Ibis over Tygerberg Hill
Tag Archives: birds
Ibis in golden flight
Birds on the horizon
Stone Curlew babies in our garden!
This family seems to have settled in to our garden. I think our cat's afraid of the daddy bird. To be fair though, he does carry a mean scowl. :)
Noisy scary kiddies
Dancing water splashing gulls
Seagulls splashing in the swimming pool
Pool Birds at the One and Only
Into the sun
A bird’s eye view
The gathering
Peninsula trip stop 6: Boulders Penguin Colony
What's awesome about Boulders Beach is that it's a regular beach where people are allowed to bathe in the sun and swim in the ocean together with the penguins. Entry to Boulders Beach is paid for and strictly controlled as not to overcrowd the penguins.
Peninsula trip stop 2: The Company’s Garden
For their historical significance, the gardens are today considered a national monument.
The geese know something
These ones came a-charging, fully expecting to be handed loaves of bread on silver platters. It did not happen.
Birds on a wire
Peacock and Peahen – a first date
What you can't see in the photo is that there was a bush fire burning in the vicinity, billowing smoke into the clear sky, causing the light to change from its ordinary mid-day bright white into a soft orange hue. Normally a peahen's feathers are pretty dull, lacking colour, but on this day the filtered light transformed her plumage to be the golden brown colour that it is in this photo. Click the photo to see the large version. Isn't she beautiful?
An alternate theory, to a "first date", is her alleged suitor wasn't actually a suitor at all... perhaps he was simply in awe of (and probably jealous of) her unusually-pretty plumage!
Please don’t feed the seagulls
The clothes maketh not the peacock
According to the study it's what the peacock says that makes all the difference. I have reason to believe this may too apply to the human race.
Bamboo Bird?
The iron beak of the Red-winged Starling
Granted, I'm interpreting the bird's nature based on external appearance (which is just silly, really) but it is true that Red-winged Starlings aren't push-overs - they can be quite fierce, actually. These birds are well-known to attack pets and humans wandering too close to their nests... which are unfortunately often located in the roofs of our homes - uncomfortable close to where we normally do wonder. :)
Unfortunately, Starlings are often considered pests (and are dealt with as such) since Starlings like to nest in roofs and tend to spread lice and other creepy-crawlies. It's sad actually - I kinda like those devilishly-dark-sometimes-fierce birds.
Yellow weaver bird
I've watched this weaver build its nest over the past few days and, perhaps it's premature to say so, but I think it looks a little more secure than the previous one. That said, I sure hope that the little piece of grass that you can see wrapping over the thorn above the nest isn't the only thing keeping it in place!
Swimming flags and seagulls
So, when visiting beaches like Camps Bay, keep an eye out for the marker flags, and try staying between them. And remember, if you're looking for a hot date with a hot, well-built lifeguard - swimming outside of the markers isn't the way to get one. That stuff only works in the movies. ;)
Birds on a wall
Birdie nom nom
Do you remember the book or (as I do) the movie The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock? Do you think it's a co-incidence that this is called the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront? Neither do I. Don't feed the birds people! :D
Seagulls scheming
On the more serious side, did you know that seagulls can live for 20 or more years? The same seagull has most probably been attacking your seaside picnics for 20 years! No wonder there are so many of them around!