Lesser honeyguide, Indicator minor, visitsSeems like spring has sprung with all the bird activity of the last week or so. Managed to […] 19th August 2023 in Birds and bird photography / The natural world tagged birds / South Africa by Derek Keats
Hermannia glanduligera, sticky-bell-flowerHermannia glanduligera, known as ‘the sticky-bell-flower’ is flowering around the Hoedspruit area at the moment, in early winter […] 3rd June 2023 in The natural world tagged flora / malvaceae by Derek Keats
Junonia natalica natalica – the brown pansy, or brown commodoreIn the last post I showed the dark blue pansy, Junonia oenone oenone. Here I am showing another Junonia […] 20th May 2023 in The natural world tagged butterfly / Lepidoptera / nature by Derek Keats
Dark Blue Pansy – Junonia oenoneThis is a dark blue pansy, Junonia oenone oenone, at Hoedspruit, Limpopo, South Africa yesterday afternoon. I have […] 14th May 2023 in The natural world tagged butterfly / Lepidoptera by Derek Keats
Sarangesa motozi – the forest elfinMy last attempt at finding Sarangesa motozi turned out to be Abantis pillaana (ragged skipper) . This is […] 6th May 2023 in The natural world tagged butterflies / butterfly / Lepidoptera by Derek Keats
Abantis pillaana – the ragged skipperA couple of days ago I found a ragged skipper (Abantis pillaana, formerly Caprona pillaana and still listed […] 3rd May 2023 in The natural world tagged butterflies / butterfly / Lepidoptera by Derek Keats
The moth Lhommeia subapicataI recently got myself a Canon RF 100mm macro lens and an adapter to fit my old ring […] 2nd May 2023 in The natural world tagged Lepidoptera / Moth by Derek Keats
The owl moth and the owlThis is a cream-striped owl ooth (Cyligramma latona) at Raptors View Wildlife Estate, Limpopo, South Africa. The larvae […] 30th April 2023 in The natural world tagged Lepidoptera / Moth by Derek Keats
Photographers – buy equipment not softwareThis morning I was playing around in DarkTable, improving my skills at using its awesome capability. I used a […] 21st October 2017 in Free and open source software / Nature photography / Ubuntu tagged FOSS for photographers / photography / photography tips by Derek Keats
How inappropriate to call this planet ‘Earth’ when it is ...Arthur C. Clarke wrote “How inappropriate to call this planet ‘Earth’ when it is quite clearly ‘Ocean’.” I […] 16th July 2017 in Diving, underwater and intertidal / The natural world tagged marine life / oceans by Derek Keats
Lions of Kgalagadi Transfrontier ParkIn April, I was lucky enough to be in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park for two weeks. It is a […] 22nd May 2017 in Nature photography tagged Kgalagadi / lions by Derek Keats
Giant kingfishers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical GardenI am going to try a little activity log for a change. Today, unusually in the afternoon, I […] 20th May 2017 in Birds and bird photography tagged birding / kingfisher by Derek Keats
The black-faced waxbills of ZaagkuildriftStrangely, even though I have been chasing birds around the bush for about five years now, and half seriously […] 22nd March 2017 in Birds and bird photography tagged birding / birds by Derek Keats
Warbler weekend at ZaagkuildriftLast weekend (March 17-19) was spent providing food for mosquitoes and learning warblers with Etienne Marais and Sheleph […] 21st March 2017 in Birds and bird photography by Derek Keats
The wrymouth a ghost of a fishGhost fish seemed an appropriate name the first time I saw one, For a fleeting second, in the […] 6th October 2016 in Diving, underwater and intertidal / The natural world tagged diving / fish / ghostfish / ichthyology / muddy bottom / Newfoundland / research opportunity / strange creatures / Terra Nova National Park / wrymouth by Derek Keats
Lunar beauty of the summer seasThis article was published in Diver magazine in 1990. In the sky there is only one moon, but […] 18th August 2016 in Diving, underwater and intertidal / The natural world tagged diving / moon jelly / nature / underwater by Derek Keats
Ndumo: birds of prey with adaptations to the forestWe took a five days in the second week of August 2016 to visit Ndumo Nature Reserve in […] 14th August 2016 in Birds and bird photography by Derek Keats
Bird photography tips – what you doA few people have asked me how to take pictures of birds, and I often get asked by […] 12th June 2016 in Birds and bird photography / Nature photography tagged photography tips by Derek Keats
Diederik cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius – interesting birdwatchingDiederik cuckoo This blog post is about Diederik cuckoo, Chrysococcyx caprius, and is illustrated with photos taken at […] 10th October 2015 in Birds and bird photography / Nature photography / The natural world tagged birds / brood parasitism / nature / photography / sexual dimorphism by Derek Keats
Why I share my photos freelyI have been doing photography of some sort on and off since I was about 14 years old, […] 13th September 2015 in All things free and open / Nature photography tagged freedom / nature / photography / sharing by Derek Keats
A moon, two planets and a starThe earth’s moon, Jupiter, Venus, and Regulus all lined up this evening. Regulus is just a faint point, […] 18th July 2015 in Astronomy and sky photography tagged Jupiter / moon / night sky / Saturn / stars by Derek Keats