The ministry for the environment has issued two legal notices announcing the start of the autumn finch-trapping season, despite having been referred to the EU Court of Justice by the European Commission for breaching the Birds Directive. The season will run from 20 October to 31 December, allowing for the trapping of linnet, goldfinch, greenfinch, […]
Canon PowerShot G7X: Initial Thoughts
I’ve been using my Canon G7X for about a month now. I didn’t buy it to be my primary camera; I wanted it to take with me to take photos of landscapes, flowers and other non-birds in nature. So far I have been very impressed with it. I haven’t done any formal tests, but it […]
On The Hunt with land’s fastest predators
“Malaika is really special. I have never worked with a cheetah like her before. She is a wonderful mother and she is hunting every day.” These were the first encouraging words from Sammy Munene, as we sat beside a relaxed cheetah and her four cubs. The sun was just rising above Kenya’s Maasai Mara game […]
Cicada Killer
At about an inch and a half long, the cicada killer is one of our larges wasps. Their huge size makes them look dangerous, but they are usually not aggressive and do not often sting us. They are solitary wasps that live alone; they lack the hive-defending sting-whatever-comes-close attitude of the yellowjackets they are sometimes […]
POLL: Should Africa’s poachers be shot on sight?
The well-heeled tourists filing through the modest airport at Hoedspruit – Afrikaans for Hat Creek – look carefree and expectant. Guides are standing by to transport them to luxurious bush lodges offering spa treatments, campfire dinners and dawn and dusk game drives offering a potential glimpse of Africa’s “big five”. But something is different from […]
Tangará gris (Orange-headed Tanager) Thlypopsis sordida
Un nuevo intento infructuoso por mi parte de mejorar registros previos del Tangará gris, otro motivo mas para regresar a Cambyretá con amigos para intentar nuevamente sacar mejores fotos. Infaltable en el monte aledaño a los quinchos del sector del camping este tangará estuvo poco colaborador con los fotógrafos en el mediodía del primero de […]
Volcano Could Mean Extinction for the Rocket Frog
Biologists near Quito, Ecuador are rushing to evacuate a critically endangered frog species before a volcanic eruption wipes it out. The small, chocolate-striped rocket frog—Hyloxalus (Colostethus) jacobuspetersi—was once common around Quito, even in pastures and backyards (it adapts well to peopled landscapes). Now, for unclear reasons, there is just one population left. Fewer than 100 […]
Three Cuckoos In One Tree
I spent much of Saturday morning at Wadi Darbet. It is still very green and attracting many birds indeed more so than from November onwards when the ground dries out under the trees. I was looking mostly for any passage birds. I found quite a few. adult male common cuckoo Remarkably in one […]