Category: Birds
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EDM birds 2018
Secretary Bird, Sagittarius serpentarius 
Feeding Guinea Fowl 
Robin eating cheese, Cape robin-chat, Cossypha caffra 
White-breasted Cormorant, drying his wings, Loch Logan, Bloemfontein. 
Grey Crowned Crane, Balearica regulorum, -
Whitebrowed Sparrow-Weaver
Day 29, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, One of my favourite birds that is now nesting in the trees nearby. Such lovely chatty and cheerful characters -
Cockerel & Hen
Day 9, Every day in May Challenge, colourful farm fowls seen recently. 
For those who would like to add their own colours, I added this original line drawing. -
Common Waxbills
Common Waxbills in my garden yesterday. Love the way they wag their tails like dogs. -
Blue Cranes
Karoo Landscape with Blue Cranes Since May, a pair of Blue Cranes has settled on Silvermere. It is really quite unusual that they have made themselves at home here. Yesterday, while hanging out the washing, I heard their wistful calls and saw them circling high overhead. Usually we only see the occasional visiting cranes just passing through. We used to say that they were a rain omen, one of the many that farmers in our part of the karoo use to predict the rains. I have taken a few photos of ‘our’ pair, and felt inspired to paint them again, for the first time since way back in 1995 & 1997.
Two Blue Cranes In those days, we saw big flocks of them in the Caledon district, and several paintings followed. But, more recently I photographed a flock that we saw on a trip home from the Nieu Bethesda district. This big watercolour depicts the cranes in the landscape where I saw them. The other 2 sketches were drawn from photos of our new resident pair of beautiful and graceful Blue Cranes.
Sketching Blue Cranes -
The Amazing Bar-Tailed Godwit
First study, of the Bar-tailed Godwit Recently I came across this delightful wader in some photos taken by a friend, Wessel Rossouw, on the SE coast of South Africa. But only after I had decided to paint a series of this bird, the Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica), did I discover what an amazing long distance traveler it is during its annual migration. Here are the links (sciencedaily) & (birdlife) of the two websites that give details of its amazing stamina for long-distance flight. It set a record in 2010, for a single non-stop flight of 11,000 kms from Alaska to New Zealand.
Bar-tailed Godwit resting. Study 2 Here are the 3 studies that I made to celebrate the achievement of this truly extraordinary bird.
Bar-tailed Godwit in flight. Study 3 -
The Spotted Dikkop
We have a resident pair of Spotted Dikkops ( Burhinus Capensis ), that nest not far from our house. I was fortunate to capture a photo of them last year, and have since been longing to turn it into a small painting.
Our resident pair of Dikkops -
Our favourite Swallows
We are always delighted when our favourite swallows, the Greater Striped Swallow ( Hirundo Cucullata ) arrives for the summer. We love their contented warbling song/chatter, and wistful call. Now that the summer is almost over, they will soon be leaving for northern parts. They are delightful residents of our verandahs, with their mud nests characterized by long tunnel entrances. We call them ‘Red Caps’ due to the russet colouring on the top of their heads. This year, I was able to get some good photos of them, which inspired this little study. We also have the Whitethroated Swallow, ( Hirundo Albigularis ) , but the Red Caps are our favourites.
Our favourite Red Cap swallows
