© 2020 Forgotten Fields
After a three-year absence, the Cape Batis (Batis capensis) returns to the garden! I saw two. This one is a female. I glimpsed the other, but I hope it is a male. How thrilled I would be were they to nest here in August!
birds
My first ever sighting of a Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius), yesterday. It stood in a field on the left side of the road, but upon seeing me, flew gracefully to a field on the right. There, it alighted, then slowly paced up the hillside. At 1.5 metres (approximately 40 inches) tall, it is an impressive creature both at rest and in flight!
Illustration: Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa Universal App., Copyright 1993, 1997, 2002, 2011: Variously Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd, Norman Arlott, F H Chamberlain Trading (Pty) Ltd
Whenever I see birds flying in the V formation, I assume they are ducks or geese. I photographed this skein a few days ago and later upon closer inspection, realised it was neither. Guided once again by the shape of their bills, I believe it to be a flock of Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus).
Forgotten Fields 