Sandown resident snaps success
A local woman, Joyce Peet, launched her first book, Hadeda Ibis.
JOYCE Peet was excited to launch her book, Hadeda Ibis, to the Highway community recently.
The 85-year-old Pinetown resident belonged to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds when she lived in England, and since she moved down to South Africa in 1988, her love for birdlife has only grown. Joyce has lived in the Highway area since and when she moved into Sandown Village, she quickly set up a beautiful garden around her cottage in the hopes of inviting a variety of birds.
While many different feathered friends visited the yard, she was so enamoured by the family of four hadeda that frequented her garden that she began photographing them. “I tell you, this digital camera has come in very handy as I catch they come through at all times of the day and I can catch a few shots of them and their amusing behaviours,” said Joyce.
She was a professional photographer when she left school but her call to nursing was too strong and she changed professions in 1962. The pictorial book is 15 double pages, full colour and hardback. “I know they’re not the most popular of birds as they are noisy and messy, and if you look them up in any book, they are generally in one specific pose. For all of that, they are a fascinating bird when you see them in repose,” she said.
She is currently working on another pictorial book of elephants and once that is complete, she will look to create a book on garden birds. “I didn’t do it to create a commercial enterprise, but as a way to achieve my own goal of having a published book and as a way to introduce others to the ibis’s way of life for those that would never have thought to observe them,” said Joyce.
The book is R150 and to purchase a copy, contact Joyce on 031 701 2847.
