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Hi All
SO & I were privileged to have a fantastic sighting of a juvenile Pels during late November somewhere along the Olifants River. Being a beginner-birder, i was unprepared for the adrenalin rush i experienced during & after the sighting. Here are a couple of the pics i took .....enjoy !!!

Oh WOW Scorpy brilliant.

They are lovely, clear pictures.
Thank you for sharing.

WoW Scorpy,

what a privilege

wow ! superb... the sighting and the pictures

Hi Scorpy,
I'll trade you two Leopard sightings to see the Pel's Fishing Owl (and I'm not even an avid birder).

Hi RayK

I'll see your 2 leopards and up my bid by another Pels pic.....please let me know where you are posting your leopard pics !!

I am jealous, it is a good sighting

Only two???? I spoke to people who saw dozens of leopards over the years but still wait for one sighting of a Pel's
Fantastic sighting Scorpy

I saw about 25 leopards and not one Pel's Owl

aaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!! i am so so jealous, that is so awesome.
congrats wooooohhhhhoooooo

Hi All
Thanks for the compliments - i have to admit that the sighting gave me an absolute adrenaline rush. The bird just sat there for about 5 minutes, as if it was posing for me. I looked down at my camera to change a setting, & when i looked up, it had moved behind some foliage and was gone. I was 'cos i could have done with more time to improve the quality of my photos, but that's nature - being in the right place at the right time !!

When the water levels in the river are right, there is a couple of pretty reliable fishing perches on the Luvuvhu. These, however, are only accessible to guests staying at one of the lodges in the Makulke CNP. The local guides are also well familiar with the roosting trees along the river.

Johan

From this I take it that when visiting in September I'll struggle to spot this lovely and elusive bird.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Eyes and ears open with binocs at the ready.

During one of our walks along a tributary of the Olifants River during the Midrand HRs' Balule Bash earlier this month, I got LUCKY! in caps...



As the Pel's fishing owl swooped in to its daytime roost I got off this single shot. I harboured very little hope that the picture would be in focus, but I thought it would at least be good enough as evidence that the floods that caused so much damage to the Olifants River earlier this year, did not take the Pel's owls with it!



So, there is the evidence... and it is IN FOCUS as well!

To my mind, the stretch of Olifants River around Balule remains the best place in Kruger to get good sightings of the Pel's provided you get to walk with a ranger that knows his feathers from his horns...

I am speechless and !!! Congratulations on your sighting and your pic!!