|
|
 |
|
1 Home page | 2 Cairo Pyramids | 3 Tombs & Temples | 4   | 5 | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | I have had people asking for a map of the area, go to the side bar and click on Egypt map
page. comments can be put on my blog click for link http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com
 egrets gathering nesting twigs not sure if the are gathering twigs or making ready for a bonfire?
 
I went to the heronry today and it was a nice day out real nice breeze too cool things down. I sat down near my usual spot to watchthe kingfishers a bit too windy for them all they did was perch andhave squabbles with the offspring i suppose the young did notunderstand why there was no fish today. and I shall explain for what Ithink. The Nile was a bit choppy and the mud was being churned upmaking the waters murky the Kingfishers hover at about 20ft above thewater and dive as soon as a fish comes to surface for air. so thekingfisher has to watch itcome up. then dive hitting the water at the same time the fish takesair. now the herons have no such problems. most times they wade in thewater or perch on flotsam. and wait for a fish to come in strikingrange like today this Little white egret dived from a perch and caughtits prey.  , seeingthere are a lot of young Little white egrets about one might thinkthis fish was going to feed one of them, It seems the Little whiteEgret is a cuckoo from what I saw at the heronry. not only do the Cattle egrets build the nests but it seems they sit on the cuckoo's eggs this is a large white heron chick so all three of the White egrets are nesting in this area, I saw one or two chicks foraging around on the ground on my way throughthe fruit tree grove so this was a sure indication that the trees ofthe heronry will be very active . Ihave not been to this part before this is the roof of the pump housethat pumps water for the banana island plantation its about 20 ft downto the Nile River and it pumps about 8ft up to the plantation waterlevel this tree in the Nile has about 50 nests most with chicks as Iclambered down to the entrance of the pump house I was about 6ft awayfrom some of the nests on the top of the tree. I could almost touch theCattle egrets. This nest has a white egret chick.
 My first sighting of the Wryneck, Jynx torquilla 8/4/10
 '
I see you and I am off. 
Herons fishing. first the Night Heron.
Now then! not too close, and I will show you how its done. 
First keep an eye on the target that's if this log keeps still. 
as soon as its in striking range dive in. 
OK not exactly what I had in mind. but I got it and I very rarely miss.  '
I will be OK once this log stops rolling . i will get it in position and then down in one. 
Now I will show you how its done. the Striated heron is about half the size of the Night Heron. OK you lot make way I will show you how its done  .
Jees" call them fish  .
Look at them two, master fishers eh" , There,s one  .
Wow that a big un scariee  .
Whasup that was scarie
 .
OK here goes watch this  .
ready steady  .
and here we go. King Pied fisher watch and learn.  .
missed it didn't you. told you I was good. a clean strike  .
Look! I said a clean strike right through the head. dead as a doornail  .
 .
Ok now all we have to do is get it in between my beak  .
that's it enough do not mind showing you how to catch your lunch but i am not going to show you how to eat it. 
The Squacco Heron this is a migrating bird to these parts of the ,leaves all through the winter from around October up until end of march, last week I saw the first of season and today I saw many not sure which is the male but the one in flight is a bit larger than the one with the blue beak. both are in full breeding plumage.
  .
Not sure if they are being inquisitive about this big camera, I have never got this close to them before. 
Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta. 
The things I have to do to get wildlife photos for you guys. no its not a buffalo cow pat its a whole area of cow dung. this is the mud flats opposite the dollar hotels on the West Bank of Luxor the first photo besides the one of my shoeless feet. shows you where I am. I saw a rare migrant bird heading in this direction so I followed it into the wetlands. and so pleased I was there was so many birds in this area most I have seen and photographed before but not with my new lens, I saw and photographed 3 more species to add to my collection of Nile Birds. bringing the total to date to 67 and that is only here in the Luxor and outlying area of 40 kilometers the black-winged stilts being the furthest. I saw those last week , plus another in flight flock today. as I show the photos I will give the link to that species for more photos.    Temminck's Stint, Calidris temminckii.    Little White Egret with its lunch Spur-winged plover.  Spur-winged plover   Grey Heron   Collared pratincole, Glareola pratincola    Water pipit, Anthus spinoletta.
