Ducks, Geese and other birds

 Near to our flat there is a large duck pond, which drains the surrounding area of surface water. This photo was taken in October 2010, just after we had arrived back in Cape Town.  It was good to see that the duck and geese population was healthy.

 Very recently I took this photo (a similar view) which clearly shows how the water level has dropped, due to lack of rainfall.  However, there are still plenty of ducks on the pond.

 One delight has been watching many clutches of chicks grow and mature (and sadly a few reduce in number to just one chick left).

 Here are a thriving group of older chicks becoming independent.

 And a pair of large geese with fluffy goslings.  I expect the darker one is the female, and the white one the male, but am not sure.

 We also have a lot of guinee fowl not just by the pond, but all around the gardens and streets. I always look out for their polkadot feathers and collect them.  Recently, I noticed two lighter birds amongst a large group, and wondered if they were albinos.

 Here is a close up of one of the light coloured ones. You can clearly see the white spots on light grey feathers.  It would be a great find to discover one of these lying around.

Just by the electric gate to our complex lives a pair of plover birds, with long spindly legs. They have tried to raise a brood of two, sometimes just one on several occasions, without success. Before we left for UK over Christmas we saw that another chick had hatched. I didn't get a photo of it, as the parents are so protective of it and I didn't want to risk it being rejected by my interference.

However, when we returned after Christmas we noticed a third bird, almost the same size as the parents and, which undoubtedly must be the, now grown chick. The birds are so well camaouflaged they are difficult to see in the bright sunshine. We think the juvenille is the one in the middle, as the legs were a bit shorter.

Over this last weekend we noticed that they had gone.  Then only two were back again and so really hope that their brief absence was due to the juvenille fledging.

 This colourful little bird was one of many near a pond at a winefarm we visited.

 They roost in hanging nests from the lower branches of trees. This nest was found by a friend of mine, who kept it as a teaching aid for her children. The inside was lined with feathers, and other soft material collected by the bird.

   Finally, this magnificent owl is one of several at an owl sanctuary, which is housed at the winefarm. I think it's a tawny owl.