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

I have had pheasants on my land since I built the house and my road is called Pheasant hill even had chicks running around 5 years ago ,and I leave an untouched bit of land for them

Pheasants seem to be spreading throughout the country in some quite unexpected places. i was walking a nature trail a few years ago, in long grass and had the fright of my life as a female took off right in front of me They are gorgeous birds. I have a spoon rest I inherited from my aunt, with a male and female depicted. Very pretty.

Websailor

Just got back from my nature reserve. Not much in the way of birds to be seen as most are hidden in the lush follage and trees in full growth. I did see a Whitethroat and a fantastically bright Greenfinch, it was almost a bright yellow and glowed in the sun!
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There were some really cute baby Lapwings which I nearly missed as at limit of binos. They suddenly popped up from otherside of a sandbank, I recognised then straight away as saw them on Springwatch.
What I also saw on Springwatch was them desribing 2 Damselfly as forming a heart shape with bodies when mating in air, which I saw today along with Dragonfly still laying eggs in water.
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For sometime I have been meaning to break open a dried Rabbit dropping which I did today and found it to smell exactly like freshly cut grass. At somepoint I would like to do the same with a dried Fox dropping but will wear gloves! I didn't see a single rabbit old or young at reserve this morning so expect they were keeping out of hot sun.
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I saw several Magpie and Crows wading in shallow water on edge of small ponds there and suspect they were taking advantage of Froglets as plentiful still. Sort of Frog legs without the garlic for lunch. There was a rare sight of a small frog actually swimming quite along way across the small pond on surface as usually just eyes show as they hide. It was nice to see its legs working alternately and arms pulling on water too to help it swim. Perhaps it was after the Waterboatmen which seem to have suddenly apeared in large numbers there.

You see some lovely things, and I see you are turning in to a budding Simon King, examining scats Gloves probably would be a good idea.

It would be so nice if you could take photos. Is it out of the question? I have been quite pleased with my dig. camera which wasn't expensive.

Websailor

Just went to my local wooded park. Didn't see much, perhaps too hot for birds but heard Chiffchaff, Great Spotted woodpecker, and assorted others. Did see Greenwoodpecker, Swifts and a few others. The streams seem to be drying up in the heat recently and grass going a bit yellow. I did see a second Shrew dead on a path again which was odd, like on last visit, however I understand you can get a lot per square area so not surprising really.

My wife and I were discussing/looking at the frog in my pool yesterday ,it was sat on a 2x4 and most of the head was hanging over the front of the wood ,it's back end was hanging off the back so it is much more than 4' long,more like 6' with my eye ,she (my wife) said it was not a cow frog but a Tonoe sama kyloo(king of frogs) it is fat too one day it's gonna get movedjust can't catch it ,don't want to throw the water away that's where the fish eggs are and I don't really have anything big enough to keep the water in

That is one big one!
I saw a small one swimming across the top of a pond a few weeks ago and was strange looking at it doing frog kicks as it swam and pulled with its hands. I understand there are always a lot of their young due to lots of other things liking to eat them. Everything from Foxes to birds eat the young I understand so must taste nice.

That sounds a big . I hope you catch it.

Websailor

Thats a big frog . I was clearing some weeds from underneath some shrubs the other day, I suddenly put my hand in something slimy . I first thought a big slug, then it started moving so I pulled my hand away quickly and it was a medium sized frog! I couldn't help but laugh as I watched it jump and jump down the garden, eventually disappearing underneath some trees.

I went to get some water from my water butt when I was down the allotment the other day, to my surprise there was hundreds and hundreds of baby tadpoles. How they got there? is a question, as it is a tall water butt with slippery sides .

Hope you are well, Strangely Strange and moonraker.

Nigel

This frog is not the biggest ones we get here unless it's still young(a good possibility) , this one is dark on the back but has an emerald green underside . The big ones I see usually dead on the road have a much lighter underside I think that's the cow frogs

Strewth Froglets/Toadlets in your water butt Nigel!
I don't know how they got in but they seem to like it, wildlife is very adaptable sometimes, hence water birds using flotsom and jetsom to build nests. At my nature reserve a Moorhen has built a nest in the middle of what I call the frog pond where the head warden gives wildlife talks to school children. One day there was no nest, the next morning it was there made from twigs! It has eggs in in at moment and is feet from the walkway and is a dilema as I understand disturbing nesting birds is an offence. There is another slightly larger pond just down path, with no walkway, so warden will have to adapt children's nature lessons. Disturbing a nesting bird in a wildlife sanctuary would be a big no, no one would imagine, especially by head warden, lol!

How lovely, I have just seen my first confirmed Jackdaw in my garden!
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Yesterday saw what looked like a small Crow, perhaps a youngster which flew off before I had a good look. It was just back but being against light was hard to see with binos, however the feathers looked a bit smooth for a Crow and beak smaller and perhaps straighter. It flew off and joined another bird in next door garden and could clearly see the grey hood on both so suspect it is a pair of Jackdaws.
I was sitting in sun in garden earlier and thought I heard a slightly strange Crow sound which I now realise was a Jackdaw. I just heard the 2 Jackdaws as flew into my garden tree and they seem to have a slighlty higher call than Crows.