At first sight I thought they where Larks once i put the photo on the computer and looked in the book they are my first sightings of the pipit. I will have to go back to the area I saw them tomorrow to get better shots. 
Night heron in flight 
 .
1 white egret, 2 squacco herons, 3 night herons + the rubbish that is littering the whole of the Nile valley.
below a different angle on the 3 night herons. 
pied kingfisher on the hunt 
Little white egret  
Squacco heron all todays birds where on the west bank of Luxor on my walk along the Nile river 
24/12/09 yesterday I put a cover over my balcony railing to act as a hide, and it paid off this morning the bee eater camealmost within touching distance. there were 4 pairs today some did notventure out from the Date tree. those on the wire where quite contentand felt safe enough to preen themselves in between flying off to catchthe odd insect that passe 
24/12/09 I gave myself a Christmas gift. and went by small fishing boat to seethe Ibis Again. I will also be going again tomorrow. this is the only website you are going to see the birds in this area of Egypt the Nile is rising again and in two days the mud flats will be covered in water and the birds you are about to view will have left this part of theNile. I am not going to name any of the birds you can gothrough my blog Birdinginegypt they are all on there. my photos will beput on as large as possible so you can see all the birds in theframe,click to Enlarge, I hope you enjoy my xmas present.as much as Ienjoyed seeing them for real. its an awsome sight seeing these birdsrise altogether. there was a Kite on the hunt so three times they alltook off except for the Purple Gallinules and large herons. I wish youall a Happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.its the only boat thatcan get close enough on the mud flats to get close to the birds everyphoto on this blog was taken by me todays blogspot
Thistype of boat is the only boat that can get close enough on the mudflats to get close to the birds every photo on this and all my blogs have been taken by me.
http://birdinginegypt.blogspot.com/ , 
And a final fly past 
The scrub warbler,
Got some goos photos of this little bird today.
Not managed to get a shot before in full sun.
 
According to the little book this bird is not supposed to be here at this time of year/
not only that but there are 6 or 7 here in Luxor.
Flower of the Nile
 The birds are the only ones who take any notice of the signs here
the drivers think this sign means red cars are only allowed to pass black cars.
Looking from my roof I saw the egrets on the banana tree. then i decided to go down and take my daily walk past them,
By the time I got close enough to get this picture the rest had all flown off
The kingfisher must have 100% vision. here its sitting must be 100ft from its intended catch
the reeds where in the way to photo the catch.
the lizard got brave and decided to come past me for a drink.
in the turned field the plover and wagtail was having a look around for its breakfast
Notice the Maze growing its only 3 days since this field was turned and seeded.
 As close as I could get sitting on the elecricity wires about 90ft away
then it saw me
OK thats close enough time to leave
 As close as I could get sitting on the elecricity wires about 90ft away
then it saw me
OK thats close enough time to leave
 
 One of the sparrows having a swing.
There are 18 sparrows on the roof structure this morning
Onthe way home from my walk today i decided to come through the fieldsthat end up in the rear of my home. the tractor was just about tofinish scarifying a field. as usual there was plenty of cattle egretschasing after the tractor hoping to get a bug or two. then I noticedthrough the camera lens small birds . its the first time I have noticedthem in the turned fields. its the first time I have seen them the arethe yellow wagtails. I could get quite close to them as long as Istayed in the irrigation ditch, even the Little egret seemed to be usedto my presence.
This male was about 6ft away its not chirping its just hot.
Male And Female
the yellow wagtail on the mud flats by the Nile
Motacilla alba, white wagtail. was close by.
All 6 shots taken from about 100ft.
