Mountains, dragonflies, dams and birds.

A bit of everything in here for you to wonder at. We cannot get enough of the amazing sights in this country. South Africa has been blessed with an abundance of nature and wildlife.

After being away for a while, we are now stopping at each of my favorite spots back home, to see if anything has changed during our absence. That's how it is in this country, as changes can happen very fast, such as the arrival of the flamingos that I have already shown you. So, the story here today is about a Red-knobbed Coot, proudly showing me what's in her nest.

A pair of Blacksmith Lapwings against a mountain backdrop. Some of you will remember that I was bombed by a pair of them when I came near their nest, not so long ago at this same place.

Lovely colors on show during a nice and hot summer's day.

I got this Blue Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) in flight above the dam water.

Right, and here is the story of the lady showing me what she was sitting on.

I could see that she was looking at me.

The interesting part is to see how they build that floating nest mattress, as you can see that each piece of grass and dry twigs had to be gathered.

So, I waited and here was my reward, as she went to the shop to get something to eat:)
3 big eggs.

I didn't have to wait long for her return, here below she came steaming back in.

First counting her eggs to see if I had stolen one :)

She found all in order and then she ignored me.

I started the post with a Broad Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea) dragonfly, and I end the post with another one.

I took the photos on Sunday and I am happy to at last get a photo of the eggs in a coot's nest. Yes, I have shown you the coot babies at times, and now I will be sure to show you the babies again of this lot when they hatch. The birds are clever, as they plan their breeding to occur during the spring and early summer season, to allow their babies to grow, in order for them to be strong enough to survive during the winter months. I wonder what would happen if a law was made that humans may only deliver babies during the spring season.
Just a joke as human babies are much stronger than delicate little bird babies.

I think that we will plan some long one day trips for this December month, as there is so much to see. My wife is doing the research to find interesting places and farms up to a limit of a 3-hour drive from our place. We also plan to go back to the Montagu area, as there are some towns in the vicinity that we also want to have a look at. Maybe a Christmas lunch picnic for the two of us under a tree next to a big flowing river. We shall see what the future holds.
In the meantime, Papillon is supporting a Christmas item, as we normally do this time of year.

I hope that you enjoyed the story and the pictures.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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