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

I visited this Game Farm with my parents and people from their church this weekend.

Here are photos of the outing:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/574643581AJbmja

It was great to get out to a game reserve again. This place is on the 'Springbok flats', a large plains area in the south centre of the Limpopo Province. It's sandy soil with a fairly dense, well-developed woodland growing on it. The trees are deciduous, dropping their leaves in the very dry Fall and Winter months. There's also a substantial grass cover beneath the trees. At this time of year, most trees are standing bare, and the grass is dry and yellow or brown. But we found some evergreen trees and plants still in leaf, while some others were already making new leaves in anticipation of the first rains.

Just when we arrived - about at dusk - we already experienced one of the highlights of the trip ... as I helped my parents unload the car, I looked and saw some things moving through trees. They looked like birds ... flying from branch to branch but seemingly with long, floppy tails ... as such, I thought of wood hoopoes, or maybe go-away birds. But then as I went closer I saw they were not flying - they were jumping - and they were not birds - they were bushbabies!!!!

Pictures and info:

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/Behavior/Spring2006/Rogers/info.html

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/Botswana/photo26082.htm

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/behavior/Spring2006/Rogers/habitat.html

Bushbabies must be among the cutest of all mammal species. They are primates ... distant relatives of apes, monkeys, and ourselves. They are small ... one could easily sit in your hand ... with very long fluffy tails - fluffy fur in general actually! They have small pointy snouts, huge eyes, large ears they can move and fold amazingly, short arms with tiny little fingers, and very long hind legs with which they can execute spectacular leaps. A bushbaby can clear about 3 m from a dead start - over ten times the length of its own body (tail excluded).

Well as soon as I realised what they were I called my mom - she loves them! We followed the bushbabies as they leapt from tree to tree. They surely have in their little heads a three-dimensional map of the entire territory by which they know exactly which route to follow so they can make their way over the whole camp without having to come down to the ground. They ended up in a large Sweet Thorn tree. This tree has a sweet gum - rich in carbohydrates - that exudes copiously from wounds. It dries into a rather tough, brittle consistency. Bushbabies eat lots of this gum, and this is the first time I saw them doing it. They crept underneath the thick branches, 'bear-hugging' the branch with their legs and arms spread-eagled, and then nibbled at the bits of congealed gum. One bushbaby found a 'stalactite' of dry gum about five or six inches long which it broke off and then crept up again and sat on top of the branch eating it, holding it in its little hands like a giant (well, compared to itself!) candy-cane.

The light was still good enough that we could make them out fairly well. It was amazing watching them eat and leap around. There also turned up a little squirrel but there was little interaction between it and the bushbabies. A bit later my dad also saw them.

Well that was like I said one of the highlights. The evening, right at the camp, there's a place where they put out food and water, and have some bright lights illuminating the scene. Nyala antelope came to feed and we could see them very well under the lights. My dad later saw a waterbuck ... I didn't, sadly. They're among my favourites, I recently painted some.

The next morning I went for a hike in the bush. Right away I got something interesting ... I heard them call, first of all, and then I saw them fly ... pearlspotted owlets! These are tiny owls, and unlike most others, they are active in the day. Their calls are extremely characteristic ... a rather moaning, mournful whistle. Sadly, they were very wary and I didn't get close enough for a good look, let alone a photo!

Photo from the 'net:

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=12&af_bs_id=830

At first there weren't many birds or mammals ... I got some signs of activity in the form of lots of droppings, though. But then I suddenly saw something up ahead - a blesbok peacefully grazing! I managed to sneak up to it close enough for a recognisable, though not very good, photo. There was an Eland as well, but so much hidden between the dense branches that a photo was out of the question. I snuck up even closer and then suddenly the blesbok realised it was being watched and set off - the eland also!

From then on I saw more things. One further highlight was seeing a Black Cuckooshrike!! This bird I only saw twice before ... once, a female in our garden, and the other time, near the Kruger National Park. At first I thought it was a drongo, but as I got closer and checked it with my binoculars I saw it wasn't all-black, it had bright yellow shoulder patches! In other words, a male Black Cuckooshrike. (Actually, only *some* black cuckooshrike males have the yellow shoulders, but if seen, they are diagnostic.) These birds are actually neither cuckoos nor shrikes, but belong to a unique family. They're sometimes also called caterpillar-birds.

Well this time I got an excellent view! The cuckooshrike didn't seem the least perturbed by my presence ... it leisurely hopped around in the trees, and once flew and came up so close I could have had a nice photograph of it, if only it sat still for long enough! Man that would have been great ... there aren't any photos on the 'net of the yellow-shouldered form!