I think this is the grey heron Ardea Cinerea
too for to really tell.
The black winged Kite roosting in a palm tree
taken from about 200ft,
 
 Today I went back to the place I saw the tiny birds a few days ago
problemwas the only place I can get photos was into the sun. I tried to getphotos in the morning but there was no sign of the birds. the otherproblem is these birds are so small
to get a decent photo I must get closer or get a longer range lens. the first photo is uncut
and taken 50 ft from the subject if I try to get any closer they fly away that includes the bulbul.
sofor the time being these are the best I can get.the yellow breastedbirds I think ,looking at the bird book is the female Nile valleysunbird.
6.30 I took my walk early today and went down by the Nile the wild life was everywhere
assoon as I got down the bank the birds all flew away so I sat andwaited, it was not long before the Little Bittern returned, then theLittle white heron then came the chatter of the King fishers I turnedto look into the sun and there was 4 sitting on the branches of a treethat overhangs the inlet. then a flock of sparrows came. it seems theywhere there to take an early morning dip in the still waters of theinlet. and the Kingfishers to have an early morning preen, I could notget any decent photos because the sun was shining direct into the lens,If I moved they would fly off again.
Aftera short time the Kingfishers came to the fever tree this is where theyalways sit ready to make a dive as it overhangs the Nile.
A Cruise ship heading to Aswanwaita few minutes and I will get the wake the herons also knew this andflew off circle the area then came to land on whatever flotsam theycould find vacant. the larger heron will always chase off the bittern.the bittern is quite a small bird but has a large wing span almost asbig as the white heron
The kingfisher on the boat just went for a dive not for a catch but submerged itself
now its having a preen
 The lizard is also thinking of a run down to the waters edge
but thought better of it on seeing me.
Thebee eaters sit on the kingfishers perch if its vacant the tree is fullof blossom so there is an abundance of bees. the tree has a lot of thebee eaters on its branches in the middle of the tree
Abalancing act the little bittern has much better balance than theheron. the heron with its long legs is more clumsy. all the wingedheron shots are of it trying to get its balance on one of thesefloating banana tree trunks.
one brave little bittern. not going to give up its perch for some big white bird.
another balancing act,
 This bittern was hard to see it looked like a piece of wood floating down the Nile
 
 another sighting of the Lark
and the Spur-winged plover
How many king fishers does it take to catch a fish.
this photo was taken last May when the bird we rescued from the fishnets managed to get to the other side of the inlet.
The reason we where there was to show the guys in the photos
all the pollution from the dumping of debris in the Nile. see Nile pollution photos on myegypt website.
a random photo taken in April from one of the nearby villages.
not until its put on the computer do you see the Kingfisher.
  Fisherman and the king of fishing
This photo was taken while trying to catch the Swallow in Flight see if you can find it.
click to enlarge.
 a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_LTUrjXZIg1I/Sr87m5KdqNI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/PdUfXKSh42Y/s1600-h/IMG_0001.JPG"> 
both these birds are not much bigger than a butterfly.
once they hear even the" click on" of the camera they are gone,
The fever tree has the pods opening and the birds feed on the seeds
 
The heron was too far away to get a decent shot
A better shot of the Lark today
The night heron in the reeds.
Only one duck today
The Arabian warbler was in full trill but still did not let me get too close.
The little Egret also decided to move before I shot it.
Good morning stretch
The curb painters and road sweepers out in full force today
must be have some high official coming. 5/10.09 6th of october is a public holiday in Egypt
end of the 6 day war with Israel, I am told? and the prime minister is paying a visit to Luxor.
Thisis one of the local farmers he makes more money showing his ride thedonkey skills to passing tourists. and got quite annoyed when I had nobaksheesh to give him.
Its not baksheesh any more they all ask for10le or 1 euro. even the road sweepers stand there with the samedeformity that makes them look like they are begging.
and all this hassle takes the joy out of my daily walk.
