When lockdown started, they had to confine their walk to the garden but sometimes broke the rules by strolling down our culde-sac. One day, from the moment we left the property, Pipa started acting strangely, putting her nose to the ground and tracking back and forth across the road. Molly, unusually, stayed back. Soon we realised why, as we noticed a Spotted Eagle-Owl sitting under a tree. By this stage, we were already within 15 metres of it. Mum picked up Pipa and I ran back to fetch my camera. The owl was still there when I got back and I was able to capture a few nice images.
MIKE STANIFORTH
HERMANUS, WESTERN CAPE
Every morning at about 06h00, sparrows, doves and weavers gather for their seed breakfast in our small backyard, overseen by a bunch of dozy Speckled Mousebirds sunning themselves in the bottlebrush in the corner (above).
Recently one morning this peaceful scene, as usual accompanied by much tweeting, twittering and cooing, changed dramatically when there was an explosion of frantic activity and noise.
Running outside, I was just in time to see a Burchell’s Coucal fly offwith something in its beak. After collecting my camera and walking around the neighbourhood for a while, I saw the bird in a tree in a bushy area at the edge of our suburb (below). Careful stalking allowed me to get close enough to photograph the bird and identify its victim – one of the mousebird sunbathers.
As is often the case, the beautiful markings and lilting call of this bird mask a very efficient killer.
While I resented the raid on my regular morning visitors and the loss of one of the mousebirds, nature must, as always, take its course.
MICK RUSSELL
Denne historien er fra September - October 2020-utgaven av African Birdlife.
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Denne historien er fra September - October 2020-utgaven av African Birdlife.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
