Monkey business

We have just had our shower renovated! It now features fresh dry grass, a new vanity stand and pearly white stones. There is even a huge gray pumice stone which (it seems) nobody else besides me uses. We used to have a pair of
Collared Sunbirds(Hedydipna collaris )
nesting in the shower but the cleaning staff removed them thinking they were a nuisance:( My best part of the day was just before sunset when I would go for a shower and the female would be peaking her head out hoping I hadn't spotted her and probably praying I would not drench her with water. The male (who is more colorful than the dull gray female) would be perched on the tree just above watching intently in a protective manner towards his home and his woman. But now they are gone and I don't know what became of them which is kind of sad but anywho I spotted a half dozen flying trumpeter hornbills (Bycanistes bucinator) yesterday afternoon on my way to take a nap! To be fair I heard the loud honking/wailing noises first before something disturbed them from their perch and they flew off, low just above the trees. It felt like a flying scene in a jurassic park movie. Personally I find this kind of hornbill to be quite unattractive and obnoxious.

The most annoying thing though has to do with monkeys. Its getting very hot now, am reading 36 degrees celcius and its 3 in the afternoon! By morning it's already in the 30s! Which means less food for monkeys and baboons. They are now being spotted sneaking into chalets looking for food or just trying to cool down. This morning a male monkey snuck into the office and by the time I turned around it was already too late, he had already opened the tupperwear box with breadrolls and was hightailing it out of there. I think they have figured this is conservation land so they can get away with such behavior without getting shot- not good! Yesterday Odin was accosted by a pair of baboons while he was in the shower. They must have been dying of thirst but were scared to go to the lake because their natural instinct tells them there are crocodiles in the lake even though none are around during the day. So they have learned to come to our shower room when the water is on hoping they can either scare us out of there or enjoy the cool water if we accidentally leave the shower on, at least there they are guaranteed no crocs. I had an encounter with a huge male who was almost my size, he came barking towards me while i was heading to the toilet, I threw a rock in his direction and he relented(was not about to take my chances with an aggressive male baboon!). Though they usually keep to themselves and are shy of human contact the poor mammals are now desperate as the hot season reaches its apex and will do anything to ensure their survival, quite amazing to note.

Last week two guests decided to go fishing in one of the boats. The men were completely unaware of the African fish eagles who are attracted to anything shiny like the floaty thingy used in fly fishing. Well; as soon as they threw their lines out an eagle swooped in and grabbed the thingy with his talons and tried to fly away with his "catch." He ended up being caught with one of his talons pierced by the hook. They had to pull him by the line dragging him as he was fluttering and cawing back into the boat to unhook him. From what i hear it was quite a kodak moment for those things are huge and can cause significant damage with their talons! Needless to say I don't think the guys are going to be bragging about catching a bird on the 3rd largest lake in Africa!