I’ve been away more than I’ve been at home recently (more tales from my adventures shortly!), but thought while I have the chance, I’d check in quickly before disappearing from your screens again for a while.

The geese are faring fairly well, with eleven goslings still in tow (above). One casualty so far is sad but not bad going, considering how many contenders there are for gosling-guzzlers in this part of the world!

More new birds seem to be discovering our birdbath…including a Yellow Spotted Petronia, above (which is a type of sparrow, and is common in Tsavo) and the strange stub-tailed Northern Crombec which is now visiting our little acacia tree by the birdbath to forage for tiny insects along its branches (below).

Sandpipers are on the river again, back from their travels to Europe, the first of the migrants to return.

Remember Slim, the Black Tipped (aka Slender) Mongoose? Well, he’s still around and today I put out the remnants of a roast chicken for him.

To my surprise, the Ground Squirrels were the first to the carcass and started voraciously gnawing away at the bones (above).

What surprised me even more was that the squirrels seemed to enjoy eating fatty bits of flesh from the chicken too. Whatever next?

As soon as Slim appeared (below), he quickly made off with the whole carcass, obviously intent on having the feast all to himself. With so many squirrels about (I counted at least eight in the vicinity of the chicken today), who can blame him?

Part of the reason for the squirrel glut is that I’ve started putting out maize for whatever animals and birds want it – and it’s attracting dozens of squirrels as well as doves and francolin…even the sharp little dikdiks have found it and come each evening to have a free meal.

On a completely different note, the yellow Aloes in our balcony flowerbeds are flowering for the first time, which will probably bring in the sunbirds we see flitting around in the acacia trees around the house. I must try to remember to take a photo before I rush off on another trip again...

Update on Monday, August 4, 2008 at 07:36PM by Tanya

Herewith the afore-mentioned yellow Aloe flowers...it may be difficult to tell, but this aloe is actually planted upstairs in our balcony flowerbed, just outside our bedroom...