The Tower Hide

THE TOWER HIDE

In a radical departure from our low-level hides we took things up a notch and constructed an 8-meter tower hide within the fever tree forests of Zimanga. This hide was built specifically for the arboreal residents of the forest, and for hard-core birders amongst us, a patient session spent in the hide can result in spectacular bird photos.  The hide is ideally built for 2 occupants, with a double-insulated walls and roof and a solar installation with fan.  Nesting boxes consisting of natural tree stumps in front and manmade units on the hide were installed to provide safe nest sites to the species that nest in cavities.

The nesting season from October to February is therefore the optimal time to make use of the hide. The action is not as fast-paced as at our other hides, but for those with patience superb opportunities to witness and photograph territorial displays, courtship and feeding of chicks can take place.  In our first season the hide was used by birds such as striped kingfishers, violet-backed starlings, glossy starlings, yellow-fronted petronias, and the beautifully iridescent green wood-hoopoes.  Other birds which have been photographed here are woodpeckers, babblers and brown-hooded kingfishers.