I just realised that I have completed year two!
Saw this Blue Crane and Egyptian Goose this morning whilst out walking the mutts. Unfortunately only had my 18-55mm lens so this is a rather tight crop!
The Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus), also known as the Stanley Crane and the Paradise Crane, is the national bird of South Africa.
The Blue Crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, but is fairly small by the standards of the crane family. It is 100–120 cm (3 ft 3 in–3 ft 10 in) tall, with a wingspan of 180–200 cm (5 ft 10 in–6 ft 7 in) and weighs 3.6–6.2 kg (7.9–14 lb).
This crane is pale blue-gray in colour becoming darker on the upper head, neck and nape. From the crown to the lores, the plumage is distinctly lighter, sometimes whitish. The bill is ochre to greyish, with a pink tinge. The long wingtip feathers which trail to the ground. The primaries are black to slate grey, with dark coverts and blackish on the secondaries. Unlike most cranes, it has a relatively large head and a proportionately thin neck. Juveniles are similar but slightly lighter, with tawny coloration on the head, and no long wing plumes.
The Blue Crane is now classified as vulnerable. In the last two decades, the Blue Crane has largely disappeared from the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, and Swaziland. The population in the northern Free State, Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West Province has declined by up to 90%. The majority of the remaining population is in eastern and southern South Africa
Info from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alternate shot of a cat:
http://365project.org/salza/extras/2013-10-26
Huge congrats on finishing year two!