With my own eyes: African grey hornbills in my garden!

We live on a smallholding in Boschfontein, on the southern outskirts of Rustenburg, North West. In spring last year, I noticed two African grey hornbills flying with food in their bills, between our smallholding and the neighbour’s. I had my Nikon D3100 camera and Tamron 150 – 600 mm lens at the ready, and I started taking photos once I figured out where they were going.

There’s a seringa tree near our house with a hole in the trunk about four metres above the ground – that’s where they were nesting. At first they ate all the food outside the nest and nothing was taken inside. I set up my camera on a tripod and waited with a beer and a book to see what would happen.

I realised soon enough that I’d be settling in for the long haul! According to my Roberts Bird Guide, it takes about 50 days for the eggs of a grey hornbill to hatch, and the chicks stay in the nest for another 23 days.