Last year I could walk right around the lake and today I was lucky to make 200 yards.
So, I had to get the flamingos from a distance on my camera's zoom.
The Paardevlei lake is a veritable bird paradise and here one can find a wide variety of bird species.
I have some of the species for you in here today and please be reminded that all photos, (except for photo numbers 3 and 4), were taken from a distance.
The Paardevlei lake is situated on an old ammunition manufacturer's property, and the land was released for the development of business offices, residential estates, restaurants and even a big private hospital.
The lake was also opened to the public and that's why we go there, leaving only our footprints behind.
I took the photos from the end of this foot path.
Now this guy below is not a flamingo and he appeared to take a look at us in the car park.
And here was his partner. They are a pair of Water Thick-knee (Burhinus vermiculatus). I don't like this water thick-knee name, as they could have rather called them yellow or big-eyed birds.
Too far to get a clear shot, and the flamingos are clever because they stay far away from people. You can see by the minimal colors, that the breeding season is over and now they are on holiday here in the Summer.
The circumference of this lake is about 6 kilometers.
Would the one in the middle perhaps be their youngster?
Patience paid off, as I waited to get them flying.
Black-headed Herons also waded in the water.
A bird paradise as here below you can see flamingos, ducks, coots and even a blacksmith lapwing at the left of the photo.
Just a lovely relaxing photo.
Drat! He did not go and sit anywhere, and it looks like a Purple Heron.
And finally, it was time to leave this and head back home, as the power cut time has almost expired. We will have another power cut, our third of the day, at 10pm tonight.
We had a four hour long power cut early this morning, then a two and a half hour power cut later from 2 to 4.30. And another one at 10pm to 12 midnight. Crazy, if you think about it, and it makes a person's work life very difficult. The thing is that the power cuts do not cut the entire country off at the same time, as they divide the power cuts between different areas, and in different times. So if I want to send an urgent mail to another province, and they have a power cut over there, then quite often the mail is not seen because the person at the other end has to sift through a mountain of mails that have arrived during their power cut.
Confusing? Many other things are confusing, but the greatest one is that they have not managed to stop the power cuts and to improve the situation for many years now.
In the meantime, we have to endure and to do what we can.
I hope that 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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