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lekkeroak
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Name: Terry
Location: South Africa
Birthday: 4/25/1947
Gender: Male
Interests: Nature conservation, wildlife, birding.
Expertise: Field Guide
Occupation: Own business
Industry: Re-immaging
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
4/9/2001
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| Wow nearly a year since my last post !!!!
Frightning to say the least
Did a bit of Parrot counting if you would like to know more about Cape Parrots and the result of this years Cape Parrot Big Birding Day go tohttp://www.avianeco.co.za/conserv.html | | |
| I received this in an e-mail today cant say if it's true but worth looking out for
CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH MARS
Never again in our lifetimes will the Red Planet be so spectacular! This month and next Earth is catching up with Mars, an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history.
The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the ways Jupiters gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the last 5,000 years but it may be as long as 60,000 years. The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within 34,649,589 miles and will be (next to the moon) the brightest object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear 25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification, Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye.
Mars will be easy to spot. At the beginning of August Mars will rise in the east at 10 p.m. and reach its azimuth at about 3 a.m. But by the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. That's pretty convenient when it comes to seeing something that no human has seen in recorded history.
So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this! No one alive today will ever see this again.
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| Home on Tuesday at about 16:30 there was a high level of commotion in the vicinity, the Vervet Monkeys and Egyptian Geese were excited. The reason, a pair of highly vocal Black Sparrowhawk, behaving in Drongo fashion, mobbing an immature Crowned Eagle. The Eagle was sitting in a tree on the northern slope of Cowies Hill, it was equally vocal, with its crown spread widely, giving it an almost Owl like appearance, as it ducked and dived the onslaught of the two birds. It was however determined to hold it's ground, which it did for about a half an hour, before moving on. For those on the lookout for Crowned Eagles, It had a tawny wash on the breast and face, the breast was plain, with no barring at all.
There are probably not many cities in the world, where one can witness nature at this level, on ones doorstep, as in Durban. | | |
| from an 18th century poem...
"The law does punish the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common,
But lets the greater felon loose
That steals the common from the goose."
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| Had a great trip last week, diped on the Knysna Woodpecker but we did manage to get the Pied Mannikin.
http://www.warwickdesigns.co.uk/africa/birds/piedmannikin.html
Strange how the other Mannikins are fairly commom in our area and this member of the family is so scarce?
It turned out to be a week of Crowned Eagles as I managed to see five of them in one week at five different places
http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/crownedeagle.shtml | | |
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