As soon as Turtle Patrol season was over on Seabrook, my husband and I left for an adventure in Southern Africa. We’d been on safari 33 years ago and were very excited to have an opportunity to go back. Our goal was twofold – see Victoria Falls and see the Big Five (lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and African buffalo). Little did I know that there would be quite a few extra highlights.
Victoria Falls were as impressive as I had imagined and we saw quite a few of the Big Five. Giraffe, hippos, antelope, baboons and so many other animals were also spotted on our twice daily wildlife drives. Perhaps the most unexpected event was seeing two separate packs of African wild dogs, a critically endangered species that is very elusive. I spoke to a gentleman in South Africa who said he and his wife have been going on safaris for years and have seen the wild dogs only once. We were extremely lucky.
We also went to an elephant sanctuary and got to actually feed and touch these wonderful giants.
But this is a birder blog. I’m not a big birder; I don’t even have an E-bird account but I do enjoy going out with the Seabrook Island Birders to see our local birds. I went to Africa for the animals but found that the birds along the Zambezi River and in the Okavango Delta were also fascinating. They were similar in many ways to the birds we see right here yet completely different. An African Fish Eagle resembles our Bald Eagle; a Reed Cormorant spreads its wings just like ours do; a Cape Glossy Starling resembles our European Starlings but the orange/yellow eye make them really stand out; the Hooded Vulture is slightly smaller than our Turkey and Black Vultures and the coloring differs but their heads and faces have the same bare look of a scavenger; Marabou Storks resemble our Wood Storks but their coloring is quite different. Perhaps the most colorful bird we saw was the Lilac-crested Roller. It reminded me of our Painted Buntings but surprisingly, they were even more colorful than our beautiful buntings. Of course there were birds that are not similar to anything we see here – Ostriches, Oxpeckers and various hornbills to name a few. Some of these birds were seen every day; some only occasionally but each sighting was always a treat.
It was a memorable trip and we are truly grateful to have had the chance to witness and experience the wonderful diversity of our natural world.
Submitted and photographs: Jane Magioncalda