It is called the blood full moon, and a total eclipse was to occur.
But what blood moon? Not only was the eclipse not visible in the southern hemisphere, but we were also loaded with cloudy skies. And besides, we were not on the night side of the earth,
Now let Wikipedia explain to us what the total lunar eclipse of 3 March 2026 was all about.
A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, with an umbral magnitude of 1.1507. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller.
Soon as I could get a dim view of the moon through the hazy clouds, I took this shot below as I liked that green ring around the moon.
And that's it, as here is another try much later in the night.
Now they say, if you see a Hoopoe, then you will see the full moon. I don't know if this is true, but incidentally I got a hoopoe earlier on the same day. No, I am not the superstitious sort of fella, but the question is, why then did I get a hoopoe and later the full moon. There are many stories going about, a crow bird being a bad messenger that will strike one, and an owl near one's house means a death in the family. We love the crows and the owls, and they don't elicit the same fears in our minds.
Here are the hoopoe shots below.
There it was, in all of its beautiful colored patterns. The African Hoopoe specie name is (Upupa africana).
Oops! I almost got too close but slowly retreated as it saw me.
Peace in hoopoe land, as it continued to search for worms.
Finally, just a twirl in a sunspot and then I left it alone.
So yes, the good goes with the bad here, or are they both only good? The blood full moon, only got its name for its red color from the effect of the total eclipse. One would expect it to be names after the color of blood due to the red hue on it during the eclipse, but not so. I mentioned the superstition part as there are so many stories going around about the things in nature, but a deeper look will always show one the truth. Folklore has always been with us, and it's never a bad thing, as it stimulates people's imaginations, as long as it is to do with nature, I am okay with it.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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