Weavers! I was sure that the hanging nests of carefully woven grass belonged to some sort of weaver bird. After all, I’d seen such things in National Geographic. Now, here I was in southern Africa and the Jacaranda tree in front of me was decorated with dozens of these nests! Bluebird-sized birds fluttered around, and if I squinted, I could see them entering and leaving these cocoons through holes at the bottom.
As I mentioned last month, I recently returned from a trip to Swaziland. Fifteen people from my church were there to love on some AIDS orphans, and I was the team photographer. While my focus was on the kids, I couldn’t help but scan my surroundings for birds. After all—how often was I going to get to Africa?
To refresh your memory, here is the photo from November’s Bird Quiz. It was taken in Colorado during the month of December. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird.
A camera enabled me to identify these Swainson’s Spurfowl after I got home.
I was so excited! About to leave on a 12-day trip, I was heading to a new destination—a new continent! Our destination was Swaziland, and I was drooling over the seemingly endless possibilities. The southern tip of Africa is home to more than a thousand bird species, far more than the US and Canada. I had my ticket and my passport. My camera and binos were packed, along with a pocket guide to the more common species. I was ready. There was just one minor issue.
“Eeek! It’s a spider!”
“No, that’s just a Daddy Longlegs. It won’t hurt you.”
“Are you sure? I heard that they’re really venomous, but that their fangs are too small to bite me. Is that true?”
Everyone knows what a Daddy Longlegs is, or thinks they do. In fact, there are two different groups of animals with the name Daddy Longlegs, both Arachnids, but in different orders. (Scorpions are in yet another order of Arachnid.)
To refresh your memory, here is the photo from October’s Bird Quiz. It was taken in Louisiana during the month of January. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird.
I prefer to write my own posts, but when I saw this article from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Birds, I had to share it with you. I had no idea that open pipes were such a hazard to birds and other wildlife!
Death by Pipe: Birds in Crisis
Bird carcasses recovered from mining claim pipes in Searchlight, NV. Photo: Christy Klinger, Nevada Dept. of Wildlife
Trapped in a small space, unable to move, with no food or water, slowing dying of stress, starvation, or dehydration; most of us can’t imagine a less appealing end. Unfortunately, this is the reality for hundreds, thousands, possibly millions of birds and other animals each year. Recent inspection of open or uncapped pipes has uncovered a grisly secret: countless bird and other animal carcasses collecting inside. Open or uncapped vertical pipes pose a very real hazard to wildlife, especially birds.
Since most of us will become intimately acquainted with a turkey today, I thought you might enjoy some fascinating facts about Wild Turkeys.
Weavers! I was sure that the hanging nests of carefully woven grass belonged to some sort of weaver bird. After all, I’d seen such things in National Geographic. Now, here I was in southern Africa and the Jacaranda tree in front of me was decorated with dozens of these nests! Bluebird-sized birds fluttered around, and if I squinted, I could see them entering and leaving these cocoons through holes at the bottom.
“Eeek! It’s a spider!”