 
a tree full of sparrows waiting to go back to the seed heads
The moon rising at 17.30 as the sun was going down. 4/10/09    One of the sparrows having a swing. There are 18 sparrows on the roof structure this morning I was once a sky watcher, as most of my work being a builder was outside so first thing on getting up was to check the sky. if it was raining heavy or a bad frost even snow Iwould get back in bed. and go to work later. these days living in Egyptthe only thing I have to watch the sky for is , sand storm or ratherdust storm. every day I can just get up make a brew have my yogurt andbanana for breakfast on the roof with the sparrows. and go for my dailywalk with my camera but not if we have a storm. such as in May we havethe Chamaseen. this is the wind that blows from the northern desert andcovers everything in dust. including my canon camera. even indside myflat I have to put my camera in the bag, so I have another camera thatis completely immune to break,water and dust the olympus u1030 10.1mega pixel its a great camera for macro and on the move shots. my canonmacro lens cost 4 times what I paid for it. the chamaseen wind also hasa mention in hieroglyphic from the village of the workers DierEl-Medinet, the workers had to trek over the thebes mountain to buildthe Valley of the Kings Tombs. so May was classed as a stay away fromhome time there was a small village built high up on the mountain abovethe Temple of Hatshepsut for the workers returning from the days work,who did not want to brave the wind to their home. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  small wasp on the reed grass. just above it there is a damsel fly next photo both pictures are from the same frame.   thesedamsels are so small to find them they have to be in flight then waittill they land most of the time they fly down to the base of the grassmaking it impossible to get a shot, all the shots of the bugs damselsand dragons are taken from at least 4ft 1200cm any closer the shot isblurred, so in the reed beds the shot has to be in the open. the nextone was taken with the red blossom in the background. going back to thedistance of a shot, if I take a shot of say the damsel with its headnear the lens the tail will be blurred. that is only a matter of 1/4 "under10 cm Like this next one is taken to the side of the species.ona slight angle see the tail is slightly blurred. ok"you say use themacro lens. not possible to get close enough.  this shot was taken concentrating on the head of the Damsel  This on the tail and wings  the following butterflies are all taken in the same area     I think is is my best photo of the month, Its also the only photo I took of this perfect Dragonfly  On the way home from my walk today i decided to come through the fieldsthat end up in the rear of my home. the tractor was just about tofinish scarifying a field. as usual there was plenty of cattle egretschasing after the tractor hoping to get a bug or two. then I noticedthrough the camera lens small birds . its the first time I have noticedthem in the turned fields. its the first time I have seen them the arethe yellow wagtails. I could get quite close to them as long as Istayed in the irrigation ditch, even the Little egret seemed to be usedto my presence. This male was about 6ft away its not chirping its just hot. Male And Female The farmer and his friends
The shepherd, no crooks here. "hmm" must clear my throat.
