Monthly Archives: October 2023

Here’s another shy little bird I found in the trees and bushes growing along the stream, and it is a southern yellow white-eye (Zosterops anderssoni). Near the white-eye, I got as close to a sunbird, a female double-collared sunbird this time, as I believe I ever managed. Atop the small bluff above the stream, I thoughtContinue reading “Dzalanyama Forest Reserve, Day 3”

I can’t get the wifi here today, so I’m typing this on my phone, and all typographical errors are solely the fault of my thumbs. Anyway, here are a few more birds that Anne and I saw when we ventured deeper into the forest. This first amazing bird is an African paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis), andContinue reading “Dzalanyama Forest Reserve, Day 2”

After Anne’s work was done in Lilongwe, we traveled to the nearby Dzalanyama Forest Reserve for a little R&R, and nearly as soon as we arrived, we were greeted by this amazing little red-throated twinspot aka Peters’s twinspot (Hypargos niveoguttatus) methodically foraging on the forest floor near our cabin. I was able to spot it inContinue reading “Dzalanyama Forest Reserve, Day 1”

As amazing as it was to see the masked weaver I showed you yesterday, it wasn’t the only weaver to visit the guesthouse backyard in Lilongwe. I also spotted a Holub’s golden weaver (Ploceus xanthops), aka African golden weaver a couple of times, … and this super shy spectacled weaver (Ploceus ocularis) just once and for only aContinue reading “Backyard birds in Lilongwe, Part 2”

Anne and I finally do have good connectivity, so I can now start to show you some of the sights we’ve seen over the past 10 days. Our first stop was Lilongwe, in central Malawi, where I hung out in the backyard of the guest house in which we were staying while Anne traveled toContinue reading “Backyard birds in Lilongwe, Malawi”

I hope there isn’t a travel Day 11, but just in case, here’s my second favorite coyote encounter from back on January 28, 2022. I still can’t see this pictures without imagining this dialog between them. “Who’s that, Dear?” “Oh, just some dude I met, Darling. He seems harmless enough.” “Well, so long has he’sContinue reading “Travel Day 11”

From the largest rodent to one of the smallest birds, here’s a winter wren trying to enjoy its frozen breakfast and then giving me a piece of its mind for butting in.

Let’s see if I can schedule this one correctly this time. In any case, I sometimes have better luck getting picture of beaver in the winter than in summer, and here’s one example:

Hoodies are the only mergansers we see, and when the river starts freezing up, we can hope to catch some glimpses of common mergansers, such as this drake with four hens.

Once the ice forms on the river, you might be surprised to see this year-round resident as well, but here’s a female belted kingfisher picture from the same day as the ice picture above.