Category Archives: Flora/Fauna

May 08 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Jonathan, revisited

Tuesday 7th May 2024, 12.05pm (day 4,639)

Jonathan again, 7/5/24

I took the morning off and came up to Plantation House, the residence of the Governor of St Helena, to do the tour, and like the other 7 people doing it with me, we stoically let ourselves be shown vaguely interesting items of furniture and portraits of the British royal family for 90 minutes or so in order that we could then get through to the real reason we were all there; to have the honour of meeting Jonathan, who at around 192 is the world’s oldest living land animal whose age is (more or less) known. And he did not seem at all bothered by his weekly dose of humans — seeming as interested in us as we were in him. I think he’s a complete dude, and could not resist making him the day’s image even though he’s appeared before. But he totally deserves his relative fame, if you ask me.

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May 07 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

On guard (sleepily)

Monday 6th May 2024, 4.55pm (day 4,638)

Standard cat guardian, 6/5/24

This creature generally seems to keep watch over the entrance to the Standard pub in Jamestown — though not very attentively, at least at this point in time. I like the colour co-ordination in evidence on this shot. The palate is certainly consistent between cat, walls and steps.

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May 06 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

The avocado tree

Saturday 4th May 2024, 11.55am (day 4,636)

Avocados, 4/5/24

For various reasons St Helena is no agricultural paradise. Some types of fresh fruit and veg can be picked up fairly easily (tomatoes are currently easy to find, for example) but others are never seen. Potatoes, particularly. Ask for potatoes in a shop and you will either be laughed at or, as happened to me once, the shopkeeper will mutter, under his breath, “try me on Monday”, with a wink, as if you’ve asked for cocaine.

However, these beauties are currently growing happily on the tree in the courtyard outside my apartment. The landlord told me not to pick them off the tree, and I honestly haven’t. But they will, at some point, fall to the ground…. and at that point I consider them fair game.

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May 03 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Web across the path

Thursday 2nd May 2024, 10.00am (day 4,634)

Cobweb, 2/5/24

There is nothing St Helena-specific about this shot, but on the other hand, this isn’t the kind of thing I would expect to see stretched across my path on my walk to work in Manchester. But here it was this morning, as I headed for my appointment at the local secondary school. Big bugger too: I was kinda glad the maker wasn’t at home; what you see in the centre is just the remains of its last meal, by the looks of things.

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May 01 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Jamestown banyan tree

Tuesday 30th April 2024, 10.50am (day 4,632)

Banyan tree, 30/4/24

I’m no botanist but banyan trees aren’t difficult to identify, with their multiple trunks and more on the way. This is the blog’s second, after the one seen in Brisbane (with the wife) back in 2013.

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Apr 24 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Springbok at sunset

Wednesday 24th April 2024, 6.30pm (day 4,626)

Springbok at sunset, 24/4/24

I have spent the last three days in Namibia’s, and one of the world’s, largest nature reserves — the Etosha National Park, so it’s understandable that wildlife shots have featured. There have been many species that I have seen and managed to photograph but which, due to the strict one-photo-per-day rule, have not made it on here, and today you might have had white rhino; elephant; kudu; and the cute, teddy-bear-like rock hyrax. But I am going with these springbok simply because of the fabulous golden light in which they are bathed. My penultimate full day in Namibia.

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Apr 23 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna, Transport

Zebra crossing

Tuesday 23rd April 2024, 9.25am (day 4,625)

Zebra crossing, 23/4/24

I do not know what you call black-and-white striped pedestrian crossings in your country, but hopefully this associative pun works very well for UK readers. Taken in the Etosha game reserve.

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Apr 23 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

The King

Monday 22nd April 2023, 4.50pm (day 4,624)

Lion licks lips, 22/4/24

I was about 20 feet away from this magnificent creature this afternoon. There was plenty I was thinking of saying in this commentary but, mostly, I’ll let the picture speak for itself. ‘Awesome’ is an overused word but here, it really had meaning.

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Apr 22 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

Happy skink

Sunday 21st April 2024, 3.15pm (day 4,623)

Happy skink, 21/4/24

This chap definitely looks happy, and I know why — because it has just wolfed down a huge dragonfly that was about the same size. The whole thing, apart from a discarded wing or two, went down in about ten seconds. Had I been quicker with the camera (which was a few yards from me at the time as I’d just got out of the swimming pool) you might have seen the feeding, but it was happy to hang around and wait for me to do its close-ups.

Biology note: the defining characteristic of the skink (as opposed to other types of lizard) is apparently their stumpy little front legs, obvious on this shot. This is the second skink to appear on here down the years, after the one I saw in Saigon in 2019.

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Apr 20 2024
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Daily Post, Flora/Fauna

In the Pink (Walvis Bay lagoon)

Friday 19th April 2024, 8.35am (day 4,621)

Walvis Bay flamigos, 19/4/24

The dominant theme of the last few days has been sand, so it’s about time we had some local fauna on here. This is not only the first time I have ever seen flamingos in the wild, but, I am fairly sure, anywhere. Apparently over 200,000 of them live on Walvis Bay’s lagoon. This place is where I came in with Namibia, on the flight out to St Helena some 16 months ago (see this shot): compared to that, today’s picture is certainly fuller of life and rather pinker. Flamingos are pink — it’s the way they are — and they definitely seem to like each others’ company.

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