 Must be a big job they are going to do.  My Neighbor bringing in a load of sugar cane tops his wife uses this to heat the bread oven up.  3 crops, Chick pea, Sugar Cane and Maze growing along the path I walked today.  This one was hanging on for dear life in the wind made by passing cars and tour buses. thetourists do not get to see what I see not even the locals see what Isee, or they are not aware of the wonderfull life nature provides.  We have a new guest this day another passage through Egypt bird, I am sure its the olive-tree warbler first time I have seen it this is the bird that was near the mating Bee eaters.   dead insects and sparrows I have moved the Nile cruise photos to a new blogspot http://reflectionsofegypt.blogspot.com/
 I really do get some strange visitors to my pad. I am not sure if its a wasp, fly or flying ant, the long back legs is the mystery, nice green eyes though.    Where is my food then. Lastnight my balcony window had 15 of these tiny moths on the glass theyhad been attracted by the blue neon light of the zapper that is placedin the kitchen to zap the flies, I tried to get a photo of them throughthe glass but all I got was a backflash. the photos I managed to get!one last night after switching off the zappers and some today before itrealized it ws being phographed.      Bee eater in Flight  This is the reed bed area that I am going in , my flat is behind the date palm about 1 kilometer away. the water has receded about 12" since the last time I paid a visit here      the dragons are everywhere,they chase and play king of the castle  This species hovers over the ground in the shaded areas.             Now that is what I call a good 2 hours hunting for the dragons 4 more species plus finding other dragon hunters This little fellow had broken loose from its tether and is hiding in the reed bed  and this young heifer was tethered in the reed bed so she can watch the dragons. they do not often put cows in the marshland . only the water buffalo.  more on todays expedition on my other blogspot http://www.nilelife.blogspot.com/Thiswas a lucky shot This beauty was on the balcony washing line just as Iwas about to put some washing out. I must leave my balcony doorshutters open in future. "never know it may come back" its just a pityit was in the shade with some sunlight on the subject it would haveshown the colours better.               Answer too a posted question, The aqua damsel fly is about 1" (25mm) long andits a species that does not stay in one place for a photo as soon asyou get 1" closer its gone, so the picture was taken from about 8ft. the whole photo is as it was taken then the lower photo is a cut out of it. and that is why the lower photo can not be enlarged when its clicked on. Mostof the bird photos have been taken from about 30ft any closer and theyfly off, the bird photos are taken with a lot of patience some timeswaiting for up to 2 hours for the bird to get used to me being there .there are no hides here, some shots are taken on the move, stop get thelens in focus and shoot. by this time more than not its gone butsometimes i have been lucky or quick enough to get a shot like the oneof the Lark.And Scrub Warbler ; scotocerca inquieta, just 2 lucky shots. also with the damsel flies etc its just patience that gets a good shot. the mantis was just luck it got blown onto my balcony and I took photos of it while it was recovering. go to my first blog http://myegypttours.blogspot.com/2009/05/0ut-and-about-cairo.html  Take a photo of me too . this was a tiny creature that landed on the stair rail when I was coming back to the flat.  Oneis taken on the telephone line with a sky background. the dark blue isthe balcony cieling to to one of the flats. I try not to touch myphotos up, I have the latest photoshop for creating multiple photos forweb sites etc. none of my blog photos have been touched up.  At 45c Its even too hot for this lizards feet, 
click the photo to enlarge
The spider can change colour to its background,
One of the tiny ants that like the suger
A mantis that lived on my balcony plant
I have made the Mantis as large as possible so you can see the sweat above its eyes,
Bee
Scarab beetle
Flies having a drink of tea from a spoon everything has to
live but the flies seem to prefer living here by my home.
A wasp this is the favourite of the little bee eater bird
A dung beetle here they follow the water buffalo
no elephants here in Egypt. apart from Cairo zoo
 In this photo there is three different birds Moorhen, Squacco heron,Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio porphyrio)And if I would have seen thelatter with the naked eye I would have tried for a better shot as itwould have been the first time I had seen one.   Nothingto do today only plan my trip up the Nile. so thought I would sharethese two photos of a cold day in November 2002 the pheasant was takenin the Boy scout camp at Llandinham Newtown Powys mid Wales, and myGarden in Newtown. you see my life was not all sun and more sun.sometimes I wish for rain and frost and early morning mist from myvalleys in Wales I will be back next thursday to share any wildlife photos, but I dare say most will be for the http://nilelife.blogspot.com and the tombs and temples blog www. myegypttours.blogspot.comwe will be staying or rather berthed in Aswan for a day so I am hopingto get to the Aly University Campus natural botany desert garden in thehope of shooting some wildlife.  Scarab beetle trying to get in the airport it did not realize this was the arrivals Exit. international exits are around the.  Its the second time this year the bush has come into blossom  an evening 0ut in 2009  The Pale Tussock moth (Dasychira pudibunda) Thankyou Scryptor maybe I can now get a look at the moth,http://www.uksafari.com/paletussock.htm my photo is the best one of thecaterpiller,  O K this is not an Egyptian, it is from my garden in mid Wales taken 2 years ago.