What was great was I could see it so close, I could look at the orange-yellow corners of its mouth - an identifying feature not always visible. Also it once flew into a patch of bright sun and for the first time I saw it actually had a blue-green irridescence in its feathers - usually it just looks plain black! All in all, I was very satisfied by this encounter.

Photos on the 'net will show you how they look:

Female:

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=8&af_bs_id=1255

Male:

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=8&af_bs_id=1255

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=5&af_bs_id=1255

Not the yellow-shouldered form, but shows the orange-yellow mouth corners. This hand-held bird shows a bit of the greenish-blue glossy feathers ... but the bird I saw, showed it much better! There aren't any good photos on the 'net that I could find.

These are rather uncommon and not-well-known birds, so this was a privilege.

More encounters over the course of this walk:

- A little African bush squirrel I kind of cornered in a low tree - also took photographs

- A duiker (small antelope)

- Lots of birds.

A bit later the day I went for a short walk with my parents. On this walk we were treated to a large swarm of yelloweyed canaries ... very pretty small seed-eating birds ... and among them was something I had only seen a few times before ... and my mom and dad, never! It was a goldenbreasted bunting! Actually a few of them. Again, very pretty little birds:

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=3&af_bs_id=2455

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=3&af_bs_id=2455

The afternoon we went for a drive with friends. We saw some game ... blesbok, eland, blue wildebeest, zebras, giraffes and a hare! If the hare had sat still a while longer I'd have photographed it.

Walking in the camp that day I saw something quite spectacular ... a thing not many people notice, but truly beautiful ... a blue-headed tree agama. This is a stout tree-living lizard. The female is brownish and well camouflaged on the tree bark but the male is extravagantly colourful:

http://travel.mongabay.com/uganda/images/ug5_5641a.html

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/South_Africa/photo155693.htm

Almost a glowing neon-blue colour on its head and forequarters! The tail is yellowish. Quite a large lizard, reaching a foot or more in length. The male displays his colours by nodding his head up and down. I got quite close to these ... there was a male, and a female as well. One thing they do is, when they know you're approaching them, is to keep creeping over to the the opposite side of the tree from where you're standing.

The next day I again went for a walk in the 'bush. This time, right at the start, I saw another thing I hadn't seen for many years, a Wattled Lapwing:

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=5&af_bs_id=520

Actually, two Wattled Lapwings. They were next to a small pond, and very cautious.

And ALSO ... I saw no less than seven goldenbreasted buntings feeding on the ground! They were very tame and allowed my to come quite close.

The rest of the walk brought me some more nice views of birds ... and I got to photograph one, a Hadeda Ibis standing next to a pond:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/574643581AJbmja

This is a very beautiful bird - the photo doesn't do it justice. It looks plain dark brown or grey from a distance but actually has quite a bit of colour. It has a white 'moustache' along the lower face, it has a red upper border to its gracefully curved bill, and it has pink-purple and green irridescent feathers on its wings. Here are better photos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hadada_Ibis.jpg

http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/Uganda/photo194806.htm (the northern, white-eyed form)

A bit later, coming back again, I surprised a bunch of naked kids bathing in the same pond! They ran away, not being allowed to do that, but then turned and waved at me from a distance!

Almost back to the camp I had another special encounter - this time an African Black Tit (it's a kind of bird, really!). These are bold and assertive birds. I heard its call first of all. Then I saw it ... it was confidently hopping and flying around in the trees, methodically searching for tidbits (titbits?) - they have a very varied diet, including fruits and berries, seeds, insects and invertebrates. Every few seconds it uttered its raspy churring call - chee-chee-charr-charr ... and raised up its crown feathers to make a little crest. I got quite close, and a very good view.

Picture from the 'net:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36424218@N00/433080190

OK that covers the most significant things I saw. Other birds included:

