CATEGORIES
Spectacular!
The recovery of the Spectacled Petrel population
Field of Dreams
Harriers quartering the Devon grasslands
Strike Force
Gannets are supremely adapted for plunge-diving. They lack external nostrils and have air sacs under their skin to cushion the impact of striking the water.
The Eyes Have It
Iris coloration in birds (particularly passerines) is a topic that has intrigued me ever since I started observing the behaviour of different starling species.
The Young & the Restless Peregrine Falcons
It is 04h30 and I am woken from fitful sleep by a clamour of screeching, seemingly right next to my head. It takes a second for me to orientate myself and process what is happening. I am sleeping on a lumpy fold-out chair on the fifth floor of the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Rondebosch, Cape Town, and I realise that about a metre above my head is one of the breeding boxes for the hospital’s well known Peregrine Falcons. The juveniles are up early and in a demanding mood.
With This Ring... The Birding Ties That Bind
Most tales that involve a convoluted plot with unlikely twists and turns and a contrived ending are usually found in a Jane Harper novel or an M. Night Shyamalan movie, but this one is real and involves two Russian Western Ospreys.
Tern Around
"The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, established in 1939, forms a key component of the Table Mountain National Park."
Free for All
"In august 2020 the results of the critical vulture nesting survey held annually in Zululand, northern KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), were sobering."
Clear and Present Dangers
"Like many seabirds, Cape Gan-nets breed only on offshore is-lands, where they are safe from terrestrial predators."
Throwing shade
The challenges of photographing in a forest
Twitter FEED
August sees the greatest flurry of birds at our feeders.
Urban Perils - House Sparrows on the decline
Supertramps are species that have spread around the world in association with humans and they include rats, house mice and a host of weedy plant species.
TOXIC OVERLOAD You are what you eat
Many marine organisms ingest plastic litter at sea, either directly through indiscriminate foraging behavior or indirectly through contaminated prey.
Sharp shooting
Canon’s RF 100–500mm zoom lens
SHAPE-SHIFTING Birds responding to heat stress
Museum collections have always been an essential re-source for ornithological research.
Far & wild
Road-tripping in Namibia
Ringing IN THE Changes
Sandwich Terns in South Africa
Kicking off
In October last year we were fortunate to pay our fifth visit to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
Time out
VIEW FROM A HIDE
It's complicated
PROS AND CONS OF FEEDING VULTURES
GET EVEN closer
Celestron NexYZ Smartphone Adapter
THE dark side
Do dark upperwings improve flight performance?
Stay OR go?
Migration as an evolutionary driver
Green & gold
Birds of the oases and desert in Chad
Resetting THE system
The FitzPatrick Institute’s mandate is to conduct cutting-edge research while educating the next generation of ornithological researchers and conservation leaders.
Coastal REFLECTIONS
CLOSE TO where I live on the Cape Peninsula, a broad white beach sweeps south to meet the mouth of a small river. The outlet greets the sea at the base of a mussel-encrusted, rocky point, while the back of the beach sometimes features an expansive tidal lagoon, a combination of elements that creates a haven for coastal wildlife.
By any other name...
Bird names are a perennial hot topic. Why do they keep changing? Who decides, and how? And no, it’s not a ruse by the authors of bird books so that they can keep on producing ‘updated’ editions!
Burning issue
KYALAMI’S GRASS OWLS
Twitter Feed
The aloes flowering in our garden have proved to be a popular attraction for the many birds on the wildlife estate in which we live. We planted the aloes specifically to attract birds and the fact that they are waterwise is an added bonus, especially in the dry winter months here in the Lowveld.
Freeze Frame
I derive great pleasure from being able to share the beauty of the natural world as seen through my lens. As long as I can remember I have loved the outdoors, but it was only in 2015 that I became truly passionate about wildlife photography. I enjoy spending as much time as I can in the bush and over the years I have visited many of the great national parks in southern Africa. Animal and bird behaviour fascinates me and I often try to capture an image that tells a story.