I Hate Flies!!!!!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Everyone,

Hope you all had a lovely Sunday, here's something from the Kalahari I found in my folders...I miss the place badly but won't be seeing my "holy land" till sometime next year, been looking through my images and found this one of a poor ostrich bothered by some very annoying flies, thought I'd share it just for interest' sake. My subject kept shaking his head to get rid of those pests, a difficult exercise in those temperatures (41"C)

A very big crop affected the IQ to some extent.

Wishing you all a wonderful evening,

[Joseph Przybyla]

Cannot help but feel sorry for the Ostrich, flies can be so annoying. Beautiful tones and colors. If you had not said so, I would not have known it was a big crop. Very nice, thank you for sharing, Gabriela.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Gaby, excellent detail, and the large crop that you have stated certainly doesnt show. Love the open beak, and the Ostrich pops nicely against the smooth BG.

[Karen Pleasant]

Another very entertaining image, Gabriela! The fly perched near the eye really emphasizes how tormented the ostrich must feel! Wonderful details and textures which pop off the creamy background. Well cropped also.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice shot of this poor animal! Looks like he wants to snap them up but isn't fast enough. Does the ecosystem really need flies? Probably, somehow, but they are SO annoying.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Diane,

Sometimes it is difficult to get an image of an Ostrich in the Kalahari, they move non-stop and it's all about picking those flies off. I guess they do have their role in nature, annoying as they are. By the way, there are two flies near the eye:)

Will post some more images soon, hope you enjoy your evening, thank you so much for viewing and comments !

Kind regards,

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

That's great!
I also hate flies. Whoever invented them (and mozzies) should be shot!
LOL

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Akos,

Just for the record, I must add that I personally do not "hate" flies as such - a bit of a strong word LOL, my title refers to the ostrich in a figurative way. Although they do annoy us tremendously, we must remember those insects are beneficial to any environment in terms of pollination (so important in the Kalahari because of the scarce vegetation). Also, fly larvae help break down dead animal remains.

Even the mosquitoes have a role in nature, their larvae control the amount of bacteria as well as algae in water.

Err...let us not forget, both mosquitoes and flies are "food" for birds, fish, reptiles, and probably other species too. Ummm...on this topic...I might have a photograph you will enjoy, will search for it at the week-end and post it

Have a wonderful week-end, thank you so much for taking the time to view, I appreciate it!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I know Gabriela, I know.
I just get SOOOO annoyed by those two **** insects. We have millions of flies and mozzies in Oz in summer.
Hence the strong statement.
At least birds and frogs don't go hungry.

[Gabriela Plesea]

I do understand I have a pond in the garden and the mozzies love it. But frogs love mozzies and I like to fall asleep listening to the frogs song. So I put up with the annoying ones, LOL. It's all about priorities...

I know you care about wildlife, Akos. I have seen your images and read your stories, often so moving. So we are on the same side, Mate And I have to admit, I do exterminate mozzies, especially when they venture into my bedroom

By the way, on Wednesday morning I had an unusual visitor, was busy getting dressed and it was around 7 am...this little tambourine dove lands next to my feet and my partner Andre shouts from the sitting room: "...there's a dove in there?"...I thought: what a gift from Mother Nature...Managed to catch the little bird without hurting him and brought him close to my cheek for a second, then ran to the door and opened my hands, he flew away...One should not read much into this but it was so unusual and unexpected, a pleasant moment I would like to remember for some time...A mozzie would never provide the same experience, LOL:)

Hope you have a wonderful week-end, thank you for your thoughts...

[Christopher Miller]

Poor ostrich! He looks so hot and bothered. TFS

[Gabriela Plesea]

Life is tough in the Kalahari, although these guys are pretty touch themselves:)

Few years ago we witnessed a jackal being chased by an Ostrich male because he tried to steal one of his babies...

Thanks again Christopher:)