I visited Marievale for the second time this year on 27 April 2019. It was a rather chilly, misty start to the morning.
I stopped at the Hadeda hide. The mist was still heavy. A Squacco heron was looking for breakfast, and an African Marsh Harrier flew overhead. The hide was a little flooded from the recent rain, and I did not stay long.
A Red-knobbed Coot looked beautiful in the morning light.
I saw a couple of Black Crakes – first a youngster and later an adult.
On the way to the picnic area I saw movement in the water and was thrilled to see that there were three otters. I struggled to get photos as they were moving continuously, but it was a wonderful few minutes.
Malachite Kingfishers are such popular birds and always a pleasure to photograph.
I spotted a Black Heron and an African Spoonbill that were keeping each other company. Both flew of in tandem when I stopped next to them.
A couple of Coots were having a disagreement, and in the process flushed a Little Bittern. I was very thankful to the coots as I have not seen a Bittern in a while. On my way out I stopped at the Hadeda hide again and saw another one – two in one day!
The Squacco Heron was still at the Hadeda hide.
An African Rail also put in a brief appearance.
A last bird for the morning was a Little Egret. The white of the feathers is really pretty spectacular.
It was not the busiest morning and I only listed 67 species, rather low for Marievale. But it was still a very enjoyable morning.