"There are good reasons why raptors are so popular with birders. Not only are these charismatic birds beautiful, they’re also impressive hunters ‒ and often a challenge to identify correctly! Enjoy the collection of articles on birds of prey in this issue, as well as your free copy of the striking 2022 Bird of the Year poster featuring the Cape Gannet (Click here to view digital version).
With this ring…
An unlikely sequence of track and trace coincidences links two birders, one in Cape Town and the other in Russia, and two Western Ospreys.
Field of dreams
Female and juvenile Montagu’s and Pallid harriers are notoriously difficult to distinguish in the field.
Sean Thackwray quartered Gauteng’s Devon grasslands in a bid to find and identify these elusive migrant species.
The Young & the Restless
The behaviour of Peregrine Falcons breeding at Red Cross Children’s Hospital provided a welcome distraction for Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk as he waited for his son to recover from surgery.
Spread-eagled
A black mamba proved to be a feisty opponent and no easy meal for a Brown Snake Eagle.
Other article highlights include
Bird of the Year 2022
Cape Gannets are supremely adapted for plunge-diving. Peter Ryan reviews the features that enable this species to be such a ‘strike force’ when in search of its prey.
Nests & Nesting
A record of Woolly-necked Storks nesting on a cliff face in Mozambique appears to be a first for this species.
The eyes have it
Adrian Craig examines the intriguing differences in iris coloration in various bird species and discovers that there are still many questions that need to be answered.
Spectacular!
Peter Ryan shares good news about the recovery of the Spectacled Petrel population on Inaccessible Island.
Vested interests
Tony Carnie investigates the background to the conflict of interests playing out in the renowned birding Mecca of Ndumo in KwaZulu-Natal.
Camera Action
A pair of African Green Pigeons valiantly attempt to withstand the force of a summer storm in the Kruger National Park.