Delayed Gratification
Sometimes, despite putting in the effort, you don’t get the reward you'd hoped for. This is how I felt about my failure to get to grips with one of the America's most intriguing raptors, the Snail Kite Rostrhamus sociabilis. There are populations in the Florida Everglades, parts of the Caribbean, Central America and a great proportion of the tropical areas of South America. Despite having visited many of these areas, multiple times in some cases, it was a species I somehow ke
May 182 min read
Talon Contest Part 2: Clean-up Squad
Far too many people have negative impressions of vultures. If you describe somebody as a ‘vulture’ you are definitely not paying them a compliment. They clearly need better publicity as they are seriously undervalued and under-appreciated, yet play a critical role within an ecosystems rich in apex mammalian predators. White-backed Vultures near Punda Maria waiting to feed - November 2025 © Jeff Clarke Africa is synonymous with vultures, but the truth is that they are in prec
Jan 276 min read
Talon Contest: Part 1. Eagles
In a diverse and fully-functioning ecosystem like Kruger National Park there are numerous ecological niches into which otherwise seemingly similar species can fit and thereby avoid continual direct competition. Where two species are in direct competition for the same resource and are trying to exploit it the same way, one species will dominate to the exclusion of the other. By differentiating, even slightly, the ways in which species can exploit limited food resources, it all
Jan 198 min read
A Crown of Kingfishers
The Greeks considered Kingfishers to be born of the sea, hence the name Halcyon which translates as hals = sea and kyon = born. The mythology surrounding them has it that they could calm the sea during nesting. Calm periods to this day are often referred to as ‘Halcyon Days’. As a north European naturalist my only regular contact with a member of the Kingfisher tribe comes courtesy of the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis , and like most kingfishers it is a colourful jewel of a
Jan 104 min read
