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| Bushnell NatureView HD strapped to a huge aloe |
We are fortunate to have some lovely Aloes growing next to our house. I don't understand how its possible but these Aloes are almost always in bloom throughout the year. If there is ever a time without blooming flowers then you will be sure to find at least one plant with new flowers already on the way. As a result these plants are a magnet for nectar feeding birds.
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| Greater Double-Collared Sunbird (Groot-Rooibandsuikerbekkie - Cinnyris afer) fueling up at the aloes |
I've personally seen five species of Sunbird visiting these plants, not to mention all the other birds with a sweet tooth.
I had some Butternut pumpkin one evening for dinner and thought it might be interesting to see what animals might be interested in the scraps. I must admit I was quite surprised with the results.
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| Southern Boubou (Suidelike Waterfiskaal - Laniarius ferrugineus) searching for pumpkin seeds |
The Southern Boubou was on the case immediately, and would come back time and again until there was nothing left. Interestingly it was the female that was the most frequent and persistent visitor.
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| The male in the font has more white on his chest and belly compared to the female in the back |
The female was after the pumpkin seeds and didn't show any interest in the pumpkin peel or flesh. According to the internet pumpkin seeds are very nutritious.
What makes this interesting to me is the fact that these birds eat predominantly insect, snails, worms, etc. and small animals such as lizards and even baby mice. But they do also have some omnivorous tendencies, enjoying a drink of nectar and are keen to dig into some fruit, and apparently now we also know that the females enjoy pumpkin seeds.
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| Female Southern Boubou with her prized pumpkin seed in her beak |
I'm assuming that the seeds help to get the female in good shape for breeding (egg laying in particular)?
I've always wanted to try camera trapping on the sea shore, but my biggest concern has always been the fact that it is hard to hide the camera trap from people walking on the beach. I'm particularly concerned about poachers...
However, this time around I decided to take a risk and set out the camera trap for two night, in the middle of the week.
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| Camera trap on the shoreline at the Woody Cape |
Because I only wanted to leave the camera trap there for a short time I decided to empty a can of tuna in front of the camera as some bait.
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| Marsh Mongoose (Kommetjiegatmuishond - Atilax paludinosus) in the mist |
The Marsh Mongoose showed up on the first night. On the second night a Large-Spotted Genet made sure to cleanup any bits of tuna the mongoose might have missed.
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| Large-Spotted Genet (Grootkolmuskeljaatkat - Genetta tigrina) sniffing around for some tasty tuna |
I often find tracks of these two nightly beach visitors along the vegetation edge, but its good to finally see them "in person" doing their rounds up and down the beach.
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| Munch munch munch munch... |
