Out of the Darkness

From Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve

Just as we were walking back to camp after our safari, a sudden movement in a nearby tree caught our attention. Shining our light toward it, we were thrilled to discover an elusive Scops Owl perched among the branches. Its call is one of the most iconic sounds of the bushveld - often heard, yet the bird itself is rarely seen.

The African Scops is seemingly more rare than it once was in the area of the Kruger National Park. Here is a quick write up from Lawson's Safaris guide to Owls of the Kruger National Park:

This is the smallest of our owls, at only 18 cm and 60 - 80 grams. Most Kruger visitors with an interest in birds will be familiar with the 'prrrpt' call of the Scops. Curiously, Scops owls are widespread across the Old World (Africa and Asia) - the genus Otus contains 59 species, including 3 extinct species - all looking very similar but sounding very different, their calls comprising myriad variations of peeps, pops and poops, screeches and more. Now Satara used to be the best place to see this bird. I'm sure we all remember the days when a pair used to roost neat the reception / shop entrance, enduring scrutiny by all and sundry, seemingly oblivious to the human presence. For many years African Scops was a guarantee on our Kruger birding trips. Then they started to become less regular, and now it's very hard to see one in the camp. I'm open to explanations

More great owls of Africa if you check out the link!