In the nick of time before 2024 draws to a close, lets celebrate BirdLife South Africa’s Bird of the Year, the gorgeous eagle known as the bateleur. By championing an individual species each year, BirdLife South Africa hopes that the year-long information campaigns highlight the conservation importance of each named species and of South Africa’s amazing birdlife more generally. The bateleur is listed as an endangered species and so it needs all the help it can get.
Continue reading “The Bateleur Eagle – South African Bird of the Year 2024”
Arid it is in the Tankwa Karoo, but there is life to be found on the stony ground if one slows down and refocuses – generally a satisfying thing to do, and especially so when travelling to new places. And the rocks and stones are interesting not only to geologists and archaeologists. Their variety in colour, form and density are interesting to anyone – though the stones do have their drawbacks for those travelling by road!
Continue reading “Tankwa Karoo Part 2: Plants and birds and rocks and things”
Our small garden attracts a number of species of birds across the seasons. Here are some photos I snapped of visiting birds over the past few months. The delicately hued laughing doves (Spilopelia senegalensis) are among the more numerous of our visitors.
Continue reading “Bird visitors brightening our garden in the Overberg”
A day trip to the De Hoop Nature Reserve could not possibly do justice to its wonders from the high sand dunes near the coast to the mountains on its inland side, its endangered lowland fynbos vegetation and the 12 km-long (7,5 miles) vlei (lake) that is rich with waterbirds. Plus, its rocky shoreline adjoins a marine protected area in the Indian Ocean. De Hoop, home to Cape Nature’s Whale Trail, offers remarkable land-based whale watching opportunities from June to September each year.
Continue reading “Day trip to De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Overberg”
A few weeks ago, in the late afternoon after very heavy rains and high winds, we found a bedraggled little dove in the garden. It had found a safe enough place to shelter in our back garden, which is enclosed and safe from our dogs and cats.
Continue reading “Shelter from the storm: Two fledgling doves survive soaking rains”
It’s a little over a year since we moved to the Overberg region of the Western Cape. To celebrate this anniversary, here is a random round-up of some the photographs taken when we were out and about during the course of the year.
Continue reading “Over in the Overberg”
An unexpected encounter with a juvenile diderick (formerly diederik) cuckoo in our garden prompted me to find out a bit more about brood parasites and diderick cuckoos in particular.
Continue reading “A Cape sparrow feeding a juvenile diderick cuckoo”
Impromptu stops to take in local sea views have provided some bright interludes in our cold and often wet winter. Here are some photos from one of the bright days when I remembered to take my camera along.
Continue reading “Sea views with gulls”
It is somewhat trite to say that change is a constant – be it good or bad or even when we try to be indifferent. Moving house, especially when moving further afield, certainly foregrounds change. And even when the change is chosen, adapting can be demanding and nostalgia can become one’s go-to space.
Continue reading “Ch-ch-ch-changes”