Wilkinson's World

Here in Namibia, the rock rabbits have grey fur.  Their fur colour is determined by their environment – if they live in dry, desert-like conditions with limited foliage, their fur is grey, whereas dassies found in wetter regions, like the Cape in South Africa, have thick brown fur.

They are sociable animals and can be seen in large numbers (herds of over fifty dassies are not uncommon), but we mostly see them in small family groups.  They are extremely agile and can run up and down sheer rock faces without any difficulty.  They’re equally at home perched on thin tree branches.

Rock rabbits don’t move far from their refuges when looking for leaves, grass and insects to eat, and they are able to go for many days without water.  Predators include leopards, snakes and eagles.  We often see snake eagles and Verreaux’s eagles hunting in the Erongo Mountains.

Families are protected by a dominant male, who marks his territory to prevent disputes.  Dassies give birth to two or three babies after a 6-7 month gestation period.  It takes the young three years to reach their adult size, although they are mating before they are eighteen months old (typical teenagers!!)  Their lifespan is about ten years.

It is interesting  to note that the enormous elephant is the closest living relative to the rock hyrax.

 

 

 

The Cape bunting has a black crown, white supercilium and white and black striped face;  uper parts are grey-brown with some dark streaks;  wings are chestnut; under parts are grey and the throat is pale;  the bill is black;  eyes are brown and legs and feet dark horn-coloured.  The sexes are alike in size and similar in plumage colouration, although females have buffy, rather than white, head markings.

The Cape bunting is fairly common within most of its range and is usually found singly or in pairs, or in small groups, but seldom in larger flocks.  Its call is repetitive and whistle-like, often made by the male from a prominent perch.

It forages on the ground, particularly on open rocky ground, feeding on seeds, insects and spiders.

The Cape bunting is monogamous, building a cup nest of grass, twigs and roots and is usually placed on the ground or low down in a bush.  The female lays a clutch of two to five white or pale bluish-green eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 15 days.

The scientific binomial for the Cape bunting is Emberiza capensis; Emberiza from the Greek for a “bunting” and capensis from the Latin for “from the Cape (of Good Hope)”.  Thus a bunting from the Cape of Good Hope.  Can’t say better than that.

 

Was the moon being eaten by a dog?  Swallowed by a snake?  Watching this event as it slowly unfolded in the clear skies over Windhoek, it was easy to understand some of the myths that were developed by our forebears to explain the slow “disappearance” of the moon.  Of course the moon being swallowed by a snake makes a certain amount of sense if you believe the myth that there is a rabbit living up there!

The more accurate explanation that the moon is simply passing behind the earth so that the sun’s rays could, for a short time, not reflect off the face of the moon is not nearly as much fun as the myths!

In many cultures eclipses of the sun or moon are strongly associated with pestilence or calamity, as it is thought that the sun (in the case of a solar eclipse) or the moon (in the case of a lunar eclipse) was growing weak through an illness that could be spread to folk on earth by the rays that reached us.  Pots, pans and other utensils should be turned upside down to prevent them from becoming “contaminated” during the period of the eclipse and causing devastating illness when they are subsequently used to prepare food.  Some people stay in their homes with doors closed and curtains drawn until the horror has passed.

When a solar eclipse takes place it can be seen from a relatively small part of the world, but a lunar eclipse can be seen from anywhere within that half of the world that is experiencing darkness at the time the event takes place.  A lunar eclipse also lasts for considerably longer than a solar eclipse, so it seems reasonable that it is seen by many more people.

The colour of the moon can become quite spectacular at the height of an eclipse, as the dust particles in the air cause the blue light to be scattered and the moon becomes red as a result.

Lunar eclipses are not very rare events; and even total lunar eclipses such as that seen on 15 June 2011 occur every few years.  Nevertheless, to have one occurring in the early evening (before bed time!) and to have clear skies throughout was a treat.

In practice photographing an eclipse can be a little tricky as the light is reducing continually until the point of maximum coverage of the moon, and therefore the exposure needs to be adjusted minute by minute.  As shutter speeds are lengthened a tripod becomes essential, and the surprisingly quick movement of the moon becomes problematic if you don’t have the equipment to track the movment.

The accompanying photographs were taken from Windhoek on 15 June 2011 and are timed from the approximate start of the eclipse; the time elapsed until each picture was taken can be seen by moving your mouse pointer over the picture.

 

 

The Yellow-bellied eremomela is a small bird with a length of about 10 cm.  It has largely grey upperparts that are darker on the wings and tail.  The breast is grey and the belly lemon yellow.  The bill is black; eyes red-brown to brown; legs and feet are grey to black.  Males and females are alike in both size and plumage coloration.

It is a solitary bird and so it is usually found alone or sometimes in pairs or in small groups.  It may sometimes join groups of mixed bird species while feeding.  Not an easy bird to photograph, though, as it moves continually through bushes and trees, seldom pausing and seldom showing itself clearly.  Typical behaviour for the leaf gleaner that it is.

The Yellow-bellied eremomela feeds by gleaning from leaves and twigs, feeding mainly on termites, caterpillars, but also on fruit, seeds and nectar.  The bird’s call is a quick “chicku-chichu-chee” and it seems to be quite vocal throughout the year.

The Yellow-bellied eremomela is monagamous and constructs a thin walled nest of grass held together with spider webs that it suspends from the outer branches of a tree.  The female lays a clutch of two or three white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 14 days.  It is occasionally parasitized by Klaas’s cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas).

The scientific binomial for the Yellow-bellied eremomela is Eremomela icteropygialis; Eremomela from the Greek for “a desert song” and icteropygialis from the Greek for “yellow rump”.  Thus a bird with a yellow rump that sings a desert song.  Well, it is the belly that is yellow rather than the rump, and I have no idea how “chicku-chichu-chee” can be construed as a desert song, but then, who am I to judge?  Certanly not Def Leppard’s “Desert Song” though!

 

 

Then it was the turn of the sea birds, with lots of gulls, pelicans, cormorants and a lifer that generated a lot of excitement for us – a Subantarctic skua.   The gull below would have been a good subject for a Garmin advert!

We also saw two shy African penguins that dived underwater when we got a bit too close for their comfort.  We cruised past oyster beds and rusty old factory ships, long since abandonned, and made our way towards Pelican Point which was not only lined with hordes of smelly seals, but home to thousands of cormorants as well.

Throughout our journey our guide was enthusiastically pointing out the inhabitants of the bay and warming us up with shots of  sherry (or “Namibian coffee” as she called it).

The highlight of the cruise had to be when a pod of Heaviside dolphins swam in the spray at the bows of our catamaran.

As they dived and surfaced happily they elicited plenty of oohs and aahs from the tourists on board.  This has to be the next best thing to actually swimming with dolphins.  No less exciting were the Dusky dolphins that were also visible in the bay area.

Before we headed back to the jetty where our ride began, we were given a taste of fresh oysters and some snacks, washed down by sparkling wine.  Definitely a lifestyle we could get used to!  It was a professionally run operation and perhaps the only fault we could find with the whole excursion was that they didn’t have enough oysters!  If you’re visiting Swakopmund or Walvis Bay, be sure to take a marine cruise with Mola Mola – you won’t be disappointed.  They also offer trips to Sandwich Harbour.