Results tagged “african skimmer” on Earth Touch Blog
This week’s most viewed stories Oct 26 2007
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 19 October to Thursday 25 October 2007) were:
Number 1
The water around Geyser Rock is full of Cape fur seals, a favourite meal for the great white sharks in this area.
The skimmers have returned Oct 23 2007
After a period of absence from the sandbanks of the Nxamaseri Channel in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, the African skimmers appear to have returned.
The Earth-Touch film crew spotted these endangered birds after it was thought that they had left the Nxamaseri area for the season.
Tags: african skimmer, bird, chick, egg, skimmer, threatenedWhat happened to the skimmers? Oct 10 2007
Much to everyone’s surprise, the migratory African skimmers have already left the sandbank at Nxamaseri in the Okavango Delta, where they were nesting and attempting to raise their chicks. This abrupt departure brings to an end a spectacularly unsuccessful season for the endangered birds.
Why do animals migrate? Oct 3 2007
Animal migration usually corresponds with the changing of the seasons. Animals move in search of food and water and to get to their breeding grounds.
This week’s most viewed stories Sep 15 2007
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Fri 7 September to Thurs 13 September) have been:
Number 1This week’s most popular story is Nature takes its course, a story about African skimmer chicks struggling to stay alive in the beautiful yet harsh Okavango Delta, in northern Botswana.
Do or die? Sep 10 2007
By Andy Crawford, field crewNature is harsh. Sometimes exceedingly so. This is obvious to anyone who has seen the Earth-Touch video clip of the nesting skimmer colony in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, entitled Tension mounts on skimmer bank. The seemingly senseless killing of a two-day-old skimmer chick by an adult skimmer is difficult to watch, and even more difficult to comprehend. Since mentioning this incident to a few people, the question most often asked is, “Why didn’t the film crew help the chick?”
Did you know? Bird bones Sep 10 2007
To be able to fly, a bird‘s skeleton needs to be lightweight and strong. To achieve this, nature has endowed birds with several adaptations for flight. They have fewer bones than mammals. Many of their bones, such as the middle and lower vertebrae, are fused together, and some tail, finger and leg bones are missing. Some of their bones are hollow, with internal struts for reinforcement, much like the lightweight wooden struts in early aeroplanes.
African skimmer chicks hatch Sep 6 2007
In the past few days Earth-Touch has broadcast footage of this season’s first African skimmers being born in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
African skimmers are an endangered species. They are striking black and white birds, with large, orange beaks, which they use to skim the surface of the water for fish, as they fly along. Their chicks are the colour of tortoise shell, and they have yet to develop their iconic beaks.
Tags: african skimmer, beak, bird, chick, colour, fly, skimmer, threatenedTouching the Earth Aug 29 2007
By Tara Turkington, editorial team
It’ is winter and the sun is bathing the bush in an early-morning wash of light. We’’re bumping along slowly in our Volkswagen Combi on a dirt road near Berg-en-Dal in the Kruger National Park, when we see a long-legged dog running briskly towards us.
Hiding out Aug 27 2007
By Andy Crawford, field crew
Filming wild animals is often difficult as they tend to react to a human presence. In order to capture their ‘natural’ behaviour, one often has to find inventive ways of going unnoticed.
Tags: african skimmer, bird, buffalo, cage, carcasse, catfish, crew, donkey, fly, footage, graze, herd, hide, hyena, skimmerEndangered birds’ eggs adding up Aug 21 2007
The African skimmers’ eggs are adding up on the sandbank in the Nxamaseri Channel in the Okavango, where Earth-Touch has been filming them - the total for this year so far now stands at 18. Watch African skimmers’ eggs nestle safely to see the eggs, and the ingenious nest design which keeps them safe from crocodiles.
African skimmers lay their first eggs Aug 20 2007
By Andy Crawford, field crew
The African skimmers resident on the sandbank in the Nxamaseri channel in the Okavango Delta of Botswana have laid their first eggs, which means that in about three weeks we will have tiny fluffy bundles wobbling around learning how to be real birds.
Tags: african skimmer, bird, chick, fur, sandbank, skimmer, threatenedGearing up for the great catfish run Aug 10 2007
By Andy Crawford, field crew
Things have been happening early in Botswana this year, probably due to the unseasonably warm weather. The temperature has been over 30 degrees celsius (86 degrees fahrenheit) for the majority of this week, no doubt the build-up to a long, hot summer. The skimmers arrived on the sandbank months ahead of schedule and are gearing up to breed already and it seems as if the annual catfish run may also be happening sooner than expected. In the evenings one can hear the tell-tale snapping of the papyrus as the catfish hunt.
Did you know? Skimmers Aug 8 2007
An African skimmer fishes by flying close to the surface of the water, scooping up unsuspecting prey with its lower beak. Watch the first of Earth-Touch’s coverage of these endangered birds this season: African skimmers return to Nxamaseri.
The early birds Jul 19 2007
By Andy Crawford, field crew
The skimmers have arrived! This probably doesn’’t sound like a significant event to the non-twitchers amongst us. Those in the know, however, will find it very peculiar.
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