In Touch With Nature – African’s most unusual bird of prey – Ode to a Secretary Bird #southernafricanwildlife #birds #poetry

Posted: January 22, 2025 | Author: robertawrites235681907 | Filed under: Africa, Birds, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Poetry, Writing to be Read | Tags: African Wildlife, Birds, In Touch With Nature, Photography, Poetry, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Secretary Bird, Video, Writing to be Read | 68 Comments

During our recent trip of Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, we had a good sighting of a secretary bird roosting in a tree. That sighting prompted the creation of this poem which tells you all about this fascinating bird.

Ode to a Secretary Bird

My mouth smiles, a grin spreading from ear to ear

When I spy the Secretary Bird perched in a tree

It looks around, hoping its favourite food will appear

A slithering snake its equivalent of scones and tea

An eagle type body perched atop legs like a crane

Giving it a height of up to 1.3 meters; tall for a bird

Crazy feather spikes surround its face – a bad hair day

Or does it think it’s a lion with a shaggy black mane

During a courting ritual, its frog-like call is heard

The rest of the year, a calm silence holds sway

Picture caption: Secretary bird with its black crest up. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

***

Breeding usually takes place once in a year

During spring and summer when food is plentiful

The male helps to incubate the eggs, he’s quite a dear

Mating with one female for life, he’s also faithful

Preferring to stay grounded, it will fly if it must

Legs sticking out behind it in a ridiculous way

Outside of mating or nesting, it does its thing alone

When it needs to run, you only see a cloud of dust

With a wingspan of two metres, it creates a great display

Living out its life within a fifty square kilometre zone

Picture caption: Secretary bird stretching in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

***

Grey tailcoat and dark knee-length pants its claim

To male secretary status – it even has goose-quill pens

Carried behind its ears, the combined cause of its name

Also called ‘Devil’s horse’ by its traditional African friends

In honour of the great speed at which it hunts its prey

Including reptiles, amphibians, and mammals like rats

And venomous snakes which it beats to death on the ground

Popular due to their diet, people encourage them to stay

At keeping land free of vermin, they’re better than cats

Once they were numerous, but they no longer abound

Picture caption: Secretary bird in an acacia tree. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

***

This bird’s endangered classification mankind’s great shame

Along with its relatives, buzzards, vultures, and harriers

The fault of human greed and selfishness, nothing else to blame

I’m grateful some are protected behind fences and barriers

An important feature in the South African coat of arms

It’s chest a protea, also endangered or vulnerable to extinction

Powerful legs formed by a crossed knobkierie and long spear

Symbolism as the protector of the nation one of its many charms

You’d expect its status to afford it a measure of distinction

The loss of this messenger of the heavens not something people fear

A fascinating YT video featuring a secretary bird (not my video):

About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.

Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).

Roberta is also the author and illustrator of sixteen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of three poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.

Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5

___________________________________________

Like this post? Are you a fan of this blog series? Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

__________________________________________

This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by the Midnight Anthology Series and WordCrafter Press.

Midnight Roost: Weird and Creepy Stories: 20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Roost-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B0CL6FPLVJ

Midnight Garden: Where Dark Tales Grow: 17 authors bring you 21 magnificent dark tales. Stories of magic, monsters and mayhem. Tales of murder and madness which will make your skin crawl. These are the tales that explore your darkest fears. Read them in the Midnight Garden… if you dare. https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Garden-Where-Tales-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0DJNDQJD3

In Touch With Nature – the difference between African and Asian Elephants #Elephants #wildlife

Posted: August 28, 2024 | Author: robertawrites235681907 | Filed under: Africa, Animals, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Wildlife | Tags: African Wildlife, Elephants, In Touch With Nature, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, South Africa, Writing to be Read | 49 Comments

A couple of years ago, my family visited an elephant sanctuary near the Cradle of Humankind. For those of you who don’t know the Cradle of Humankind, it is an area in South Africa where many fossils, tools, and other traces of early humans have been found.

We also visited the Sterkfontein Caves where the 2.3 million year old fossil of Mrs Ples is on display, but this post is about the elephants.

We participated in a guided tour of the elephant sanctuary and one of the discussions with the guide revolved around the differences between African and Asian elephants. I thought it was quite interesting.

Picture caption: Two large African savannah elephants. Picture by Robbie Cheadle

The above photograph is of African elephants. There are two species of African elephants, the larger being the African bush elephant (or African savannah elephant) which is the one I’m most familiar with, and the smaller being the African forest elephant. The above picture is of African savannah elephants.

Picture caption: this is an Asian elephant. Picture by Niels Baars from Unsplash

Can you spot the differences. They are as follows:

Size: African elephants are much bigger than Asian elephants. African savannah elephants weigh approximately 8,000 kg or 9 tons and are between 3 and 4 metres tall (10 and 13 feet) at the shoulder. Asian elephants weigh approximately 5,500 kg or 6 tons and are not taller than 3,5 metres at the shoulder.

Ears: African elephants have much bigger ears and they are shaped like the continent of Africa. Asian elephants have smaller, round ears. African elephants have larger ears because they dissipate heat through their ears and Africa is hotter than Asia.

Head shape: African elephants have rounded heads and Asian elephants have a twin-domed head.

