Winter is here with all of its might and force. It is cold, rainy, and the wind sporadically picks up to cease just as quickly as it picked up. But this does not prohibit the birds from showing their fuzzy appearances, puffed up against the cold and wet conditions.
While sitting in my home office/study, working and trying to stay motivated in the cold, I heard the familiar calls of the Cape Spurfowls or Patryse in my language. And I knew I had to take a look.
After some searching, I found them outside of the garden in the streets. As they and the helmeted guineafowls have adapted to the urban lifestyles of humans, they have come to intimately know their ways around our structures. Somehow, they manage to survive, dare I say thrive, in our gardens and urban homes. Even though their numbers are obviously not close to what they should be as in the wild, I do think they are doing okay considering everything going around us...
As I was taking photographs of the three or four friends running around, it started to rain again, and at the same moment, there was the most beautiful and complete rainbow behind the spurfowls. (See the video and photographs below.) It was a rare and beautiful moment.
Alas, I tried to take a photograph with the rainbow behind the spurfowl, but it did not work out. The photographs were either over or under-exposed, too light or too bright. As you can see from the photographs below and the video, it was a beautiful and full rainbow, but I did not find any gold...
But the real gold is obviously the beauty of the spurfowls!
I am always mesmerized by their feathers and their demeanour. They are shy but curious, the clicking of my camera shutter always intrigues them. I think there is a way to tell the male from the female, as I think the one of the photograph on the right is a male, or a juvenile bird. I am never sure, but you can see it has some different-looking feathers on its head.
The family of three or four did not stay long. As soon as the rain started to fall again, they ran away from our home, and I needed to say good bye as well, to protect my camera from getting too wet.
Postscriptum, or There is a rainbow at the end of the road
It is always such a wonderful visit with them coming to the garden, or coming close to the garden. They have a distinct sound, one that always reminds me of open pastures and wild land. I love their presence around our houses, even though I know they would appreciate the open fields even more.
For now, it is what it is.
Below, you will see that wonderful rainbow, which did not yield any gold. But the sight alone was pretty spectacular.
I hope that you enjoyed the photographs.
Happy birding and keep well.
All of the musing and thoughts are my own. The photographs are also my own, taken with my Nikon D300.
