Tag: animals

poetry

Bestiary: Tick

Posted on

Bestiary: Tick

From a prompt by Aimee Nezhukumatathil.

because you fill the staid eastern woods with peril
parachuting down onto my bared unsuspecting neck
attaching yourself to my calves when
I think I’ve only had a brush with Solomon’s seal
crawling into my nooks so gently
I never notice your prowling

because you bite me so tenderly that I don’t even register
my warm blood shunting into
your stiff brown accordion abdomen
because with every suck there’s the possibility
that a virulent part of you
will wend its way back to me

I should consider being cautious

but because you dwell out there in the wilds
in the forests and the grasslands
along the singletrack and the bluestem
in the waist-high green of off-the-beaten-path
I can’t help but risk another run-in:
the cost of doing business, as they say

you should consider being cautious

because although I’ll not put a match to you
(too dangerous for both of us)
I will pluck you out with tweezers
your flat/fat abdomen squeezed tight in the metal
then dump you in the empty peanut butter jar
where you may circle for days until the oxygen’s all expended –
my insurance in case I fall ill later
and your corpse requires testing

so think twice before you sink those greedy mandibles
into my soft pink flesh

poetry

Pepper

Posted on

Pepper

he always seems to be smiling
large brown eyes curious and calm
beak mostly quiet
as if he has one eyebrow arched
wondering what off-base thing
we might do next

even when he was way up in the aviary
high enough to believe he was the boss
he willingly came to us
amazing

Would you like to be part of our family?
I ask
not sure what yes looks like

a few weeks ago he flew down out of the sky
to another family who couldn’t take him
as if asking for
some warm humans
to love him and keep him safe

I hope that’s us
that we’re worth falling from heaven for

poetry

putting animals at ease

Posted on

putting animals at ease

Three months of talking to our animal neighbors
has changed the way I am in the woods –
no more tiptoeing and blending in
I salute them each with a hearty hello.

Today after spying the mountain chickadee nest
and stopping to sit and watch
the babies poking their little striped noggins
right out of the aspen’s trunk,
the mother came close to
assess my intentions.

Hello, mountain chickadee!
I called and smiled
I’m resting here for a moment
and I’m taking out my binoculars
to get a better look at your handsome children,
if that’s okay.
You can keep feeding them, though.
You’re all safe.

Seemingly satisfied,
she cocked her head,
gave a little shake,
then flew off to keep at
the busy job of feeding her family.

Talking is a much better way
of setting at ease then freezing,
I’ve found.
Even if they don’t understand my words,
my tone and energy give them much more to go on
in determining friend or foe.

It’s like the skateboarders
down in the library parking garage
all by themselves after dark.

When I steeled myself
and got out of the car
they called a cheerful
Hello. How’s it going? –
all that was needed
to put me at ease.

photography

Zambia and South Africa

Posted on

I am now posting photos from Zambia and all of South Africa. I know that these are from August and September and it is now February, but that is just procrastination at its most extreme. Anyway, here are the photos.

