Category Archives: Photo
here we go again
Lion
It is now 2014 and it is going to be a year filled with changes and challenges for the entire planet. Some will be good and then there will be those that aren’t so good as well.
As far as blogging goes I did have quite a long break last year which was mainly attributable to some serious work pressure. We are finally coming to the end of a multi-million rand project which has been running for the last five years. Last year just got progressively worse as time went by. Towards the end of the year it was a case of meetings, change specifications, more meetings, more changes to a point where days just seemed to blend into one long procession of work, sleep and eat.
I did try keep up with reading those blogs that I follow, and even if I didn’t post anything on your blogs, I took note of what was happening in your lives. This year I am really going to try my utmost to be far more active on my blog and in replying to yours as well.
So to all my blogging buddies may the next year be all you hope for and may you receive all you need.
photo mix
With winter approching it is now the time to get out there and take photos of the changing seasons.
This morning I passed a lane of trees with some brilliant colours but due to running late I had not taken my camera and missed that perfect moment when the light and everything just seemed to come together. I totally forgot that in an emergency I could have wipped out my cell phone (mobile) and hopefully have at least got something to show.
Tomorrow morning I want to go out and try get some shots in black and white. Could be interesting!
Killing Fields of Africa
While riding to work I do a lot of musing about so many things I hear, read or see that by the time I get to work I have worked out an entire blog. The only problem is that once I am at work I barely touch sides with meetings and JAD sessions taking up most of my time thus leaving me very little time to prepare a blog and upload it. But I suppose I owe my soul to the company and need to give them their pound of flesh J
In the past South Africa was in the forefront of conservation of our wildlife. Nature reserves were established all around the country and the management thereof was of such high quality that South Africa was one of only a handful of countries where the number of animals increased to a very healthy population.
And it is this that now turned our country into a target for poachers. The current focus has been on the slaughter of Rhinos for their horns. The retail price for a large Rhino horn can easily turn a person into an instant millionaire and there is a ready market out there to ensure that a network is set up to smuggle the horns out of Africa to the Far East. The concern now is that as the price of ivory keep increasing that the poachers will increasingly start focusing on slaughtering the herds of Elephants in South Africa.
photo by Ross Warner
In an article by Sheree Bega (Star newspaper) mention is made of between 25 000 and 50 000 elephants being slaughtered in 2011. In 2012 the conflict in various African countries has been the excuse for wholesale slaughter of thousands of Elephants.
As the Elephant population is decimated in the rest of Africa for the tusks that they carry, the poachers are increasingly starting to move south. There has been an increase in poaching in Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe and soon it will spill into South Africa.
Ivory is already being called “white gold” because of the high prices being paid for it.
Poaching used to be done by various populations purely as a means of surviving but those days are now gone. The estimated value of animal trafficking now exceeds R80 billion (R1 = approx. $8) which makes it a thriving business.
Once our population of Elephants has been wiped out the next animal on the list will the Lion population. No amounts of educating people that the various dried parts of a Lion are not of any medicinal value, will the killing of Lions stop.
Photographs on Sunday
On Sunday morning I grabbed my camera kit and headed out to the Austin Roberts Bird Sanctuary.
It is only 15kms from where I live but I dont get to go there as often as I would like to. The weather was constantly changing between sunlight and overcast which played havoc with my settings. There were quite a few people in the hide by the time I arrived. One lady who was visiting from Holland told me that she was very involved in setting up the sanctuary way back in the early 70’s.
Will upload more pictures later in the day
Whitefaced Duck (dendrocygna viduata)
Southern Crowned Crane (balearica regulorum)
Knob Billed Duck (sarkidiornis melanotas)
Egyptian Goose (alopochen aegyptiacus)
Blacksmith Plover (vanellus armatus)
Garden visitors
senegal parrot? (Poicephalus senegalus)
I had gone out to see how the Hadedha chicks were doing (they should be flying within the next day or two) when I noticed two parrots gaily eating away at the pink flowers on the tree. I have no idea what tree it is for those of you who want to know 🙂 I had my camera with me with which had a 250mm lens on it but it just wasn’t reaching out far enough to get a clear shot, so I rushed back inside and put on my 500mm lens. Using this large lens without my tripod is quite something! But I need to get used to it, so it was a good exercise.
It is a wonder how many people will walk through their gardens with their eyes cast downwards looking at the lawn and flowers in the beds. They never take the time to see what is happening above them. And I think this is how many people approach their lives. They just don’t take the time or opportunity to see that there is a lot more going on around them.
some visitors to our garden
Woodland Kingfisher. I first thought it was the more common Brownhooded Kingfisher but when checking the colour on the lower mandible I realised that it was black instead of orange. The black markings on the wing dont join up on the back as per the other Kingfishers (Mangrove Kingfisher excluded)
Baby Hadeda in nest. Unluckily not a very clear shot as the bird kept ducking out of sight as soon as I moved any closer.
A common visitor, the Cape Robin, searching for worms
paulsmusing2 