Saddle-billed stork wading and hunting for food

Photo Details: A female saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) comes up empty-handed (or empty-billed) while wading and hunting for fish and other aquatic morsels, Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Camera: Canon EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi); Lens: Canon EF70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM; Focal Length: 300mm; Shutter speed: 1/640; Aperture: f8; ISO: 200; 28 Oct 2009, 2.34pm.

Additional Info: Saddle-billed storks are large, striking birds, reaching up to 1.50m (nearly 5ft) tall and are unmistakable because of the prominent red and black bill topped at the base with a bright yellow “saddle”. The legs are black, while the feet and knee joint are red.

Saddle-billed Stork Photographic Survey

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and South African National Parks (SANParks) have launched a photographic survey of saddle-billed storks in the Kruger National Park. The survey kicked-off on 1 September 2009 and will run for a full calendar year.

According to EWT, the survey is part of a research project to be conducted over the next three years on the population status of saddle-billed storks, regarded as one of Kruger Park’s rarities.

“Census operations on any species within the boundaries of the Kruger National Park are important to help us get an idea of that species’ status within the context of biodiversity management,” says Marcelle van Hoven, the project’s coordinator. “The last saddle-billed stork survey conducted in 1993 suggested that there were less than 60 of these birds left in the Park.”

Saddle-billed storks are classified as Endangered in South Africa. They breed slowly and are dependant on extensive wetland habitats, which are under increasing pressure from human encroachment. Saddle-bills in South Africa are largely confined to the north-eastern, tropical lowland with the majority of the population residing along the riverine habitat in the Kruger National Park. They normally occur in pairs, are strongly territorial, and remain in the same area for years.

See Saddle-billed Stork Photographic Survey for further details.

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+Scotch Macaskill

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Filed under: African Birds