The birds are back, it must be spring

Happy to have the warm sun shining down on us and its great to see some of the birds are back to be enjoying the spring rays.  We noticed a few swifts and many martins in the air too, but no swallows yet.

 

 The Southern Pochards was an exiting new find for me and Im glad to tick this off.

The Black Capped night heron are back in full force at the dam.  We saw at least 30 of them roosting.

 The Black Necked Grebe was also a great new sighting.  Very happy to add this beauty to our list.

Taking a picture into the sun makes me not that hopefull that it will work, but this one of the Cape Shuvlers ended up having a lovely mood to it.

A courtship display by these two Great Crested Grebes.

Little Grebe (Dabchick)

Spotted Thick Knee: Finally a photo worth sharing of this local friend.

I finally managed to get a decent of the Water Thick Knees, we dont have a hide, so all the pictures are taken on foot, and my biggest hurdle are the 'friendly' golfers and my birding companion the Wire Fox Terrier, Cathy who find it difficult to sit still and understand what dad is up to :)

Paarl Birding

A quick drive around Paarl Bird Sanctuary, we were confined to the secure section as it was closed for the day due to security concerns in the area.  We were happy to record our first sighting of these Fulvous Whistling Ducks.

If anyone can please help me ID the above bird (poor quality pic though)?  Thank you.