Grey Heron
Egyptian Goose
Vulture (probably Cape Vulture - circling high overhead)
Black-shouldered Kite (small bird-of-prey)
Crested Francolin (LOTS of them ... small partridge-like bird, very pretty)
Helmeted Guineafowl
Crowned Lapwing
Blacksmith Lapwing
African Rock Pigeon
Cape Turtle Dove (large flocks)
Greenspotted Dove
Namaqua Dove (very pretty black-faced long-tailed small dove)
Grey Go-Away Birds (LOTS of them!)
Yellowbilled Hornbill
Redbilled Hornbill
Grey Hornbill
Greater Honeyguide (heard, but didn't see)
Crested Barbet (colourful woodpecker-like bird)
Swallow or Martin (either Pearlbreasted Swallow, or House Martin)
Blackheaded Oriole (I only heard - my father saw)
Arrowmarked Babbler (noisy birds in large-ish groups)
Kurrichane Thrush
Titbabbler (neither a tit nor a babbler - actually a warbler, grey with reddish brown vent)
Neddicky (tiny brownish warbler)
Rattling Cisticola (brownish warbler, related to Neddicky)
Chinspot Batis (tiny black and white flycatcher-like bird)
Crimsonbreasted Shrike (I only heard, other people saw)
Longtailed Shrike (large black and white shrike with very long tail, in groups, fluid far-carrying whistles)
Threestreaked Chagra (shrike-like bird)
White Helmet Shrike (a group, in the distance)
Cape Glossy Starling
Burchell's Glossy Starling (I painted one recently - will soon upload to Webshots)
Whitebellied Sunbird (curved bill, nectar-drinking)
Greyheaded Sparrow
Southern Masked Weaver
Cutthroat Finch (it has a bright red crescent on its throat)
Redheaded Finch
Blue Waxbill (tiny powder-blue seed eater)
Violeteared Waxbill (extremely pretty)
Melba Finch (very pretty waxbill species)

So ... yes it was fun! I'd like to visit the place again.

Sorry, this is the *correct* link for the first male black cuckooshrike photo:

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=1&af_bs_id=1255

... and here's the correct link for the *second* yellowbreasted bunting ...

http://www.birdquest.net/afbid/birdspecies.php?func=view&slideno=10&af_bs_id=2455

Jeez, I'm sorry!

Don't worry Willem, it happens

Will read and look later, I'm a touch busy at present, and shouldn't be here at all!

Websailor

Hey did you get around to reading this Websailor? Did anybody?

Yes Willem, I have now and all I can say is I am

Such a wonderful selection of exotic creatures, but I have to say the bushbaby is my favourite! Those eyes!!

How frustrating to be so close to getting unique photos only for them to move too quickly. I have been watching wildlife cameramen/photographers in action on TV a lot lately, and their patience is amazing. Of course time to stay and watch for hours is a major factor in their success. The other feature is they have some amazing(and heavy) equipment with which to work.

We should be indebted to all of them for bringing so much of the glorious natural world to our living rooms, often at great risk to themselves.

Thank you for writing about your trip. As I said I am I hope you will be able to do more such trips now you feel you can 'live again' instead of existing in a kind of suspended animation.

Websailor

Hi very dear Willem,

Today, thursday 17th september 2009 is the first time that I have had time to read your wonderfull account of your visit to Ruinte. I called K/ in for a moment to look at the veld. and he immediately said
"That's just like Plumtree!"

and he thought he could see some game in the the distance.

We shall read and enjoy it again tomorrow. Thank you so much for spoiling us with giving us again wonderful memories of that part of Africa. It is so good of you.

We are recovering from our various ills thank goodness.

We both send you much affection and thank you for stirring up wonderful memories.

with much affection

Christiane and K.

AR80
We shall write again when we have enjoyed all the wonderful photos and K. will have had an opportunity to recognise some of the birds which you saw. !!

Hello again Websailor and Christiane AR80!

I'm happy you read this and looked at the pictures ... Christiane, I'm doing this especially for you and K. so you can experience South(ern) Africa again!

Websailor, my way of doing things is simply to leisurely walk around with my camera and keeping my eyes open for anything interesting ... my 'equipment' is an ancient (2003) and battered digital camera, without any kind of zoom lens!

Yesterday I actually had a dream about a camera with an incredible assortment of lenses ... fully extended they were over 3 feet long, and I was trying to photograph a blue butterfly with it ... it was sitting right at my feet, folding and unfolding its wings like the ears of a bushbaby ... the lens complex was so huge that I couldn't reach the camera's shutter button and so, couldn't photograph the butterfly!

Willem, what a frustrating dream, but at least you got to see the butterfly My camera is a small modern digital with optical and digital zoom. It is good at close ups and distance, like landscapes, but zooming for a closer look at badgers, foxes , birds etc. makes the photo lose detail! You do briliantly with yours by the way.

Websailor

Hi Websailor! Thanks for the comment. Do you ever have wildlife-related dreams?

Somewhat late, and I doubt you are around, but no, as yet I have not had any wildlife related dreams which is perhaps just as well. I would be frightened out of my wits

Websailor