Elephant's Eye: Biodiversity

At ELEPHANT'S EYE

At Elephant's Eye we live gardening for biodiversity. The pond has no fish, we made it for the frogs, and the birds. Visiting kingfishers eat the frogs and the circle of life closes. I tag birds separately, and call everything else wildlife, from ants in our garden to elephants at Addo.

BIRDS

Our fig tree attracts european starlings, mousebirds, father-and-son-sunbirds. We have even had Bathsheba in her bath. Sunbirds, malachite beads and lesser double collared. In our own garden we have weaver birds building. There was our Argumentative-little cuss. MOST exciting was this visitor - black stork IN garden! (So grateful we caught the picture to prove it, and that I had started blogging so could share the experience). Photographing-birds in our garden. Predatory Fiscal-shriek-sorry-shrike. Lookalikes Fiscal flycatchers. November with An-egg-young-birds-and-photos-by-GINKs. Birds-at-the-mouth-of-the-Berg-River.

WILDLIFE

We are in Africa, South Africa. The eyes have it Why Elephant's Eye.

At home we have spiders, Large spiders, rain-spiders. I like to seek out what the camera finds on macro. Really-tiny-dairy-farmers. Waiting-for-lunch (with 'Elton John'). Wear a Little-black-dress? Rothschild bug as an escort? Back to tiny, tigers-burning-bright. I have made paper, so paper-wasps fascinate me, so long as there is window-glass between us. Wasps busy building mud nests. And that white or yellow zigzag in a spider's web? Harvester-ants. Harvester termites, my tiny-assistants-clear-gravel-paths Snails a problem? Then be kind to this tabakrolletjie-snake. Recognize a very-young-ladybird? Badger-friendly honey from bees with-snow-and-proteas. Crab or flower spiders. Our wild mice have stripes.

POND

Water, with frogs, (frog's eyes too) has brought us the delight of visiting kingfishers. And wagtails who love picnics and bathing at the beach. We are fascinated, as we observe the dragonflies, we KEEP seeing, never saw that colour before! Dragons-and-damsel, dragonflies, even a young-dragonfly-going-to-fly. Life-returns-to-ungardening-pond

Not-so-wildlife

Photos of Nguni cattle.

Cape Leopard Trust

The Cape Leopard Trust explains Why the leopard?

To Driehoek in search of leopards - September 2011. Since we moved to Porterville in the Western Cape of South Africa, the Ungardener has hoped that one day, hiking up in the Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area, we would see Cape leopards. With the Cape Leopard Trust at Driehoek - October 2011. Driehoek farm where Jurg volunteers, is one of the sites at which the CLT is currently trapping and collaring. Cape mountain leopard on camera - November 2011. Almost. The camera trap was successful!

Thru the hot summer months of our mediterranean climate the Cape leopard cannot be left in the trap, while the team quickly gathers. The Cederberg is also popular with hikers during our school holidays.

Wilderness Camps with the Cape Leopard Trust - 2nd of March 2012. A vital part of the work of the CLT is education, particularly of children. Caught a Cape mountain leopard - 30th of March 2012. Jurg 'catches his first' leopard. Patch is Spot’s son, 26 months old, not yet fully grown. Perhaps a son of Max who died in January? He will be DNA tested. Patch-the-Cape-leopard-and-his-collar-at-work - May 2012. GPS data from Patch is coming in. Caracal at Driehoek - August 2012. Back to trapping after a winter sabbatical. Elusive Cape mountain leopard Spot - December 2012. Spot slipped past the camera trap.

Cape mountain leopard 3 hours later - June 2013. With baboons at Uilsgat, and camera trap proof - there are Cape mountain leopards here. Cape mountain leopard cub at Mied Se Berg - September 2013. Fierce winter weather, but the camera trap is successful.