Each month, I’ll be choosing three of my favourite photos as finalists for my “Pic(k) of the Month” series. The criteria are simple – the photos must have been taken (by me) within that calendar month and do not need to be flawless; rather, it’s a subjective selection of photos that tell a story, evoke an emotion, or showcase something interesting. Finalists are posted on my Ko-Fi page two days before the “reveal” right here on my blog site.
Two things struck me as we descended into the blackness of the underground hide that was to be our home for the next 24 hours. The first was the acrid odour of bat urine – despite the concrete floor having been carefully swept the previous day. The second was the wave of heat and dust being blown across the naked earth around the waterhole, straight through the narrow horizontal observation window.
I don’t know exactly what it is about small birds that appeals to me so much. Perhaps it’s their miniature perfection in structure, or the fact that many are so readily overlooked. Chief within this mini realm are some of the LBJs (“little brown jobs”) that lack the flash of sunbirds and pytilias but make up for it with personality.
Growing up in Harare’s suburbs, I was always desperate to live in the bush. Evenings were spent poring over the list of farms (preferably game ranches) in the newspaper’s “Classifieds”, in the vain hope that I could convince my parents to abscond the city.