Tusks: Both male and female African elephants can have tusks, but only Asian male elephants have them. Not all elephants grow tusks.

A lot of people have romanticised ideas about elephants and think they are cute like Dumbo. This is not true. African elephants are very territorial and highly protective of their young. They can be exceptionally dangerous. I wrote a poem about this recently which you can read here: https://roberta-writes.com/2024/08/17/roberta-writes-song-parody-for-dverse-open-link-night-dverse-elephants-poetry-art/

Picture caption: African elephants at the waterhole at Tau in the Makikwe Game Reserve

Picture caption: this male African elephant has broken his tusk

Picture caption: This big boy walked right past the vehicle. I could have touched him without stretching my arm.

Elephants playing in the river at Madikwe (this is at Thakadu Tented Camp)

A very grubby elephant (taken at Makikwe Game Reserve – Madikwe Hills Lodge)

I adore this video of a herd of elephants walking in line:

About Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.

Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle

Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertaEaton17

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5

___________________________________________

Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “In Touch With Nature” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.

__________________________________________

This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by Midnight Roost: Weird & Creepy Stories and WordCrafter Press.

20 authors bring your nightmares to life in 23 stories of ghosts, paranormal phenomenon and the horror from the dark crevasses of their minds. Stories of stalkers, both human and supernatural, possession and occult rituals, alien visitations of the strange kind, and ghostly tales that will give you goosebumps. These are the tales that will make you fear the dark. Read them at the Midnight Roost… if you dare.

On sale now for only $4.99

June 15 – August 31,2024

https://books2read.com/MidnightRoost

In Touch With Nature – The role of the Oxpecker bird in nature #oxpeckers #giraffes #rhinos

Posted: July 24, 2024 | Author: robertawrites235681907 | Filed under: Animals, Books, Collection, Nature, Poetry, Wildlife | Tags: African Wildlife, Codependency, Cohabitation, Girraffes, In Touch With Nature, Oxpeckers, Rhinos, Writing to be Read | 39 Comments

Picture caption: Banner for In Touch with Nature including oil pastel artwork by Robbie Cheadle

When I go on safari into the Southern African bush, I frequently see oxpecker birds. When I spot them, they are nearly always sitting on the heads, necks, or backs of a giraffe, buffalo, or rhino. This is because oxpeckers, either the yellow-billed or the red-billed species, feed almost exclusively on ixodid ticks, dead skin, saliva, blood, sweat and tears that they collect from the skins of large African mammals. The behaviour of oxpecker birds keeps the birds well fed and reduces the parasite load on the animal. Parasites such as ticks can pass on deadly diseases as well as causing anemia in their mammal host making the animal more susceptible to illnesses.

Oxpeckers are not all good news for their animal hosts as they are sanguinivores which means that blood comprises a large part of their diet. They eat ticks for the blood they provide and a wound on an animal is an enticing blood meal. Oxpeckers peck at wounds on their hosts and can reopen them in an effort to access fresh blood.

Picture caption: a row of oxpeckers on a giraffe’s long neck

Picture caption: oxpeckers sitting on a giraffe’s head

Oxpeckers also serve as an alarm system for mammals. Their Swahili name, askari wa kifaru, means the rhino’s guard. Rhinos have very poor eye sight which puts them at a severe disadvantage when it comes to poaching. Research has show that rhinos who act as hosts to oxpeckers are less likely to be shot by poachers because the oxpeckers create a commotion when they see danger approaching. They also warn herbivores about the approach of predators like lions or hyenas.

Picture caption: a mama and baby rhino with their oxpecker friends sitting on mama’s back

Picture caption: When I took this picture of a dark giraffe in the Pilanesberg National Park in March this year, I didn’t even see the oxpecker on its head

If you look carefully at this video, you’ll see the oxpecker on the giraffe’s head. There is also one near the shoulders.

The following poem may disturb sensitive readers!

The following poem is extracted from my poetry book, Lion Scream.

Rhino Dilemma

Near-sighted eyes observe
Through tall, swaying grass
Yellowish curtain hides heavy-set body
But, camouflage fails him
The poachers close in
***
Small bird cries a warning
Animal reacts
Stands upright, facing the wind, ready for flight
Tranquiliser gun fires
Ground shakes when beast falls
***
Savage men move quickly
Hack out valued horn
Animal left bleeding; awakes to sure death
Tears of pain and anguish
Slide from fading eyes

About Rhino Dilemma

At the start of the 20th century, there were over 500,000 rhinos living in the wild. Today, that number has dropped to less than 30,000 and they are critically endangered. The main threats to rhino today are poaching and loss of habitat.

Rhino Dilemma is about the brutal slaying of rhinos for their horns. I wrote this poem after a visit to a national park in North West Province. The rhinos in the park are all dehorned.

The guide told us a horrific story about a male southern white rhino weeping in pain after poachers hacked off his horn and removed part of the bone in his skull in a South African game reserve.

On my return home, I researched this incident and found this article about a rhino crying tears after being brutally attacked and injured by a poacher. It makes me cry too: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10152157/Heartbreaking-mages-Southern-White-rhino-weeping-pain-poachers-hacked-horn.html

I wrote “Rhino Dilemma” to share the plight of the rhinos to readers in my community.