Flower of the Nile. this flower drinks 6 litres of water per day and only grows in the Nile. the plants left on dry land once the nile recedes they die within one day. Thewater buffalo and Egret unlike most other birds that land on an animalits usually for food ie cleaning theanimal. but the Cattle egret justuses the buffalo as a dry landing area.    Theseare the only photos I have of the larger butterflies there are pleny ofthe tiny ones that are hard to get a shot of as I need to be quiteclose therefor they have landed with wings closed. this one was just as flighty and the only way I could get a photo was to take it from a distance with the 75- 300 zoom lens.     Donot know what these bees found so interesting in the plastic rubbish inthie canal but there was a swarm of them, a few feet away there was allthe minnows who had fouind an interest in another piece of plastic. Ileft in a hurry as the bees had decided to take an interest in me.   thisis a shot I took as I approached the area where the red birds where,not often do you see a whole bed of fully grown papyrus. it is nowusually cultivated for use in making the paper for the touristindustry. here is a web site on the subject. http://eoluk.co.uk/papyrus/papyrus_2.htmand strangely enough they live here in Luxor, but we have never met.nothing strange really the expats all seem want there own space. eventhough they put adds up to meet Etc,   Thedragons here are plentyfull once they are aware of me they come quiteclose as long as I stand or sit still they always come back to theiroriginal place of rest. now I know I get some quite good close ups, thelittle damsel flies are different once they are disturbed they are gone. andthey are the ones I want A close up of because they are so small. anyone can kill them and take a photo but that is not what the wild lifephotography is about.  The sun is always out here that is why the blue dragon looks white. unless I get one in the shade. but the dragons are like me and prefer to be in the sun.   Another one who was not sure if its safe to get to close, Taken about 12 ft away.   Avadavat (Amandava amandava) These birds only stayed for one day they are smaller than the sparrow and not much bigger than a wren youcan tell how small they are from the main photo before cutting, theinteresting bit is they like the seeds of the papyrus plant and theyellow bird I only realized was in the frame while cutting on thecomputer, this bird is not in my bird book, notice the unmistakable redstrike to the eye, first I thought it was the Female Nile valley sunbird, I was also lucky to get the shots. they were about 45ft away andI happened to have the 75-300 zoom lens on because 5 minutes earlier Itried to get a photo of a butterfly that would not keep still longenough to get a good shot of with my normal 17-85 lens. I managed toget 5/6 frames in quick succesion then they flew off into the reed bed. Thinking they would come back I hid in the reeds and waited about anhour but no such luck. on my return I asked the local farmer if he hadseen these birds , never was his answer where did I see them. so if itwas not for the photos It could have been true what the guy said ,Idreamed about them,   Another new baby greco I hope she does not go in the zapper for an easymeal of dead flies or it will be fried like the last one,  Ok so who are you looking at.  I am Heading up to the lake as soon as, heard there are a lot of different species there,so keep looking in. on my blogs, http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/lakeqarun.htm bit of a mix in this one all were taken in 05, the hoopoe bird on myegypt hotel roof the plover on one of the nile mud banks, and th e large white butterfly on the wall to Luxor temple. 
