Nature enthusiast captures southern red bishop on the Bluff
Nature's calling scribe, Warren Dick ventured to the Bluff National Golf Course to photograph the southern red bishop.
“ON Sunday, November 14, I joined some friends for a birding expedition at the Bluff National Golf Course. I am not much of a birder, simply because I more often then not, battle to find a bird in a tree, but these beautiful birds were just impossible to miss,” said Warren Dick.
“The male Southern red bishops are simply stunning, with a bright reddish orange on black plumage, a colour almost too much for my camera to capture correctly. It was only after consulting Google that I realised that I had indeed photographed both males and females.”
“As it is with most birds, the females look totally different, they are a drab creamy brown colour.”
Red bishops are gregarious birds, often living in small colonies and even mixing with similar species, such as the thick billed weavers and masked weavers.
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In the summer months, the red bishop favors living near water, such as rivers and dams, where they build their nests among tall reeds. In winter they will move further away into more arid areas.
Like weavers, the male red bishops make delicately woven basket nests out of grass. At the beginning of spring, the male sets out making quite a few nests, then preforms a courtship display with feathers ruffled in the hopes of attracting mates. They are polygynous, meaning one male can have many mates.
They often forage in groups, sometimes with other weaver species, where they feed on grass seeds and small insects.
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The Bluff National Golf Course offers a home to lots of wildlife, including many different bird species. Of late the eco-system has been under threat due to pollution and sewage running into the water ways.
If you would like to make contact with Warren to have some of your interesting insects, snakes or spiders identified, call or WhatsApp him on 072 211 0353.
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