PEACHFRONT SPEAKS

Recent entries july 4, 2018 - 2018-07-04 the triangle continues of courtney, boobear, & nyota - 2018-07-03 Cookie so cute telling, "Hello" to sparrows - 2018-07-01 lovebirb in love - 2018-06-30 wren with fluffffff - 2018-06-24 Read my new book, The 10 Best Things You Can Do For Your Bird at Amazon or at many other fine distributors like Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and more. By public demand, and after a delay of an embarrassing number of years, I've finally put my notorious essay, Ender and Hitler: Sympathy for the Superman, free on the fabulous internets. A bibliography of my published books and stories. Here's a simple card-counting FAQ to get you up to speed on the basics. Here's the true story of the notorious DD' blackjack team, told for the first time on the fabulous internets. No other team went from a starting investor's bankroll of zero to winning millions of dollars. A Sadean take on Asimov's classic Three Laws of Robotics can be found in Roger Williams' NOW REVIEWED ON SLASHDOT!!! The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect. Adult readers only please -- explicit sex and violence. For updates on the "Dead Tree Project" and other topics, you may visit the official fan site, Passages in the Void.. My Bird Lists -- My Louisiana State Life List, My Yard List and, tah dah, My World Life List. HEY! What happened to the Peachfront Conure Files? The world's only OFFICIAL Peachfront Conure site now features free peachfront conure coverage, including a magazine length Intro to Conures previously published in American Cage-Bird Magazine, now free on the web. I offer the best free Peachfront Conure information on the internet. If you have great Peachfront Conure info, stories, or photos to share, contact me so I can publicize your pet, your breeding success, your great photograph, etc. on my site. Thanks.

hell is other people, heaven is crowned eagle 2012-01-17 - 11:19 p.m. photos © 2012 by elaine radford crowned eagle juvenile just out of the nest Saturday, January 14, 2012 It was a grey, drizzly morning that started kinda slow, except for the pair of Hadada Ibis that got romantic right in front of us. Their copulation is brief, and the female kept rocking beneath the male, so who knows if they're really trying to make babies or just having fun. As we poked around in the morning, we finally added the Crocodile to the animal list. New trip list birds include Common Sandpiper, Cape Wagtail, (finally a great view of the not all that unusual) Tawny-Flanked Prinia, Buffalo Weaver, Water Thickknee, Purple Turacao. I haven't been able to get online and review my life list, but Water Thickknee and Purple Turacao are definitely lifers, and the Turacao is a brilliant bird that I've wanted to see for pretty much my entire adult life. When I first saw it, everyone else was eating lunch, and I just saw the flash of the red underwings when it flew, creating a distraction as it headed for the area where "Day Visitors" weren't allowed. Much cursing and swearing. However, we returned to the same spot later for a toilet break, and this time we all found the bird in great light, for it was now choosing to hop around in the same tree instead of heading for deep cover. Simply splendid. A wonderful sighting of an adult Martial Eagle. This huge bird was perched near the highway when we first approached. It ignored our presence with true majesty, but it eventually flew directly in front of us and down to a stand of trees, where it found a rather low but well-lighted perch. It kept looking very intently on the ground, and I wondered if it had its eye on some prey there. Lovely long white feathered boots on those long strong legs! An absolutely magnificent bird. We completed the so-called "Big Five" for the trip when we followed the traffic jam to some scenic rocks complete with a Leopard. My view was for the longest time an irritating view of just the back and maybe once in awhile an ear would come into view. Finally, finally, the animal stood up, and I was startled by the size of the thing. He -- it was most definitely a "he" because a fellow traveler with a different viewpoint saw the testicles -- had a big blocky head and was substantially bigger than the female Leopard we'd seen hunting in Kenya. Some other interesting sightings: African Cuckoo Hawk eating some prey it had already caught and then flying in such a way as to show off its fine stripes A street of European Hobbies perched or flying here and there, with one of the Hobbies striking over and over again to drive away a Tawny Eagle The Fork-Tailed Drongoes were out in force to harass various Eagles, and they seemed to have a particularly distaste for Wahlberg's Eagles Interesting morphs include a pale perched Wahlberg's and a very dark perched, then flying Lesser Spotted Eagle -- we have seen many and many a LSE but we would have liked to have studied this one a bit longer, if not for the flock of 4 or 5 angry Fork-Tailed Drongoes that drove it away A nice long view of a Klipspringer on a rock...even though I don't normally make much mention of the hooved mammals, this little guy is pretty unique As for Elephants, Impala, and that sort of thing, I won't waste your time listing these common, easy animals that you couldn't avoid even if you were wearing a blindfold One of the German guys just now gave me a bird book. Honestly, it looks like a different edition of the one I already have, but it's a nice gesture. He explained that he'd bought himself the newest edition and didn't want to carry both. I pretty much have the idea that I am by far the poorest person on this tour, well, other than the two leaders, of course. Nobody's getting rich doing bird tours and writing bird books. But two of these guys are doctors (one is, I'm given to understand, literally a brain surgeon). Although I think the one who gave me the book is the ob/gyn. In any case, my point and I do have one, is that everyone else seems to be rich, rich, rich. Twelve thousand dollar lenses, just for toys. An entire arsenal of such lenses, to be switched at will, in the case of a couple of these guys. Even special flash set-ups for night birds. And here comes Peachfront, with my camera held together with aluminum tape. Don't laugh. OK, go ahead, laugh. Not sure yet if I will ever work again, so by damn, I'm going to make my camera last. Speaking of which, between the wooden bowl from the Taita Falcon dude and the new bird book, I am going to have to throw away my jeans and today's old ratty T-shirt to make room in my suitcase. I'm not sure I planned on acquiring a big book and a big bowl, but I pretty much figured I'd acquire something, so I packed some out-of-style jeans I'm just as happy to toss. Oh, and did I forget to mention that a whole flock, at least 6, maybe 7, Black-Collared Barbets flew up to me beside my cabin and starting singing today? The only fly in today's ointment is that the Saints are playing, but I don't think there is any wireless to allow me to catch the game. Sunday, January 15, 2012 OK, here's the official bitching and moaning portion of the trip report. This group is simply too large. I didn't take this much time to get ready for the junior prom when I was 16. It takes forever to get anything going in the morning, and there is no such thing as a "quick pit stop" when you're talking about 11 people. And the miscommunications are endless. Just now, I was told that we were all meeting to walk down to dinner at 7:30. "Or maybe a few minutes early." I was at the meeting point at 7:23 and no one was there. I poked around looking for the group, but they were gone, and it was dark. I'm talking bats-zipping-around-my-head-and-not-little-bats-either-Kruger-Park dark. So I finally decided to go back to my cabin, which holds a kitchen at least the twice the size of the one in my house and fix my own dinner, since I was just joining the group for dinner as a show of politeness, and I'm almost safely back to my door, when along comes one left-out German. He's a tall guy, probably 6'4 or something, but c'mon. He's an old tall guy. Now I can't leave him wandering around alone in the dark with the leopards. So I'm trying to walk him to the restaurant, and now we're both lost. Finally, some kindly folks trying to have a barbecue actually walk us over to the restaurant and I see him safely inside. I guess I could have joined the group, but I could see that they were already ordering, and I didn't want to order last, get my food last, and then maybe get left alone to wander back in the dark. So I worked my way back, occasionally shining my light here and there in hopes of the Pygmy Owl the German guy said he saw while he was lost by himself. No owl, but at least I'm not still wandering on the trail with the big signs every few yards warning you NOT to walk the trail after dark. My point, and I do have one, is that this kind of thing just can't happen on a solo tour. If you're the whole show, and you're not there, guess what, the show can't go on. Also, it's utterly ridiculous, in a group this size, that there isn't one person here other than myself who wants to make a barbecue or even their own cup of coffee. It's pathetic. The real South Africans are barbecuing like crazy all around me, and our group is usually the only (or almost only) people sitting around waiting for slow restaurant meals or overpriced buffets. If DH or D. was here, we'd be whipping up BBQs all other the place ourselves. But I don't want to buy the bag of charcoal, firelighter, etcetera, all for one person. But it is a nice set-up. They have all the utensils you need, even the tongs. We left Skukuza this morning and went driving further south, to the Berg-en-Dal end of the park. Our first stop was a hilltop called the Sand Flea, where you actually allowed to get out of the car and stroll around the hilltop overlooking the landscape. However, because of the tree cover and the wind, we didn't see much wildlife from that perspective. I saw a good-sized skink with a blue tail and a glossy-starling hustling the tourists for food, and that's about it. Another tourist tipped us to where they'd seen the leopard, and we followed the trail. I was stuck in the dead last seat of the lead van, when I glanced down at my right side in the grass, and there's the Leopard in question, big as life. I yelled, screamed, cried, and prayed, and finally our glorious leader realized what I was trying to say. I mean, c'mon, the animal was big as life. It casually strolled into traffic and crossed the street behind the second van and disappeared into the grass, and people had jockeyed in to crowd us so that we lost our place. Meanwhile, everybody else in our van had completely whiffed. I don't understand how you miss something that size but oh well. Fortunately, she began to stalk on the other side of the road, through the tall vegetation, but some of us could see where she was going, and we shouted directions until we got the van positioned for everyone to see when she came out in the open. Eventually, she found a big tree that she scent-marked, and then she took off across the meadow. Maybe I'd better go to the bullet points, to save on the typing. Notables included: Giant Kingfisher A snoozing African Scops Owl at another restaurant, where they had marked off the Scops Owl tree with ropes and signs asking you not to flash the birds and telling the story of how the little Owls have nested near the restaurant for 12 years...I wonder if there is some safety advantage to the little Owls of being near