You are browsing the archives of 2006 September.

African Penguins Spheniscus demersus
Boulders Beach, Simon’s Town, Cape Peninsula
05 September 2006
 
A straightforward 40 minute drive from either central Cape Town (follow signs to the M4) or Somerset West (the scenic coastal-route following the R310/Baden Powell highway joins the M4 by Muizenberg and is good for excellent views across False Bay and an option to stop […]

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” These were the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin, a man as brilliant as they come. Yet this keen observer of the natural world ignored the certainties all around him. The rising of the sun in the east and its setting in […]

Club George: Diary of a Central Park Bird-watcher is based on an engaging premise, something of a twist on the classic romance structure. The author, Bob Levy encounters a charismatic Red-winged Blackbird named George in New York City’s Central Park. Mr. Levy becomes enthralled by George’s charismatic antics and confiding ways and through his […]

Bokmakierie Telophorus zeylonus
Tankwa Karoo, South Africa. September 2006.

The wonderful Bokmakierie Telophorus zeylonus is an endemic bushshrike of southern Africa, found mainly in South Africa and Namibia, with an isolated population (the dark and rare form restrictus) in the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique. It is a species of open habitats, including karoo scrub, […]

Tufted Titmouse
Few American birds have the publicity problems of the titmouse. Even though they are numerous, if not downright gregarious throughout most of their range, despite the fact that the Tufted Titmouse is consistently one of the top ten most frequently reported species in the Great Backyard Bird Count, titmice lack the popularity of other […]

Thinking about where to go on your holidays next year? Thinking about the Mediterranean islands that make up Malta perhaps?

If you are, I’d really appreciate it if you thought again.

For many environmentally-aware tourists (particularly those of us with binoculars permanently round their necks) the Mediterranean islands that make up Malta are well-known for all […]

Southern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus
Cape Town, South Africa. September 2006

The beautiful Southern (or Lesser) Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus is a common South African endemic found from the coastal scrub and fynbos around the Cape inland to the Karoo and then discontinously north almost as far as Zimbabwe.

Found in good numbers at the […]

Protecting roosting swallows in West Africa: Pierfrancesco Micheloni and Ebbaken-Boje
 

 
Anyone who keeps a blog will spend a great deal of time online - sometimes just messing about “researching” (comparing your writing with other bloggers, wondering how you can present your photos a little better, joining Yahoo groups), and sometimes reading as many websites as […]

The full title of this post is “HOW TO START BIRD WATCHING SO THAT YOU’LL KEEP BIRD WATCHING (IN THREE EASY STEPS)”
Darren Rowse of Problogger has proposed a fantastic new Group Writing Project, this one to simply put together a good “How To” post. His last group project called for lists, to which I responded […]

Harris’ Hawk
Yesterday, the Core Team met up with our friend, Frank and his own growing posse for some hawkwatch excitement. We convened at the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch at the Audubon Center in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Audubon Center in Greenwich is sensational, a wild space as well managed (and richly endowed) as one could want. […]