Life Wonderings of a Nature Lover: December 2017 Sitamani Country Diary

December has been the month of water in varying forms, soft mist,

layered clouds, light showers,

torrential thunderstorm rain and hail,

often ending the day with a rainbow in the evening light.

 

Although the hills are vibrant green, flowers are sparse, though most species are represented, the exception being the usual variety of orchids, only one species flowering.

A Wild Pomegranate, Burchellia bubalina, that I planted over twenty years ago, has flowered for the first time, a wonderful memory of Mum.

Some of the flowers in bloom are:

Anthericum cooperi;

Asclepias albens;

Berkheya speciosa;

Commelina africana;

Cyanotis speciosa;

Haemanthus humilis;

Hibiscus aethiopicus with an ant drinking from a dew drop;

Lobelia erinus;

Nemesia caerulea;

Orthochilus foliosus, the only Orchid in flower;

Papaver aculeatum;

Pelargonium luridum;

Pentanisia prunelloides;

Silene bellidiodes;

Silene burchellii;

Striga bilabiata

and Spotted-leaved Arum, Zantedeschia albomaculata.

 

Two mushrooms appeared in the moist conditions:

Amanita rubescens

and Psathyrella candolleana.

 

On summer mornings, the bird dawn chorus is one of my favourite times of day!

An African Hoopoe delicately stalked the grass for tasty morsels.

Cape Canaries flit in flocks, singing as they move through the grass.

The verandah birdbath is still a firm favourite for a Dark-capped Bulbul.

The Greater Striped Swallows surveyed the misty landscape from a railing.

 

At last a handful of Brown-veined White butterflies, Belenois aurota aurota, flew through on their annual migration in late December.

A Long-Tailed Blue, Lampides boeticus, sunned itself one early morning.

A daytime flying moth, one of the tiny Handmaiden moths perched on grass seeds.

 

A pair of Grasshoppers posed on leaves.

 

A first sighting on Sitamani was a Large Green Longhorn beetle.

From Questions and Answers, Insects and Spiders of southern Africa; published by Struik in 1993; Author: Susan Matthews, Consultant: Dr Mike Picker, Illustrator: Christeen Grant.

 

Millipedes are on the march across the grass

and I spied a Small Crab Spider beautifully camouflaged on flowers.

 

I’ve heard Black-backed Jackals on most nights. Two pairs of Common Reedbuck are seen frequently below the house and the Duiker are feasting on fallen plums.