How lucky we are to have a Hamerkop pair building a nest right in camp! It’s been so much fun watching this pair collet material for their nest each day, and I’ll tell you what, they are very hard workers.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Hamerkops, they are a medium sized wading bird, who are known to build the largest nests in the world, relative to their size.
In Afrikaans, it was given the name “Hammerhead” due the shape of its head, with the long bill to the front and the crest at the back.
For hours a day they can be seen flying to different parts of the lodge, collecting grass, mud and sticks for their nest
Both the male and female will help build the nest and they can build up to four nests a year.
Hopefully we get to see some Hammerkop young in the not too distant future.