On arriving at New Germany reserve we disturbed a delusional Black Sparrow-hawk who thought the doves in the aviary would make easy breakfast pickings!  We did see a pair later on hunting over the reserve, hopefully with more success.

12 members and a couple of non members braved the rather chilly morning but the morning improved and our total bird count was 44.   We had good views of a pair of Ashy Flycatchers which was a lifer for some of the group.   At Kingfisher Dam the tale of the Dwarf Alligator was related and lo and behold we saw what we think is the alligator – eyeing up a terrapin for breakfast (John’s photo)!!  Also attached is a photo of a mystery insect nest (?) on a grass frond – any ideas?

There had been some concern about the maintenance of the reserve – we found the paths cut and everything looked fine – we did not go into the aviary and somebody remarked that some of the birds had escaped due to a hole in the netting which could have been caused by monkeys.

Photos courtesy of John Bremner & Penny de Vries

Cheers

Elena

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