Weaving the Universe

Among the most fascinating things I saw in Namibia, are the nests of the sociable weaver (Philetairus socius), a species of bird in the weaver family, endemic to Southern Africa.

 

The species builds large, compound, community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are amongst the largest built by any bird. They are large enough to house over 100 pairs of birds, containing several generations at a time. The nests are highly structured and provide birds with a more advantageous temperature relative to the outside.

 

When I saw this nest during an afternoon game drive, I knew that I had to come back and shoot it after nightfall. Fortunately, there normally are no predators in this area and the Rhinos we had seen closeby in the afternoon were gone too.

 

EXIF

Canon EOS-R, astro-modified

Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 @ 20mm

IDAS NBZ filter

iOptron SkyTracker Pro

 

Sky:

2 panel panorama, each a stack of 6x 90s @ ISO1600, unfiltered & 3x 180s @ ISO6400, filtered

 

Foreground:

Focus stack of 5x 8s @ ISO400 during twilight

Done