Birds birds birds….a joyous cacaphony of sound flows from the two village weaver colonies that are building in the Brachystigia tamarindoides trees at Tsavene. Leaves flutter down from high as they strip the trees and begin the weaving of their nests from strands of our long- suffering Phoenix reclinata palms.
The Paradise flycatcher couples, which are nesting within metres of each other, are put out by the weaver activity…I wonder if this means they will desert their nests…
40 mm of rain has fallen in the last week, tadpoles wriggling and turtles jostling in our waterhole…
Chiromantis frogs have deserted the dry season haven of our house, to go forth and build their nests of foam over every pool of water. Some nests hang as high as four metres up in trees overhanging the water!
Chiromantis frog, nest, tadpoles
Woodland kingfishers trill from vantage points around our house late into the evenings, and start before dawn every morning. A few days ago, Clive and I were delighted to hear a White-faced owl calling even before the sun set. Guinea fowls have paired off and patrol noisily around the water hole each evening, then one of the pair, (the female ?) sits bravely incubating the precious eggs through the night while the other finds a safe roost in a tree.
Amur falcons patrol the sky, elegant squadrons of hunters, as flying ants flutter up from the damp earth. We count more that ten Spotted eagles between our house and the Senuko Lodge on one drive! Newly arrived from Russia, and perched in trees low to the ground, they follow the rain and wait for emerging winged termites, their principal food.
Guinea fowl pair -acrylic on craft paper, by Lin Barrie…….
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About wineandwilddogs
Lin Barrie
The Save Valley Conservancy stretches along the upper reaches of the great Save River in the south east of Zimbabwe. The Gonarezhou National Park laps against the southern banks of the Save River and between these two nestles the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve. These three celebrated wildlife areas form part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, (GLTFCA)- a unique wilderness jewel which is home to the “Big Five” (endangered Black and White rhinos, elephants, buffalo, lion, leopard) and the ”Little Six” (Klipspringer, Suni, Duiker, Steenbok, Sharpe's Grysbok and Oribi). Endangered African wild dogs, Cheetah, Brown hyena, Bat-eared foxes and a host of special birds and plants contribute to the immense variety of this ecosystem. Communities around the GLTFCA contribute to innovative partnerships with National Parks and the private sector, forming a sound base on which to manage social, economic and environmental issues.
This is home to artist and writer Lin Barrie and her life partner, conservationist Clive Stockil.
Expressing her hopes, fears and love for this special ecosystem with oil paints on canvas, Lin Barrie believes that the essence of a landscape, person or animal, can only truly be captured by direct observation.
Lin Barrie states: “Through my art, and my writing, I feel an intimate connection with the natural world, and from my extensive field sketches of wild animals, people and landscapes, I create larger works on canvas.
Lin's work is in various public and private collections in South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, England, Canada, Sweden and the United States of America. She is represented by galleries in South Africa, Zimbabwe, England, Kenya and Florida, USA.
wine and wild dogs 