Rondevlei without water

I went to Rondevlei only to discover it had been drained of water.  I saw very few birds.  Rather disappointing!

 

Mating Malachite kingfishers at Rondevlei

 It was my dream to get a photo of a Malachite Kingfisher at Rondevlei. They are like tiny jewels and one of my favourite birds. I chose a little section of river with a photogenic branch and waited. About half an hour later, to my utter delight, a beautiful Malachite perched on the branch in the sun. It sat contentedly and every so often, did a dive into the water to catch something. I didn't think it could get better but then it did. Another Malachite arrived from nowhere and they started to mate! Then afterwards, they lovingly touched beaks and exchanged food. One of the highlights of my birding and photography career. 

I also got to photograph a couple of other birds on the same stretch of river.

Birding at Rondevlei

It felt very special to return to one of my favourite birding haunts in Std 9 and Matric when I took up birding.  I visited it many times with Tony Verboom, my fellow birder.  I was delighted to get some lovely photos of water birds.

Little Grebe

Moorhen

Coot

Ducks

Cormorants

Ibis

Egyptian Geese

Purple Heron

Plovers and Lapwings

Swallow

Weavers

Warblers and Cisticolas

Starling

Bulbul

Cape Robin

Mousebird

Wagtail

Waxbill

Fish