Dudu Diaries

Dawn on the plains here is crisp and bright. A tangled sky with the promise of rain greets each day. Sunlight streams softly through the mosaic of clouds above and fresh leaves below. Everywhere life returns and sprouts with abandon. Finally, after months of hot, dry, dusty days, the time to flower, fruit, lay eggs, pollinate, claim territories – basically reproduce in every way imaginable, has come.

In the very first rays of light, just before sunrise, when you can still see your breath, and the torrent of birdsong flows steadily all around, another, fainter, more frantic sound can be heard. A steady, humming, soft, consistent, punctuated now and then by a staccato of pauses. For several days I’ve puzzled to what it is. It is still too cold for even the most diligent of bees to be about. They are all snuggled up in their hive, waiting for the sun to climb just a little bit higher in the sky. So it’s not the bees.

Could it be the termites? They are busy building empires up the sides of the house rapidly conquering the wooden beams and struts. I listen more closely, - hmmm, no, it’s not the termites. This humming sound has a steady buzzing quality to it. The termites, rattling their heads against their earthen walls, sound far more erratic. So the termites can’t be blamed, despite their many other sins.

Looking out over the tangle of leaf and creeper all is still and calm.
Just this loud buzzing sound. Well, it must be coming from the air! A cloud sifts the sunshine and a sunspot shifts right in front of me.
Before I can move my hand into it, to see if I can feel any warmth in the cold air, a flash of light zips down and claims it.

The flash of light zips back and forth humming loudly all the while.
Whoever this is – they are responsible for the pre-dawn buzzing sound.
The cloud passes and the sunspot settles. And so does its claimant.
Now I can see that the buzzer is an insect. A hoverfly.
He has claimed the sunspot as his own to display in. He holds his place perfectly, wings a whirr of aerodynamic perfection. He is so bold and confident that even as I fiddle clumsily with the camera he barely budges. Then, with a stroke of luck (at 1/4000th of a second!), his dance is captured, and my insatiable curiosity briefly sated.

PS – Many, many thanks to all of you who read this blog and send me comments and questions. I really love hearing from you, and I am so glad that even the smallest creatures are of interest to so many. I apologize for not posting more often – but I am back home in Kenya now for a few months and I will be posting lots more (when I have internet access!).

Asante sana!

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