Tuesday, December 30, 2008

NAMAQUA SANDGROUSE


One night I was traveling on this deserted desert backroad - I was in zombie-mode, having driven over 800ks since early that morning ...

At regular intervals, birds that were sitting on the road would fly up in the headlights and disappear into the night sky. Some just stayed-put and, as I wasn't hearing any thumps on the bottom of the car, I assumed that they were laying low and had escaped harm ...

There were so many of them on some stretches that, eventually, curiosity got the better of me and I slowed down until I spotted one in the road ahead - I stopped and saw that it was a Namaqua Sandgrouse:



I thought that the bird was sitting on the road to get some warmth in the chill desert air - after I took this pic it flew off and, as I was about to get back into the car, I looked down and saw this chick in a shallow depression in the hard ground:

OneStonedCrow Pics
... that's when I realized that all the birds I'd seen before had been nesting - I hope I didn't squash too many babies ... :(
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2 comments:

  1. The road is so beautiful. It is the dusty road I would take into the open sky. But oh no, the babies.

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  2. Yeah, it is a beautiful road - on this occasion it was the first time I'd travelled it ...

    ... who knows, perhaps someday you'll travel it into the open sky ...

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