Wilkinson's World

We placed some left-over burger meat on the ground, Rob set his camera up on a tripod and we waited for our dinner guest.  It took about an hour for the mongoose to arrive.  It was very nervous and detoured through the flower bed to grab a piece of meat before disappearing back under the garden wall.  Having obviously enjoyed the tasty morsel, it followed this procedure until the food was gone.  Rob, in the meantime, had been clicking away and getting some magnificent shots.

On day two cold chicken was on the menu and sure enough, right on cue, our little mongoose arrived.  We could see by its size that it was a juvenile.  Still nervous, the meal took more than an hour to eat as the mongoose kept running off with each piece of meat.  There was great excitement when halfway through the meal a Slender mongoose arrived on the scene.

They are quite different in colouring – being darker and having a black tip on their tail as opposed to the white tip on the tail of the Yellow mongoose.  The Slender mongoose also has a very different face with a pink nose.

By day three we’d almost run out of meat so used cat pellets to supplement the meal.  We were delighted when our Yellow mongoose (note how possessive we had now become!) brought a friend along to eat.  They weren’t too nervous and stayed eating at the dish, all the while ‘talking’ to each other with little cooing noises.  When alarmed by something, they made a completely different warning sound as they ran off.  At one stage our cat went outside and one of the little mongooses bushed out its tail and rushed at him in a threatening manner.  I was somewhat alarmed by this as I wouldn’t want any harm to come to our beloved cat.

On the fourth day no less than six mongooses arrived.  Our little garden was completely overrun by these animals and we decided that we’d taken enough photos and would stop the feeding/photography project.  It’s amazing how quickly the word spreads when there is food to be had.  One or two still come nosing around during the day looking for food and it’s very difficult not to feel sorry for them and throw a few cat pellets their way.

If you’d like to read more about the variety of mongooses that we’ve seen, click on The Heroic Mongoose and Namibia’s Largest Endemic Carnivore.

 

 

 

The flightless Common ostrich is a member of the same large family as other flightless birds such as the kiwi and the emu. It is able to run faster than any other bird, with a top speed approaching 95 km per hour. The males are slightly larger than the females, and the sexes differ in plumage, with the males having predominantly black feathers, with some white on the wings and tail. The females are a drab grey. Both sexes have bare legs and necks. Bills are broad and flat.

The Common ostrich is one of the very few species of birds that is farmed on a large scale; for its feathers that are used in fashion and also for feather dusters, for its meat and for its skin which is used for a variety of leather goods. The feathers differ from those of most other birds in that they lack the tiny hooks that lock them together, and so the feathers of the Common ostrich are quite fluffy.

Although Common ostriches are generally fairly common, the wild population is quite small, and is limited to the arid regions of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. They are quite nomadic, and form flocks of up to fifty or more birds as they move through the drier areas of southern Africa, feeding mainly on vegetable matter, but also on insects and other invertebrates, If threatened they will usually run away, but if cornered they can defend themselves very ably with powerful kicks.

Common ostriches are polygamous and make a nest that is just a scraped hollow in the ground. Several females may lay their eggs in the same nest, until the clutch reaches twenty or more eggs. The eggs are the largest eggs of any bird, and they hatch after an incubation period of approximately 40 days. They make good use of their dimorphic colouring as camouflage during incubation, with the grey females incubating the eggs during the day and the black males during the night.

The scientific binomial for the Common ostrich is Struthio camelus; Struthio from the Latin for an “ostrich”; and camelus from the Latin for “pertaining to a camel”. So “Struthio” makes sense, but I have no idea about “pertaining to a camel”!

The instructions inside the box say that you should first enjoy an ice cold beer.  Not a problem for me at all in our current Namibian heat wave.  Then take another can of beer, drink about a third of it and place it firmly inside the holder on the frame.

That done, you take one wholesome chicken, rub it inside and out with oil and seasoning of your choice (I chose lemon, herb and garlic). You can get really creative with your spice rubs (e.g. mustard, peri perid, garlic – whatever).

Then stretch the cavity of the chicken over the beer can.

If you have a Weber Kettle barbeque, or a barbeque with a lid, you place the chicken in the centre and cover the barbeque.  Your regular kitchen oven is also fine if it’s big benough.  (If using an oven, you need a drip tray under the grid, in which you place your potatoes or vegetables for roasting.)  The chicken gets cooked for about 90-120 minutes over medium-high, indirect heat (no coals or burners directly under the chicken), or at 180C in an oven.

While it’s cooking and giving off the most delicious aroma imagineable, you can enjoy knocking back a couple of frosties.  When done, you remove the chicken carefully from the beer can in the barbeque or oven (don’t burn yourself) and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.  Your reward for all this effort?  The most tender, succulent and tasty chicken you’ve ever eaten.  It is absolutely delicious, as the moisture from the beer has risen and permeated the meat.  My mouth is watering just thinking of it.

Don’t take my word for it, give it a try.  The South African manufacturers can be contacted at www.beerbird.co.za.  I’m not being paid to advertise for them by the way (I wish I was!)   I just think this is such a super idea.

 

 

 

The Mountain wheatear is a fairly small bird, with a length of approximately 20 cm; the males and females are the same size. Although there are several colour morphs to be found, most of the male birds in the southern African region have black upperparts with white shoulder patches and grey crowns. The belly and vent are white. Some birds lack the grey crown, and some birds are largely grey instead of black. Females are quite dissimilar to the males in plumage, being largely dull black to brown in colour. They lack the shoulder patches and grey crowns but share the distinctive white rump. The pointed bills are black; legs and feet are black and eyes are brown.

The Mountain wheatears is considered a near-endemic to the southern African region, with a range that extends out of the region into southern Angola. Their preferred habitat is fairly open, rocky areas, particularly boulder strewn hillsides.

The Mountain wheatear feeds mainly on invertebrates, usually foraging on the ground for insects such as grasshoppers and beetles, but will also eat spiders and centipedes. They will sometimes forage from a perch, and hawk for insects in the air.

The song of the Mountain wheatear is a clear, rather melodious trill or whistle.

The nest of the Mountain wheatear, which is monogamous, is a shallow cup that is constructed on top of a platform of grass, woody twigs and/or moss, and the nest is usually located close to a rock or in a crevice. They will also make use of nesting boxes if available. The female lays a clutch of two to four eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately fourteen days. The nest may be parasitized by the Diderick cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius).

The scientific binomial for the Mountain wheatear is Oenanthe monticola; Oenanthe from the Greek for a “wheatear”, but originating from the Greek words for “wine flower”, apparently in reference to the bird appearing at the time the grapes are ripening; and monticola from the Latin for “living in the mountains”. Thus a Mountain wheatear; can’t say clearer than that!