Grasshopper Buzzard and a Bush Fire.
01st December 2023
Grasshopper Buzzards as their name suggests feed mainly on grasshoppers, they do however, eat other small animals. They sit up in trees using their keen eyesight to spot prey before swooping down.
Driving along a road through the savannah we came across a fierce ‘Bush Fire’ and this is a sight to behold, the noise is incredibly loud, a frightening whooshing and crackling and the speed it spreads is unreal. If you are caught in the middle of one of these phenomena it can be very dangerous indeed. Being surrounded by these flames and smoke could lead to very serious consequences.
Birds like Kites and Rollers are attracted to these fires because they know the small animals will be forced to flee the flames and they just wait on the fire's edge to pick them off. A classic case of out of the frying pan into the fire for the grasshoppers etc.
https://youtu.be/UUTwF7FE1v8
Observing the flames we could see what we thought were small twigs and leaves being shot out of the fire, but when one landed on the steering wheel of our vehicle we could see they were grasshoppers, and big ones to, about three inches long.
A number of Yellow-billed Kites were picking them up off the road, but sat in the middle of the road was a Grasshopper Buzzard. I leaned out of the vehicle window and just about fitted it into the camera frame for a shot. You’d never get this close to these birds in normal circumstances – a golden opportunity!!
Driving along a road through the savannah we came across a fierce ‘Bush Fire’ and this is a sight to behold, the noise is incredibly loud, a frightening whooshing and crackling and the speed it spreads is unreal. If you are caught in the middle of one of these phenomena it can be very dangerous indeed. Being surrounded by these flames and smoke could lead to very serious consequences.
Birds like Kites and Rollers are attracted to these fires because they know the small animals will be forced to flee the flames and they just wait on the fire's edge to pick them off. A classic case of out of the frying pan into the fire for the grasshoppers etc.
https://youtu.be/UUTwF7FE1v8
Observing the flames we could see what we thought were small twigs and leaves being shot out of the fire, but when one landed on the steering wheel of our vehicle we could see they were grasshoppers, and big ones to, about three inches long.
A number of Yellow-billed Kites were picking them up off the road, but sat in the middle of the road was a Grasshopper Buzzard. I leaned out of the vehicle window and just about fitted it into the camera frame for a shot. You’d never get this close to these birds in normal circumstances – a golden opportunity!!