21/8/09 today I went for A walk over the New Luxor bridge I say new it was built in 2003 Joiningthe East & West banks of Luxor, I had A lift over the bridgebecause all I wanted to do was take some photos of the Sun flowers thatare out at this time of year. the photos of the other stuff is on the http://www.nilelife.blogspot.com/asI was coming back over the bridge there was some steps leading downunder the bridge that the local people use to get to wherever near thebridge, just like me I went down to see if I could get a good photofrom under the bridge or from the fields by the Nile, to my amazementthe place was teaming with wild life. the wild life is so adaptable tomake the best use of its enviornment, what trees survived the buildingof the bridge is home to so many birds etc. no better way to explainother by photographs. so many of these birds I have tried to get photosof, like the swallows in Aswan I took photos of from a speeding boatdown the rapid waters. and here they were in a collony, just glidingfrom a branch to skim the Nile waters for an insect or a drink, I didnot expect to see such an abundance of life and with all the localchildren following and talking most of the wildlife had flown off, nexttime I go I will go in the morning when the kids are not around nowthat Ramadan is here they all sleep until mid afternoon. its not that Imind kids its just that these little sods do not leave you alone. youhave to treat them like dogs and pick up a stone before they go away.shouting abuses like fuckin tourist. cant just give baksheesh everytime, or you have the whole damn village out after my money. and all Iwant is a bit of peace . ah well. try again. but at least I have foundanother unexpected spot to go bird and wildlife watching, only one sidewas the habitable area of the wildlife, The luxor end was home to our other wild life the river police. they too were taking advantage of the man made sun shade,                
        The Merops orientalis The Little green bee eater    this is my blogging spot on my roof with its fantastic view to the Thebes Mountain range  One of the young spanish sparrows that hatched on my roof covering  This dragonfly escaped from the sparrow - its leg They are inundating the field again and I went out to get some photosof the Cattle Egret that comes as soon as the water appears on theland.The maze crop next to my flat is having its 15 day water and the cattle Egrets are here in thier score. theyhave no problem with the farmer walking amongst them, but as soon asthey see a stranger they crane the neck and as if sensing danger theyfly off only to land 20 ft away, its so hot and dry here in Egyptthey flood once the land is tilled and seeded, then its flooded every15 days, the water is from the Nile first the water authourity pumpwater into the irugation canals here in luxor on the East bank thereare 3 and 3 on the west bank, from the canal the farmer of the land hasthe rights to take water out by whatever means, modern equipment meansa diesel or electric pump. in a lot of parts its still done by waterwheel with a blinded animal yoked to the wheel, others like the farmersin the oasis areas still use the jug water wheel, and some who feeddirect from the Nile use a weighted single jug poled lever method,threeof the wheels are somewhere on my blog photos, click for one photo. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6LMknFcnZ1A/SfgIsJ0os5I/AAAAAAAAB20/lgdHfEggn9E/s1600-h/egypt+photos+044.jpg
 TheEgrets clean most of the parasites from the land. I am not sure ifthere are worms here, In england we have seagulls that follow theplough, here we have Egrets,  Allthe land here is in blocks each block its 6 mitre wide by however muchthe farmers land is in length, depends on where the next farmers landis no fences or hedges here only earth mounds and water ways or aroad,sepperate the land.they get three crops an year usualy its cornwheat or barley, then Maze, then donkey food Hasish (clover) orvegetables, sugar cane land is different once the crop is plantedits watered very much the same as other crops every 15 days. itsharvested from November/December to May /june. the foilage is eitherfed to the animals or burned in situe,activating the next crop this isdone for four years, then the land is turned and a new crop isplanted,Depends on the area the sugar is grown for its Quality. all thebest is exported, at the end of a season sugar cane is burnt in thefield then the stems harvested for what they call black sugar,(molasis)one of the Egyptians fovourite drinks is sugar assur, cane that is putthrough rollers to get its raw suger out, its looks awfull a greenishcolour and is not what you would think " very sweet," almost every mainstreet here has an assur drinks shop, mango,orange ,guava,apricot,grape,pomigranite when in season the assur is made in the sugarcane shop,    A Shaduf 15 k before Esna Thenext 20 photos are within 100 yards of my flat and took about half anHour of my Time'notice the difference in the two date trees,kept andunkept that never prodeces as much dates.just 200 yards from here thereis a workshop that makes chairs etc from the branches.  The Hooded Crow (Corvus cirone cornix) One of the chicks come back to its nest to take shade under the dates its so hot here now 45c in the shade,they sit with their wings and beaks open trying to keep cool . June/09 Thereare hundreds of these tiny butterflies around at the moment getting aphoto close enough to get a shot of the wings open is nigh nearimpossible. but try I will just have to be patient.        
