Go away

Saw quite a few birds in the last few days in Botswana, but the most amusing one was the Grey Go away bird. It is pretty big and not shy of humans but his amusing call is what catches the attention. (don't miss the moon)

The bird is named for its alarm call "Kuh-we" which sounds like "go-away" and is thought to alarm other species of approaching predators or other dangers such as hunters. You can hear the call at the start of the video.
I found these mouse birds eating (or rather destroying) the flowers of the Moringa tree (drumstick) Their activity was more of destructive nature as they were not eating them but just plucking it and spitting it

The sunbirds too come in flocks looking for the Moringa flowers

This Little Bee eater was sitting pretty, well protected by those thorny branches and pretty flowers

Talking of thorns, I was standing under a thorny tree when I saw this masked weaver bird flying in and out with green leaves busy weaving his nest. I got some bottom view of his activity where he was modelling his entrance door and spitting out the excess leaves.

While I was shooting the weaver, the Groundscrapper Thrush was eyeing me with some concern from the sidewalk.

The Crowned Plover got himself well camouflaged in the dry grass. His movements too were such that he used to stand still for a long time.

Towards the end of the video I managed to get a long shot of two Red-billed Buffalo Weavers up in the tree

These blue birds were pretty. I am assuming it is the blue waxbill finch

The next morning I was off again hoping to catch some early birds. I started off with the sunrise

Considering the array and variety of birds in Africa, there is a possibility of part 2 for this blog.

Things you see while cycling

I prefer to move around on a bicycle as it gives you the liberty to stop and observe things. Like I halted at this bridge to take in the nature and the activities around it.

That is when I saw this great Egret trying his hand at fishing. He did try a couple of times and the success rate was something like one in five.

There is this big park with a water body and an excellent cycling/jogging track around it. (Volkening Lake) Suits me fine as one lap around the lake adds a km to my daily target of pedalling.

You get to see many activities over here, like this man trying his hand at fishing.

He must be good at it as I did see his catch on my third lap.

You keep meeting joggers and fast walkers who are regulars over here.

I saw these young cycle enthusiasts who were trying to help each other in fixing a stuck bike

There is some exercise equipment fixed over there and at times one gets to see it in use.

It may be someone performing solo or maybe a group of students from the school nearby.

There are some who like to paint and the pretty flowers get transferred to their canvas

The thrill of maneuvering a sailboat with a remote is something different. I stopped to capture a bunch of enthusiasts having a gala time.

Spoke to one of them and he confirmed that there are no motors on them to propel them forward. It was just wind power and how you flip the sails that gives it direction. I was really fascinated by their skill, and their dedication to meet on a daily basis to enjoy the sport.
I had enough footage to make it into a ten minute video.
If you are lucky you get to see a variety of birds, like this blue heron was flying very close for a good shot

or this black bird in the bulrushes daring me to come any more close to him (probably he has a nest somewhere close by)

While pedalling alongside the main road, I observed these postal delivery vans zipping past, the only vehicles I noticed in the US with right hand drive.

They were perhaps so designed so as to allow the driver to get in and out without the fear of the oncoming traffic (where there are no road dividers) It also gives access to the postmen to reach the roadside postbox without alighting.

All that is mentioned above is capsuled into a short video so that you can see some of the action.
Then there are things that make you think from the design point of view, like why do some benches have only one armrest ?

Osprey and young ones

Had the opportunity to observe an Osprey nest from far. In fact the nest was on a man made platform out in the sea. While watching and capturing them on camera, I observed a few things, like the head bobbing before they made a dive for the fish.

These head bobs are done to triangulate their prey. Very rarely do they miss the prey. After catching a fish they don't straight away take it to the nest. They fly around for some time to ensure that the fish is dead (or half dead) Most of the time, the adult eats a part of the fish before dropping them in the nest. (they too require nourishment)

After a fish is caught, it arranges its feet to turn the fish so it faces head first. This reduces aerodynamic drag making the fish easier to carry.

Once I noticed the male breaking off a branch from a nearby tree and placing it in the nest. Does this amount to "periodic maintenance of the house"?  

The rate of growth of the young one is pretty fast after a month as can be seen in this illustration. (courtesy) The body size is almost the same as an adult.

Here you can see an Adult and juvenile Osprey.

Before they fly out, the young ones try flapping the wings in the nest to get the hang of it.

Once they are sure about it, they fly off to nearby structures to practice perching, like this weather wane

Or to a nearby tree to sit next to the parent.

Often smaller bird species like starlings or house sparrows live in the underside of the nest (basement apartment can be seen at 5:40 in the video)

Eagles and Blue Herons are the enemies of the young ones. They try to snatch away the young ones when adults are not around. I saw a Blue Heron being chased away who tried to get too close to the nest.

I captured some of their movements over a period of eight days and compiled it to a five minute video.

The whole episode was captured at Chesapeake Bay near the boardwalk, (which was described in the previous blog.)  Lately blogspot does not allow replies to be sent to individual comments (or is it that something is wrong with my settings)