🐾 Maybe the reason I love animals so much, is because the only time they have broken my heart is when theirs has stopped beating.

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Phoebe loses Stormy


Phoebe on her nest

I've been following Phoebe, the Allen's Hummingbird, sitting on her nest in Orange County, California, via live cam (http://cam.dellwo.com/), whose babies, Sassy and Stormy, hatched on the 19th January 2010. The sad news is that Stormy died last night - apparently he hatched the same day as Sassy, but was only due to hatch 2 days later, so he was premature and weak and, therefore, did not make it. RIP poor Stormy...

But, of course, we must realise this is nature's way of ensuring that only the fit and strong survive. The second egg is normally laid as an insurance policy.


Sassy alone in the nest...

Thursday 21 January 2010

Phoebe Allen's babies have hatched!


Phoebe's babies, Sassy and stormy, hatched on the 19th January
(Click on images to enlarge)

I've been following the progress via Live cam (http://cam.dellwo.com/) of the Allen's Hummingbird, her name is Phoebe, sitting on her eggs, laid on the 2nd and 4th of January 2010, respectively (see previous post).

Both Phoebe's eggs hatched on the 19th January and she has two of the cutest little Hummers to tend now, named Sassy and Stormy - you can just make out the two little black heads and orange beaks as they wait for Phoebe to return from searching for some food. I missed the actual hatching as it was still dark there when I tried to view the live cam.


Phoebe returned to the nest and, just after I took this screenshot, fed the babies.


Phoebe back on the nest

Monday 18 January 2010

Allen's Hummingbird


"Allen's Hummingbird" watercolour in Moleskine Folio - Maree©

I've been following the progress via Live cam (you can watch it here http://cam.dellwo.com/) of the Allen's Hummingbird, named Phoebe, sitting on her eggs, laid on the 2nd and 4th of January 2010, respectively, and which are due to hatch within the next day or so. The camera is situated in Orange County, California, in a rose bush close to the house. The link was supplied by well-known bird artist, Vickie Henderson, who also sketched the Humming bird. You can see Vickie's post and sketches on her blog, Vickie Henderson Art.

I did this sketch from screenshots taken of the live cam. Not knowing Hummingbirds very well, I Googled it and somehow think I've made the beak much too curved (although it certainly looked like that on the screenshot) - the description read, "Allen's Hummingbird: Small, compact hummingbird; male has straight black bill, glittering green crown and back, white breast, and rufous sides, belly, rump, and tail. The throat (gorget) is iridescent copper-red. Feeds on nectar, insects, spiders, and sap. Swift direct flight, hovers when feeding." It also states that it is the female that incubates the eggs for 15 to 17 days, so maybe the female's bill is a bit more curved. All wonderfully new stuff to me!

I'm keeping a close eye one the Live cam, as I really would like to see the hatching of the eggs. Pop in again for an up-date!


Phoebe's nest with the eggs while she's off for a snack

Saturday 26 December 2009

Season's Greetings 2009!



A very merry festive season to all and may 2010 be all you expect of it!

Thursday 3 December 2009

Black Velvet Spider

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.
~American Quaker Saying


This black Velvet Spider has lived in the bark of an old log in my garden for approximately 2 years now and she lets me coax her out for a photographic session every now and then. These spiders are robust and deliberate in the way that they walk and she even allows me to gently stroke her abdomen and thorax, which is covered in thick, smooth, velvety hairs.

The velvet spiders (family Eresidae) are a small group (about 100 species in 10 genera) of almost totally Old World spiders (exception: a few species are known from Brazil).



Velvet spiders are found under rocks or bark resting in a sheet of dense white silk and are often confused with baboon spiders. They can live up to 5 years. Free living but rarely leave the safety of their webs.


Description:
12mm to 15mm in length. These robust spiders colouration may be from black, grey or a rich red. Body covered with hairs which give them a velvety appearance, hence their name. The abdomen is often lighter in colour than the rest of the spider. Abdomen may have 4 dimples on the top. The eyes are close together and the mouthparts are very robust looking for a spider that size. Legs are short and strong and they are widespread throughout Southern Africa.



Web:
These spiders build their webs under rocks, under loose bark. Their retreats consist of flat candy floss like dry sheets of silk. The silk is tough and has interwoven prey remains. Their nest-like webs are attached to the ground using silken anchor lines. Silken lines radiate from the entrance to their shelters. These lines are used to detect prey.

Venom:
Even though these spiders can be large in size they very rarely bite. Not much is known about the affects of their venom. It is highly unlikely that this spider’s venom is of importance to humans.

Notes:
Females seldom leave their webs in order to hunt. Instead, they prefer to wait for prey to wander into their webs and radiating silken lines. They prey upon tough skinned insects and other large prey items.
Camera : Fuji FinePix 2800Zoom

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Monday 9 November 2009

Southern Red Bishop


The Southern Red Bishop Male

The Southern Red Bishop ( Euplectes orix ) is common within Southern Africa, found in marshy grasslands and wetlands, with a height of around 13 cm’s and weighing in at around 23 Grams. The Bird feeds on Seeds and insects. These birds normally build their nest over a water body and are slightly different to the Black-Winged Bishop on their Face.

Every spring they return to my garden, the male's buzzing song alerting the female to the nest he's building for her. It also has various twittering calls and a nasal contact call.

It is 10-11 centimetres long and has a thick conical bill. Breeding males are brightly-coloured with red (occasionally orange) and black plumage. The forehead, face and throat are black and the rest of the head is red. The upperparts are red apart from the brown wings and tail. The upper breast and under tail-coverts are red while the lower breast and belly are black. The non-breeding male and female have streaky brown plumage, paler below. Females are smaller than the males.


Red Bishop Female on Agapanthus


'Red Bishop' watercolour in Daily Journal - Maree©

Saturday 24 October 2009

Oryx



The GEMSBOK or gemsbuck (Oryx gazella) is a large African antelope, of the Oryx genus. The name is derived from the Dutch name of the male chamois, Gemsbok. Although there are some superficial similarities in appearance (especially in the colour of the face area), the chamois and the Oryx are not closely related.

Gemsbok are light brownish-grey to tan in colour, with lighter patches to the bottom rear of the rump. Their tails are long and black in colour. A dark brown stripe extends from the chin down the bottom edge of the neck through the join of the shoulder and leg along the lower flank of each side to the brown section of the rear leg. They have muscular necks and shoulders and their legs have white 'socks' with a black patch on the front of both the front legs and both genders have long straight horns.



Gemsbok generally live in herds of up to 40 individuals, often in association with other species of antelope or with zebras. The males are often solitary animals, however. Active from dawn through nightfall, it feeds on grass and leaves, and can survive long periods without drinking any water. The horns are effective weapons. When fighting, the head is lowered between the forelegs in order to impale the enemy.

Introduction to North America


In 1969 the New Mexico State Department of Game and Fish decided to introduce Gemsbok to the Tularosa Basin in the United States. The introduction was a compromise between those who wanted to preserve nature and those who wanted to use it for profit and promotion. 93 were released from 1969 to 1977. The current population is estimated to be 3,000. The reason the Gemsbok thrived is because their natural predators, including the Lion, are not present.


They are also to be found in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, which is located between the borders of Namibia and Botswana. The park covers an area of a little less than 10,000 square kilometers. The Kalahari Gemsbok National Park and the adjacent Gemsbok National Park of Botswana together occupy as much as 36,000 square kilometers. Since there is no barrier separating the two parks, the animals move freely from park to park.

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