Tag Archives: aerial dogfight

Dramatic Stoep Kill

I sms’d Jules (she wasn’t wakker genoeg to be on signal.org yet) from my stoep after she had visited me while I was whiling away my last weeks in Westville, waiting for the sale of my home to go through so I could hand over the keys to the new owners, and hit the road in my Ford Ranger. ca.2022. The year. The Ranger is 2008.

Jules! I just saw a kill in my binocs! A flying predator flew low over the water, executed an instant 180°, then a vertical lunge and nabbed its prey, biting its head off. (I imagine that last part, the prey was actually too small to see that kind of detail).

I spose I could have been more succinct: ‘Dragonfly Munches Miggie‘

While he was chewing, another dragonfly challenged him. A brief aerial dogfight ensued, then discretion was judged the better part of valour and they said Wag n Biekie and called a truce. Or maybe the challenge ended once he’d swallowed?

Exciting stuff! I’ve had my exercise for the morning.

I managed to shoot him while he was burping contentedly – his prey show up as even more blurry whitish fuzzballs.

~~oo0oo~~

wakker genoeg – ‘with it’ enough

stoep – porch; veranda; patio; favourite perch

miggie – gnat; midge; flying sitting duck; maybe muggie?

Mfolosi Aerial Dogfight

It looked like a standoff. At a small pool of water in the dry sandy riverbed of the Black Mfolosi river a male Bateleur and a Tawny Eagle contested the scarce resource. Both stood on the sand at the water’s edge and hunched their shoulders at each other.

I watched a while then scanned all around. Suddenly I heard a cry above me. Two birds circled each other in the air just above our vantage point on a bluff overlooking the river. I looked back at the waterhole. They were gone, this must be them. It was. The eagle was dive-bombing the Bateleur shouting a hoarse kraak kraak. The Bateleur screamed defiantly, dodging the move.

The eagle circled to gain height and folded its wings and took aim again, the agile Bateleur dodging with a sideways roll.

The Bateleur then landed in a tall dead tree while the eagle was climbing again. Soon the Tawny was on his way down again, zooming straight at him and knocking him off his perch. They banked and circled and strained to gain height again, the Bateleur’s wingflaps surprisingly noisy. Once again the Tawny won the climb and launched a dive.

The Bateleur folded his wings and flew away low over the tree tops away from the river.

The Tawny landed back at the pool where it all started, victorious.

High above a white-backed vulture and a Yellow-billed Kite, witnesses to the dogfight, still circled in the thermals.

Wow! Who needs a lion kill?

Oh, Jessica. Yes, dear. I didn’t realise how long we’d been here. We’ll drive now and look for lions, honey.

pics from https://willemkruger.wordpress.com/ and birdguides.com – thank you!

Here’s the spot overlooking the river on a different day: