And here it is once again (About time did you say?) – a selection of photos that appealed to me for various reasons, not just the quality of the photo but also for the memory it left with me. I hope you enjoy scrolling through them as much as I have enjoyed taking, editing and selecting them.

I have not included the many birds I photographed during our visit to Australia as they have been included in the posts on that visit, but chose one of my favourites for the Heading photo – a pair of perky Red-backed Fairywrens that entertained me on one of my many walks

The Places

A random selection of the places we visited during the year….

Starting with Australia and the iconic Sydney Opera House

Back home, I never tire of the late afternoon views while walking the golf estate and adjacent nature trails

A Powervan, used in the past to check and maintain train tracks, was our transport one Saturday morning, taking us high up into the mountains above George

An early morning atlasing outing took me to Herbertsdale where the low-lying mist added to the beauty of the area

Hartenbos beach is a favourite dog-walking spot, especially at low tide

This was the scene as the Cape Town Stadium gradually filled up for the memorable Andrea Bocelli concert we attended there

A view to the end of the world from the Robinson Pass on the road between Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn

Contrasting colours, a lone tree and several ostriches made for a unique opportunity on a mid-year atlasing trip

A unplanned visit to the West Coast town of Yzerfontein not far from Cape Town was a fortunate one

The Birds

As before, I have placed them under groupings ‘borrowed’ from Firefinch which is the excellent birding app produced by Faansie Peacock (his real name!) and his team.

Faansie has a way of making birding interesting and fun and the way he categorises bird species in his app is a good example of his practical approach.

Raptors

Seeing a raptor at the roadside is always exciting and a reason to stop and have a better look – most will fly off the moment you stop, so it requires a bit of stealth to keep the car moving slowly while approaching the target and to have the camera at the ready for the moment you come to a standstill – if they do take off there’s always the chance of freezing that moment, capturing the underwing patterns and colours

Sleepers

Who else but the owls and nightjars….

Perchers

This category covers a variety of birds normally seen perched on a tree or bush or other suitable spot

Suckers

The curve-billed nectar-suckers

Seed-eaters

All have short, strong triangular bills suited to their main diet of seeds.

Favourites

A random mix of familiar birds, often colourful and with well-known calls. Here are three Kingfishers that fall into this grouping….

Flyers

Swifts and swallows – the aerial feeders – also the most challenging to photograph unless they are resting between sorties

Plungers

Mainly seabirds that forage over water – and under water

At certain times during the year terns frequent the estuaries west and east of Mossel Bay where they move about in large flocks, usually requiring an energy-sapping walk across soft sands to get into position for photography

Runners

Small to medium-sized birds that forage on the ground

Swimmers

Birds with webbed or lobed toes for swimming

Walkers

And to end off – the group of large birds with long legs that feed and nest on the ground