As a birding enthusiast, much excitement was anticipated at the chance of living in the Selous. There happen to be many species that are found in southern Africa that occur in the Selous, as well as a heap of new species to record. So as a South African, I was itching to get in and see what I find.
One such species that does occur in a small region of southern Africa is the Böhm’s Bee-eater. This beauty occurs north of Tete in Mozambique moving across Africa into Zambia and north up through Tanzania to the border of Kenya. Areas of which I have traveled through, but only ever managed to catch glimpses of them as they are normally found in dense bush and woodland .
I had been buttered up with tails of seeing them on a daily occurrence before my arrival in the Selous, so high expectations had been laid. On our arrival at Sand Rivers we were shown to our new home, deep in the Miombo Woodland, where our lovely new cottage stood, open to the elements with a 180˚ view of the staggering woodland.
It was within minutes of putting down our bags that the Böhm’s presented itself in plain view, perched on the branch awaiting a flying dinner. As reading through my new East Africa Bird field Guide 'it is not a gregarious bird, usually in pairs' was very much the line I was on when a partner joined.
So after a bit of playing with the camera and editing due to mottled light in the woodland I was finally able to produce something that could possibly be used as identifying shots to add to my birding catalog.
Expect a couple more posts on the fantastic birds of the Selous.