people, where all the BIG Owls and Eagles can't snack on them so easily A snoozing long male Lion who eventually woke up and walked off, giving us an unfortunately close look at his huge testicles African Hawk-Eagle adult with a food-begging fledgling. As we watched the duo, they flew a small way to join a second fledgling. A charming family scene. Some more new birds for the trip list include Black-Headed Oriole, Mangrove Kingfisher -- a charming species that was either dueting or song-fighting along the river -- Yellow-Billed Oxpeckers, Lesser Moorhen, Wattled Plover, Hooded Vulture, Malachite Kingfisher. (African) Green Heron with bright red legs in breeding plumage, quite different from our Green Heron Two White Rhinoceros, that we believe to be a mother and an older child A young Martial Eagle soaring and even kiting before it landed on a high tree on a high rock...even from a distance, I could see its white "boots" A mother and a baby Giraffe crossed the road in front of us near the end of the day. All together now...Awwwwwww, that's too cute. I almost didn't add this little note, but I guess I might as well. You know how they say that your hackles will rise if there's a Leopard nearby? Well, when I was strolling alone on the river "Rhino" path at lunch, I suddenly got that feeling of electricity all over. Maybe I just spooked myself, because they had a stone marker nearby as a memorial to a park ranger who was killed by a Leopard. The feeling I got was really powerful, like being zapped, yet not being zapped. More like the "buzz" you might sometimes get with certain crystals or other metaphysical objects that can't talk to get your attention. Except it was a knock-you-on-your-ass big-ass BUZZ. I went no further. Maybe there was a creeping Leopard near by. Or maybe they just turned on the electric fence. Monday, Jan. 16, 2012 Woke up, fixed my breakfast to eat on the porch, heard all sorts of bird fuss and cuss from the "haunted" area which was actually in the backyard of my cabin. Lifted my glass to see the pygmy owl and, instead, saw a huge snake. Dropped my glass, stumbled backward, drongoes and company chased the snake deeper into the green foilage of the tree. So I'll never know if my hackles were raised by a deadly poison snake hanging over my head all night. So it's funny how tonight I'm staying at the ritzy "Ghost Mountain," the self-proclaimed best resort in Zululand, but last night as I was falling asleep I swear I felt the cold clammy hand of a ghost on my neck. OK, that isn't quite right. It wasn't a cold clammy hand. It was a hot, hard, physical hand, but if the snake was causing the bad vibes, it wasn't a snake. They ain't got hands. Maybe it was all a dream...but I have a third theory, which is that the electricity in the nearby fence is just a little too strong. I was a bit down-hearted last night but today I remembered why I put up with all the crap of traveling with people even though, as we all know, hell is other people. Because we were guided right to the Crowned Eagle nest on private property. And, oh yeah, as we drove up to the site, we passed by a couple of Rhinoceros hanging around. But the just-fledged and still sitting around looking concerned Crowned Eagle baby is the bird of the day. No two words about it. We had to go in tiny groups, three at a time, to avoid frightening the bird, but he knew we were there, and he sat looking down and concerned, even if he wasn't frightened. Eventually, the parents came overhead, both with their legs down, doing a semi-courtship display...the local Crowned Eagle dude explained that the pair was likely displaying to us -- giving us a little bit of attitude. A great sighting but it was time to leave, so that they would continue to have confidence in their site in the future. Can't put it into words. What a powerful animal. Unlike Number 21, the bold-as-brass Blue-Throated Macaw baby, this Crowned Eagle youngster was a tad unsure of himself and doesn't yet know his place in the world. But he can take his time. He's already beautiful. I say "he," because HUGE as the bird was, there is some speculation that he must be a male because the females are even more huge. More huge. Huger? However, and whatever, the bird was the hit of the day. What else? A quick stop to add Veraux's "Black" Eagle. Mostly driving through the rain to get to our next destination. In fact, because of the rain, I didn't use the Olympus to try for my Crowned Eagle baby pictures. I just used the cheap-ass Kodak Easy Share. We'll have to hope and pray but I suspect that I did get something half decent, just because the bird was so close, so still, and so spectacular. Another good bird for the day was the pair of African Hawk-Eagles that circle/danced over us, the male half the size of the female, their obvious affection for each other obvious as they spiraled up and up together. For that matter, the Black Eagle pair kept really close to each other as well. Love is in the air. New bird of the day is White-Necked Raven, but it's BVD, since I could see it from underneath and see that it was a raven, but we were at a gas station and I missed the most decorative field marks, the white neck and the white tip to the bill. I got only enough to ID the bird. african hawk-eagle, one of a group of three, one adult caring for two fledglings Other than that, rained like hell and might rain like hell again tomorrow. I just now found a way to get online, only to find out that the Saints lost and Green Bay lost. WTF? No point in watching the Superbowl now if we're just going to be watching the B teams. OK, and I just found out by email that my parents got married. To continue to part 9, click right here. back - next All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2002-2017 by Elaine Radford