SS
Click Play when you get there:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/j/jackdaw/index.asp

Websailor

Hello folks! Websailor, thanks for that Jackdaw call link! Doesn't sound much like the crows we have over here!

I've been on a very rewarding visit to our local nature reserve this past Tuesday! We saw a lot more than we usually do. We came across the white rhinos three times, each time good views - and I got some nice photos too! Apart from the rhinos, we also saw almost every other large mammal species they have there: zebras, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, tsessebe, waterbuck, sable antelope, eland ... folks if you don't know, the eland is the largest antelope species in Africa ... it can weigh almost a ton! Yet it is very agile and can leap over 6-foot fences! We also saw smaller antelopes - impalas and springbucks. Also warthogs. And LOTS of birds! Ostriches - a few of them, also got shots of them running away! Smaller birds - I'd like to tell y'all about a 'specialty' of the reserve, the crimsonbreasted shrike! This bird is actually not a true shrike, but belongs to the bush-shrike family which is endemic to Africa. They are birds that resemble shrikes but are usually more skulking, creeping around in dense bush or tangles and thickets in forests. Most of them have lovely liquid calls. The crimsonbreasted shrike is very UNLIKE its relatives, in that it is not skulking at all! It is in fact fearless and confident and usually hops around in the open in a very perky manner with its tail raised high. It has a very beautiful call like the others, two birds joining in a duet of sorts that is so seamless that it sounds like just one bird calling. The crimsonbreasted shrike is black above apart from a white bar on the wing, and a fantastically brilliant crimson below! You have to see it to appreciate it. These bush-shrikes abound in the Polokwane game reserve. I even managed a photo of one - for the first time! But it only shows a red blob - the bird was not close enough or in a good position for a 'proper' photo!

Well ... lots of other birds too! I can't tell you about them all, but they include guinea fowls, francolin (African partridges - we saw four different species including my favourite the Coqui francolin), doves (my favourites are the little long-tailed Namaqua doves), LOTS of small seed-eating birds of which my fave is the violeteared waxbill, warblers, including another 'specialty', the barred warbler, and one of the most special specials of the reserve we saw was the shortclawed lark - a rare lark species of which a major population occurs in the grasslands around Polokwane. The reserve is the only official protected area for the lark's habitat.

Hmmm ... let met think ... what else of note? Oh yes ... the Great Sparrow! This sparrow is closely related to the European House Sparrow. The House Sparrow has been introduced to South Africa and is a very common species in town areas. Unbeknownst to most people, the Great Sparrow is a species that is indigenous to Africa and like I said, very closely related to the House Sparrow - but few people ever see it, because it has NOT adapted to cities. It only lives in undisturbed savannah. Despite its name it is not much bigger than other sparrows, but it is much more bright rufous in colour. I haven't seen these sparrows in a long time ... but on this visit we encountered several of them! I was very happy to see them again.

There were also flocks of Red-billed Queleas. These birds have been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as being the most abundant bird species in the world. Compared to some flocks that number in perhaps hundreds of millions, elsewhere in Africa, the flocks we saw were only perhaps several dozens strong. The birds were also out of their breeding colours, but still had the pretty red bills. They are related to sparrows and weavers.

Hmmm ... there were Drongos, Starlings, Long-tailed Shrikes, Flycatchers (Marico and Fiscal), Prinias, Cisticolas, Scrub-robins, Sunbirds, White-browed Sparrowweavers, Arrowmarked Babblers, Crested Barbets, Red-faced Mousebirds - oh yes! One thing I really want to mention - Scimitarbills! These birds belong to a family endemic to Africa. They are relatives of hoopoes. The family only has three species, of which this is one. It is a smallish bird, all glossy black except for white bars on the wings and white tips to the tail feathers. It has a long curved bill which it pokes in prods into crevices in bark for insects and other bark denizens. They are unassuming and not many people notice them but I like them a lot! I haven't seen them in a while, so it was nice that we saw quite a few this time.

Heh heh now y'all know about a few of Africa's birds!

Strewth, I haven't got white Rhinos in my local nature reserve!
I haven't actually been there for a week or so as practically rained none stop since then. I do go all year but would rather go on sunny days in summer as more birds are out and about.
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It has been quiet in my garden but there was a Goldcrest, the smallest UK bird, which was actually in view for around 30secs which was good as they usually flit through the fir tree in seconds. The male Blackbird apeared with its 4 youngsters again which seems odd as as big as him and feeding themselves. There was a fat Woodpigeon a few moments ago flat out on grass looking somewhat passed away, it actually was drying its self off in the rare bit of sunshine in a rain break. The grass is still looking quite green for June due to a week of rain.

The pigeons get up to some very funny antics in the rain, as you can see on my Flickr site. It is quite funny.