In Zambia we stayed at Bongwe Camp, where I saw this male Red-headed Weaver constructing its nest. You can see the tube-like entrance at the bottom and the wider main area near the bird.
This is a cropped image of my best photo of an African Finfoot, which we saw at Mosi-Oa Tunya National Park in Zambia. Finfoots are rare and secretive, so to see this one out in the open on a river is unique. You can see the orange bill and white stripe behind the eye.
In the national park there is a herd of Southern White Rhinos that are kept under constant supervision to guard against poaching. On our trip to the park we got to see the herd, which included this baby.
This is the mother rhino of the baby seen in the previous photo.
Near the end of our time in the park we got excellent views of this White-fronted Bee-eater, in my opinion one of the most beautiful birds in southern Africa.
At the beginning of our time in South Africa we stayed at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre where we got to tour the enclosures. This is a picture of one of their leopards that we got to see.
Once in Kruger National Park in South Africa we began seeing lots of wildlife, including this Brown-headed Parrot, seen at one of the many camp areas.
In one of the larger herds of elephants there were several babies, including this one, who had not even started to grow tusks, indicating very young age.
This is a young bushbuck, also seen in the middle of camp in Kruger.
In Kruger we repeatedly found that the most friendly and least afraid bird we met was the Wire-tailed Swallow. This one we saw at a hide in the park where there was an active swallow nest.
On one of our most eventful drives we saw a family of African Wild Dogs, a pack with several pups, one of which is this one.
Almost immediately after seeing the wild dogs we came across a group of around four rhinos, completing the day.
At one hide in Kruger the water was dry and we saw no animals except for this squirrel, which we used to practice photography. This is one of my best photos from that session.
This is another photo of the same squirrel.
This is a male African Gray Hornbill also seen in Kruger National Park.
This Hamerkop (Afrikaans for “hammerhead” after the bird’s backward-pointing crest) is standing on a hippo. This was seen at the Krokodilrivier, the southern boundary of Kruger.
Also seen at the Krokodilrivier was this Pied Kingfisher. They are pretty common in the area, but this was my only chance to get a close-up picture of one.
In eSwatini we stayed at Hlane (pronounced like Shlanay) National Park, where we got to see a lot of rhinos and this African Hoopoe, here raising its fan-shaped crest.
South of eSwatini we stayed at the semi-legendary (among birders of southern africa) semi-unknown (among everybody else, including even our guide) Mkhuze Game Reserve, which at a area of 150 square miles boasts the second-largest bird list in the country, after Kruger (For comparison Kruger is over 7,000 square miles). Mkhuze has a list of over 450 bird species because of the incredible diversity of habitats packed into it: There’s a fig forest, sand forest, Acacia savannah, marshes, ponds, a river, and more. This Long-crested Eagle was one of the first birds we saw there.
At one of Mkhuze’s several hides overlooking a watering hole we witnessed this pair of Woolly-necked Storks preening each other and attending to each other’s needs. It was very impressive.
At the same watering hole we finally got really good views of the Hadada Ibis, characterized by its loud call, iridescent wing, and gray coloring.
As mentioned before, Mkhuze has a fig forest, and it is here that some of the rarer birds reside, including the Pel’s Fishing-owl, Green Malkoha, Blue-mantled Crested-flycatcher, and, shown above, the beautiful Narina Trogon. As you can see, it has an iridescent green back, but its belly is bright scarlet. It is very quiet and secretive, and for us it just flew down in front and perched.
This photograph shows an adult male African Paradise-flycatcher. The male paradise-flycatchers all have one remarkable, eye-catching characteristic: their incredibly long, graceful tail. When we were watching this male fly it seemed as if his tail would always tangle or hook on some branch, but it never did. The male, along with being beautiful, was either extremely lucky, or extremely skilled.
Mkhuze also has hides on the river, where there is an abundance of wildlife, including this Malachite Kingfisher, one of the most beautiful birds in Africa.
At the same hide we also managed to see this African Jaçana using its extremely elongated toes to walk on lily pads without sinking.
Another of Mkhuze’s star birds is the Purple-crested Turaco, whose red and black wing feathers are actually the crown of the king of eSwatini. We saw two drinking at a bird bath.
Mkhuze is not just birds; we saw this unidentified mouse near our camp.
After leaving Mkhuze we had lunch at the beautiful Shayamoya Tiger Fishing and Game Lodge, where we got great views of this herd of Crested Guineafowl, one of the weirdest of the area’s specialties.
While eating at the lodge, this Eastern Nicator flew up to near the deck and perched. Nicators are generally very skulky and shy, so to see one in the comparative open was new.
At the White Elephant Safari Lodge near Mkhuze we saw this jackrabbit feeding on the lawn.
This is a Crowned Eagle. Adults have been known to kill children up to 12 years old, but this was a young bird, so it didn’t attack us.
Rose-ringed Parakeets are native to India, but since we were spending a night in Johannesburg where there is a feral population we still managed to see them.
Our house in Cape Town has a very nice Protea garden, which attracted this Southern Double-collared Sunbird.
Seen at the penguin area, this Blacksmith Lapwing chick was extremely cute.
This is a half-grown African Penguin chick. We called all the chicks “Bob Rosses” because of their fluffy plumage.
One of Cedar’s favorite African animals was this dassie or Rock Hyrax. This is a younger one.
This is a picture of a dassie scratching (Cedar is making me put two more dassie pictures in this post, so prepare yourself for more adorable cute, chubby, mammals).
This is a family of dassies, with a baby at the bottom.
This is an African Penguin shaking itself off.
African Penguins are actually classified as globally endangered, so it was kind of amazing to get this close for free.
One of the many endemic bird species of the Protea ecosystem is this Malachite Sunbird, only found in the Cape area.
During our trip to Cape Point we actually managed to see several whales spout and swim near the shore.
Our Cape Town house came with a dry pool, and this mouse managed to get stuck inside it. We used a broom to create a ladder for it to get out.
One of our neighbors was a birder and had bird feeders all around their backyard. We got to walk around it and saw this Speckled Mousebird eating an apple.
Seen in the same backyard, this is a Cape Sugarbird, one of two birds in its family, and endemic to the Cape Town area.
When we went to the Cape Town Botanic Gardens we saw this classic example of the Cape ecosystem. Here you see and adult male Cape Sugarbird, (with pollen on its forehead) sitting on top of a King Protea, one the most iconic plants of the region.
This is the last dassie photo, taken on Table Mountain, engaging in what Cedar calls “his little glare of happiness”.
Also seen on Table Mountain, this is an Orange-breasted Sunbird, another endemic, and one of the most colorful sunbirds (that’s saying a lot) in the region.
poetry

