He came in high overhead from behind and almost caught me by surprise.
But then he came down and disappeared in a clump of trees in the distance.
So I searched on the zoom looking for abnormal clumps and bumps on the branches of dead trees. A movement caught my eye and I zeroed in.
You will see what I found below and I was a happy guy.
Come and look.
This is the famous Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus)
The brown in his wings when he came over told me that he is a juvenile.
Normally the mom would also be around, but this guy has obviously graduated from the feeding training and now he is out on his own.
He might have seen a glint on my camera lens, but I was far away and presented no danger.
So he relaxed and started preening his feathers.
Every now and then looking in my direction.
A beautiful fellow and they are very capable hunters.
They eat mostly small mammals, snakes and other reptiles and they are welcome on the farms as they are very effective rat catchers.
Here is some more information about this fabulous bird.
The jackal buzzard is endemic to southern Africa. Despite its limited range, it is a fairly common species of raptor. It inhabits most of South Africa, with an absence at some of the north-central part but common in the Transvaal. Thence the range extends in the west up to central Namibia and in east through Lesotho and Eswatini into south Mozambique and, to the west, in extreme southeast Botswana. This is largely a mountain-dwelling species, but can range low rocky outcrops and rubble at sea-level to high mountainous in Lesotho up to 3,500 m (11,500 ft). It can adapt to both desert-like, arid conditions and areas with high rainfall and verdant plant life. Mostly it prefers to be close to grassland in which to execute most of its hunting. Although quite common and adaptable, jackal buzzards are not infrequently endangered by large man-made objects such as wind turbines, power-lines and steep-sided, massive reservoirs, in addition to poisoning of carcasses (targeted at jackals)
And That's All Friends.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
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