Reader John Crisp, who lives in Ethiopia, sent these photos on November 21 along with this note:
All these photos were taken between 6 am and 8.30 am this morning on Lake Tana, Western Ethiopia, where I have lived for the last four years. I hope the captions are self evident.
Grey crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum) and Egyptian geese (Alopochen aegyptiacus):
Dawn on Lake Tana:
Fish eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer), Lake Tana:
Fisherman, Lake Tana:
Fishermen in papyrus boats:
Fishermen with Northern carmine bee eaters (Merops nubicus):
Giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) with carmine bee eaters:
Giant kingfisher:
Stephen Barnard has decided to build a nest box for his pair of kestrels. He sent a photo and adds the terse comment, “Now I have to decide where to put it.” That means a location that is out of full sun, is good for photography, and near an area with lots of prey. He has a place in mind. Here’s their future home (maybe we’ll have kestrel chicks soon. . .):
Nice photos all around!
Nice nesting box Stephen! Kestrels may qualify as my favorite bird. We get them frequently at our place in WA and infrequently here in MN. I was once privileged to see our pair in WA mating in the top of a 100-foot (30m) Douglas fir!
Are those “fish eagles” what we’d call “ospreys” in Britain. I know that at least some of the UK population migrate into Africa annually, before returning to be midge-food for the summer.
[Wikis] Wiki gives the specific name as “Pandion haliaetus” for the Osprey. OIC, “Haliaeetus vocifer” is given as a specific name for a “sea eagle” rather than a “fish eagle”. It’d be so much easier if these things came bar-coded.
They aren’t ospreys.
British English equates “fish eagle” with “osprey”, while “sea eagles” are a damned sight bigger and blacker. But I’m not a twitcher so I’ll duck out of this one? It’d still be easier if they carried bar codes, or big signs around their necks. Make life easier for them too. Maybe.
Not exactly a bar-code but the Osprey has a very distinctive thick dark stripe across its face, running through the eye, whereas the African Fish Eagle pictured here has an all white head. Ospreys also have a white chest and belly whereas the African fish eagle has a brown belly. There are other differences but those are probably the most conspicuous ones.
Ospreys and African Fish Eagles can be seen together as the former overwinter in parts of Africa. I have had memorable views in Senegal of the Fish Eagles chasing Ospreys (which seem to be more industrious) to steal fish from them.
What we refer to as Sea Eagles in Britain are also known as White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla which as you point out are really massive birds which are unlikley to be confused with an Osprey.
I used to imagine Ethiopia as a red dirt desert approximating the landscape of Mars. I was misinformed.
Yeah, it’s the green bit (and mountainous) between the deserts of Somalia, Eritrea, northern Kenya, and Sudan.
I thought it was like that for a long time too. Then a cousin became a Rastafarian and I discovered that the green in their colours represented the “rolling hills of Ethiopia.”
Oh, and more importantly, great pics and bird house! 🙂
Great photos of Ethiopian wildlife and people. That Egyptian goose looks quite perturbed by the cranes. My grandma used to have geese that would chase me around when I was a kid. I thought it was fun until one bit me. Nasty buggers. I’m sure African geese have a similar demeanor.
I hope the kestrels move in to the nest you built Stephen. Did you ever choose names for them? I’ve been out of town so missed a few days of WEIT.
I haven’t chosen names. If and when they use the nest box, I will.
These pictures of the lake and various African birds are gorgeous, Moving.
I amazed at the small size of the entrance hole in that nest box! What is the diameter, Stephen? I was aware that American Kestrels were somewhat smaller than the European Kestrel F. tinnunculus but had not appreciated quite how small they obviously are!
Three inches. I followed the plan closely.
Ah – that’s a bit bigger than it appears in the picture but still pretty small! I look forward to seeing the pics that you get once the tenants have moved in!