A happy first day of September to all. Our official Spring Season day in South Africa.
Whenever I pull the car out, I always scan the area at the front of our house as due to the crime situation one has to be careful. So, on this morning a pair of Spotted Thick Knee birds were on the sidewalk outside our gate.
This photo above was the female and she was eying me very suspiciously. As you might know, all wild birds are very careful of the human race.
The spotted thick-knee (Burhinus capensis), also known as the spotted dikkop or Cape thick-knee, is a wader in the family Burhinidae. It is native to tropical regions of central and southern Africa.
The spotted thick-knee, which can reach up to 45.5 cm (17.9 in) in height, has long legs and brown-and-white speckled plumage which provides camouflage, making it difficult to spot the bird in the grasslands and savannas where it roams. Its head is large and round with a prominent yellow eye and a short, stout beak. When in flight or standing in a characteristic position with its wings raised, it shows a striking contrasting pattern. Its legs are long and yellow and the tibiotarsal joint is expanded, giving it the name "thick-knee".
Larry, she said, do you think that he's got a gun?
Larry looked at me nonchalantly and said, No Milly, he is just an inquisitive old fart.
Oh yeah, Larry has seen it all in his lifetime and he was totally at ease with me.
It was only the wind gusts that disturbed his rest.
Look how he anchored himself with his knees and the three toes on each foot.
I was close to him and I whispered, Hello Larry, had a tough night fella?
Sure thing mate, he said, as it's spring season now and we are trying to make some babies at night. Tiredly, he closed his eyes.
Upon our return later they were still sitting there and even the movement of our car didn't disturb them. So I left them alone and at dusk we heard their calls as they took off. It was a great experience to see them right here at our gate and as usual totally unexpected. I added a bit of humorous anthropomorphism, which is just a fancy word for giving human voices to animals and birds, to get a smile.
Regarding the security situation, the criminals wait in their cars outside some marked homes, and when a car pulls out they race with their car to block the car that is pulling out and then they jump out with guns to take the car. If one resists, then one is simply killed.
Such is life. So one has to be careful.
I hope you have enjoyed the story and the pictures.
And That's All Friends.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
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