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Secretarybird.
This huge endangered bird of prey got its name from the long feathers on its head that look like old writing quills. It prefers open habits such as the savanna and hunts on foot for insects, small mammals & snakes. They kill lizards and snakes by stomping on them with their feet.

Year 2 #18 bee and butterfly garden.
The garden is looking a little sorry these days, although a few gaillardia and some aster-like flowers are blooming. The few remaining bees are a little slow. The spend foliage will be left for the winter to provide habitat and seeds for insects and birds.

Harran, Turkey is known for bee-hive houses that don't occur elsewhere in Turkey, although they are known from Scotland & Ireland. In Harran, they were known as far back as the 7th C BC. They are built from mud, brick and stone recycled from older buildings with an opening at the top for ventilation

Cuteness alert.
A pair of bat-eared fox lie in the shade outside their den on the savanna in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. They live in arid and semi-area areas and get water mostly from their diet. They are the only example of an insectivorous canid, eating mostly harvester termites.

A matter of taste. They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Here is a portrait of a marabou stork with its useful long strong beak and its practical featherless head and neck. This bird species plays a vital ecological role by cleaning up waste and carrion, helping to control disease.

Rain clouds move from the west over Georgia Strait approaching the wetlands & marshes of Westham Island on the Pacific flyway. Fall colours are starting to develop and golden rods, gone to seed, & driftwood are in the foreground. The arrival of huge populations of migrating snow geese is imminent.

In the Mesopotamian countryside, Turkey, I photographed this mule wearing an old carry pack. Mules are still used to carry loads in this area. Their use as pack animals goes as far back as 2000 BCE. They were used on the old Silk Road for their ability to carry heavy loads in mountainous terrain.

Keeping watch!
Cheetah brothers, fur still somewhat matted from a recent rainstorm, monitor the savanna on both sides, ready to start hunting again. The start of the rainy season in Tanzania signals the start of the Great Migration and of a time of plenty for the predators and their offspring.

When the remains of the ancient religious site of Göbeklitepe in Mesopotamia, ~10,000 BCE, began excavation in 1995-2014 it became one of the most important discoveries in world archaeological history, marking the transition when the hunter-gatherer way of life gave way to agricultural production.

Rain clouds and fall colours.
At the Reifel Migratory bird sanctuary I captured the ducks and geese standing on logs in one of the ponds during a break in the rain storms. The shoreline was taking on the fall colours and some dramatic rain clouds covered the sky. Westham Island, BC.

RIP Jane Goodall.
I was so saddened to hear of the death today of Jane Goodall, the remarkable chimpanzee researcher and protector. I had the pleasure of attending her talk on April 14 this year in Vancouver. BC.

Photographing a photographer.
During an afternoon break between rain storms, I photographed my fellow photographer patiently crouched down by a pond as she waited for a mated pair of blue-winged teals to raise their heads at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Westman Island, BC.

In a scene that could date back to the Industrial Revolution (except for the plastic bags), I shot a blacksmith at work in his market shop, surrounded by the tools of his trade. The Silk Road Town Sanliufura is in a region of Turkey called 'The Cradle of Civilization' (~10,000 years old).

It was interesting to learn that the black-backed jackal is one of the oldest canid species still in existence and that it has hardly evolved since the Pleistocene era. It is an unspecialised carnivore that thrives in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, TZA.

Motorcycles customized by enthusiasts for special events such as weddings and other celebrations are a distinctive cultural feature in Sanliurfa, Turkey. A good place to see these colourful motorcycles is in the local market in this old Silk Route town. The rubble is likely from the 2023 earthquake.

The huge stomachs on these cheetah brothers tell that they had feasted before the rainfall, which tends to make them thirsty. When the downpour stopped they moved to the flooded roadway to get a drink of water. The dirt roads hadn't yet turned into the deep gloopy mud that happens after a heavy rain

Shaking off after the rain. As soon as the torrential rain stopped, and even before the dark skies cleared, the three soaked cheetah brothers started shaking off the water and licking each other dry. In the top right you can see the pools of water that collected on the savanna during the heavy rain

Bedraggled cheetahs. As the deluge of rain was winding down, I captured the three water-soaked cheetah brothers
hunkered down in the savanna grasses with their woe-begotten looks. The cloud burst marked the start of the rainy season in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, near Lake Ndutu, Tanzania.

Suddenly the dark skies opened and buckets of rain started coming down, signalling the start of the rainy season. The noise of the pounding rain was deafening and through raindrops the size of marbles I could barely see the 3 poor wet cheetahs hunkered down in the grass nearby. Lake Ndutu, Tanzania.

In the Ngorongoro Conservation Area a cheetah, sleeping on the savanna grasses, suddenly lifted its head (and tail) and fixed its gaze on something in the distance, possibly edible prey. Minutes later the skies opened up and the rainy season started with a deluge of rain, obscuring all vision.

Girls, covered head to toe in black niqabs and chadors, were giggling and having fun at Abraham's pond in Sanliurfa while they fed the sacred carp and took cell phone pictures. They were likely from a Quran school or madrasa for Islamic religious education. Anonymous photo so as not to give offence.

Abraham's Pond (Balıklıgöl) is a religious site in Sanliufa, Turkey, which is said to be the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham. Sacred carp fish swim in the pool & to bring good fortune people buy food at the pond to feed them. The Ottoman era Rizvaniye Mosque (1736 AD) is on the edge of the pond.

East African eland aka Patterson's eland. Common eland
are huge herbivorous antelopes with spiral horns that can weigh up to 1000 kg. At the northern end of its range the common eland has dark spots above its knees and is a distinctive subspecies. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.

The entry sign to Karahan Tepe, one of the first structures built by man in ~10,000 BC. It was discovered in 1997 on the hillside at the upper left, but intensive archaeological excavations only began in 2019. A Kangal dog, a guardian dog breed with roots in ancient Mesopotamia, stands by the sign.

African sacred ibis, Tanzania. This elegant bird was once present in huge numbers in Egypt where it was used as an offering to the god Troth, the god of wisdom, who is depicted with the head of an ibis. As many as 8 M birds were mummified & placed in tombs in Egypt, where the birds no longer exist.

During the Syrian war > 3 M refugees migrated into Turkey where whole families work for long hours in harsh conditions as seasonal labourers in agricultural fields (cotton), for minimal wages. Despite the conditions, they were happy to exchange photographs (many had cell phones) & laughs. Şanlıurfa.

Get lost, we were here first! Rüppell's vultures fight over the carcass of a young zebra (hidden beneath the birds) as a late comer tries to horn in on the feast. The newcomer has raised its wings and reared up to try to look more impressive. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.

A Rüppell's vulture 'brakes' in the air with wings & tail up & head and feet down as it approaches a carcass out of sight to the left. These are huge vultures with an unfeathered head & a white neck collar. Rüppell's vultures are critically endangered carrion eaters (poison), Lake Ndutu,Tanzania.

In the first frame a beautiful lioness cleans up her face in preparation for her portrait and in the second frame she assumes a sweet pose for the camera. She forgot to get the blood off her chin from her recent feast, which is attracting a few flies. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.

Mesopotamia in Turkey has some of the 1st structures built by man. Karahan Tepe was built as a ritualistic gathering place by hunter-gatherers as early as 12,000 BC, before the development of agriculture or pottery. It is famous for its T-shaped pillars, likely stylized humans figures.