OBS

Not an Orange Breasted Mousebird. This is an Orange Breasted Sunbird.

Just some of the wildlife we spotted at Kirstenbosch this morning, which also included a mouse, and a snake.

The snake was a Cape Cobra, and I did get some very quick shots, but nothing great. It just wanted to get away from us, and did so by quickly disappearing into a hole.

You shouldn’t be afraid of South African snakes. This one could kill you with a single bite, but don’t want to hurt you. They don’t want to be anywhere near you.

Think of it as a mouse with fangs.

Tonight: Dad’s last night before he heads home. There are plans for a nice meal out.

Just another Flycatcher (thank goodness)

Birthday breakfast at Kirstenbosch and then a quick wander around the gardens before it got too hot.

Crickets, Agamae(?), Agamas(?), Agamasses(?) eish…
An Agama – and then another one – and some pretty flowers (obviously), but not too many birds on show. We did get what we could, though.

I do really like the detail on this sunbird shot

And it even stands the zoom test:

…but the shadows really ruin the image.

And thus we were about to leave disappointed (as far as ‘togging birds went, at least), but then our old friend the inquisitive African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta) popped by.

Absolute bread and butter stuff, but such a willing and dependable subject: and just so cute.

More celebrations planned for this lunchtime, so I’ll have to love you and leave you for the moment, but the great news (T&Cs apply) is that there will almost certainly be more here tomorrow.

That’s not a bird

Each of the wines at the Constantia Uitsig (approximately pronounced “Ate-Suck”) (we were there recently) just down the road comes with an associated bird.
This goes for the wines made from their homegrown grapes, e.g.:

…and the ones made from grapes that are grown elsewhere and then blended and bottled at the vineyard e.g.:

Why? Well, it demonstrates their green credentials:

Everyone working on the farm embodies a strong ethos of taking good care of animals, and everyone understands the importance of the wildlife on the farm. Constantia Uitsig is home to a wide array of indigenous birds and animals. For this reason, we have chosen to use the birds found on the farm to represent our wines, with each wine having its own bird representing it.

Bit gimmicky, perhaps, but I have no problem with wine farmers looking after the environment as much as is possible (given that they are growing grapes). I mean, let’s face it: they could be doing all this without considering the environment at all. And that would be less good.

I do have a bit of an issue with their choice of bird for the Sémillon*, though. That’s because they’ve gone for the Orange-breasted Mousebird.

And that doesn’t exist.

But not only is it on the tasting notes:

It’s also on the website:

And then they’ve doubly doubled-down on the “Show Me The Bird**” click through:

Argh!

The bird in question is, of course, and Orange-breasted Sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea).

Here’s one having a bath in our back garden:

The plants in the background? No idea. I just do birds.

And that little “mouse”/”sun” difference might not seem like a big thing, but what this bird isn’t is an Orange-breasted Mousebird.

Look, they are clearly going to get away with it (and have been doing for the past n years), because their visitors mainly come from overseas, they don’t know about birds, and no-one is as nerdy as me. But this is just wrong. I could point it out to them, but they’d likely come back with something like:

“Well, yes, you’re right, but our visitors mainly come from overseas, they don’t know about birds, and no-one is as nerdy as you.”

Which are all fair points.

But it’s just wrong, and if they were to do a survey of their local bird population, then they’d find that their Orange-breasted Mousebird numbers were dramatically low. Like… zero.

Can something be described as extinct if it never even existed in the first place? I don’t think so.

As ever, I don’t expect anything to come of this blog post. But it does feel good to have got it off my chest.

Which is not orange.

* For the record, I have no issue with the wine, which is lovely.
** New York wineries must never use this approach.

Day 728 – Sunbird on an Erica

Wondering about that post above? You might want to look here.

Right, back to business. Sunbird on an Erica:

I know, I know, it’s serious.

Many early mornings at the moment seem to be being spent in Kirstenbosch Gardens, which is no bad thing at all. Always good to drag the last moments of summer out as long as possible, and our membership there means that we can sneak in long before the hoi polloi get their grubby feet all over the paths and lawns.

It’s also a lot quieter, meaning that the birds are less skittish and more willing to hang around the heathers and fynbos exhibits. As you can see above.