Nature Photography

Cold Spoonbills

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Miserable, cold, grey and wet, conditions make for angry birds? In the half hour we watched this African Spoonbill pair, the bird on the left never peaked out from its tucked away position. The bird on the right, however, made constant eye contact, shook itself clear of water drops, and in various, persistent ways made it known that it was displeased. The weather? The partner’s withdrawal? Who knows the real reason for the agitation, but when I get told I project emotion onto birds I smile quietly. All birds of a feather are as similar to one another as all humans born with two legs.

Worker Be

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18 July is a celebration of South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela and the community cohesion he worked for. It has left me contemplating the flow of energy involved in gathering and giving. My individual gains are so small, I find them easy to disregard. My conclusion at the end of a long, tiring and trying, day?  I find hope when I remember to just be a small working part of an alive planet.