Hello my fellow hivens,
I hope you are all doing well. I bring you my photography of yesterday on my birding excursion.
I encountered about 50 different bird species and amongst those, I was able to photograph these two species that came closer to me. Because I had gone to the village swamp, people around were asking me what I was doing and I was funny to them just taking photos of the birds, hahaha!
This is the Hadad Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) is the native to the Sub- saharan Africa and with its three to four calls usually uttered in the early mornings and evenings,its name came up. The Hadad ibis mostly forages in grasslands,mashy areas where they can feed on worms,snails insects and mudfish. These beautiful birds are solitary nesters and can stick to only one mate for life.
This is the Hamerkop/ hammer bird ( Scopus umbretta) that is in the family of Scopidae and is amongst the wading birds. Being closed related to the Pelicans and the Shorbills, the hamerkop. Culturally, to some of the clans in Uganda It is connected to witchcraft and if someone kills one, it would bring a misfortune back so it is a bird of an ill omen.
Having the unique creatures, the curved beak,the raised crest and the neck resembling the hammer led to the naming of this bird.
It usually nests around big trees near swamps, or waterbodies where they can wad and hunt snails, mudfish, snails and amphibians from swamps. The nest is build a few metres from thr ground using small tree branches and is made self contained with one entrance serving as an exit. This bird is always quiet when alone but when in pairs or groups, they make some calls.
This marked the end of the day having fun with these amazing creatures and photography.
I thank you for stopping by and will always appreciate your time.
Beautiful birds. Keep having fun and making more photos 👍