A bath and a clean nest

After Kiep's broodiness finished a couple of days ago, I decided she needed a bath after sitting on her golfball for almost a month. She looked decidedly drab and worse for the wear and needed a bit of special TLC.

I prepared some luke warm water in a tub and put her in. At first she struggled a bit (it was her first bath ever), but the minute she felt the warmth of the water, she actually lay down! I gently shampooed her back, chest and vent area, careful not to ruffle her feathers too much. 

I remembered using vinegar as a youngster to rinse my hair after a wash when we'd run out of conditioner and it always left my hair soft and shiny. So, after a first rinse, I transferred Kiep to another tub with a bit of vinegar in the water, gave her a good rinsing, dried her gently with a towel and then used the hair dryer to get her nice and dry. I was a bit worried about the noise of the hair dryer, but she seemed to enjoy it, fluffing up her feathers to let in the hot air. 

Kiep sunning herself in the bathroom court-yard 

After she was all nice and dry, and oh so extremely soft and fluffy! we went out into the bathroom court-yard, where she spent a while preening and getting her feathers in the correct order again and when she was ready, I led her out to the main garden where she immediately rushed up to Artemis, greeting him with some wing-flapping and a lot of prancing around. 

Kiep meeting up with Artemis after her bath 

Spending some time with Artemis in the garden after a nice warm bath

Now it was time to also clean out her nest-box, which is on top of one of my art tables in my studio. I cleaned out the box thoroughly, put in fresh grass and then placed it back, all nice and clean. 

Later in the morning she strutted into my studio to deliver her breakfast, but it turned into a big to-do. She took one look at the nest and, horrified, she proceeded to unpack all the grass and then putting it back to her liking before settling down to the serious job of laying the egg! 

 Her eggs are different after this last broody incident, much bigger and not so white, more brown. My little girl is growing up now… 

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Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) 

Afrikaans : Nonnetjie-uil 

The Barn Owl (Tyta alba) is a frequent visitor to my property and is not shy to hunt in broad daylight. I often see one pouncing on something in the long grass during the day, flying off with its prize, probably to feed some babies. 

Ghostly pale and (not) strictly nocturnal, Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are silent predators of the night world. Lanky, with a whitish face, chest, and belly, and buffy upperparts, this owl roosts in hidden, quiet places during the day. By night, they hunt on buoyant wingbeats in open fields and meadows. You can find them by listening for their eerie, raspy calls, quite unlike the hoots of other owls. Despite a worldwide distribution, Barn Owls are declining in parts of their range due to habitat loss. I for one do not see them as often as I used to. 

 

Barn Owls love to use man-made structures to build their nests and are very partial to nest boxes one supplies. I’ve always had a box or two in my garden but, sadly to say, the weather has taken it’s toll on them and seeing as I’m past the stage of climbing trees to put one up, it’ll have to wait until I find someone young and agile to do the job for me! 

Once welcomed by farmers as one form of pest control, the population is now under threat from modern farming techniques, e.g. the destruction of hedgerows and meadowland, which affect their prey, the removal of old barns & buildings, which were their nesting places and the use of chemicals to control rodents. 

The Owl Rescue Centre is the only raptor centre in South Africa that primarily focus on owl species. They give all their time and attention to owl species because of the high mortality rate of owls in South Africa, making owls vulnerable to a decreasing population. They rehabilitate and release 200 – 250 Spotted Eagle Owls, 100 – 150 Barn Owls and 80 -100 other owl species each year.

SHOULD YOU FIND AN OWL THAT YOU SUSPECT MIGHT BE INJURED, PLEASE CALL THEM ON 082 719 5463 (24/7 emergency line – South Africa)

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Feeder Tweeter - The ultimate bird table

I need one of these!

The Feeder Tweeter - It’s autonomous, it’s solar-powered, it feeds, it photographs, it tweets images when a bird comes to feed, and it’s open source.

A PIR (passive infra-red) sensor detects when a bird lands at the table to feed, and triggers the camera. Photographs are then uploaded to Twitter. PIR’s a great choice here because it only responds to warm-body heat; if a leaf blows in front of the assembly, nothing will trigger, but if a toasty-warm little bird stops by for some seed, the sensor will detect it, and set off the camera.

Read more at Raspberry Pi

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The simplicity of Nature

“Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy.” 

― Isaac Newton 

The Magalies River. Pic taken at Magaliespark, North-West Province, South Africa.

Nature has a great simplicity and, therefore, a great beauty. 

Many people find their greatest peace and serenity in nature. The natural world is exactly what it needs to be, no more and no less. There is no excess or clutter or a lack of organization in nature. Every rock, tree, drop of water, leaf, piece of sand and animal plays its part in nature with no thought as to whether they will match the local terrain or whether they will need extra storage to have all the things they want to have. 

A walk in the woods in the fall, or in the mountains by a bubbling stream, or by the roaring ocean can bring a new perspective into your own life and how it is affected by its surroundings. Our own living spaces should give us the same feeling that we get from being in the outdoors. Peace, quiet, and the time to reflect on our place in this world.

The benefits of nature is to experience the magnificent expressions of nature, who is our greatest teacher. She teaches us to experience and embrace the present moment, expand our deep appreciation and gratitude for all of life and deepen our love for self and other. Nature provides a feeling of full connectedness and aliveness with all, for all and stillness and a peaceful state of being. 

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Marog (Amaranth)

Here in South Africa we have a weed-type of plant growing wild all over the country-side which has been harvested for centuries by the indigenous people and referred to as "Morogo" (Tswana for vegetables). The finished preparation is almost like eating spinach, but has a less smooth and less bitter taste and is absolutely gorgeous prepared with potatoes and onions. As kids, my mom used to send us out into the veld to go and pick Marog and I used to take a huge basket to fill. And then I couldn't wait for supper-time!

Marog leaves must be cooked on the same day as it is picked and is super-easy to prepare:

- Cook the leaves in boiling water
- Add tomatoes and onions or potatoes and onions
- Flavour the dish with salt and pepper.

Image from 'EarthWeeds'

Amaranth bears edible, protein rich seeds and flour ground from these seeds mixes well with cereal flours and increses the protein content.

These days it seems harder and harder to find Marog in the veld, probably due to much of the land around here being developed for other crops, but luckily one can buy seed packs, so that's next on my list for my vegetable garden! I've read that planting can commence as soon as the minimum temperature stays above 16°C and can continue during the summer months up to 2 months prior to the onset of frost.

Seeds are sown shallowly in rows. These rows should be 1,5 m apart. Cover lightly using a rake. The seeds must be watered twice daily until the seedlings emerge. Seeds can also be planted in seed trays. Transplant them after approximately 4 weeks when the plants should be about 15 cm tall. Transplant into rows 1,5 m apart and with a spacing of 30 cm in the row.

Weeding is essential until the plants are well established. Insects cannot be controlled chemically because the crop is harvested regularly and it could result in people getting poisoned. So I will also be planting Marigolds between my Marog as they control a wide spectrum of insects.

Once you have it in your garden all you need to do is allow it to set seed and you will always have a fresh supply starting in early spring.

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