Hector’s Visit

Posted on

Hector’s Visit

he’s overcome
each time another animal chooses him
overjoyed they’d share a moment

today when the little dolphin
broke away from her pod
and frolicked all around the boat
saying hello a dozen ways
he was amazed

before that, when massive Toy Soldier
the show jumper nuzzled his shirt
he glowed at being touched

the little owl, blue penguin, purring cheetah
each animal he’s really met
says clearly to him
as if in his mother tongue
you are not alone
 reconnects his hairless ape life
to the world of fur feather bone wild
his pressed palm feels a real heart beat
and remembers we’re all one

and someday
he’ll feel that in the tree and fern
skipping river and stinging wind
silent stars and now-cold stone
even the space between cells
the negative cloud where all’s uncertain
even there in the nothingness he’ll sense
we’re all one
he’s tethered to every last bit
including his four chickens
that haven’t yet hatched

poetry

The Bunny Bus

Posted on

The Bunny Bus

hop on up to the bunny bus
it’s a rainbow-colored ride
come along aboard with us
where everything’s tie-dyed

La-la will be your driver
and Franky’s her best mate
a twitchy nose behind the wheel
will make your vacation great

if you are feeling blue
or the highway’s got you stressed
just give their ears a stroke –
even softer than you’d guessed!

so which way’ll it be, son?
where should La-la head?
Up the hill to Haast?
or was it Wanaka you said?

either way she’s ready
her big hind foot’s a-tapping
and her whiskers are aquiver
(although Franky is still napping)

so wriggle on through
that little bunny door
that your worries just can’t fit through
you won’t need them anymore

‘cause with La-la at the wheel
and some carrots in your pocket
the good vibes are as electric
as your finger in a socket

now New Zealand rolls away
Southern Alps and ocean, too,
and if there’s any problem
it’s that the hours are too few

from one end of the South Island
all the way to the other –
now don’t forget to bring along
your mother, dad, and brother

there’s room for everyone
in this Technicolor dream
and, yum!, Franky’s passing round
scones with Devonshire cream

so come for tea and stay a week
the bunsters wave you in
cause on the rainbow bunny bus
we’re all like long-lost kin

photography

Africa, Part One!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted on

As many of you know, we are now in Africa! Currently we are in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, after doing a 12 day safari in Botswana with our guide Kabelo. As we are in Africa, I have seen over a hundred new species of birds and taken many photos of them (and a couple of the more interesting mammals). Because of this, today’s post may be a bit long. However, I think you will enjoy it! (Due to the large number of photos I would like to post I will be posting four installments, each with 21 photos. Because of this, the photos in this post are from August 3rd to the 5th, our first two days of the Botswana safari).

