Birds succeed in making a living in pretty hard circumstances. This includes the jungles of tar, concrete, wires with assorted purposes strung between poles, with a few palm trees in the mix. Here’s an example of industrial biodiversity in Maitland, a suburb of Cape Town
These tyres had given me 50,000 km, and had more than reached the legal limit. With a bird ringing course, 700 km away, looming next week, it was time for decisive action. So, at 08h00 today, the magnetic triangle showing that this vehicle was number one in the queue was put on the bonnet. Replacing four tyres, wheel alignment, etc, takes about an hour. You can use that hour or lose it. I had taken my camera, and in the hope that I could wander around outside, instead of reading old magazines about irrelevant topics in the waiting lounge, however comfortable that is. The hour produced enough of interest to generate this little blog. A camera trap would probably have produced some nightlife, in the form of rats, but the focus here is only on birds.
Birds and steel
We seldom look up when we are on pavements and crossing roads. That makes sense, because we should avoid bumping into other pedestrians, and getting knocked over by vehicles. But the birds have endless opportunities to inspect the infrastructure above us.
Birds and tar and concrete
Birds and air
Birds and green
This part of Maitland generally lacks much in the way of green …
While I was still engrossed in photography, my tyres were fitted and the wheels aligned! Now I feel more comfortable setting off for the bird ringing course at New Holme, starting next Monday.
The industrial biodiversity of Maitland doesn’t have much variety, but the antics of the birds filled an hour with interest and amusement. The BirdPix section of the Virtual Museum benefitted too!
