OK, shout and scream and tell me I’m hopeless…I apologize for my silence, but work has been far too hectic and I haven’t had a chance to get writing. Now a lot of catching up is [once again] overdue…

Today’s is a tale of tragedy and triumph, though not shared by the same protagonists. The Spur-winged Plovers, in defense of their ink-splattered eggs in their shallow sand nest have spent the days since you last saw them challenging increasingly ominous foe…

First it was the Vervet Monkeys, who venture daily onto the sandbank to drink from the river and – I noticed this time – like to snatch juicy shoots from the reed islands (above), much to the plovers’ chagrin (below).

The next day, it was real danger. Even one Marabou Stork poses a serious threat to plover eggs, let alone three! On this horribly grey morning, a trio wondered perilously close to the plover nest before they were driven away by the parent plovers (or perhaps just by chance)…excuse the awful grey light:

So, with the plover parents having overcome these obstacles, you can imagine my horror when, upon hearing their alarm calls, I ran outside to see what was the matter, and the entire sandbank was covered by baboons.

Just as I reached the balcony, a baboon found the nest. Poor plovers! All that hard work and dedication now in vain, their offspring devoured in three quick mouthfuls. I felt so desperate and sad for them. But what do you do? That is nature at work, no matter how heart-breaking [it’s amazing how quickly you become so attached to these animals and birds who are playing out their lives around you]. And then the question arises: if I had been on the balcony earlier, would I have run down to the beach to try to chase away the baboons? Is it my right to interfere with nature’s course? Of course I know it’s not, but nonetheless it can be sorely tempting at times like these…

It’s hard to feel sorry for any baboon after witnessing the demise of the plovers' eggs at the hands of a big dog baboon but – how fickle my allegiances! – I could not help but feel sorry for this little baby baboon which was so patently terrified by the dive-bombing plovers.

The birds, as if they were oblivious to the fact that their eggs were gone, continued to harass the baboons, perhaps out of anger, or perhaps just driven by instinct… Even some of the larger baboons did not appreciate their attention:

While others just carried on without showing the slightest sign of aggravation or even remorse (for they are of course baboons, not people!), busily feeding on the newly sprouted grass shoots on the river bank, digging up larger clumps and shaking off the dirt before nibbling away at them.

Others seemed to have a few scores to settle amongst themselves (above) and chased each other with great gnashing of teeth across the sand…and the terrified little mites continued trying in vain to escape the wrath of the plovers.

Enough of that: onto some news worthy of celebration! Our Egyptian Geese brought their brand new brood to the river on July 11th, and guess how many little ones there were? No fewer than TWELVE!

Remember we saw the geese mating on 31st May?

Here are the brand new goslings, embarking on their very first swim:

You can see here how the little ones are sticking very close to their mother – it’s a big scary river out there, and there’s no practice run for learning how to swim – it’s straight in at the deep end!

As I’ve mentioned before, Day One in the life of a gosling is a bit of a shocker. The day they hatch, they have to launch themselves from the nest (high up in a tree), fall to the ground where they are (it seems) designed to bounce, and from there, on their tiny unsteady legs, they have to make their way to the river - as far as one kilometer away - where they will start feeding themselves from the word go. They learn to do so by copying Mum and Dad (perhaps instinctively too?):

Fortunately, they have a pair of extremely protective parents, who not only teach by example but also fend off anything remotely resembling a threat to their new and fluffy brood.

Imagine being this tiny and seeing a crocodile for the very first time (even though it is a very small croc)…

I hate to say this, but be prepared for some tragedies to come during this saga, for keeping all twelve little goslings safe against a myriad of predators will take some doing...but enough of this doom and gloom: As of today, July 15th, the entire brood is still in tow, now much steadier on their feet and already noticeably growing.

The weather has been so cold and grey recently (so much for living in the Tropics), and the geese parents have been shepherding their offspring into the reed islands to keep them out of the ferocious wind. They also seem to be spending the nights huddled together in one or the other of the reed islands in front of the house. As they emerge in the morning, it is sweet to see how the parents go backwards and forwards to make sure that none of their brood gets left behind. (Sorry about the terrible light in the photo below.)

A big Thank You to fabulous photographer of African wildlife, Andy Biggs, who showed me a better way to save and upload my photos, to give you a better viewing experience…and Congratulations to Andy and his wife on the birth of their new baby boy!

If you like birds, please take a moment to scroll through my June 2008 Bird Gallery. July is also turning out to be spectacular. I will be writing about many of these sightings in due course, but you know me – it may take time! June and July have been cold, grey and windy but incredible from a birding perspective…