The Numbers Game #22 – 143

The numbers game- Judy Dystra-Brown

To play along, go to your photos file and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find under that number and include a link to your blog in Judy’s  Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title.

This prompt will repeat each  Monday with a new number.

Sunset reflections
In the Garden of the owl house

Bird of the week #63: Hoopoe

Bird of the week

birds
Hoepoe in Afrikaans

Hoopoes are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive “crown” of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single species—Upupa epops. In fact, some taxonomists still consider all three species conspecific. Some authorities also keep the African and Eurasian hoopoe together but split the Madagascar hoopoe. The Eurasian hoopoe is common in its range and has a large population, so it is evaluated as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, their numbers are declining in Western Europe. Conversely, the hoopoe has been increasing in numbers at the tip of the South Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh. There are dozens of nesting pairs that remain resident all year round.

Formerly considered a single species, the hoopoe has been split into three separate species: the Eurasian hoopoe, Madagascar hoopoe and the resident African hoopoe. One accepted separate species, the Saint Helena hoopoe, lived on the island of St Helena but became extinct in the 16th century, presumably due to introduced species, Wikipedia

The Numbers Game #21 – 142

The numbers game- Judy Dystra-Brown

To play along, go to your photos file and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find under that number and include a link to your blog in Judy’s  Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title.

This prompt will repeat each  Monday with a new number.

Berries

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #298 – To be young again

Tina is this week’s host for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.

A Happy group of children I took on a day trip during my teaching years
My grandchildren
Black and white
Family siblings, When we were young
Playing with the grandkids
paddle
Playing in the shallow water

The Numbers Game #20 – 141

The numbers game- Judy Dystra-Brown

To play along, go to your photos file and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find under that number and include a link to your blog in Judy’s  Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title.

This prompt will repeat each  Monday with a new number.

Flowers
Wildflowers
Owl house
Kitchen at the Owl House – Nieu Bethesda

Bird of the week #62: Cape Wagtail

Birds of the week

Other common names: Gewone Kwikkie (Afrikaans); Umcelu (Xhosa); umVemve (Zulu); Bergeronnette du Cap (French); Kapstelze (German).

The Cape wagtail (Motacilla capensis), also known as Wells’s wagtail, is a small insectivorous bird which is widespread in southern Africa. It frequents water’s edge, lawns and gardens. It is a mostly resident, territorial species, but has been known to undertake limited altitudinal migration or form flocks outside of the breeding season. Like other wagtails they are passerinebirds of the family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. Wikipedia

Cape Wagtail in my garden

Cape wagtails are found in eastern and southern Africa from Uganda, the eastern DRCongo and Kenya, through Zambia and Angola to southern Africa, south to the Western Cape and the Cape of Good Hope.

Cape wagtails can be found in almost any habitat that has open ground adjacent to water, and also along the rocky coastline, in farms, villages, cultivated land, parks, gardens and urban centres.

Kwikkie (Cape wagtail) -Don’t look at me!

The Cape wagtail is a monogamous, territorial solitary nester, and breeding pairs stay together over a number of breeding seasons. Like many territorial birds, the males will fiercely attack their own reflection when seen in mirrors or windows. The nest is built by both sexes and consists of a cup made of a wide range of materials, both natural and artificial, which is lined with hair, rootlets, wool and feathers. The nest is situated in a recess within a steep bank, tree, or bush, or in a man-made location such as a hole in a wall, a pot plant, or a bridge. It breeds all year round but, egg-laying peaks from July until December (mid-winter to early summer). Between one and five eggs are laid, which both parents take turns incubating for 13–15 days. Once hatched, the chicks are fed by both parents, until they leave the nest after 14–18 days. Once fledged, the adults continue to feed them for another 20–25 days, and the young become fully independent around 44 days – 60 days after fledging.

The Numbers Game #19 – 140

The numbers game- Judy Dystra-Brown

Yacht Club Langebaan
Langebaan Beach
Flowers
Agaphanthus

To play along, go to your photos file and type that number into the search bar. Then post a selection of the photos you find under that number and include a link to your blog in Judy’s  Numbers Game blog of the day. If instead of numbers, you have changed the identifiers of all your photos into words, pick a word or words to use instead, and show us a variety of photos that contain that word in the title.

This prompt will repeat each  Monday with a new number.

Bird of the week #61: Spoonbill

Birds of the week

Spoonbills are a genus, Platalea, of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name Platalea derives from Ancient Greek and means “broad”, referring to the distinctive shape of the bill. Six species are recognised, which although usually placed in a single genus have sometimes been split into three genera.

All spoonbills have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side. The moment any small aquatic creature touches the inside of the bill—an insectcrustacean, or tiny fish—it is snapped shut. Spoonbills generally prefer fresh water to salt but are found in both environments. They need to feed many hours each day. Wikipedia

Spoonbill at the Berg River Estuary on a windy day.