h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Today I went for another trip to the hills to the east of where I live! I got out of the house at ten the morning and was in the main 'veld' twenty minutes later. We've just had our first substantial Spring rains; the grass was short but green and many plants were flowering. Here are some photos I took:

1. Aptosimum lineare. This small plant grows all over the place here and has delightful flowers:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Aptosimumlineare_zpsd12cb81d.jpg

2. Ipomoea sp. These are morning glories, flowering gloriously this morning! We have many different species belonging to the morning glory family over here. (Sweet potatoes are close relatives of these!)

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Ipomoea1_zps0991aa74.jpg

3. A big advertisement tower at the Savannah Centre, which back when I came to Pietersburg was actually a region of extensive savannah:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/SavannahCentre_zps49739a9c.jpg


4. The road to Tzaneen, with a bit of the Savannah Centre seen in the background. Just so you guys know Polokwane is a big and modern city:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/SavannahCentre2_zps50d9202b.jpg

5. A white-browed Sparrow-weaver perching in a tree next to the road:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/White-browedSparrow-Weaver2_zpsc889035e.jpg

6. A Fiscal Shrike perched on a big boulder in a small park close to the Savannah Centre:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/ShrikeRock1_zps610c0ea9.jpg

7. Close-up of the shrike - it's a juvenile:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/ShrikeRock2_zpsd0a8c388.jpg

(OK so my bird photos aren't that great ... it's an ancient camera without zoom lens!)

8. A Gnidia - a small shrub with pretty, yellow flowers ... there are scores of them flowering in the veld right now:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Gnidia_zps190df7f9.jpg

9. And this is what I actually came for - an Euphorbia clivicola, a very rare species of succulent that forms these small 'cushions' in between the rocks:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Euphorbiaclivicola_zps13996eca.jpg

The veld was looking good ... at least the part not trashed and polluted by humans. But that was the part close to town where they're building roads and houses and stuff ... a shocking amount of trash gets dumped in the veld. Further in it is much more unspoilt.

I saw lots of insects: butterflies, grasshoppers (one actually hitched a ride back home with me), a great variety of beetles ... ground beetles large and small, and a great many different kinds visiting the flowers ... dragonflies, lots of small midges and flies, now and then a bit bothersome.

I also saw mammals! A black-backed jackal, and a bushbuck. Glad to know they still survive up there.

And birds! Here's the list:

1. Cape Vulture, Gyps coprotheres, flying overhead.
2. Helmeted Guineafowl, Numida meleagris.
3. Laughing Dove, Streptopelia senegalensis.
4. Jacobin Cuckoo, Clamator jacobinus.
5. Diederik Cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius.
6. Little Swift, Apus affinis.
7. Redfaced Mousebird, Urocolius indicus.
8. Speckled Mousebird, Colius striatus.
9. European Bee-Eater, Merops apiaster.
10. Greater Striped Swallow, Hirundo cucullata.
11. Pied Crow, Corvus albus.
12. Black-eyed Bulbul, Pycnonotus tricolor.
13. Neddicky, Cisticola fulvicapilla.
14. Blackchested Prinia, Prinia flavicans.
15. Paradise Flycatcher, Terpsiphone viridis.
16. Fiscal Shrike, Lanius collaris.
17. Indian Mynah, Acridotheres tristis.
18. Cape Sparrow, Passer melanurus.
19. Whitebrowed Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser mahali.
20. Masked Weaver, Ploceus velatus.
21. Redbilled Quelea, Quelea quelea.
22. Red Bishop, Euplectes orix.
23. Bronze Mannikin, Spermestes cucullatus.
24. Blue Waxbill, Uraeginthus angolensis.
25. Black-Throated Canary, Serinus atrogularis.
26. Rock Bunting, Emberiza tahapisi.

I'm most chuffed about the Jacobin cuckoo and the rock bunting!

There were many birds I heard but did not see.

I also saw many plants apart from those I photographed; I am still working on my plant-identifying skills. What I was really happy about, was coming upon a whole woodland of Live-longs, Lannea discolor, with lots and lots of fruits on them! But the fruits were not quite ripe yet.

So I will go back two weeks from now ... not only should I then get some Live-long fruit, I might also get some fruit of the Jatropha's and the Cyphostemmas ... these are also very cultivation-worthy species.

On my way back I walked past a lady and a younger girl on the porch of one of the new houses and they saw my binoculars and also saw me looking at some weavers and asked if I was a bird-watcher, and then we started chatting, they're also interested in birds and asked that I should join the local bird-watching club. I was a member long ago ... maybe I should give it another go?

So anyways it was a nice outing!

Sorry I missed a couple of photos!

This is a new termite nest ... they are still building it, parts of it are still wet! Looking at it I could see the little workers twiddling their antennae just inside the still-exposed tunnels. They are taking advantage of the rains:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/FreshlyMadeTermiteHill_zps3dd70836.jpg

Elephantorrhiza, elephant root. Actually a member of the Acacia family, with a huge underground rootstock from which short, thin stems arise with feathery foliage:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Elephantorrhiza1_zpsdba36040.jpg

Wow, what the rains bring. Thanks so much for sharing the wonderful trip. The birdwatchers club might be good for you --a place to meet like-minded individuals. Just talk about birds though or other wildlife. We'll look forward to your next trip!

Hey Willem

Like Elektra look what the rains brings, amazing, and I am in awe of your ear for hearing the birds

And you got to see what you went for, the Euphorbia clivicola

Most of all I am happy that you had a great day out, were able to experience and share what was out there in the awesomeness of the Veld,

and you are looking forward to another one