2026

This weekend I took some time off from work with my family to Mankele Adventures just outside of Nelspruit. On Sunday morning I just went for a little walk around the campsite and managed to find this little beauty in some thickets. Always special to find a Green Twinspot!

26/02/2026

A Kruger night shift moment

Spotted this White-backed Night Heron perched quietly in the shadows, one of those birds you don’t stumble on often, and when you do, it feels like the bush just handed you a secret. The stillness, the posture, and that intense red eye in the vehicles light made for a seriously special frame.

Birding (and photographing) in Africa isn’t always about big lists, sometimes it’s about one rare, unexpected encounter that you’ll remember for a long time.