 then there are these beautifull dragonflies that are always around wherever there is water. Answer too a posted question, The aqua damsel fly is about 1" (25mm) long andits a species that does not stay in one place for a photo as soon asyou get 1" closer its gone, so the picture was taken from about 8ft. the whole photo is as it was taken then the lower photo is a cut out of it. and that is why the lower photo can not be enlarged when its clicked on. Mostof the bird photos have been taken from about 30ft any closer and theyfly off, the bird photos are taken with a lot of patience some timeswaiting for up to 2 hours for the bird to get used to me being there .there are no hides here, some shots are taken on the move, stop get thelens in focus and shoot. by this time more than not its gone butsometimes i have been lucky or quick enough to get a shot like the oneof the Lark.And Scrub Warbler ; scotocerca inquieta, just 2 lucky shots. also with the damsel flies etc its just patience that gets a good shot. the mantis was just luck it got blown onto my balcony and I took photos of it while it was recovering. go to my first blog http://myegypttours.blogspot.com/2009/05/0ut-and-about-cairo.htmlTake a photo of me too . this was a tiny creature that landed on the stair rail when I was coming back to the flat. Oneis taken on the telephone line with a sky background. the dark blue isthe balcony cieling to to one of the flats. I try not to touch myphotos up, I have the latest photoshop for creating multiple photos forweb sites etc. none of my blog photos have been touched up. At 45c Its even too hot for this lizards feet,
Sheep Goats & Egrets, This photo was taken in Dhakla oasis. 
The Egyptians are not a very health concience lot, one
reason there are so many flies and rats here is because
of the garbage that is thrown out even in the cities the
garbage is collected then dumped in either a canal or an
empty building, in the villages its just thrown out of the
front door Thats if they have a front door, what the dogs
and cats dont eat the chickens , goats, rats & flies eat
if an animal dies its just dumped in the nearest place,
if its a canal or whatever. twice I have sat in a restaurant
by the Nile and seen a dead animal floating past, its a natural
way to get rid of a carcuss, the nile perch taste good anyway,
A greco that lives with me in my flat it is a good fly catcher,
a honey bee click the photo to enlarge
The spider can change colour to its background,
One of the tiny ants that like the suger
A mantis that lived on my balcony plant
Bee
Scarab beetle
dragonfly
Flies having a drink of tea from a spoon everything has to
live but the flies seem to prefer living here by my home.
A wasp this is the favourite of the little bee eater bird
A dung beetle here they follow the water buffalo
no elephants here in Egypt. apart from Cairo zoo
Hiding the fish traps from the Herons picture taken at
Banana Island Inlet,
The first photo I had of the bee eater was on the telephone
wire coming into my flat
The Merops orientalis The Little green bee eater
usually in pairs but there was about eight in this group
very hard to photograph all in one group
The swallow is the hardest of all the birds to photograph
as its always on the move
This photo shows one dive bombing the moorhens chicks
These are photos on the road going down from my flat to
the nile with all the horse and donkey shit its a good place
for the birds to catch flies ,
Taking a fly off the wall in flight,
Click on the photos to enlarge
The Nile valley sunbird (Anthreptes metalicus) Male
Female Nile valley sunbird.
Onour way back as soon as we left the rapids I caught a glimpse of thelittle bittern, the boat was traveling too fast to get a good shot, andby the time we had turned back it had flown off,on here somewhere isanother photo of the little bittern taken 2 years ago.
The little white Egret is not all that people shy
often it will sit on the fishermans boat and wait for a free fish.
|
'
'
,
.
.
'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
