A local Monte Vista resident and photographer, Carel Stander, often welcomes different types of visitors to his property – those who live on the wild side of life. This week he spotted and snapped two birds of prey – a Spotted Eagle Owl and a Black Sparrow Hawk.
“Both these beautiful birds were photographed in both my and my neighbour’s gardens during the week. I photographed it on my Nikon D5 with a 400mm lens,” says Stander.
The Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus) is a medium-sized species of owl, one of the smallest of the eagle owls. Its length is 45cm and its weight is from 454 to 907g. It has a 100 to 140cm wingspan. The facial disk is off-white to pale ochre and the eyes are yellow. It has prominent ear tufts, and the upper body is dusky brown, the lower parts off-white with brown bars.
The Black Sparrow Hawk or “Swartsperwer” in Afrikaans, is the largest African member of the Accipiter genus, boasting an impressive wingspan ranging from 77 to 105cm with a weight of 450 to 650g. They, together with various other indigenous birds like Guinea fowl, Spur Fowl and Cape Dikkop, are often spotted in neighbourhoods close to the Tygerberg Nature Reserve.
“The owls and hawks prefer higher trees where they can safely sit and look for prey, which consist of mice and/or rats and other smaller bird species.
“And no, they do not prey on small dogs like some residents might suggest. People therefore need to be wary of not using rat poison on their property seeing that this will surely kill owls that eat poisoned rats or mice.
“We need to protect and appreciate these beautiful animals. So next time you are in your garden, maybe slow down, stop and look up,” Stander suggests.
