Winged perfection

Bush beauties

First, the beast:

And now, the beauties, with their elaborate eye make-up:

Who would have thought...

Bar breasted firefinch

This is probably my best series so far.

 

What a photo-op looks like in our neck of the... bush.

We were inspecting our new (unfinished) building and realised we were not alone.

In fact when we came upon the beast, it was swallowing a gecko in the middle of the room, but by the time I had run to the main house and come back with my camera, this was what I was able to catch of the action.

Can you see the swelling? That's probably where the gecko had reached by then.

I don't have the faintest idea what type of snake it can be, if it's venomous or anything, but I couldn't help marvelling at the sleekness and the perfection of appearance and movement.

(meanwhile, my partner was much less impressed and was rather hesitating between killing the animal, or running away).

Obviously we had disturbed the snake's meal and sent it in a quest for privacy to digest a (surely) hard-earned gecko.

It was not extremely big, and I found it difficult to be seriously afraid, but I wouldn't mind to be told what it was, and if it's dangerous.

A friendly reminder: although I'm tickled pink any time you express appreciation for my pictures, they are mine and mine alone, and you are NOT allowed to repost, copy or reuse them in any way without my prior written permission. Thank you!

Why my place is called Baboonland

Ok, by myself only, as far as I know, but still... It's quite self-explanatory... The car was stalling every few hundred meters (old car, heavy rain last night, no go), so instead of putting myself in a state, I took out my camera and decided to enjoy being temporarily stranded.

All these pictures were taken just on the other side of the road from where I live.

Waiting for the bus?

A friendly reminder: although I'm tickled pink any time you express appreciation for my pictures, they are mine and mine alone, and you are NOT allowed to repost, copy or reuse them in any way without my prior written permission. Thank you!

Not an oriole!

This morning was all sunny and nice, and a daring oriole yellow-throated long claw (Macronyx croceus) graced our breakfast time by coming less than 10 feet from the porch. For years --decades, even--, I've called this bird an oriole, knowing in a corner of my mind that it was probably wrong. A friend of mine just sent me a book on West African birds and I've been able to put accurate names on most of the birds I see here.

Life in the bush doesn't get any better than that, does it?

A friendly reminder: although I feel very flattered when you appreciate my pictures, they are mine and mine only and you are NOT allowed to repost, copy or reuse in any way without my prior written permission. Thank you!

Catching up?

The rain seems to be doing double duty today, catching up after a few worryingly dry months. The area is flooded as far as the eye can see. I just called someone I was supposed to meet early morning tomorrow, to tell them I won't be able to make it. They found it strange, because they are only 20 km away and not a drop fell where they are. Well, call me a liar if you want...

Far left is the baobab tree those who are familiar with my corner of the bush are accustomed to. Something is missing in the picture: the hills behind the baobab tree are completely hidden by clouds/sheets of pelting rain.

This is what I would have to cross to reach the road if I had to go out anytime soon. A strong stream before the fence foundation, and another just outside it. The rest of the land is under a few inches of water.

I'm told the electricity poles are buried 6 ft inside the ground. That's a relief. This one is about 10 ft inside my boundary. Beyond is where the two above mentioned streams merge.

More of the same (it's sort of fascinating), with a glimpse of the flooded land on the other side of the road.

A friendly reminder: although I feel very flattered when you appreciate my pictures, they are mine and mine only and you are NOT allowed to repost, copy or reuse in any way without my prior written permission. Thank you!