Week 10 – Day 5 – Nesting Instincts

by shellgren | Posted on March 12, 2015

I went for a walk at lunch today. As I passed a tree at the end of the block I noticed a couple of crows working on a nest. I took my camera out to see if I could catch a picture of them putting pieces of the nest together. As soon as they saw the camera they came down close and started jabbering at me. I put the camera down and they stopped.

the nest

They went back to the nest. As soon as I got the camera ready again they came back down. So I put the camera in my pocket and started talking to them. I told them that they did a great job on the nest. The nest includes pieces of plastic bag, plastic straws, and cardboard. A marvel of recycling if you ask me.

Anyway, I took my phone out and said I would like to show everyone their nest. They didn’t squawk this time. So I quickly took today’s picture. It doesn’t show a lot, but I figure they let me take the one shot. I asked them if I could take their picture too. One of the crows turned and looked straight at me and, I swear, chuckled. They both immediately flew to a nearby tree and waited until I walked on. I called up at them and thanked them for the one picture. It is, after all, only fair to be polite. Strange thing to talk to birds like that. But crows are smart. They both answered with a crow call and flew back to the nest. I will go back and visit with them again tomorrow. This time I won’t take my camera.

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The Great Escarpment goes from the northeast of South Africa and swings in a wide semicircle down to the south and then back to the northwest corner of the country. It separates the high central plateau of South Africa from the coastal areas.

Wikipedia has a great image of this.

The Highveld is basically between 5,000 and 6,800 feet in elevation and is part of the central plateau in South Africa. The Lowveld is lower than about 500 meters (1,650 feet). It is basically to the east and northeast of the central plateau. And yes, if you are wondering, there is a middleveld. It is more often referred to as the Bushveld.

The Highveld is basically between 5,000 and 6,800 feet in elevation and is part of the central plateau in South Africa. The Lowveld is lower than about 500 meters (1,650 feet). It is basically to the east and northeast of the central plateau. And yes, if you are wondering, there is a middleveld. It is more often referred to as the Bushveld.

While the highveld is more like a prairie of grasses and the lowveld is grassland with scrubby brush and occasional trees, the bushveld is, amazingly, kind of between them. The bushveld is grassy lands with lots of patches of tall bushes and trees.

At least that is how I would describe them.

Daylin Paul is a fantastic photographer. A collection of his images is called Broken Land. From the October 6, 2019, Sunday Times:
“…the collection begins with aerial photographs of the seemingly legendary natural beauty of the province before Paul’s lens zooms ever closer in for a look at the realities on the ground.
“There pollution is rampant; those who are not lucky enough to find employment in the power industry are forced into dangerous subsistence mining for survival and many residents of towns and informal settlements that abut the power stations are without a proper water or electricity supply and suffer from diseases such as TB.”
Paul is quoted in the article as saying that the connection the indigenous people had to the land is broken. “Now the land is just a place where you put up a house or you dig for something.”
The article continues a bit later with this statement: “When Paul hears US President Donald Trump talking about ‘clean coal’, his experiences in Mpumalanga lead him to react with disdain and outrage because ‘there’s no such thing’.”
The whole article, and its images, was simply stunning. You can read it here, but you must be a subscriber to the paper first.
But better yet, you can see Paul’s own website to see the collection of images called Broken Land here: https://www.daylinpaul.com/broken-land

I had heard from people about the issues with the power industry in South Africa, but didn’t know how severe it was. As one person related to me, “the president has taken a lot of money from the coal power industry. The bribes were there to keep the industry free from too many regulations.” Or as one watchdog group there says, “Public procurement is particularly prone to corruption, and bribery thrives at the central government level.”

I am talking about South Africa, of course. I know nothing like that happens in the States.

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