Kruger NP 10/20-10/21--NATAL FRANCOLIN, HAMERKOP, RED-CRESTED BUSTARD, GRAY GO-AWAY BIRD, LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER, RUFOUS-CROWNED ROLLER + 18 More Life Birds

LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER

As big as Connecticut & Rhode Island combined, Kruger NP is arguably the greatest park in the world to find wildlife. It is 95% wilderness, dotted with gated camps that are closed promptly at 6 PM--miss the closing and sleep your car--with the wild beasts all around.

We entered through the Numbi Gate, then proceeded to our first camp, Pretoriuskop. We had some time before the gates closed, so we drove to an area for day visitors where we could get out of the van (if the rangers catch you out of the vehicle at Kruger you are promptly escorted to the exit and banned from the park). There we picked up a few more new birds, including one that Kim, at first, couldn't quite identify. It was a female, so that didn't help, but the real problem is that the bird, a BLACK CUCKOOSHRIKE, was a life bird for him. He hadn't recognized the call because he'd never heard one before. It was when the male came in that he recognized the bird. This was an event, since Kim has been to South Africa 15 times. However, he hasn't been there in the summer when this early arrival is usually present.

The next morning, at 6 AM, we were met by our guide and his safari vehicle, in which we would spend most of the next 4 1/2 days. These are modified pick-up trucks with stadium seating (each row raised behind the one in front) making it ideal for cruising the roads. There are no bad seats (no craning your head trying to see what's in the top of the tree) and with only 7 of us, plenty of room. You are exposed to the elements. Fortunately the elements didn't include rain, though the first day was a tad nippy, while the succeeding days the temperatures increased from about 90 to about 95 to 102. Everyone else was suffering from the heat. Me, I didn't even break a sweat.

Probably the most beautiful bird we saw on this trip was the LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER pictured above. It makes our Painted Bunting look like a House Sparrow. Our first day's journey, which was about 125 miles altogether (at a speed limit of 32 mph) took us to Skukuza and the Sand River. Some of the birds along the way:

One of the shorebirds I really wanted to see and finally saw was the HAMERKOP. Look at the bird, do the translation.

We saw 4 species of francolin on this trip. The last one, a NATAL FRANCOLIN Mike found at a rest stop, tucked beneath a bush.

I was also very big on bustards this trip, since there is no real equivalent in the Western Hemisphere.
We saw 5 species of this family, also known as korhaans. Below is a RED-CRESTED BUSTARD.

The red crest is visible only in display

Best name in the world for a bird? It has to be the GRAY GO-AWAY BIRD. 

The runner-up to the Lilac-breasted Roller has to be the RUFOUS-CROWNED ROLLER.

Of course, most people go to Kruger for reasons other than the birds. That's the subject of the following post.