Everywhere is lush and green from all the rain, and I suppose we should be grateful for it in one way. Parts of Australia have had no serious rain for ten years (can't imagine that, how awful) and it is parched and dry like a dust bowl with everything dying. Cattle farmers are going out of business as are fruit growers and others. It really is tragic. We seem to have 'all or nothing' weather patterns now everywhere. I feel sorry for the people still waiting to get back in their houses from the last floods. They must be petrified it will happen again.

There was a good story in the News about a blackbird today. I will see if I can find the link. Just click on:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/blackbird

I heard one the other day which sounded quite unlike a blackbird, making all manner of sounds. I thought it was a starling at first, but looking through the binos it was clearly a blackbird.

Websailor

I went to my nature reserve earlier between the rain showers and although I didn't see a great deal of birds I saw Bunnies, Greenfinch, Whitethroat and a lovely Song Thrush. I had a mystery bird song several months ago near to main reserve entrance which sounded like a car alarm which I discovered was a Song Thrush, although perhaps a slightly exagerated one. The one I saw today was bold as brass on the outside of a tree in the open singing its heart out beak right open.
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With all the rain a small pond next to path in reserve which was dried mud a few weeks ago is a sea of lush pond greenery with large water snails and a hive of activity. The Frog Pond as I call it has a nest with 4 very small Moorhen chicks which although cute have faces that only a mother Moorhen could love. I didn't expect the eggs I saw there several weeks ago to hatch as very near to path and looked vulnerable to preditors, however mother and babies are doing well.
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In the main reserve someone has put a wire cage over a vulnerable nest of Little Ringed Plovers which those into water birds will now are one the red list as endangered. The nest is right in the middle of a large mud flat and very exposed to Herons, preditors, etc so the wire cage gives protection as Plovers can get through holes but larger birds can't.

A goldcrest - that's great! I think they're lovely - I would love to see one! Did you get a good look at it? Goldcrests are not found here in Africa. Neither are blackbirds - or woodpigeons! The Olive Thrush that we have here, is a close relative of the European Blackbird, though. And the rock pigeons and Rameron pigeons that we have here, are relatives of the European wood pigeon. But we don't have anything that's a close relative of a goldcrest! The smallest birds that we have here, are penduline tits. They are relatives of the Eurasian penduline tit. We have two species, the Cape Penduline Tit and the Grey Penduline Tit. They make nests woven of densely felted small plant fibres. They are about 8 or 9 cm in length, and weigh only a few grams.

Websailor, thanks for the story of the blackbird! Birds mimicking other noises are always very entertaining! Over here the best mimics are the crows, and also birds like robins and certain warblers. The African Grey Parrot which is one of the best 'human voice' mimics, doesn't occur in South Africa (apart from pet birds), but is found closer to the Equator in moist rainforests.

The weather is strange isn't it! We are right now having a very unusual spree of very cold and gloomy weather ... today has been completely overcast. Before now we've had an unusually warm and sunny Winter.

Oh I almost forgot to tell y'all about my own 'wildlife experience' of this very day! My little four-year-old nephew Christiaan (faithfully accompanied by his mother and father) is visiting us today and I took him to a little park - despite the very cold and gloomy weather. In the park there are swings, a little hill, lots of trees and grass, a few termite nests, and also some birds. Among the birds are Crowned Plovers (Vanellus coronatus). While Christiaan was playing on the swings I saw that between the 'regular' plovers there was a tiny little blob - a chick! Plover chicks look like cotton balls on stilts! After taking Christiaan up and down the hill and collecting some botanic souvenirs I decided I was going to show him the little plover. I know their habits. Sure enough - as we approached, the mom and dad plover left the chick, noisily walking off trying to distract me and finally rising up into the sky with loud wingbeats and raucous cries. Of course I know their ways and determinedly kept my eyes on the little'un who sure enough skulked off to a tuft of grass and lay down there. I marked the position and Christiaan and I set off and sure enough, there he lay, totally still except for his ribs going in and out as he breathed! I told Christiaan not to touch the little chick - which he didn't! He's a very respectful kid where animals and such are concerned! We looked a little at the chick from close-up, and then we left it and went to other parts of the park. Then when we were far off the little chick's parents came back and it joined them and they resumed foraging in the short dry grass!

I had a 30 second view of Goldcrest and for a Goldcrest it was reasonably still, which still means rushing around like a maniac in Gold crest terms!
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Pillowcase, I have a bird here I will gladly crate up and send to your part of world in Africa. It may well have come from your part of world originally anyway. It is the MOST annoying Rose Ring Necked Parakeet! There is nothing it does in half measures. It squawkes(sp?) at top volume, it flies like a rocket at top speed always, it even eats greedly taking whole small apples in one bit. In fact the only good thing about the 20 who live in tree in my garden and just screamed overhead is they never actually land on ground in my garden!
I mean they are quite pretty being all green and red but they really do need a volume button.....