Month: July 2022

The Black Necked Crane

~ Janet McKee ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever heard of the Black Necked Crane (Grus Nigricollis)? I have been sorting through some old correspondence and I found the following:

The Black Necked Crane

This was a card sent by the Chief Justice of Bhutan. Losar Greetings for the Fire-Rabbit Year

Losar Greetings for the Fire-Rabbit Year

Viewed from the twin distances of time and space I find this card very special. I am glad I saved it.

According to Wikipedia this bird is a medium sized crane found in Asia. It breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and is found on the high plateaus of India and Bhutan. It is an endangered species. It is the state bird of Ladakh and in Bhutan a special festival is held in honor of it.

JULY 2022 GARDEN BIRDS

~ Janet McKee ~ Leave a comment

A very impressive list of sightings – in South Africa!!

Something Over Tea

Even though I have been extraordinarily busy this month, it has been a particularly satisfying one in terms of bird visiting our garden. One of the loveliest surprises was hearing the beautiful burbling sounds of a Burchell’s Coucal from deep within the foliage: I have yet to see it, but it has clearly made its presence known. Very few African Green Pigeons are left; most have probably sought an easy source of food elsewhere as the figs on the Natal fig tree have almost come to an end. The Olive Thrushes remain welcome visitors to the feeding tray, although a pair of them spend a lot of time chasing each other around the garden – a form of courting? Certainly the weavers think that spring is around the corner and are looking more beautiful every day. The very large flocks of Red-winged Starlings have also diminished along with the plentiful…

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And Now for Something Completely Different: Mirounga leonina

~ Janet McKee ~ Leave a comment

An excellent article.

Wickersham's Conscience

Gold Harbor, South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean

All of the Southern Ocean’s South Georgia Island is spectacular, but Gold Harbor, near the southeastern end of the 106-mile long sub-Antarctic Island is a stunner. With the hanging icefall of Bertrab Glacier looming over the long arc of the gravel-shored bay, Gold Harbor teems with wildlife. Southern Fur Seals, like those in the foreground here, some 25,000 pair of breeding King Penguins, a small colony of 300 or so pairs of Gentoo Penguins, even an endemic pipit species; as well as the star of the show. Those would be the largest member of the seal family, the largest carnivore that isn’t a cetacean and an animal so incredibly homely that they are pretty cute. They can fart continuously for a stopwatch-measured 45 seconds and likely belch even longer. They are Southern Elephant Seals, Mirounga leonine, and WC got to spend some…

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The Treasured Four

~ Janet McKee ~ Leave a comment
Family Sisters – Ruth, Jan, Nan, Lil

This photo was taken over 20 years ago in New Hampshire in July 2000.

I am with my sisters and sister-in-law. What fun we had at many family gatherings and travel adventures together.

Sadly though 3 of the 4 have passed and my days of adventure are receding but they are not over yet!!

(p.s. In the photo I am wearing strange glasses – I have no idea where those came from!)