So we came to look for whales and dolphins, but instead we found a beautiful feathered surprise.
A new first find for me and a gift that made my heart sing!
The mountain pass runs all along the ocean at the bottom of the mountains for many kilometers.
Of course the scenery is fantastic forcing me to stop the car at every opportunity to take some photos.
While stopped the surprise appeared.
This is an Orange-breasted Sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea) only found in the Cape Province of South Africa.
The surprise was that he came to sit in some fynbos near to our car.
And of course he proceeded to have a look at me.
Ah! His wife was also hanging around to search for nectar in that beautiful fynbos.
She then flipped up to the top of the bush and the sun lit those leaves up like a brush of candles.
See the bushes here below next to the road?
This was where I got the male sunbirds, in those bushes and I got the female on the opposite side at the mountain.
Finally another two males popped up out of nowhere and as they took off I had to get out of the sun and we moved on.
So yes, this was a real gift from mother nature and maybe she remembered my birthday a week ago. I don't mind as it is the best gift that I could ever have received and now I finally also have these beauties on my list.
I will have to find them a song teacher though, as they mimic other birds in song.
Here's more information on these little wonders.
The orange-breasted sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea) is the only member of the bird genus Anthobaphes; however, it is sometimes placed in the genus Nectarinia. This sunbird is endemic to the fynbos habitat of southwestern South Africa. They are sexually dimorphic with females being olive green while the males are orange to yellow on the underside with bright green, blue and purple on the head and neck.
Source
And That's All Friends!
Note: All photos are my own and taken with a Canon Powershot SX60HS Bridge camera.
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