Not all cuckoos are brood parasites, but the cuckoos in our area all lay eggs in the nests of other birds and leave the hosts to raise the young. The female cuckoo surreptitiously approaches a host nest and rapidly lays a single egg and also removes another egg from the nest. She will lay 4 to 5 eggs on successive or alternate days in different nests, and most will lay about 20 eggs in total over one breeding season. Continue reading “The cuckoo has landed”
Almost the point of no return over this sharp edge for this caterpillar. No it did not plummet into the abyss. After a rather hairy moment wavering over the edge, it had enough legs to hang on as it turned around to safety. I don’t know the ID of this extravagantly hairy little guy, so if anyone does, I’d be glad to know what it is.
Posted by Carol at letting nature back in
Not only do the male and female in each mating pair of guttural toads mirror each other, but the two couples are mirrored “in reverse”. Spring and a welcome shower of rain triggered spawning by guttural toads in our garden pond, despite the water level being low. The deeper areas of the pond are now coiled with long ropes of spawn. ★
Posted by Carol at letting nature back in
Southern Tree Agamas, commonly known as Blue-headed lizards, have adapted to suburban gardens, especially where there are suitable trees to sustain them. When breeding, the males are colourful and their vividly blue heads are most striking. Non-breeding males and females are considerably less conspicuous although their more understated scaly markings still render them handsome reptiles. Continue reading “Agamas in the garden”
In a reflective moment, when the birds are absent, a bird bath frames a small circle of calm. ★
Posted by Carol at letting nature back in
Weekly Photo Challenge – Frame
Some may think I am being frivolous in attributing human characteristics (aka anthropomorphism) to birds by suggesting that when splashing about, dunking and dipping, birds at our bird baths are enjoying themselves and having fun. Perhaps I need to be reminded that for birds (and everyone else), drinking and regulating body temperature are essential to survival, and it goes without saying that surviving is not about fun. And also, keeping feathers well-groomed improves a bird’s ability to fly, also essential to bird survival. Continue reading “Birds just wanna have fun: Birds bathing, drinking and splashing about”
Also known as the Forest Bell Bush and as River Bells, the Mackaya bella is a popular shrubby plant, not only because of its beautiful flowers, but also because it grows well in shade or semi-shade. It is easy to propagate from cuttings and it also self-seeds, so if you have one, look out for baby seedlings to transplant. It is endemic to southern Africa and its wood has been used to make fire by friction (Pooley, 1997). Continue reading “In the zone: Mackaya bella and its pollinators”
It is rare to capture an encounter like this in a suburban garden and so it seems appropriate for it to be included in the Rare: Weekly photo challenge. Although vervet monkeys are attracted to infants and often solicit permission from monkey mothers to touch or even hold their infants, I think this encounter is rare as the mother is approached by another mother who is already nursing her own baby. Also she takes the baby without permission. To find out what happens see the full photo essay in the previous post at letting nature back in ★
This post is in the form of a photo essay documenting what happened after a vervet monkey mother, nursing a baby of her own, suddenly took a smaller baby from another mother.
Although it is common for juvenile and female monkeys to take an interest in infant monkeys and to want to touch and even hold the infants, this is the only time I have seen a monkey with her own small baby take another baby and without permission. This may be unusual or rare behaviour, and it is rare to capture it on camera in a suburban garden. Continue reading “Monkey mom snatches a second baby: A photo essay on how the story unfolds in my suburban garden”