This is a Familiar Chat, seen on the drive to the town of Otse in Botswana, south of Gabarone. The chat was very familiar, and did not fly away, allowing me to get this, and some other, photos.
This is a Cape Griffon, or Cape Vulture, which is very rare and declining, a victim of poisoning. Its current global status is Endangered, and in the whole of Botswana there are only two colonies. This picture is from the colony at Otse, the reason we went to that village.
The Gray Go-away-bird, one of the most common birds in the region, is very endearing and comes close to you, allowing good photos. This one flew into our camp at Khama Rhino Sanctuary and perched on a tree with its crest raised, providing a perfect photo.
Along with the go-away-bird, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills are also very common in central Botswana. I saw this one just after we had started a game drive at the rhino sanctuary and the sunrise light on it provided an amazing view.
Helmeted Guineafowl are some of the more common game birds in southern Africa, and congregate in huge flocks; we saw some reaching an estimated 50 birds!
Springbok were the first large mammals we saw, easily distinguished from impala by the different shape of the horns and the dark brown stripe on the side.
Although similar in appearance to sandpipers, Crowned Lapwings are not closely tied to water; we saw many out on the open pans, with no water nearby.
Impala were the second large mammal we saw, after Springbok. They turned out to be more common, and soon became like mule deer in Colorado.
Our first mammalian predator to be seen was the Black-backed Jackal, one of the most doglike creatures you can find. We particularly enjoyed how they run, described by many as “trucking“.
At one particular water hole we saw jackals, impala, Martial Eagle, White Stork, warthog, and Red Hartebeest coexisting together (which makes sense, because a jackal couldn’t eat any of those).
This Burchell’s Sandgrouse was the second sandgrouse species we saw. Sandgrouse are well-known for their habit of flying varying distances to watering holes to drink at various times of the day.
Crested Francolins turned out to be surprisingly common, much more common than any game bird in the U.S. We quickly began seeing large flocks moving about everywhere.
The Dwarf Mongoose is southern Africa’s (south of the Cunene and Zambezi Rivers) smallest carnivore. We saw several of these tiny mammals, at first thinking they were baby Banded Mongooses due to their size: full-grown ones are just 20 cm long!
Red-billed Oxpeckers frequent all types of large mammals; we saw them foraging for insects on kudu, impala, zebra, donkeys, and cows!
On a hike up the Goo-Moremi Gorge (not to be confused with Moremi Game Reserve) we saw an unexpected Verreaux’s Eagle, a very large raptor that we have only seen that one time.
On our second evening at Khama Rhino Sanctuary we witnissed a spectacular sunset over a watering hole filled with impala. This was one of the most iconic African scenes we have observed.
At that same time we noticed a herd of giraffe walking towards the watering hole, and I realized that this was a moment I could not miss. (Actually, I pulled out my camera to find out that I had used up my memory card space, so hastily deleting a video and some photos got me the ability to capture this photo).
This is a Natal Francolin, the second francolin to be seen by us. I noticed it just after I got up at the campsite at Khama Rhino Sanctuary.
I have compared the brilliant color of the Crimson-breasted Gonolek’s underparts to those of a Vermillion Flycatcher, one of our Southwestern birds in the U.S., some of the most admired birds for their color.
Fork-tailed Drongos are some of the commonest birds in this region, and are easily seen sallying to catch insects in flight.
Although their appearance is similar to cows, Blue Wildebeest are actually large antelope, and we saw many of them, sometimes in large herds, but never as many as in the documentaries where somebody with David Attenborough’s voice is grandly describing the “great migration” that occurs in Kenya.