Ok this one is quite a long one…
Some of the more interesting birds from the weekend…
Grey Hornbill
Swallow-tailed Bee eater
Diederik Cuckoo
Blue Waxbill
A couple of Firefinches
Some arachnids I have found over the last two days…
Selenopidae spSome decently sized
Hadogenes sp (maybe
H. bicolor?)
I have found about ten this size so far.
Uroplectes sp (possibly
U. flaviviridis)
Some insects
?
Papilio spa really large Weevil type beetle (bigger than a
Tenebrionid beetle)
Pair of Bugs
This really interesting mantis was running around where all the grass had been burnt off. The camouflage was particularly suited to the surroundings. I don’t know if this is a species that is always black, or if it has changed due to the grass fire season, any thoughts?
Whilst birdwatching I stopped off at one of the excavations we had made which had filled up with groundwater. I noticed that it was full of spawn, with a large number of tadpoles already swimming about. There was some old shade net lying in a pile close to the water, and when I lifted it I found what I presume to be the responsible adults…
Amietophrynus spThis morning whilst I was out turning over rocks on a nice outcrop, I saw this lizard sunning itself. I estimate the size to be close on a meter, it disappeared before I could get any more pics of it, and was nowhere to be seen this afternoon when I went back for a second look. I think it may be a
Gerrhosaurus spIn the same area I found this part of a tail, from what I assume to be the same species
Yesterday afternoon I was a bit bored on site so started walking around flipping rocks on the off-chance I may come across something. One very large rock I turned over had what was left of a rodent nest under it, and closer inspection revealed a small
B. arietans (roughly 800mm) curled up in the grass. Very nice colours on it with lots of reds and browns.
and a little way off I found a
B. arietans skeleton (determined by some of the belly scales lying nearby and the size and shape of the ribs). Unfortunately I could not find the head anywhere
The following are two pics taken by my colleague when I was on leave. I am pretty sure this is a
N. mossambica (looking at other pics of a very similar looking snake that was DOR within a few metres of this a week later). Unfortunately these are the two best of the ones he supplied me, The red line I marked on the one is for scale, and that width of the tyre tracks is 1.8m.
These are pretty substantial specimens occurring around here and definitely way bigger than any I have seen within SA. The other pics of the DOR one also show it to be a BIG snake. This particular area is one of the sandy places with a lot of scrub growing on them, close to a large woodland, and these snakes have been sited there fairly regularly (but only when I am not here )
More pics to follow!