Green-Backed Heron

For a few months now i have been puzzled by the disappearance of gold-fish from my garden pond. One day there would be seven or eight and the next day none. I would replace, and all would be well for a few months, when suddenly they would all disappear again. I have long suspected a heron of some type, this was confirmed this morning when I got a glimpse of this guy busy poaching, he got three fish while i was watching:

Lesser Honeyguide

This brood-parasite has been poking around my barbet nesting holes for the last few days. The barbets are, unsurprisingly, not very impressed by it's presence!

Paradise-Flycatcher

Have been getting fleeting glimpses of Paradise Flycatcher's in the garden over the last few weeks, but have been to busy to get a snap. These are stunning little birds, but rarely sit still long enough for a photo! Since there is a male and female hanging around i'm hoping they might nest.
Male:

Female:

Southern Boubou

I spotted a Southern Boubou in the garden for the first time this morning. That brings the garden list to 50!

Butcher Bird

I've previously blogged about Fiscal Shrike's or "Butcher Bird's" habit of pinning pery items on thorn trees. Here is another gruesome example from my garden in Emmarentia:

Suburban Mongoose

An unusual sighting in suburban Emmarentia, a Slender Mongoose making its way through our garden!

Wood Hoopoe's, Barbets & Planes

Wood Hoopoe's must be one of the most spectacular birds in Johannesburg's gardens. Its also a species i've never managed to get a half decent photo of - as you can see below. That is something i'm going to try improve on over the next few weeks:

In other news, the red collared barbets & red throated wrynecks are still fighting it out for the nesting log, at the moment the barbets seem to have the upper hand:

lastly, i thought this was a pretty cool snap: