Gymnogenes Visit Our Garden in Sedgefield Again

Gymnogene Adult and Juvenile Visit Our Garden in Sedgefield Again

On the morning of 14 March 2026, I was fortunate to have Gymnogenes (African Harrier-Hawks) visit our garden in Sedgefield on the Garden Route of the Western Cape, South Africa once more. Their previous visit, a juvenile only, was in early August 2025.

Early on this Saturday morning I heard the familiar, high-pitched call of a Gymnogene. I immediately knew they were close. Stepping outside, I initially saw nothing because of the dense foliage of the Milkwood trees. Then a juvenile lifted off from the area I was scanning and flew away. I thought I had missed my chance.

As I turned to go back into the house, I heard the sharp call of an adult bird. It was perched in the very same tree where I had seen the juvenile about eight months earlier. The adult had just caught a Red-eyed Dove and was busy dissecting it, calling for the juvenile.

Our neighbourhood holds good numbers of pigeons and doves, regularly targeted by Gymnogenes (African Harrier-Hawks), Black Sparrowhawks, and Peregrine Falcons.

Before long, I heard the juvenile calling again as it arrived and perched higher in the tree, just above the adult’s position. As soon as the young bird landed, the adult flew off, leaving the freshly caught Red-eyed Dove on the branch for the juvenile. Within seconds the youngster was on the prey, and for about five minutes it fed on this parental gift before disappearing into the thick forest below.

This juvenile appeared much darker than the one I had seen eight months earlier and was probably younger.

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